And they did – fortunately there’s a series of now somewhat ubiquitous photos of the unpainted aluminum-bodied roadster sitting in Garage 1 (that being the first garage space next to Moon’s offices) awaiting its new Ford motor. In addition to Carroll, there was a small group of guys (several in Moon T-shirts) seen hanging around the yawning engine bay, and photos of the engine being dropped in, and finally in situ. In these great shots, the body still wears an AC badge on its nose, as well as “Powered by Ford” badges on its front fenders. The engine looks little more exotic than that in an average Falcon, wearing a single four-barrel carb, and standard stamped-steel valve covers lettered with BHP-260-1. This nomenclature is fascinating, as the engine may have been 260 cubic inches, but it’s doubtful it yet produced 260 BHP (Brake HorsePower) and the “-1” certainly indicates which of the two engines given to Shelby by Ford’s Lee Iacocca was the first one into the engine bay. Clearly, A Star Was Born.

While much of the Moon property is still an active production facility and machine shop, also has somewhat of a museum-ish feel to it, with a positively killer gift and goodie shop (neat and well-organized, and positively packed to the gills) and other spaces that display older Moon products and other engine and racing parts. Mooneyes is open Monday through Saturday, with brief tours free for the asking, with no reservations needed. Pay this place a visit; you’ll enjoy it. Several photos of Carroll and the first Cobra under build are dotted around the shops. And even if you want a set of Moon 18- or 19-inch spun-aluminum wheel discs for a Tesla, they have them.


Shelby American offices, race shop, and Mustang and Cobra production facility, 6501 W. Imperial Hwy., El Segundo, CAOne of the most famous early Shelby American properties, was this big, sprawling building and property backing up to the south runways of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), where a significant number of Mustangs were transformed into GT350s and GT500s. It was also recreated and celebrated in somewhat sensationalized form in Ford v Ferrari. It’s a little harder to recognize today, as no Shelby identification to its history remains, and the buildings have been added-on to and expanded a bit -- it’s all now a cargo warehouse for Nippon Cargo Airways.

During our brief stop for a look and photos, one employee came out to say hello and look at our car, commenting that “Shelby Mustang clubs come by all the time for a little pop-up car show, to have a look, take some pictures, and do a few doughnuts in the parking lot.” Several good photos exist inside of the Imperial Highway facility, along with one particularly famous photo of rows and rows of white, recently completed ’65 GT350s awaiting final details and shipping to dealers. In the same shot, at the top behind the cars, you’ll see the sound-break walls that separate the Shelby shops from the airport, as well as airplanes on the flight line, and even some of the buildings of LAX off in the distance. That’s just the way things got done in the 1960s when Carroll Shelby was in charge, running the store and making the deals.