Rare Convertible Muscle Car Hasn’t Been Driven in Nearly 40 Years
The Mustang Shelby GT500KR is known as the “King of the Road.” It’s a stretch to use that name for the car you see here. For the past 30 years, it’s been a “Prisoner in a Storage Container.”
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. This 1968 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR convertible – 1 of only 318, according to MSN – started life on June 20, 1968 at Ford’s Metuchen, New Jersey, assembly plant with Highland Green paint, deluxe black bucket seats, power steering and brakes, and a four-speed manual. That gearbox was connected to a 428 Cobra Jet with a “335 advertised horsepower rating” to please the insurance adjusters out there, wink wink.
The KR wound up being sold at a dealership in Nashville, Tennessee. Its current owner, Nelson Bandy, had tried to buy it from its former caretaker for years, when, finally, in 1978, Bandy got his chance to bring it home. He did…then parked it before the end of the year because he wanted to keep his rare vehicle from getting damaged. From that point on, it would not be driven again. (If you ask us, a Shelby Mustang going unused is an awful form of damage, too.) By 1987, the KR became a resident of one of Bandy’s storage containers. A long-term resident; the KR hasn’t left its boxy prison in 30 years. No burnouts, no roadtrips, no complaints from the neighbors about the noise from the rear pipes, no top-down drives. Nothing. A waste of everything that this car was capable of.
There is a silver lining to this tragic story of neglected potential, though. Bandy said, “The barn-find cars are really hot now, so I’m thinking I will get the car running as-is and attend a few of the local car shows.” We hope he does. This beast deserves its freedom.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
