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Out of the Dust: 1969 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Found after 40 Years

Goes up for auction on April 25th

It’s things like this that make me rethink the whole living on an editor’s salary thing.

Reportedly, a 1969 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 428 Cobra Jet (pause to take a breath if reading aloud) was uncovered in a garage, where it sat for over forty years, still in perfect condition save for the layer of dust it was coated in. It will, alas, be auctioned off to someone who very obviously does not work on an editor’s salary.

The owner of the car, Larry A. Brown, who passed away last year, had never even given his car a bath because he was afraid of scratching the paint or causing his iconic muscle car to rust. He purchased the Mustang back on May 9, 1969, for just a little over $5K. Brown only drove the car through 1973, however, and stored it in his garage with only 8,531 carefully driven miles recorded on the odometer. Brown had no wife or kids to leave his estate to, so all of his belongings, including the 1969 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, will be going to auction.

Ron Gilligan Auctioneers will be hosting the auction (but if you’re reading this at the time of publishing, good luck trying to access their website—it’s been down ever since I started investigating because of the huge swarms of gearheads trying to learn more). The auction will be held on April 25th.

According to the auctioneers, the ’69 Mustang is powered by a 428 Cobra Jet engine paired with a four-speed transmission. The muscle car still maintains its original belts and hoses, steering wheel cover, spark plug wires, and exterior paint, although after skeptics raised their doubts about the tires, an old friend of Mr. Brown confirmed that Brown did indeed change the tires once, though the wheels are the originals.

Nevertheless, Yahoo Autos! states that cars that boast many more miles in much less original condition sell for over $100,000, so I can only imagine how much this baby will sell for. The sheer hype alone should generate enough car lust to spike the price to extreme heights.

While the 1969 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 is the most noteworthy classic, two other Fords will be going to auction as well: a 1971 Ford Ranchero (53,000 miles) and a 1974 Ford Econoline Custom 100 van (554 miles).