Big block engines, such as the 427 Police Interceptor and the 428 Cobra Jet, weigh more than the average small block. Plus, when pushed to the top of their power and torque, they can cause severe twisting on the motor mounts. This has been known to bend the frame and snap the axles of cars that have not been upgraded. Shelby and his team thought of this, which is why the suspension was upgraded, the drivetrain components were secured better, and the axles distributed the torque more effectively with racing gears. To top it off, the team also upgraded the brakes to allow for the increased stopping power needed to slow down the beast with the big block.
4 Arguably The First Production Car With A Rollover Bar Standard
Many cars throughout history have prioritized the safety of their occupants, making the vehicle’s roof heavier than needed to protect against rollover. Some carmakers use the back of the headrest and reinforce it to prevent the top from smashing all the way down. The 1967 Shelby GT500 went a step further and took an idea from the GT40 and built in a rollover bar, which is arguably the first car ever to install one within a production car.
3 The Reason The 1967 Shelby GT 500 Is A 500
Many car enthusiasts just accept that the ’67 Shelby GT500 is a 500 instead of the 350 designations that the car used to carry. The new version is better in many ways, including replacing the original 289 or 390, but that is not the reason for the change in numbers. The actual reason the number was increased to 500 was all because of Carroll Shelby. He wanted to use a number bigger than any other carmaker had ever used, making the Shelby stand out above the rest in name and performance.
2 First Car Carroll Shelby Was Proud Of
Carroll Shelby is most commonly known for designing and building high-performance cars, but the reason that he was so good at it was that he used to be a high-profile race car driver. He knew what a car needed to perform at the top of the pack, so he put all his knowledge into the cars he helped create. It would be thought that before the Shelby was designed, he would have been proud of his accomplishments, which he was up to a point. He always knew that he could create more, something better, which turned out to be the GT500 in 1967. When talking about his accomplishments, Shelby stated that the 1967 Shelby GT500 was the “first car he was proud of.”
1 The One And Only “Eleanor”
No discussion about the 1967 Shelby GT500 would be complete without discussing the one and only “Eleanor.” It was the final car that Nicolas Cage and his crew had to steal in the movie “Gone In 60 Seconds.” The unicorn that would always give him trouble when trying to drive, which of course, is not the case, but it definitely built up the suspense in the movie. The point is, though, that “Eleanor” was the only car out of 50 that was the main feature within the film, which is when the car became a true legend
Unlocking the Mysteries of the 1967 Shelby GT500: 10 Essential Facts for Enthusiasts
