It was 100 years ago today that Carroll Shelby came into the world (and more than ten years now since he left it). I grew up as a big fan of his Cobra, GT-350, and GT-500. I mean, who wasn't? But I also admired what he did later with the front-wheel-drive Dodges, turning basic economy cars into little hot rods that were still cheap but a lot more fun. I met him when Dodge brought him to Daytona for the event introducing the Dodge Shelby Charger.
Who has a favorite Shelby story or picture to share?
I have such mixed emotions about the guy. I admire what he did and know he also did a lot of charity stuff. I also owned a FFR Cobra for many years and know the battles he waged against the industry. No matter what I have a ton of respect for all of his work and creations...well, maybe the Series 1 is an exception 
I met ol' Shel at FSAE 1993 at the Chrysler Tech Center in Auburn Hills MI. He seemed genuinely interested in what we were doing. Aside from making me 100 years old and probably also dead, I kinda wish i could have been around in the 50s and 60s.
EDIT: hey, the Series 1 gave us a RWD Manual Northstar
I hadn't seen a Series 1 in a long time, until this showed up for Saturday's Mecum auction in Kissimmee:
Get your Shelby Series 1 here
NMNA
I use his chili recipe, albeit with a LOT more chilies and such, and a lot less fat. That's about as close as I got.
I just watched Ford v Ferrari.
SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) said:
I have such mixed emotions about the guy. I admire what he did and know he also did a lot of charity stuff. I also owned a FFR Cobra for many years and know the battles he waged against the industry. No matter what I have a ton of respect for all of his work and creations...well, maybe the Series 1 is an exception
Met the guy a few times when all this was going on. I don't think he was the root cause I think it was his estate trying to extract every dollar they could.
when he as in his late 70s early 80s he was still sharp as a tack but later not so much.
dude had stones I will give him that and he lived on the edge with his heart issues his whole life. We should all be so lucky.
Two stories: In 1966 or 1967 (I've slept since then) I'm at the USGP at Watkins Glen with two buddies from college. They are there for the event, not for the racing, and don't know much about road racing. We're waiting in line for the long stop and go trip up to the racetrack when I notice a GT350H next to me. I start telling my buddies about how it's not just a pretty Mustang, and who Carroll Shelby was, and then realize - THAT'S SHELBY DRIVING IT!
Second story: I'm competing in the SCCA National Pro Rally called Big Bend Bash near Terlingua, Texas, on ranch roads on a ranch that used to be owned by Shelby. The year was early '80s, before the Chrysler linkup. This particular year Shelby was the Grand Marshal of the event, and would drive an orange 427 Cobra to lead a parade of the rally cars through Alpine. Texas. At breakfast at the headquarters motel my group are sitting at a table and realize that Shelby is sitting at a nearby table, all alone - and nobody else in the room recognizes him! This in a roomful of SCCA people!
I don't have any Shelby stories, and don't know much about him but I remember being impressed with him while listening to an interview with Peter Brock (of the Shelby Daytona Coupe variety). I'll have to paraphrase significantly, but I think you'll get the idea:
Brock (while working on GM's Corvette program): So I told the designer that he couldn't make the front that way because it'd create all sorts of lift when it got up to speed. He told me "listen kid, I'll design the Corvettes. You sit over there..." (sure enough, it lifted like a pig at speed)
(fast forward to his tenure with Shelby)
Brock: So I told Shelby that if he wanted to go any faster in the Cobra, he'd have to square the aerodynamics or cube the horsepower. He said that they had already tried the hardtops on the Cobras and it didn't make much of a difference. I had to explain to him that when they did that they hadn't done a thing to reduce frontal area or the drag coefficient, or anything that would really change anything. He responded by giving me permission to work on a wrecked Cobra that was sitting in the back corner of the garage.
(Fast forward to late in the Daytona Coupe's development)
Brock: So when we were about done Shelby saw the back end of the vehicle, it caught his attention because it looked like we had just "cut off" the rear of the car. He was convinced that it couldn't be right so he went out and brought back Mr. XYZ who raced aircraft at the time and asked what he thought...
Mr. XYZ about laughed me out of the room "son, if what you were saying about aerodynamics were true then all the flight controls on all of our aircraft would have the same chopped off back ends!"
(Mr. XYZ leaves. Still laughing)
Carroll Shelby (remaining behind) to Brock: "So. You want to change anything?"
Brock: "Nope"
Carroll: "Ok then. Carry on".
When they tested the car, the Daytona was so "slippery" through the air that they found they could take corners in the next higher gear compared to the Cobra design.
More than I like his cars (I love the Daytona Coupe and the GT40), I like the idea of that style of leadership.
