Lucy's New Shoes (Part 1)

"I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty."

- Imelda Marcos

Application of the scientific method (formulate hypothesis, experiment, analyze data, draw conclusions, subject to replication and peer review) has conclusively proven that women are crazy. I have personal experience with this phenomenon in part because I'm married to one. Like all women, my lovely and otherwise rational wife gets weak in the knees at the sight of a pair of "cute" sandals, or boots that look to me somehow like they once belonged to pirates. But I'm no expert.

Luckily for me, Lucy (the Mustang, folks) is pretty low-key when it comes to being fancy. She has happily trod upon her stock 17" Bullits for almost four years now, never complaining or revealing herself to be jealous of her sister Stangs sporting showy, chromed, 20-inch kicks. She and I would be happy to continue riding on her stockers were this project not in the works, but since it is, it was time for an upgrade. Yes, friends, Lucy has new wheels!

Like everything about this project, I chose the wheels to give the best combination of a retro cue (specifically to the 1967 Shelby G.T. 350, of course) while still looking good on the S197 body. In 1967, the standard wheel that came with the Shelbys was steel-rimmed with a Ford/Shelby cover. More popular, though, were the Kelsey-Hayes wheels and the 10-spoke Shelby wheels. Both wheels are definitely cool (and the raised white lettering on tires in the 60s can't be beat for that classic muscle car look), but making the decision in my case was easy. Although there was a wheel sort-of similar to the 5-spoke Kelsey-Hayes version, it wasn't really a design modeled after that. On the other hand, Carol Shelby himself has come out with a line of vintage wheels that are modern takes on classic designs--including the 10-spoke Shelby GT wheels! They're called CS67s, and they're hot!

(for a much larger version that shows a lot more detail, CLICK HERE)

I won't be the first Mustang enthusiast running these beauties. A couple guys at some of the Mustang forums I frequent have put them on, with great results (I hope they don't mind me borrowing some of their pictures...) All-in-all, though, they're a pretty rare sight, which I think is cool. Below are some pictures of the 10-spokes on 1967 G.T. 350s, then the CS67s on some S197s. I think you'll see what a wonderful recreation Carol Shelby has done.

Now for some pictures of the CS67s. This first Mustang belongs to a forum member by the name of Graypny. He's done an excellent job with his car, also doing a '67 tribute, and its a big inspiration to me. More pictures of his beauty (also, larger, more detailed versions; I'm limited to a certain size here, but its worth checking out the full size) can be found HERE.

Next up is a beautiful Vista Blue 2006 GT owned by a guy who goes by 05fordGT. I had to do a couple of his pics here. Just like the Mineral Gray Mustang above, this car has a lot of the same details and look I'm going after, and I've been admiring it for a while. Great inspiration. Again, full-size versions (and additional pictures) can be found HERE.

Love this picture, with the fighter jets!

Finally, here is an image I found using Google (I don't actually know who the car belongs to) that shows what the wheels look like at speed. Pretty cool, I like the "deep dish" kind of look they give (sort of like the spokes are recessed around a deep lip).

So the big news is, Lucy got her new shoes tonight after work. The bad news is that night pictures just don't come out well, at least not using a relatively simple point-n-click digital camera with no manual shutter lag adjustment. So it would do neither you nor I any good to post the pictures I took tonight, and wouldn't give justice to Lucy or the CS67s. So, I will take pictures tomorrow in the light and do some comparison shots and whatnot. So "Lucy's New Shoes (Part 2)" should be right around the corner.

Ok, I'll give you a teaser... btw, check out the meaty rubber wrapping these things!! More on that next time too...