Shelby: A Namesake

Jun 30

Shelby changed my oil on our first date, and in exchange, I had agreed to photograph one of his cars. It took a year for me to hold up my end of the bargain, but Shelby is quite meticulous about the way his car looks. I'd have to wait several hours for him to clean it.

Because his birthday was coming up, however, I finally made it a priority to capture these shots.

Shelby's parents named him after the Shelby Mustang when he was born in 1987, because they figured that they'd never be able to afford one. Over 20 years later, his grandfather ended up buying a 2008 vista blue convertible model, which is one of 798.

He decided to customize it, adding chrome accents, more Shelby logos, and a super charger to the engine. This boosted the engine by about 150 horsepower.

Shelby's grandfather passed away in 2012, leaving Shelby with The Shelby.

The first day Shelby took his new car for a drive, automobile designer Carroll Shelby passed away. We hope this isn't a harbinger.

Shelby will only take it out on sunny days, hoping it will never see rain. With his high standards and typical five hour cleaning routine, Shelby's won a few trophies at car shows, and his grandfather has as well.

After changing my oil on our first date, Shelby took me for a ride. Since then, we always take it on road trips and even grocery shopping, unless- of course- it's supposed to rain. The women of Fairbanks Scales are always impressed when Shelby drives it to work, as he'll typically lay down some rubber on their lunch break.

When his grandfather had it, the plate was SHELBE. Seeing as the name was all over the car, Shelby changed the plate to answer one of his frequently asked questions. Many people assume the car is the well known Shelby GT 500, but Shelby's model is different, having a base 319 horsepower, more with the supercharger.