Original Shelby cars from the 1960s are highly desirable cars for collectors. The cars were known to be amongst the top echelon of muscle cars. Many of them were even turned into racetrack pavement-carving machines. So, when what appears to be an original Shelby car shows up on E-Bay, it garners a lot of attention. 

Where did this Shelby come from?

As the story goes, the previous owner had an incident at a car wash in Texas. The car suffered a dented and scratched front passenger corner. Frustrated, the owner decided to park the Shelby in a garage. That was back in 1985. The car only recently changed hands again after someone saw it a pestered the owner for about two years to sell it.

Now that the current owner has had some time to look the car over, the specialness of the garage-find is really starting to take hold. The car is a 1968 Shelby GT350 that seems mostly original. The rubber insulation does not seem dry-rotted, the doors close fine, the lime green metallic paint looks like it can be restored. The headliner and gas tank will need to be addressed, though. The Shelby’s owner says of the car,

 “I could have it running by the end of the day but I don’t want to spoil the fun for a true collector who would want to be the one who hears it crank up for the first time or wash it and see the beautiful paint, that’s why I have not touched it. It’s still got the 1985 dust all over it and it’s killing me to not detail this car.” 

The 1968 Shelby GT350 is at auction right now

After fawning over his purchase, the owner has decided to see how well the car can do on the eBay auction website. The Shelby’s listing will expire Thursday afternoon. The bids, at the time of this writing, are sitting at $80,100. There is a reserve for the auction. However, at this time, it has not been reached. With that said, there are over 90 people that have bid so far. So, bidding will probably be pretty active as the listing nears its end. 

But, what’s it worth?

Hagerty is a respected automotive authority. As such, the company keeps tabs on the values of collector cars. Currently, the report for a 1968 Shelby GT350 fastback base model says the cars are commanding an average “Good” value at $68,600, an average “Excellent” value at $87,000, and an average “Concours” value at $111,000. To be fair, I was unable to identify if the car in the auction is a base car or an example of a more valuable trim. So, as always, buyer beware, and please do due diligence in research if deciding to get involved with the auction. Regardless, if the car is genuine, then the car is valuable, even damaged.

Few unmolested Shelby GT350 fastbacks still exist. So, it is easy to see how this car can catch an auto enthusiast’s eye. Shelby is an iconic name in automotive history. The track success of the GT350 is a part of history. In other words, owning this car would be the equivalent of owning a piece of history. That is, one that breathes gasoline and lives for fast trips.