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The first year for a big block Shelby Mustang. Ford had changed the Mustang body, making it larger to hold a big block motor to compete with the strong competition. Ford put a 390 in the Mustang, Shelby used the Ford 428.
This 1967 Shelby GT-500, #703 is Brittany Blue w/Parchment comfort weave interior.
The GT 500 came with a hydraulic lifter, police interceptor 428 cid. The cam used in this 428 was later used in the 1968 Cobra Jet 428. The GT 500 came from the factory with a medium-riser aluminum intake manifold were two Holley 650 cfm carbs setting on top. The carbs came with progressive linkage with vacuum secondaries. On top of the carbs was a special finned aluminum oval air cleaner, very similar to the one Shelby American used on the dual quad 427 motors. The first GT 500’s air cleaners did not have COBRA letters on the top. All GT 500’s came with mandatory optional power steering and power brakes. This model 428 was rated as having 355 horsepower. The Ford 427 was listed an optional big block engine for 1967. However, very few if any GT 500’s actually left the factory with the 427. There is not documentation indicating any GT 500’s with a 427.
The acceleration of the GT 500’s was strong from the 428. But the handling suffered from the extra 176 pounds in the front end. The weight ratio was 57%/43%. The car tended to plow in the corners, making it a handful at speed. The SAAC registry makes the comment that the newer Mustangs have a similar weight ratio yet do not have this issue suggesting that the suspension of this car was not tuned properly to accommodate the extra weight. The small block GT 350 handled much better in the corners but suffered from the loss of a 100 horse power. Perhaps the best combination would’ve been a GT 350 with a Paxton supercharger.
The GT 500 was available with a Ford Toploader 4 speed or a C-6 Ford automatic transmission.
The public wanted more boulevard racers rather than street racers, like the prior years. The sales of the 1967 Shelby Mustangs were six times more than the 1966 models. Buyers wanted style, comfort, power steering and brakes, even air conditioning over “all-out” performance. But buyers also wanted horsepower indicated by the sales of 2,048 GT 500’s versus 1,175 GT 350’s.
Read more about the 1967 Shelby Mustangs or about the 1967 GT 350.
