WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO Shelby Maverick

check this out!

This guy claims he gots a shelby cobra maverick, what do you guys think

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6236&item=4552925261&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

 

It's a fake. Shelby Mavericks were not called "Grabbers". The original owner purchased the car in New York. There weren't any Shelby Mavericks sold in the USA in 1971...

 

He probably just stuck the Shelby name on there to get more hits on a search. He's not calling it a Shelby in the description.

 

Not only is it not a Shelby, it wasn't a 4-speed or positraction either...

 

From what I've gathered from an aquiantance of mine in So. Cal. (also a former Mav owner) who knows Shelby personally, he had nothing to do with the "Shelby" Maverick, and unlike true Shelby cars, there were no engine, drivetrain or suspension mods made to the cars, they were basically stock Mavericks with various "Shelby" dealer add-ons....a dress-up package.

Also, unlike true Shelby built cars, there was no special VIN or ID code, or even an option code for the "Shelby" versions.

These are interesting and unique cars, but only "Shelby's" in borrowed name and dealer add ons.

Boy, can you imaging what the man could have done had he gotten his hands on a Maverick and built a REAL Shelby Grabber? That would be soooo awesome!

 

There you have it, folks...Shelby Mavericks are not real Shelbys. They're just South American Mavericks, which are inferior to U.S. Mavericks.

And yes, had Carol Shelby actually built some Mavericks, they would have been Hell on wheels. Probably would have kicked the Mustang's @$$...

 

The thing that first cought my eye though was .......

The wheels.

Think about it....Every Shelby car I've ever seen had a set of unique or aftermarket wheels, American Torq-thrusts, the Halibrand style....never slot mags. (nothing wrong with slots though)

When I first saw the pics.....I just thought to myself "There's nothing there that really says Shelby to me", even though it was a nice looking package, I just didn't see it.

I'm also pretty sure if there had been true Shelby Mavericks produced, no matter how few there may have been, or where they were made,....they'd be VERY well known of and sought-after. Hell, there's Shelby fanatics out there who know where every single Shelby Cobra and Mustang is, and who each one belongs to at any given time....not to mention official Shelby registries, clubs, etc.

I even heard of a Mustang II that belonged to a close friend of Shelby's, that he "tinkered" with a bit for his buddy, nothing special, just helped him tweak the motor, install a stouter trans, and tweaked the suspension some.....the friend had documentation and pictures of Shelby tuning his engine in a garage one afternoon, and Shelby even autographed his console....the car later sold at auction for $35,000 just because of the "Shelby" connection it had

Now, if there were people out there who knew of, and were searching for years for a car that Shelby tuned up one weekend at a buddy's house over a six-pack of beer,....sure as hell there's be ALOT more info out there on a special edition Shelby Maverick.

 

I agree completely.

It's very interesting that when this site was in its infancy, the whole "Shelby Maverick" question was such a mystery (I swore up & down that there was no such thing. Well, there is such thing, but not really, ya know?), and now, just a few years later, we finally have the basic facts about these mystery cars. This site has grown by leaps & bounds since I first joined in 1997...

 

If you communicate with Rick Kopec and some of the other diehard Shelby enthusiasts, they aren't hyped up on the Shelby de Mexico cars for the very reason pointed out above. While Shelby licensed his name to the cars, it doesn't appear he had much, if any, influence on their design, development, or equipment. That, plus the fact that none of them had been imported into the U.S. back then, caused the diehard Shelby enthusiasts to have less interest. I also understood that Eduardo was considered a crook. Apparently not long before his death he tried to import some of the notchback Shelby de Mexico Mustangs, marketing them for Shelby prices. It was later determined that at least some of them were fakes.

Even though the Shelby Chryslers are listed in the Registry, and they have some following, the diehard Shelby guys don't follow them as much either. So while the diehards don't offer the same interest, if someone could locate and FULLY document a Shelby de Mexico Maverick and get it back to the U.S., you can take it to the bank that ALOT of the Shelby enthusiasts would sit up and take notice, and the car would still have a significant value, both historically and financially. Would it be like a genuine competition R Model Shelby Mustang GT-350 or a Cobra? No. But it would probably be the most valuable (original) Maverick in the U.S.

 

I don't know, Chuck. Based on the photos I've seen, they look to me like basic pieces of junk with a couple extra body parts slapped onto them. Other than saying "Shelby" on them, There is really nothing special about them at all...

 

That's true....there's no doubt the "Shelby" Maverick would be a valuable collectable, even if it was just a looks package.

I think most of this is just that we who love Mavericks and Comets realize what a perfect platform they'd have been for Shelby's holy touch (just imagine a GT350 Grabber R !! Ohhh baby!!)

Sad fact is, Shelby's "hands on" involvement at Ford was already waning by the time the Maverick made it's debut.....had things been a bit different, there's no telling what kind of Killer Mavericks might have rolled out of Shelby's shop.

Now there's a great project idea.....a "what if" Shelby GT 350 Grabber R

Hmmm, I've got another Maverick to play with........

 

I guess we'll see when and if someone ever gets a documented one back to the states. I for one have no doubt that they are special. I guess if 4-speeds, hoodscoops, huge rear spoilers, window louvers, a hood tach, front spoilers, Shelby engine dress-up items, aluminum wheels, and Shelby badges aren't special, then alot of the U.S. Shelby Mustangs aren't very special either. Shelby himself had nothing to do with the 69-70 Shelby Mustangs, but they are still legitimate Shelby's. So are the Shelby de Mexico Mavericks, regardless of how we may view the choice of their modifications. With only 303 produced and none ever imported into the U.S., they would be among the rarest of any vehicles to ever legitimately wear a Shelby badge.

 

Absolutely! Had Shelby ever actually toyed with a Maverick, there's no telling where it would have led. But even had he still been affiliated with Ford at the time, Ford would never have allowed it. Does anyone really believe Ford didn't put 4-speeds, 4-barrels, and dual exhausts on Mavericks simply due to insurance requlations? No way. They didn't do it because a Maverick equipped that way would have run circles around the Mustangs of the era. They couldn't have their cheap import fighter whipping on their pony car! Yes, if 'ol Shel had have fooled with a Maverick, Mavericks would have been seen in a different light years ago. Of course then, some of us wouldn't be able to afford them now!

 

You of all people should know that the 4-speed transmissions used in South American Mavericks were weak. They weren't even as strong as the 3-speed manuals in U.S. Mavericks & Comets. If you think that some hood-scoops & spoilers make a car "special", while no other real performance modifications are made, well....you're certainly entitled to your opinion. If I paint the name "SHELBY" on the side of my Maverick, will that make it special and worth more money? I mean, Carol Shelby had just as much to do with the South American "Shelby Mavericks" as he did with my Maverick...nothing. And mine would be even more rare because it would be a one of-a-kind while there were 303 of those others produced.

Just using that to make a point...which is that I'm not impressed and I doubt that even a doccumented South American Shelby Maverick would be respected much by true Shelby enthusiastes...

 

As a certified auto appraiser, I have to agree with Chuck on this one. No matter how special it may be, it would have to be probably one of the worlds rarest Mavericks since they supposedly only made 303 of them. Odds are that if there are ANY left, it probably would be no more than 2 or 3. There are a lot of people that would pay VERY good money to own a car that rare...no matter WHAT it is.