Carlisle Ford Nationals 2012.indb - Carlisle Events

PERSONAL INTEREST: MAURY’S GT 350
How many cars are in your garage currently How
many cars have you owned What about how
many cars you think you’ll own in your lifetime OK,
enough with the questions, because the facts look
something like this: The average family owns 2.28 cars
at any given time, and various reports online state that
the average person will own somewhere between
nine and 15 cars in their lifetime. In addition, statistics
show that people tend to sell or trade in a car on average
when it’s 4½ years old with just 41,000 miles on it.
Those stats will be a head-scratcher by the time we're
done here, because one nearly 80-year old man, while
having owned a few cars in his lifetime, is still very
much active with one he's owned since 1967.
Daily driver becomes a classic
In the great state of North Carolina and in the town
of Ocean Isle Beach, near Wilmington, lives Maury
Longsworth. Maury is a retired district sales manager
from Honeywell Information Systems, where he
worked, according to him, for at least 35 years.
Along with his work at Honeywell, Maury is a car
buff and is the proud (longtime) owner of a ’67 Shelby
GT350 — which he purchased new upon its release to
the public — and he and his car are here at Carlisle this
weekend. With the great Shelby display positioned
near Building Y, the brand is already well-represented,
but with Maury's car on-site, it makes his ride an “old
friend” among strangers.
“I bought this car on my 35th birthday in 1967,”
Maury said. “At the time, I had my eyes on two different
cars, a Porsche 911 and a Shelby Cobra, but with
three kids and a wife, I got to thinking about how I was
going to get them around. At that point, I bought the
Shelby, and 93,000 miles later, I still have it.”
For the longest time, the Shelby was Maury’s daily
driver and it got him to and from the office for many
years. At one point in the ’80s, Maury decided it was
time to begin the restoration process on the Shelby.
Though it’s been a long and winding road, the project,
which began in 1987, is now complete, thanks in part
to a good friend, John Temple, from Georgia.
“I met John sometime back when I was thinking
about buying a GT500,” Maury said. “While trying to
buy the GT, I wasn’t fully comfortable with the process
and at the same time, saw an ad for a Legend Mustang.
I called the number, John was on the other end, I
bought the car and a friendship was forged."
The road to restoration
In addition to having his gem of a Ford still on the
road today, Maury likes to get under the hood and
tinker with its pieces and parts. In fact, the motor has
been rebuilt recently, with Maury getting under the
hood himself.
“I took out the engine and transmission, stripped it
down, did some of the paint work and put it all back
together,” he said. “I needed some help along the way,
but we got the job done and the car looks and runs
great. I got a great feeling of accomplishment in doing
the work that I did because I look at the hobby as very
satisfying. You certainly get out of it what you put into
it and then some.”
A unique vehicle worth sharing
As car collectors go, Maury appreciates his Shelby
so much that he shows it at events like Carlisle and is
surprised at the attention it gets. “I didn’t expect the
car to be all that unique when I bought it in 1967, but
that is how it has turned out.”
Maury is a true “car guy” based on his interests and
hobby. In addition to what he has done and is currently
doing, Maury owns a few other rides that may
turn some heads. Along with his 2007 Legend Mustang
and ’67 Shelby, Maury owns a ’96 Thunderbird,
’39 Ford four-door convertible and an ’05 F-150 truck,
which he frequently uses to get the aforementioned
cars from point A to point B. As Maury says, “I’m a devoted
Ford person to the core.”
So what’s next for Maury and his 1967 Shelby
GT350 According to him, he does not intend on slowing
down. There are more roads to drive, more shows
to attend and more work to be done. By the way, Maury
turns 80 in July, and he says his health is good. He
knows that working on cars now is a race to the finish,
but he’s ready for the challenge, having taken on
a new restoration project of a Porsche 914 for his son.
Finally, if you are wondering, Maury paid $4,150 for
the car in 1967. Needless to say, it’s value in 2012 has
dramatically and exponentially increased.
58 2012 CARLISLE FORD NATIONALS PRESENTED BY GUMOUT PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS CarlisleEvents.com