When Ford began to get more involved in Shelby American’s affairs in 1966, it at least picked the right man to send to Shelby as that company’s new chief engineer, Fred Goodell. A hot rodder at heart, Goodell built many a souped-up Mustang for the Shelby works, including the fuel-injected and independent rear suspension-equipped one-off Green Hornet, which Barrett-Jackson recently announced will cross the block at its Scottsdale auction.
Officially known as the EXP 500, the Green Hornet’s genesis began with another Goodell-built car, a 1967 Mustang hardtop that he called Li’l Red. Fitted with Shelby decor and a Paxton-supercharged 428, Li’l Red eventually served as the template for the Mustang GT/California Special and very nearly became the template for a similar national version of the California Special. Ford in fact built two prototypes for a national version, including a Lime Gold 1968 Mustang hardtop with Deluxe interior and a 390/C6 drivetrain (VIN 8F01S104288), before round-filing the idea.
That Lime Gold hardtop then made its way to Shelby’s facility – at the time located in Ionia, Michigan – after Ford canceled its program. Goodell likely had a hand in the transfer, and once it arrived in Shelby’s shops, he tore into it. He replaced the 390 with a 428 Cobra Jet V-8 topped with a Conelec electronic fuel-injection system – Ford was already testing the systems to see how they would meet upcoming emissions regulations, so it was little trouble for Goodell to secure a system – and replaced the stock C6 with a C6 built to F350 specifications. He then swapped out the live rear axle for an independent rear suspension based around a Ford 9-inch center section and a cradle that bolted into the rear leaf spring mounts. Rear disc brakes and a full Shelby front suspension rounded out Goodell’s mechanical modifications, while darker gold-flecked green paint and a black vinyl top gave it some visual pop.
Goodell’s modifications reportedly endowed the Green Hornet with a 5.7-second 0-60 time and 157 MPH top speed, but yet again the ideas embodied in the prototype didn’t reach production. Unlike most prototype and experimental cars, however, the Green Hornet survived the scrapper: A Ford employee named Robert Zdanowski bought the Green Hornet – sans its EFI and IRS – but sold it six months later to Don Darrow, a Ford dealer in Cheboygan, Michigan. Darrow and his son Randy would later confirm the Green Hornet’s identity with Fred Goodell and restore it using a scratch-built IRS built to Goodell’s specifications along with a Holley ProJection EFI system (Goodell rounded up some components of another Conelec EFI system for the Darrows). It then passed through the hands of Steve Davis, president of Barrett-Jackson, before it made its way into the collection of Craig Jackson, who owned it at the time Jeff Koch photographed it for an article that appeared in Hemmings Muscle Machines #36, September 2006.
Jackson will run the Greet Hornet across the Barrett-Jackson block as part of the auction’s Salon Collection, which means that it will run with a reserve. Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction will take place January 13-20. For more information, visit Barrett-Jackson.com.
UPDATE: Barrett-Jackson sent over these two additional photos of the Green Hornet.
Such awesome foresight by Goodell. Sad that those in power @ Ford didn’t build these for the public. One off cars are nice…now for “collectors”, but imagine seeing some of these scooting around town or at the drags.
I saw this car several years ago at a Shelby National Convention, it was very nice. It has also been featured in “The Shelby American,” the SAAC club magazine.
This car spent time in Elmira, NY on Gould St. At the home of my childhood friend Chris Long. His father was the President of Conelec Fuel Injection. This car had a distinct note that we could tell from blocks away. I never personally drooled on this car but the sweat from my tongue can probably still be found on there! BTW we didn’t know that the Ford Factory codenamed this as the Green Hornet; we the neighborhood kids thought we were clever giving it that name! I had numerous pictures of this car, all we’re lost in the flood of 72!
The dash looks like it has/had air conditioning but there is nothing under the hood. . . . ?
I guess just another mark of a heavily modified car.
Besides the VIN and history, it doesnt seem like there are many special changes that any restorer could not build the same thing in their own garage.
Nice, but it is not the same as a motorama show car!
[…] Green Hornet: Shelby’s one-off experimental Mustang heads to auction From Hemmings blog http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2…ds-to-auction/ Reply With […]
I noticed that part too..I also noticed that the Barret Jackson fees have been creeping back also…at one point they were 14% charged to the seller plus 14% added to the buyers bill…before this madness the standard commission was 6% to each end…I predicted that these insane prices have to come down sooner or later…..can’t wait for the prices to match the 1983 numbers when you could buy a 428 Mach 1 for 3 paychecks…..I can dream can’t I…
It is really a sad indictment how so many are so impressed by people with ore money than brains and are proud they paid more than anyone else. In the “old” days collectors marveled and laughed about the inflated “Hershey” prices, referring to the prices at the fall Hershey Swap meet. Times change, but egos don’t!
