Author Interview
Title: COBRA and SHELBY MUSTANG Photo Archive
Publisher: Iconografix
On sale date: August 2007
Author Wallace Wyss recently premiered his book SHELBY The Man The Cars The Legend.
He told us that, right after finishing that book, he decamped to his spread, Cobra Ranch, in the wilds of Mendocino and began putting together a book of photos called COBRA and SHELBY MUSTANG Photo Archive for delivery to the press in late summer.
To give our website fans a heads-up, we asked him a few questions about what to expect in the new book.
Q. Why did you think this book necessary when you just came out with a Shelby book?
Wyss: The answer to that is that the SHELBY The Man The Cars The Legend book was planned from the beginning to be primarily a words book, a business bio in effect, though one with lots of personal highlights. But due to the way that book was formatted, being vertical, you couldn't have the pictures of cars run very big so we decided to do another Photo Archive, this one on the cars of Shelby-American. That will be the set format of horizontal so the pictures can be at least 7" wide.
Q. Does it also cover the Dodges, Series 1, etc?
Wyss: No, this time space was a consideration. We know Cobra fans and Shelby fans
want to see as many of "their" cars in one book as possible and even when my old book Shelby's Wildlife, included some Dodges in the second edition, there was grumbling from the true blue Ford fans. So rest assured, Blue Ovalites, this one is 100% Ford powered cars (except for maybe the Scaglietti-bodied Corvettes, a little known Shelby project -Ed).
Q. Won't we have seen these pictures before?
Wyss: Not necessarily-I discovered some unknown photographers, who were able to provide art, and I went through 40 years of my own pictures, taken at various Shelby conventions and vintage races, so I think readers will be pleased at my selection.
Q. But what about historical pictures?
Wyss: There are a few, notably from the 1965 Shelby American press kit, which Ford graciously granted me permission to use, seeing as how I was given the press kit legitimately while visiting Shelby-American back in 1965 while on assignment in my role as an associate editor of Motor Trend. But I also feel that most press pictures have been over-exposed in other books so that's why I am beating the bushes for rarer shots.
Q. Who is writing the forwards?
Wyss: I'm hoping two giants in the Cobra world will be welcoming readers to the book. One is Lynn Park, who is the world's sharpest Cobra owner, and has been into the cars since Day One, and the other is Steve Volk, who founded the Shelby-American Collection. Both are world class experts in Cobras and Shelbys and can identify cars even by serial number in a race shot.
Q. Is the book all in black and white?
Wyss: There will be some color but I have no way of knowing where those signatures are (note: signatures are 16-page sections) so I am submitting color not knowing until it's published if they will be running in black and white or color.
Q. Who do you see as the buyer for the book?
Wyss: I see those who own replica Cobras who are eager to get any visual reference they can to
the way the cars looked "back in the day." Same with owners of real and cloned Shelby Mustangs. The real unknown is the owners of the new 2007 Shelby GT500s, Shelby GTs and GT/CS models. Since there are few of those cars on the street yet I have no way of knowing how enthusiastic those owners will be-whether they will be as interested in their car histories as they evolve as much as the first era Shelby owners are.
Q. Are there Ford GT models --the original GT40s or the new Ford GTs--in the book?
Wyss: I wish there was, but I submitted so many pictures-over 200 for a 120-picture book-that the editor said something had to go so I asked for those images back and maybe we could look for those in a Vol. 2.
Q. You said you are still beating the bushes for art. Do you want to give us a wish list?
Wyss: Sure do. Anybody who has any of the following, please don't send the originals
but a scan (can be low res at first) and we can talk:
-Shelby as a driver-from 1952 to 1960
-The Venice Plant, any pictures shot there of Cobras being assembled
-Fliptop prototype
-1964 Sebring big block prototype
-Cobras racing in Europe in 1964, 1965
-Little Red Wagon and Green Hornet notchback -
-Clay models 1969 Shelby
-Any shots of Shelby as race team manager conferring with drivers, or pit crew
-Lone Star mid-engined prototype
-Any interviews covering Shelby African adventures.
Q.What address do we send them to?
Wyss: Photojournalistpro@hotmail.com
Q.Thank you.
