Thread 's been runn'n for 8 1/2 years & no one consulted Carroll about this topic,,,,Just saying it's turned into a bigfoot story unnessarily.
I have hounded him for the last 3 years! I have posted on his facebook page about the mav's, I have been a thorn in Shelby Of America Reg. side because they wont recognize our cars, because of were they are made,(Mexico not in America) Everyone seems to nod to them but would not come out and recognize them as the step children they are! That is why I got him to sign my car, He should be the final word on this subject.
Someone did ask him, the answer is in this thread or in one of the other ones. There's like a hundred. I cant remember his answer off the top of my head but i'll find the thread later on.
Took me 4 hours... must be the heat ... Sorry to say all I saw was a story about Shelby Maverick not comet..though Either way, I am still bummed I never got him to sign my maverick. Even though it wasn't ever going to be a Shelby De Mexico clone... Watch there will magically be 10 thousand turning up in the next year or so..as people try to profit off the passing of a legend.
You can always have Jack Roush sign your glove box and Roush is well known to be connected to the maverick
The only reason I wanted Shelby's sig was the whole contreversy of the Shelby DE Mexico maverick story. Figured it would make some true Shelby collectors pissy at car shows.
He said he had nothing to do with a Shelby Maverick. The story is that his illegitimate Mexican half-brother imported some Mavericks and customized them.
Well, your car just became a little more valuable with that signature. I sure wish I'd have gotten one from him when I could.
I consulted with the Shelby American Auto Club YEARS ago; the president talked to Carroll about it and he basically had no comment at that time beyond the fact that he really had nothing to do with them. As the story has been related many times; when Shelby's contract with Ford ran out, he wasn't allowed to market in the U.S., but he kept the rights outside the U.S. He struck a deal with Eduardo Velasquez (hope I spelled that right) to use the Shelby name on Fords in Mexico. Eduardo's company, Shelby de Mexico, bought the vehicles; Mavericks, Mustang notchbacks, etc, from Ford in Mexico, did the conversions, then sold them back to dealerships. Therefore, the only way to verify a true Shelby Maverick would be by having an invoice for the car to or from Shelby de Mexico, as the parts to create the Shelby Mavericks were also sold over-the-counter. What strikes me as funny is how so many people harp on the fact that Shelby wasn't directly involved. Shelby wasn't directly involved in the Shelby Mustangs after 1968, yet the 69-70 Shelby Mustangs are still considered Shelbys. Shelby was barely involved in the new GT500's, but they're still considered Shelbys. And there's alot of stuff out there licensed by Shelby. That doesn't mean his company actually MAKES it all. He licenses his name to various concepts, and one of those was the concept of the Shelby Maverick. And consider this too - what would Shelby himself have done differently if he'd have produced the Shelby Maverick himself? It had a 302 with a 4-speed, a Boss 429 hoodscoop, a hood tach, a huge rear spoiler, rear window louvers, Shelby slotted aluminum wheels, a front chin spoiler, and a bunch of Shelby emblems. What more does anyone REALLY think he'd have done to a Maverick himself in the early 70's?? He wouldn't have built it in the style of an R-Model Mustang - he hadn't built a production car like that for almost 7 years - if you can even call that a production car. And we can't say it would have looked any better. 1969-70 Shelby Mustangs are not beauty queens compared to some of his other creations. Shelby licensed his name to the Shelby Mavericks and they were built in the same spirit as his other creations. He sued about everybody during his lifetime. If he had have been concerned the Shelby Mavericks weren't a proper representation of his name, he'd have sued Shelby de Mexico too. While the deal was nothing more than a licensing deal, I'll never believe he didn't at least know what his name was going onto. And for the early 70's, the Shelby Maverick was probably representative of what the Man himself would have created if he'd have been commissioned by Ford in the U.S. to do a Maverick. A REAL, authentic Shelby Maverick is still the Holy Grail of Mavericks, and that's why this thread is still running after all these years. And just like the lost Ark, the Holy Grail, or even Bigfoot, we WANT it to be real, and we WANT to find one, which is why the myth, the legend, persists...
Shelby licensed his name to the Shelby Mavericks and they were built in the same spirit as his other creations. Shelby wasn't directly involved in the Shelby Mustangs after 1968, yet the 69-70 Shelby Mustangs are still considered Shelbys.I] Well said Chuck. I've made essentially the same argument for welcoming the Shelby Maverick into the fold like a long lost step-child. It may be a disappointment to us because it's an aftermarket parts Christmas tree, but Shelby no doubt stuffed a buck or two into his pockets for each and every one of them built. It deserves to be accepted as a true Shelby.
*Correction, Ford took over construction of the Shelby Mustang starting in 1968. Conversions were done by A.O. Smith Corp.
I have been in contact with a gentleman from Mexico who gave me some new information about the Maverick Shelby. I will write an article and publish it in the Maverick Comet Club International, Inc. (MCCI) Newsletter "Shorthorns" sometime in the near future.
I can't see the pics! Plz help! Whoa! What happened to the post ith the pics that acknowledge the shelby mav?! The one that said: "Gentlemen, Calm down!, I believe I have some new info. I have been talking to the Shelby people about our cars and maybe reconizing them as the " stepchildren" they are. They have agreed to run a article about " Shelby de Mexico" and show a pix of the S.d.M. Maverick from the expo. In the next Shelby register years from 68-72. At least now we will have an actual pix to point to and say "Seee" They even make a neat comment on how they actually sold more of the Shelby Mavericks than the Shelby Mustangs!"