ln the summer of 1991 my dad & I went up to Visalia to see a 68 Mustang that James Petty had for sale, and that’s when I saw this KR convertible sitting up on jack-stands in the back which started a 30 year quest to get this car in my garage.

Mr. Petty had gotten it ten years earlier from a young man in the San Jose area which makes perfect sense since it was originally sold at Paul Swanson Ford in Los Gatos.

lt had been “high-schooled up” a bit so James was going to do a quick fix back to stock so put it on stands but never got past a minor disassembly.

Thirty years of phone calls and traveling up to Visalia to keep in touch with him finally paid off with me and my son trailering it home on a hot Wednesday afternoon.

About a month later, my son and I then trailered it across the country to drop off the engine at Billups Classic Cars and the car at Jim Ellsworth’s Shop in North Canton, Ohio.

This would be the fourth 68 Jim Ellsworth would restore for me.

A quick note on the stop in Oklahoma: the Billups Shop guys came out to see the car and couldn’t believe how straight and rust free the car was with its original hood, decklid, quarters etc…

After two years we went back to pick it up and were stunned at the incredibly beautiful job Jim did. I had seen photos but they just didn’t do it justice.

Back home we promptly drove it to the San Marino Concours in August of 2023 so it could bring home its first trophy.

The only other place it has been seen is at the Petersen Museum this past July and can happily say this CJ does not overheat and runs great.

It’s one of 22 4-speed KR convertibles in the special WT6066 yellow and with the 3.50 Traction Lok it is fully loaded.

Complete with Marti Auto Works verification with detailed photo documents, this is truly a rare opportunity to own a significant Shelby Automotive icon and collector grade Shelby worthy of the most discriminating and astute enthusiasts’ collection.