Every Carroll Shelby story is the best Carroll Shelby story. Here's one of my favorites. -BB
Back in the 1960s, racing legend Carroll Shelby bought 112,000 acres of desert near the tiny border town of Terlingua, Texas. His plan was to create a resort for Southern California's elite, but when that fell through, Shelby moved his racing team headquarters there. Mostly they just rode motorbikes, ate chili, and shot at jackrabbits.
But they also built some incredibly successful racecars like the "flying Shelby" GT350R and Cobra roadster that Ken Miles raced.
When reminiscing about his days in Terlingua, Carroll Shelby once said, "Jerry Titus was the spark plug in that."
Jerry Titus was a jazz trumpeter-turned mechanic who impressed Shelby by repairing a Maserati for him. Shelby offered Titus a spot on his SCCA team, and Titus repaid him by winning the 1966 Trans-Am season finale at Riverside in a Shelby-prepped Mustang coupe. He followed that up in 1967 with five wins and 10 Top-5 finishes to win the Manufacturer's and Driver's Championships in the 1967 Terlingua Racing Team Shelby Mustang Coupe shown here.
Titus, nicknamed Mr. Trans-Am, was tragically killed in a practice session at Road America in 1970, but his legacy lives on more than 50 years later. Shelby American has produced modern Terlingua-inspired Mustangs - tributes to the "Gawdawful Yellow" car in which Titus won the 1967 Championship.
Jerry's son, Rick, picked up his father's mantle and took to racing Mustangs in the 1980s and 1990s. And like his father, Rick turned to automotive journalism. He's written for numerous automotive magazines and hosts the "Drivers Talk Radio" podcast.
But what brings this all full circle is that Rick now does work for Ford Country, a Ford dealership in Henderson, Nevada. And Ford Country hosts an annual Pinewood Derby race.
Well guess who loves Ford Mustangs, Carroll Shelby, and Pinewood Derby Racing?
That's right - ME! So I decided to build a car for next year's Ford Country 500 Pinewood Derby, and what better car than Rick's dad's Terlingua Mustang? Follow the build here!
Reference Photos
Jerry's car was different every time it it the track. Not only were the sponsor decals moved, but sometimes the headlight buckets were blacked out, sometimes there were stripes on the lower front valence, sometimes the meatball had a black outline, sometimes there was a strike through the 7... Basically the car never looked the same twice.
Sebring - March 31, 1967
Green Valley - April 16, 1967
Lime Rock - May 30, 1967
Bryar - August 6, 1967
Marlboro - August 12, 1967
Unknown Race
Build Photos
Our 1967 Mustang coupe body is here and PERFECT! I'll need to remove the fog lamps from the grille and the emblems from the grille, fenders, and decklid.
The wheels on the Terlingua Mustang were the iconic Torq Thrust II wheels from American Muscle, so I have to get those right. Luckily, the standard wheels from PineCar are a perfect match. I painted the spokes metallic black and hub chrome.
Then I went to eBay to find a set of waterslide decals, and I hit the jackpot! These 1:24 scale decals were a perfect fit for the body, and they even came with "DRIVER JERRY TITUS" decals!
That color that Shel' called "Gawdawful Yellow" was actually a stock 1967 Mustang color called Springtime Yellow. We'll use the correct color on our car.