Never warmed to Shelby “styling”. They look like pieces that were glued on that were laying around the shop. They quit when they had nothing left to glue on or ran out of glue.
Nothing wrong with what’s underneath, but that is a homely car. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Knowing what the car is worth doesn’t make it prettier.
Shelby did the same thing with that Aurora engine joke Series 1. Didn’t know when to quit.
Why does the rear sidelight on the passenger side appear to point down? The drivers side is straight.
I’ve always wondered why the muscle cars of this era were jacked up and not lowered, compared to the more sedate versions of the same car. This car would look spectacular(er) if it were lowered about 2 inches.
The Tail Lights are a Bit Gaudy , and if they are sequential like the Cougars it might lessen the situation . On Performance tough I’d like to see this go out and Blow Off some Rice Burners etc. ..
I’ll bet it goes for a high premium price, would not even guess how much! I have never owned a Mustang but working in that. Fastest ride I ever had in one was many years ago when a mechanic friend of mine came by to show what he had just “built”. It was a simple ’66 coupe, all stock looking. But, he had put a lot of hot stuff in it, big cam, special heads, headers, dual glass packs, big 4 barrel, custom intake and more plus a 4 speed. It had a nasty lope at idle and took off like a dragster!! He went through the gears and let off at almost a 100mph. [I was sorta’ glad of that!!] Oh, the road was out in the country but really smooth, it was his drag strip along with many others, there were big and some were long burn out strips all over the place. What fun!.
I don’t have a 60’s vintage Mustang but I know some of the readers here do. This is a voice over slide show video, it’s done by a company that sells conversion kits for your 64-66 Mustangs. It’s a bit dry, but it’s pretty straight forward process.
This is a great article. If you are building a hot rod from scratch or you are taking your muscle car to a modern level you will find some good information in this piece. I toyed with the idea of putting a modern manual 5 speed trans in my 70 Mustang, but I opted for a rebuild Shelby 4 speed manual. (Check out all 3 parts.)
Derided as “slushboxes” in the days when hot rodding was young, automatic transmissions have long since closed the performance gap and won the respect of (at least some of) the most dedicated lead foots. Today, even the fuel-economy advantages of the old-standard stick shift are more memory than reality, as the shiftless set has drawn even with, or pulled slightly ahead of, the shifters. Backing up these advances is a great deal of detailed engineering, especially of the electronic variety.
But a lot of it’s simply due to more gears—a wider range of ratios, allowing for relaxed, low-rpm cruising with peak torque still available on demand. About 10 years ago, a four-speed automatic with a lockup converter was the hot ticket to optimize performance with economy. Now the OEMs are building five-, six- and seven-speed automatics—and hot rodders want them, too.
Not that the shift-for-yourself crowd has been caught napping—six gears are now the required minimum in any respectable OEM performance car, and that’s left three-pedal rodders craving more ratios, too.
More Is Better
“Enthusiasts in every segment of the hot rod and muscle car markets are removing traditional three-speed gearboxes and replacing them with modern four-, five- and six-speed transmissions,” said Stanley Poff, who heads product and sales for TCI Automotive in Ashland, Mississippi. “As they experience modern overdrive automatics in their daily drivers, they become more inclined to want the same driving experience in their hot rods.”
TCI’s new 6x Six-Speed can be adapted to most GM small-block, big-block or LS engines; Ford small and big blocks; and Chrysler small blocks, big blocks and late-model Hemis.
“We build it in a modified GM 4L80E case that’s been machined to accept modular bellhousings, and we keep all of the Reid Racing bellhousings in stock,” Poff said. “We can put together a complete package for all of those applications, including the transmission, bellhousing, EZ-TCU electronic control, cooler, shifter (conventional and/or paddle-type), TCI transmission fluid and a dipstick.”
TCI currently offers the 6x in two models, rated for 850 and 1,000 horsepower, respectively. Models for 1,250 and 1,500 horsepower are in the works, according to Poff.
The market has also responded well to the company’s EZ-TCU, he said.
