Lucky is GF350

I still laugh... Some years ago my mother in law drove a Ferrari and her license plate frame said, "My other car is a broom." I was fortunate to have bought an original Shelby GT500 off the show room floor back in in 1968 and still have that car to this day. Needless to say, it has been a great adventure unto itself. Believe it or not it's amazing but I can recall there were days when people didn't even know who or what a Shelby was. But all that is just another page in the annals of the Shelby legend. During that time there has been a few owners of Shelbys who get all worked up over people building what they call "Wanna-Be" Shelbys or as their better known "Clones." I am also very lucky to have known Carroll Shelby personally since the early 70's and have enjoyed a long lasting friendship with him. He knows of my build and has been very supportive of it right from the start. After all, he's a car guy and he also ran the La Carrera Panamericana and he didn't even drive a Shelby. Who knows. if he had maybe he wouldn't have crashed and broken his arm.

Over the years I have been displeased when I hear owners of real Shelbys or Shelby club members get upset and make such a big deal out of someone building a clone for their personal satisfaction. As long as they don't try to pass it off as a real one on some unsuspecting investor I see nothing wrong with it whatsoever. Excuse me but what really pisses me off is those times when someone is proudly showing off their clone that they have worked so hard on when some idiot makes it a point to say out loud, "That's not a REAL Shelby." as if they are "Mr Expert". Imitation may indeed be the highest form of flattery but jealousy is in fact the lowest form of self esteem I can think of.

Anyone that knows me knows my love of everything automotive and how many years I have enjoyed all forms of working in the automotive field on both stock and performance endeavors. With regards to performance there is nothing lacking on Lucky that can be found on any "real" Shelby and I would welcome anyone willing to go as many laps door to door on any road course as they would like to compare those claims. Since I built Lucky with my own two hands and out of respect to the awesome machines that Carroll built not to mention all those great drivers and teams that raced them into the history books I have decided to call Lucky a "GF350" and for those who have a problem with someone building or owning a clone, they can kiss my royal butt. PS: My other car is REAL Shelby. LOL.

I would like to thank Anthony my son in law for the excellent job he did installing the side stripes.