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If you acquired a late friend’s classic Shelby GT500 that was set for a restoration, what would you do with it? Some might see it through with a complete concours restoration, while others might just sell it for the cash. Alan Tindell, of Tinspeed Performance, had other plans. He wondered what the man himself might have built if he were around today?
The result is the beautiful beast you see here, which we spotted on the first day of Mustang Week Texas presented by Ford and LMR during the Track Day presented by TREMEC. Not only was it a striking Shelby, but one peek under the hood revealed an unexpected powerplant, as engine swaps are a specialty at his shop.
This 1968 Shelby GT500 grabbed our attention during Mustang Week Texas presented by Ford and LMR at the Track Day presented by TREMEC held at Motor Speedway Resort outside Houston, Texas. From the outside, it exudes classic style, but underneath it sports modern performance. (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Alan Tindell)
Long before he restomodded this ride, Tindell fell in love with automobiles how many of us did — by seeing them at home.
“I grew up with cars everywhere at my home. My first car as a teenager was a 1948 Willys Overland Panel Wagon, and my dad had a yard full of ’50s cars. We are all car nuts,” Tindell said. “…I grew up a GM guy, but in 2011 I bought a California Special and drove that car 160,000 miles and still have it. I fell in love with the way it drove, and since then, I have bought eight more and haven’t sold any of them. My goal is to have one from each era.”
Alan Tindell, the main man at Tinspeed Performance in Temple, Texas, acquired this Shelby GT500 after the friend who planned to restore it passed away. Rather than restoring it in a concours-correct fashion, he set out to build it with the mantra: “What Would Shelby Do?” (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Alan Tindell)
Saving The Shelby
Buying that one car made such an impact on his life that Tindell could easily be considered a Ford guy these days, and that’s what his shop focuses on. “I love the Ford stuff, so I’ll try to stick to that,” he said.
This 1968 Shelby GT500 is a legendary Blue Oval machine, so it fits that mantra nicely. However, the project came into his hands under tragic circumstances.
“Forrest Sanco, an avid Mustang fanatic, owned the car. Unfortunately, he disappeared over the Atlantic in his private plane while traveling on his honeymoon to the Bahamas,” Tindell said. “Forrest was restoring three cars at the time, and his best friend, John Patrick, saved the cars. I purchased them from John and restored both cars.”
To follow through with his restomod mission, Tindell chose a Godzilla 7.3-liter V8 swap before they were cool. To the modern pushrod powerplant, he added ported heads, a Stage 2 camshaft, and a Brian Tooley Racing intake manifold. Under the sway of a Holley Terminator X EFI system, this monster powerplant cranks out 438 horsepower at the rear wheels.
Taking over the title under those circumstances might have made going in the restomod direction more daunting if Tindell hadn’t already revived the second car to its original form.
“I restored the Boss 302 (Forrest’s high school daily driver) to Concours condition, and after that very challenging project, we decided that we wanted to do something special with the Shelby,” Tindell shared. “Everyone restores them back to original, but what would Carroll Shelby do if he had yesterday’s car and today’s technology? Following that ‘What Would Shelby Do?’ theme, we went wild.”
Inside, the Shelby GT500 follows the same theme of subtle modifications that deliver modern results. Tindell revamped the cockpit with a Dark Brown custom leather treatment. He admits that Shelby would likely have forgone the leather upholstery, but the results are undeniably fetching, as is the one-piece headliner.
What Would Shelby Do?
In this case, he went wild like the King of Monsters flattening a city. Instead of opting for a classic engine, Tindell chose Ford’s latest pushrod powerplant, the 7.3-liter Godzilla V8, which Ford engineered to power its Super Duty pickups. Not content with its factory output, he upgraded the engine for even more power.
“For the motor, Shelby would have gone with a big-block pushrod V8, and so did we,” Tindell said. “We bought a 7.3-liter Godzilla and put in a Stage 2 cam, ported and polished the heads, and topped it with a BTR intake.”
Tindell also added a custom audio system with a modern, double-DIN head unit. That shift handle actuates a TREMEC TKX five-speed manual that better harnesses the output of the monster motor underhood while offering smooth shifting befitting of a restomod like this one.
The result was robust 438 horsepower and 485 lb-ft of torque to the wheels, but Tindell isn’t quite satisfied with the output. As with most projects, it is never really complete, so he may eventually install a camshaft that is better suited to the Godzilla’s current configuration.
“We should have gone with the Stage 3 cam because we locked the variable valve timing down, and without it, the engine won’t rev, but you have to have a separate controller for that,” Tindell confessed. “We were one of the first ones to do this. We did this swap over a year ago. We’ll likely eventually put the Stage 3 cam in it, and it’ll do well over 500 to the wheels once you do that.”
Supporting Cast
Even though there might be more power left on the table, as it sits, this classic Shelby GT500 already exceeds its original configuration when it comes to the driving experience. Tindell describes its driveabilty as “perfect,” which can, in part, be attributed to the fuel-injection system.
“We are using the Holley Terminator X. It’s a lot easier than going through all the headaches with having all the PATS removed and programming a factory ECU, but obviously, with this setup, you’re gonna run the standard transmission behind it,” Tindell said.
Total Control Products G-Link coil-overs plant the Godzilla power, while four-wheel disc brakes rein in this restomod.
Of course, that’s just what he did (and what Shelby would likely have wanted as well), as Tindell opted for a TREMEC TKX five-speed manual transmission that funnels all that Godzilla muscle back to a Ford 9-inch rearend fitted with an Eaton TruTrac differential that transfers the grunt to 17-inch Shelby wheels wrapped in Continental Extreme Contact 255/45-17 rubber at all four corners.
Planting that larger rubber is a fortified chassis and suspension designed to support the modern powerplant and maximize its traction.
Texas 10 Contender
“We upgraded the front suspension with an AJE cross-member and dual adjustable coil-overs. This allowed us to save the shock towers in the car, which we felt was important since it was a real Shelby,” Tindell said. “We used a power rack from LMR, then we went with Total Control Products G-Link coil-over in the rear. We added subframe connectors and X-braces to tie it all together. It is basically a Pro Touring setup, and we think Shelby would have loved it.”
All told, this Shelby GT500 is far from how it was delivered in the late ’60s but much closer to the kind of machine that Carroll Shelby might have delivered if he could have deployed modern technology under that classic styling. And that’s just what Tindell had in mind.
This build might not be for the purists, but it stood out to us at the inaugural Mustang Week Texas during the Track Day presented by TREMEC. As such, it earned a spot in the Ford Muscle Texas 10, a single-eliminator contest voted for on the Ford Muscle Facebook and Instagram pages. So, keep an eye out for stories on the other Texas 10 contestants, and be sure to vote for your favorites.
The Mustang that emerges victorious will be crowned the Ford Muscle Texas 10 Champion and receive a custom piece of wall art featuring their winning ride — an epic badge of honor for any Mustang enthusiast.