“It allows you to retrofit a modern electronically controlled automatic transmission, such as our 6x, or the GM 4L60E, 4L65E, 4L70E, 4L80E or 4L85E, to a carbureted engine, or an engine with a self-tuning EFI system such as the FAST EZ-EFI,” Poff said.
TCI worked with FAST to develop the EZ-TCU.
“It follows the FAST model of being extremely user-friendly and easy to install even by people who lack either tuning or electronics experience,” Poff said. “We sell a lot of EZ-TCU units to people who want to put a crate engine and electronic transmission in a classic street rod or muscle car.”
Pete Nichols, sales manager for Hughes Performance in Phoenix, pointed to the classic muscle car market, where “more and more people are building these cars with significantly higher-than-stock levels of horsepower and torque,” he said. “That requires a premium, high-strength aftermarket torque converter and transmission assembly.”
To meet these demands, Hughes now builds all of its GM 700R-4, 200-4R and Ford AOD transmissions with the upgraded, constant-pressure valve bodies.
“These valve bodies contribute to improved shift quality and more consistent shift timing, while reducing the possibility of premature transmission failure due to a broken or incorrectly adjusted throttle-valve (TV) cable,” Nichols explained. “The new design also eliminates a lot of the complexity and hassle associated with the TV system on these transmissions, so retrofitting them into older cars is easier than before.”
Hughes has also introduced a custom bellhousing system that allows builders to bolt the popular GM 4L80E behind a wide variety of GM, Ford and Chrysler engines without using an adapter. The company offers custom 4L80E options for applications producing 500–1,500-plus flywheel horsepower, and for virtually any popular V-8 engine.
Nichols emphasized the need to properly flush the transmission cooler and cooler lines before installing a new torque converter.
“Debris gets easily trapped in the old cooler and then it gets flushed out during the initial run-in period, inevitably working its way into the valve body, governor, etc.,” he said, adding that getting a new cooler is the best way to prevent debris-related failures.
1976 I was a senior in high school, that was the year I had my first tasting of racing – not legal. My ’66 Impala against a Mustang ( a 1973 Mach I) and I got dusted, well almost, the knuckle head (he was a friend) stopped for a red light, I didn’t. My little 283, 2bbl engine (about 195 hp) was hauling about the same curb weight as the Mach I with its 351 CJ engine (about 266 hp) the outcome was certain. But traffic lights are the great equalizer!!!
But would it have had a different outcome if I was racing the new’s Mustang offering for 1976? Let’s see.
If looks were matched with speed, the 1976 Mustang would open of a can of whoop a$$ on my plain jane Impala. With the look of the Stallion Trim or the Cobra II you’d think they were carrying a no less than a V6 and hopefully a V8.
Cobra II
A spin on the original Hurtz rental Mustang.
Cobra II in Blue
Stallion Trim Package for 1976 (I’ve seen this paint job on a couple of Pintos too.)
But underneath the Shelby type exterior or the Hurtz type color palate the cool exterior lay a 4 cylinder engine, nothing special. But with Carrol Shelby’s endorsements and Farrah Fawcett driving one on TV the Cobra II (which was intended to be limited to only 5,000 units) sold over 25k units.
But with the best engine you could shove under the hood, my 283 would’ve made pretty easy work of the 1976 Mustang.
This whole custom Retrobuilt seems to be all the rage lately from the Reversion Mustang at SEMA to the new GT500 CS convertible conversion. If you don’t know who Retrobuilt is, it’s a Official Licensee of Carroll Shelby Licensing, Inc. They specialize in S197 Mustangs from 2005-2011 and turn them into a modern classic by using custom fiberglass panels, true steel bumpers, door handles, rear window louvers, Shelby wheels, custom exhaust and retro tail covers. Every car built by Retrobuilt includes a serial number, dash plaque and Certificate of Authenticity.
However, another one just made an appearance on eBay motors in the form of a 2010 Mustang turned old school Boss 302. From the front it may seem to be an old school Boss 302, until you realize that the body is a bit different and then get a glance of that rear. Body panels added to this car go over the doors but replace the front hood and fenders. The rear deck lid panel is new and you can see that it also features the black hockey stick Boss stripes. The front and rear chrome bumpers are both from a 1969 Mustang. A good 58 lbs. have been lost and some of the weight has been transferred to the rear.
