Miscellaneous Stuff and Trivia
Oil Pan Stencil
I never say your car is wrong, just different. Well, John showed me this stencil on the front of his oil pan. According to John's
research many early cars had the word "COBRA" stenciled on the front of the oil pan. John had the foresight to preserve his by masking it off. I wonder if there are others?
Power Steering Oil Cooler
I seem to get a lot of question on the small power steering oil cooler. The cooler was used on all 1968
Shelbys and mounts on the front of the radiator support.
Big Block Engine
Oil Cooler
This oil cooler was used on big block cars with Air
Conditioning. It mounts below the front bumper. The color is hard to match and has to be
specially mixed.
The center portion of the cooler was unpainted. Here is a picture of an
original, thanks to Mike Mulcahy.
Oil Filter Adapter (AC cars
only)
This oil filter adapter was necessary on oil cooler equipped cars.
It provides a place for the two oil cooler lines to be attached to the system.
It carried the identification number S7MS-6881-A. Due to the thickness of the
adaptor, the oil filter was actually smaller.
C9AF-9510-U
One more time,
for the slow kids. This carburetor was not used on production cars. It
was the service replacement (over-the-counter) part. If you are rebuilding a
Cobra Jet, use it until you find the correct carb. Don't pay a lot for this
carburetor.
Shelby Tail Light Doors
That is what the chrome trim over the
lens is called. The 1968 Shelby uses a tail light door that does not have
any black paint on it. The 1969 Shelbys do have black paint. Don't make me get
out another factory picture, get out your paint thinner.
Original
unrestored cars are an excellent source for detailing information. This picture
shows an original adjustable shock, the color code on the shock mounting brake
and traces of paint on the master cylinder cover.
I am going to tell you a little secret.
Knowing WHERE to look for color codes and special markings is half the battle. I
sanded through several layers of paint to find this paint inspector's stamp. It
says "PAINT OK BIDDLE" This is the passenger side inner fender (fender removed).
Radiators
4spd
cars are supposed to have radiators marked "C8ZE-L1" according to the build
sheets. Automatic cars should be "C8ZE-M1". This original GT500 KR has a
correctly dated "C8ZE-S1" radiator. The Master Parts Catalog shows it as being
for a 390/428 car. If you have a "C8ZE-S1" radiator, it may be correct after
all.
How rare is a Shelby? Take a look a this chart (compiled from various
sources):
| YEAR |
Total Mustangs |
Total Shelbys |
| 1969 |
299,821 |
3153* |
| 1968 |
317,411 |
4450 |
| 1967 |
472,207 |
3225 |
| 1966 |
607,568 |
2378 |
| 1965 |
559,451* |
562 |
| Totals |
2,256,458 |
13,768 |
* 1969 Shelby numbers include 1970 models.
* 1965 Mustang numbers include
1964 ½ models.
Less than 1% of Mustangs became Shelbys (.006).
To state it
differently, you would have to see 163 vintage Mustangs before you came to one
Shelby.
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