What goes on in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas.
04-14-08: It’s like the 1960’s all over again in a modest looking warehouse complex at the intersection of Speedway Boulevard and Interstate 15 in Las Vegas. The only indication that something special goes on here is the word “SHELBY” in blue letters at the top of the building. The more you look around you begin to notice an abnormally high ratio of Shelby Mustangs parked around the place. You are at the center of modern day Shelby history.
Inside these white buildings Ford Shelby Mustang GT-500 KR’s, SuperSnakes, Shelby 40th Anniversary Special Editions, and FIA Cobras are being built. After a vast expansion to accommodate the build of the Shelby GT and GT-H, the main shop has a sprawling collection of fifteen build stations that can each assemble two cars a day at full tilt. That is a total build capacity of 30 cars per day that can roll out of the facility when the need exists.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves here. A walk through Shelby Headquarters starts in the front office which also happens to be the Shelby Museum. Open to the public, several significant and historical Shelby cars are on display including Carroll’s first AC Cobra. Just off to the side is a gift shop where you can buy virtually anything that has a Shelby logo upon it. As you head past the public section toward the shop your first stop is an ante-room that sports thousands of signatures on the walls, bearing the identities of all who have come to visit the facility over the years.
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The shop of course the place where cars are born. With all the growth Shelby Automobiles has experienced, the company is actually spread out into a number of buildings on the campus. The first shop is where the new issue FIA Shelby Cobras are assembled. On any given day you will find a dozen or so of these iconic Roadsters in attendance, in various forms of completion. In this shop various components are assembled for both the FIA Cobras as well as the Shelby Mustangs.
Next door in the largest shop is where the Shelby Mustang GT-500 KR, SuperSnake, 40th Anniversary Editions, and GT’s come together. Very similar in form to the vintage photos of the Shelby shop of the 1960’s, you see several cars on lifts in various stages on completion. On our visit the shop was building both new GT-500 KR’s as well as adding the 40th Anniversary and SuperSnake packages to customer cars that are already titled. So we were able to see everything from the more OEM builds to full-blown track cars with all the options being constructed.
The build shop employs a group of highly trained technicians who are very proud of their work. They know very well their part in what will likely be a historical time in the modern muscle-car era. When they speak of their work and the processes involved with building these cars, you get a sense that each and every one of them have a mental ownership of the company and what comes out of the door. Quality is if course their number one concern, as they know very well that when it comes to high-end niche cars like these, it is everything to the owners.
For the GT-500KR, the build process starts at the Auto Alliance Plant in Flat Rock Michigan where the GT-500’s headed for Shelby are built differently from the others. The cars headed for Las Vegas get a special order code 54K, which comprised of several component deletes and option entries. This includes floor mat, rear spoiler, tape stripe deletes as the cars will be getting special versions of all these items. All the GT-500’s destined to be a KR also come equipped with an exclusive 3.73:1 rear axle ratio, HID headlamps, GT-500 premium interior trim, Shaker 1000 stereo, and the ambient lighting option.
The GT-500's are shipped via train to a railhead just a few miles from the Shelby shops. When the rather plain looking cars arrive they have a unique Ford window sticker that clearly states, “NOT LEGAL FOR SALE”. The cars can only be sold once they are finished out by Shelby Automobiles, are programmed with the special GT-500KR calibration, and have the Shelby Automobiles Window sticker installed.
Each car goes through a detailed inspection upon arrival to assure the integrity of the paint, looking it over for any imperfections or damage from shipping. From there it rolls into the big shop where all of the special GT-500 KR components and programming takes place. The shop is clean as a whistle and meets all the same specifications and OEM procedure guidelines as the Ford factory. In fact, the same “rattle and squeak” test track that is found at every Ford assembly plant has been duplicated at the Shelby shop. Each and every car that is built gets driven over the grueling test road filled with potholes, pavement joints and cobblestones to make sure there are no new noises or rattles. If there is, the noise is attacked and killed before the car is shipped.
Once all the new body and engine parts, stripes, and calibrations are installed the new GT-500KR’s and customer cars head for the final inspection area where the car is closely checked out in the “house of light” for any imperfections. The light booth is actually one of the same pieces of equipment that was used at the Ford Wixom, MI plant where the Ford GT final assembly took place. After a good look over, the car takes a ride up onto the alignment rack for a final dial in with the new suspension, tire and wheel packages.
The operation is a true marriage of the 1960’s era assembly shop and modern day manufacturing technology. While the hands on approach is a significant component of the build process, the construction of parts themselves is as high tech as it gets. Gone are the days when Shelby’s were known for ill fitting Fiberglas body parts. Modern day Shelby’s have highly precise carbon fiber fittiments that look, feel and fit better than most OEM body panels.
Carroll has set about putting together a world class operation that will be around long after as he says, “I go horizontal”. While his blunt style makes you pause, his words ring true. The people who comprise Shelby Automobiles today are at the top of their game. The partnership with Ford and the collaboration between the two companies runs deeper than meets the eye. We have no doubt that the team and their mission will be with us for a long time as will the legend of Carroll Shelby.