The interior features red leather seats and the same pattern is also on the door panels. The seats supposedly have no wear or tear and are in good condition, as well as the headliner and carpeting. Under the hood is the stock V8 complete with shaker hood with 34,973 miles logged on the odometer. This car is still under warranty until the end of September and the title obviously states that this is a 2010 Mustang.
What do you think of this retro Boss? Drop me a note.
I, personally, like it, in an odd sort of way. I’d have to see in it person.
That thing rocks; beautiful. Should go for a good buck.
In today,s market a one off car with bulletproof provenance will undoubtably sell over 1 million.
Anyone know what happened to “Little Red?”
Reportedly it’s been crushed.
I predict that by the year 2000, all Mustangs will have independent rear suspension.
Such awesome foresight by Goodell. Sad that those in power @ Ford didn’t build these for the public. One off cars are nice…now for “collectors”, but imagine seeing some of these scooting around town or at the drags.
Rear suspension looks fresh out of high school metal shop!
I saw this car several years ago at a Shelby National Convention, it was very nice. It has also been featured in “The Shelby American,” the SAAC club magazine.
I suspect it’ll end up in Ron Prattes garage.
He’ll just keep his hand in the air til Spanky says,
“Sold”!
I guess what really stands out in the article is that when it comes to his own vehicle, Craig Jackson is selling his car WITH A RESERVE!
This car spent time in Elmira, NY on Gould St. At the home of my childhood friend Chris Long. His father was the President of Conelec Fuel Injection. This car had a distinct note that we could tell from blocks away. I never personally drooled on this car but the sweat from my tongue can probably still be found on there! BTW we didn’t know that the Ford Factory codenamed this as the Green Hornet; we the neighborhood kids thought we were clever giving it that name! I had numerous pictures of this car, all we’re lost in the flood of 72!
The dash looks like it has/had air conditioning but there is nothing under the hood. . . . ?
I guess just another mark of a heavily modified car.
Besides the VIN and history, it doesnt seem like there are many special changes that any restorer could not build the same thing in their own garage.
Nice, but it is not the same as a motorama show car!
[…] Green Hornet: Shelby’s one-off experimental Mustang heads to auction From Hemmings blog http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2…ds-to-auction/ Reply With […]
I noticed that part too..I also noticed that the Barret Jackson fees have been creeping back also…at one point they were 14% charged to the seller plus 14% added to the buyers bill…before this madness the standard commission was 6% to each end…I predicted that these insane prices have to come down sooner or later…..can’t wait for the prices to match the 1983 numbers when you could buy a 428 Mach 1 for 3 paychecks…..I can dream can’t I…
I meant the part about the reserve at the auction…I’m sure “you get me”….
It is really a sad indictment how so many are so impressed by people with ore money than brains and are proud they paid more than anyone else. In the “old” days collectors marveled and laughed about the inflated “Hershey” prices, referring to the prices at the fall Hershey Swap meet. Times change, but egos don’t!
Never warmed to Shelby “styling”. They look like pieces that were glued on that were laying around the shop. They quit when they had nothing left to glue on or ran out of glue.
Nothing wrong with what’s underneath, but that is a homely car. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Knowing what the car is worth doesn’t make it prettier.
Shelby did the same thing with that Aurora engine joke Series 1. Didn’t know when to quit.
Why does the rear sidelight on the passenger side appear to point down? The drivers side is straight.
I’ve always wondered why the muscle cars of this era were jacked up and not lowered, compared to the more sedate versions of the same car. This car would look spectacular(er) if it were lowered about 2 inches.
Not a bad looking car, but I’m torn……….A Shelby is either ‘vert’, or fastback.
The Tail Lights are a Bit Gaudy , and if they are sequential like the Cougars it might lessen the situation . On Performance tough I’d like to see this go out and Blow Off some Rice Burners etc. ..
Thye taillights are sequential and just like all ’68-’70 Shelbys they are ’65 T-bird units.
I’ll bet it goes for a high premium price, would not even guess how much! I have never owned a Mustang but working in that. Fastest ride I ever had in one was many years ago when a mechanic friend of mine came by to show what he had just “built”. It was a simple ’66 coupe, all stock looking. But, he had put a lot of hot stuff in it, big cam, special heads, headers, dual glass packs, big 4 barrel, custom intake and more plus a 4 speed. It had a nasty lope at idle and took off like a dragster!! He went through the gears and let off at almost a 100mph. [I was sorta’ glad of that!!] Oh, the road was out in the country but really smooth, it was his drag strip along with many others, there were big and some were long burn out strips all over the place. What fun!.