1969 Shelby GT500 Convertible

1969 Shelby GT500 History

The Shelby Mustang was built in the early years by Shelby American /Shelby Automotive. The ’69 and ’70 Shelby Mustangs were built entirely at the Ford Plants. The Ford marketing team wanted to achieve more brand recognition through these extremely popular Shelby machines along with their own special high performance Boss and Mach 1 Mustangs. These next generation Shelby Mustang GTs were either the 351 cu in equipped GT350 or the GT500 with Ford’s mega 428 block. The 428CJ performance was a very respectable quarter mile in 14 seconds at 102 mph. The 1969 model year received an extensive face lift with the body increasing in length by 4 inches. Up front, the dual headlights now sat within the full width/deep recessed Black Grill with the Snake in the right corner. The distinctive hood had the air duct system for cooling the engine with five ‘NACA ducts’ as they were known providing three inlets and two outlet vents. Out back, a contoured body spoiler that has a Black recessed full-width insert having the Shelby name in chrome letters. Below the Rear Spoiler is the distinctive styling of full width tail lights. Also the dual exhaust exited from a special cast unit that rose up the center of the rear roll pan. Overall this new exterior look was long and low with racy styling and looks. In 1969 there were 1536 GT500 Fastbacks that rolled off the assembly line and the most expensive and rarest GT500 was the Convertible model with only 335 produced. 1970 Shelby’s were actually held over 1969 Shelby’s that were not sold. For the 1970 Shelby model they changed the serial number, added black hood stripes and a Boss 302 chin spoiler. So, the total of 335 convertibles that were produced was for both 1969 and 1970.

1969 GT500 Specs

years	1969 – 1970
built at	USA
production	335
price $	$ 5,027
engine	Cobra jet V8
position	Front Longitudinal
aspiration	Natural
valvetrain	Pushrod Actuated OHV, 2 Valves per Cyl
fuel feed	Ram Air, Single Holley Four-Barrell 735cfm
displacement	7019 cc / 428.3 in³
bore	104.9 mm / 4.13 in
stroke	101.09 mm / 3.98 in
compression	10.6:1
power	249.8 kw / 335.0 bhp @ 3200 rpm
specific output	47.73 bhp per litre
bhp/weight	174.57 bhp per tonne
torque	596.56 nm / 440 ft lbs @ 3400 rpm
body / frame	Unit Steel w/Fiberglass Hood, Front End
driven wheels	RWD w/traction-Loc LSD
front tires	Goodyear Super Wide-Oval E70X15
rear tires	Goodyear Super Wide-Oval E70X15
front brakes	Kelsey-Hayes Discs w/Power Assist
rear brakes	Drums
steering	Recirculating Ball w/Power Assist
f suspension	A-Arms w/Coil Springs, Anti-Roll Bars, Adjustable Tube Shocks
r suspension	Hotchkiss-Type Live Axle w/Leaf Springs, Adjustable tube Shocks
curb weight	1919 kg / 4230 lbs
wheelbase	2743 mm / 108.0 in
front track	1486 mm / 58.5 in
rear track	1486 mm / 58.5 in
length	4826 mm / 190 in
width	1826 mm / 71.9 in
height	1285 mm / 50.6 in
transmission	4-Speed Manual or 3-Speed C6 Auto
gear ratios	2.32:1, 1.69:1, 1.29:1, 1.00:1
final drive	3.50:1
0 – 60 mph	~6.0 seconds
0 – 100 mph	~14.0 seconds
0 – 1/4 mile	~17.0 seconds