The Complete Book of Shelby Automobiles: Cobras, Mustangs and Super Snakes

By Colin Comer

Available from:
Motorbooks, Minneapolis
www.motorbooks.com

Hard cover, 256 pages, $45

Reviewed by Larry Edsall
Zoom an e-mail to Larry

If your Shelby Cobra needs some work, or a complete restoration, there's a pretty good chance that one of the first people you call is Colin Comer.

Located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Colin's Classic Automobiles is one of the nation's most respected restoration shops, and not just for Shelbys. Comer's work is, well, the best.

And he writes what he knows. Previously, he authored Million-Dollar Muscle Cars. When Motorbooks sought someone to compile a book that would live up to the title of the "complete" book Carroll Shelby's cars, it again turned to Comer.

The resulting publication does what it says, presenting the full array of Shelby cars, and not just Cobras, Mustangs and Super Snakes. Also included are all of the cars on which Shelby has had a direct influence, including the various sports racers, the one-off Shelby Lone Star, the Sunbeam Tiger, the Toyota 2000GT that Shelby prepped for SCCA racing, the Ford GT40 and the just plane (at least in name) Ford GT, the Dodge Viper, the Dodge Omni GLH (which got its name from Shelby's statement that the car would "go like hell") and many more.

Comer's words are well written, and clearly heartfelt.

"Shelby, both the man and the machine, is something larger than life," Comer writes. "The tale of the man and the cars transcend traditional boundaries. It doesn't matter if you are a Chevy person or a European car enthusiast, a drag racer or a road racer, into NASCAR or sports cars, even if you're just not really a car person at all, there is something about Shelby that appeals to us all. It is an American success story... the underdog who beat all the odds to come out on top."

Not only are the words worth the book's $45 cover price, but there are luscious photographs, some vintage black and white, some contemporary color, by David Newhardt and others, but especially by Newhardt, who's as skilled with his lenses as Comer is with his wrenches and writing.