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CAMSHAFT SHOOTOUT
’68 SHELBY GT500 KR CONVERTIBLE’68SHELBYGT500KRCONVERTIBLE 1 OF 318 1OF318 ’70 305CI 1 OF 1 DAYTONA CHARGER ’65 Z16 BIG-BLOCK 1 OF 200 CHEVELLE
hNelson Bandy has been a longtime antique and vintagecar collector, scouring the country for collectibles most of his life. Back in the 1970s, Bandy was very familiar with this 1968 Shelby GT500 KR convertible and its rarity. “It was owned by a very young couple in Lobelville, Tennesee,” he says. “I would try to buy the car every time I saw them driving around town.”
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Bandy’s persistence paid off in the summer of 1978. “I think the guy thought he would give me a ridiculous price and I would go away,” he says. “I went to the bank the next day and showed up with the cash and bought the car.” Bandy rarely drove it, and because of its rarity, decided to park it before the end of the year—and it hasn’t seen the road since.
According to the data plate, the Shelby was assembled the 20th day of June 1968 at the Metuchen, New Jersey, assembly plant and featured a Highland Green exterior, deluxe black bucket-seat interior, power steering, power brakes, dual exhaust, tilt steering column, rear bumper guards, four-speed manual transmission, white convertible power top, and side stripping.
In early 1987, Bandy bought a couple of moving and storage containers and hid the Shelby, which has been stored in its current location for the past 30 years.
Carroll Shelby’s Mustangs were developed as performanceoriented vehicles. They were generally considered a notch above the general muscle car, and during their initial six-year production run, they received constant refinements. This car was the first model year a Shelby was offered in a convertible as part of the GT350, GT500, and the GT500 KR series.
The GT500 was initially equipped with the 427ci or
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