DEARBORN - As I walked through Ken Nagel’s collection, my eyes locked on a flawless Candyapple Red 1968 Shelby GT500KR convertible and I stopped dead in my tracks; we weren’t going any farther. Nestled among several convertibles from the 1950’s and ’60’s was this sparkling Shelby – one of my all-time favorite muscle cars. I tried to play it cool as we made our way over to get a closer look. Ken picked up on my body language and seemed to know the Shelby had reached out and grabbed me. Smiling, he asked, “Want to see under the hood?”

When he opened the hood, I stepped back to take it all in. Before me was one of the cleanest engine bays I’d ever laid eyes on. The 428 Cobra Jet engine was stunning. Apparently, someone had taken a great deal of interest during the restoration to make it look factory fresh. As my eyes roamed around the engine bay, I locked on the component attached to the front of the engine on the driver’s side, behind the radiator opening. Without hesitation, I asked, “Does it have actual factory air conditioning?” Nagel nodded his head and said, “Yes. It’s one-of-six with factory-installed A/C.”

Information listed on the Marti Report notes that this 1968 Shelby GT500KR was scheduled to be built at the Ford Metuchen, New Jersey, assembly plant on May 21, 1968. The convertible rolled off the line two days late, on May 23. After a trip to Ionia, Michigan, for the Shelby treatment, it was shipped to Jim Aikey Ford in Des Plaines, Illinois.

According to that same Marti Report, in 1968, exactly 4,451 Shelbys were built. Of the total GT500KRs produced, 318 were convertibles (although some sources cite that 518 were produced in 1968); 267 were fitted with four-speed manual transmissions; 43 were finished in Candyapple Red paint; 38 had Black Décor Bucket Seat Interiors; and 25 had white convertible tops. Of those, only six came with air conditioners (all 6 were identical). One of the six was shipped to a dealer in the Midwest. THIS IS THE ONE!

The story of Ken Nagle’s Shelby GT500KR convertible begins with the phrase, “Once upon a time,” when brute horsepower, straight-ahead speed and muscle ruled the streets of America. Ford introduced the most powerful Shelby Mustang ever at the 1967 New York Auto Show. Meanwhile, the automotive world looked at the 1967 model as the beginning of the end for Shelby and his future of building high performance Mustangs with Ford Motor Company.

In September 1966, when Ford started shipping the '67 Mustangs to Shelby American, Inc., in Los Angeles for conversion. Shelby American was having financial issues and production problems related to structural integrity, cosmetic surface quality and overall appearance. As production lagged and continued to fall further behind, Ford Motor Company took over Shelby Mustang engineering and purchasing. A company in Ionia, Michigan, called the A.O. Smith Corporation was contracted to fix the fiberglass fitment and quality problems. Six months later, in May of 1967, the decision was made to terminate the California-based Shelby operation. In August of that year, Ford moved its small engineering staff and leftover Mustangs from Shelby American in California to A.O. Smith Corporation’s multi-level production facility in Ionia.

The 1968 Shelby Mustangs were only built for nine months. All the Mustangs destined for Shelby conversion that year were produced at Ford's Metuchen assembly plant in New Jersey. The cars were shipped by rail to A.O. Smith. The "knockdown" Mustangs were shipped in running condition; some had stock Mustang hoods, and some had fiberglass. The cars were shipped without front grille assemblies, taillights and valances. All the cars had steel wheels.

The 1968 Shelby Cobra GT500KR was a mid-year introduction based on the 1968 Shelby GT500. Ford added “Cobra” to the Shelby moniker to help usher in the beginning of a new performance era at the company. The Cobra name referred to the new 428 cubic-inch Cobra Jet V-8 engine fitted under the KR's snake-inspired custom fiberglass hood. It was an engine designed to vault the Mustang to the head of the pack. Ford rated the horsepower at 335, with 440 pounds-feet of torque. Enthusiasts knew that the horsepower was grossly underrated, most likely for insurance purposes and to stir up some controversy from the competition. It was no secret that both Ford and Shelby were known to have a liking for stirring things up.

“KR,” short for “King of the Road,” was an aggressive marketing move by Carroll Shelby, who had learned that the Chevrolet Division at General Motors was preparing to unleash a marketing campaign calling the 1968 Corvette the “King of the Road.” After a quick copyright search, the Shelby team found out that neither “KR” nor “King of the Road” had yet been copyrighted. Stickers, graphics, photos and decals were quickly made by Shelby, and his team then placed them on the new GT500 – and the “Shelby Cobra GT500KR” was born. 

Ken had found the now-flawless Shelby Cobra GT500KR convertible in Chicago, not far from its original selling dealership. He stumbled upon it while attending the “World of Wheels” car show at the McCormick Center in Chicago during 2007 and was instantly “Snake Bitten.” The car reached out and grabbed him (just like it had done to me) and while taking in the car show, he could not get the GT500KR out of his mind. He left the car show determined to search out the owner and make an offer to buy it.

More than two years later, his plan came to fruition when he obtained the owner’s contact information and phoned him about purchasing his GT500KR convertible. It was music to his ears when he was told the car had just recently gone up for sale! The two struck a deal immediately. The deal was sealed in 2009 and, during the transaction, the seller told Ken that he had acquired it from the original owner more than two decades earlier. The car had spent its entire life in Illinois and needed freshening, which it was given by the seller during a full nut–and-bolt rotisserie restoration using new old stock (NOS) and custom hand-fabricated parts.  

Ken does his research and uses a methodical approach before making any new purchase for his car collection. Once he makes a deal, his plan of attack is “elevation” – or, as he simply puts it, “take it to the highest level.” Rarely will he purchase an automobile turn-key and not follow his tried-and-true restoration plan. Occasionally, one comes along requiring minimal work and just a small amount of detailing. Such was the case of this 1968 Shelby GT500KR convertible.

Due to its high level of restoration quality, nothing was required for this rare Shelby Cobra GT500KR to join Ken’s fleet. Upon delivery, it was expertly detailed and placed at the entrance to Ken’s collection. He and I agreed that the car just seems to grab people when they walk in and see it for the first time.

The lucky few who’ve had the opportunity to spend time with Ken Nagel and his car collection would certainly agree that he only allows the best-of-the-best to enter the doors of his collection. Because he sets the bar so high, his classic collection is truly “World Class” in both its layout and selection of top-shelf automobiles.

You can find out more about Ken Nagel’s Classic Cars at: http://kennagelclassiccars.com/

FORD PERFORMANCE PHOTOS COURTESY AL ROGERS / FREEZE FRAME IMAGE