You would think that decades after the last original Shelby Mustangs were built, they’d stop showing up in fields and barns almost 50 years later. But you’d be wrong friend, because most people knew the intrinsic value these cars would someday hold. Yet life can come between a man and his goal of restoring an original Shelby, sometimes for decades. That is why to this day, treasured cars like Shelby Mustangs are routinely pulled out of old barns and fallow fields.
Barnfinds.com came across a real barn find in the form of this Craigslist ad. It claims that this 95% original 1968 Shelby GT350 spent the past 30 years collecting dust in a barn…and now it is up for sale for the right price.
The car, number 02708, was once painted in a stunning shade of Acapulco Blue, a paint job that has mostly faded in the interceding decades. However, the pictures indicate that the leather interior is in remarkably good shape, and looks to be almost entirely intact. The 302 cubic-inch V8 engine is also there, looks mostly original, and the seller claims the engine even runs with no bad noises. Oh, and its numbers matching all the way around.
The underside does show signs of wear, tear, and rust, but nothing that can’t be fixed by a good restoration. However, if you ask us, it’d be enough to leave the paint and rust be, get the engine in good order, and just drive this car as is. From the sounds of it, this is a real survivor, and with all the well-restored Shelbys rolling around, we think the world wouldn’t miss one being left in truly original condition.
You tell us; should this Shelby be restored, or left as-is?