Every year, in honor of Carroll Shelby's passing, the Carroll Shelby Foundation stages a very special Tribute and Car Show in May. This year marks six years since we lost our icon, Carroll, on May 10, 2012.
Carroll's Tribute is more a celebration of his life, and even further, a celebration of his accomplishments and legacies. These include his cars, racing successes, and his philanthropy through the Carroll Shelby Foundation.
Early Saturday morning, a couple of friends, Rick and Stephen, both Cobra Roadster owners (ERA & CSX400, respectively) and me in the G.T. 350, cruised over to Carrrol's HQ in Gardena, California for the Tribute event.
We (smartly, see video above!) arrived early enough to be near the front of the show entry line.
...next, let the parking drill begin....
Once everyone was settled in, I began to photograph the participants, both people and the cars...
Rick's "RED COBRA" ERA and adjacent is Stephen's dark blue CSX4000...
Nice line up, eh?
Paxton!
#2060, on display.
This Hillbank Daytona Coupe is gorgeous!
Late model G.T. 350s were in abundance!
Mike's one-onwner-since-new '69 Shelby G.T 350...
I cannot keep myself away from Daytonas...
A unique restomod, nice done!
The Hillbank lineup...
An exceptional '57 Ford...
Dave Friedman was in attendance, Shelby Americans 'period' photographer, and Dave was signing his book, Shelby American Up Close and Behind the Scenes (an awesome book that belongs in your collection!).
I'm very grateful to Dave for his autograph and comments. Thanks, Dave!
There were a few shenanigans....
...and quite a bit of smoke. That's not cigar smoke!
A great live band, along with the Shelby Brew Crew, who were serving up some beer and wine, along with a few food trucks made for a very nice lunch break.
The 50th anniversary of the GT 500 KR was honored as the featured marque this year. And, Joe's '67 G.T. 500 won the award in the early Shelby's category...
One announcement at the Show was the re-introduction of the 1967 Shelby Mustang G.T. 500 Super Snake. The ten 'reincarnated' Super Snake fastbacks will be built to order from donor 1967 Mustangs in Pennsylvania, complete with factory VINs and original titles.
Each Super Snake will be stripped down and rebuilt with new sheet metal, with a four-barrel Holley carburetor atop a 550-horsepower 427 big-block V-8. A Top Loader four-speed manual will sync with the locking differential, but a five-speed or even an automatic transmission are options.
LASAAC President Randy Richardson, presided over a panel discussion with former Shelby American employees including (L to R), team photographer, Dave Friedman, driver/mechanic John Morton, Dragonsnake driver & mechanic Jere Kirkpatrick, Jim Marietta, and Ted Sutton. Randy is at the podium.
We were also given an opportunity to poke around and check out the progress that the Original Venice Crew Mustangs they're building onsite here in Gardena. These are continuation models of (ultimately) 36 1965 GT 350 R-model Shelbys. This began with the acquisition of a number of K-code Mustang fastbacks for 'feedstock'.
Some of the acquired 'feedstock' that will become continuation '65 G.T. 350 R-Models...
And this is the prototype of the completed R-Model example.
There's always 'something else' to do or get...
When the OVC Mustangs project was revealed back in September, 2017, they encouraged the attendees to sign The Wall.
...and fortunately, ShelbyGuy was in attendance. You can see more about that event at: https://www.shelbyguy.net/single-post/2017/09/24/Whats-Old-Is-New-Again
'A couple' of Lynn Park's Cobras, and on the right is Hank's "NO KIT" Cobra, which he has owned since new. And he really gets around!
Inside the Gardena facility, the Foundation has been working on creating a "Shelby Meeting Place" (my words) for Shelby folks. It's still in the early construction phase, but there's been progress. These are a few of the wall decorations...
That's a genuine Cobra chassis...
An artist's rendering...
And in the background of this photo, which you've already seen, is the view from outside of the "Shelby Meeting Place". There are now glass doors and two roll-up doors that lead to a grassy outdoor area. Exciting progress!
And meet Margaret Alley and her driven '66 Shelby! What a wonderful woman!
A fine celebration of the life of Carroll Shelby, very well lived!
