Back in 1969, Carroll Shelby got out of the Mustang Modifying Business and went on a very long Vacation until He popped back up on the Automotive Radar in the 80’s producing High Performance 4 Cylinder Dodges. In the early 90’s, Carroll Shelby began producing the new Shelby Series 1, a Performance Car that was designed from the ground up and used Oldsmobile Drivetrains and He was one of the main designers of the Dodge Viper. In the late 90’s, Carroll Shelby was back in the fold with Ford, helping to design the new Ford GT.

    David T. Hawkins, has been into Mustangs since High School and has always wanted a Shelby Mustang. From 1979 to 1997, David has owned well over 175 Vehicles with most being Mustangs, but not a single one of them was a Shelby . Many of his Mustangs had the famous LeMans Stripes painted on it, but that was never enough. In 1997, you could buy a 2500 square foot 3 Bedroom Home in the nicest part of Town for what the 1965 to 1970 Shelby Mustangs were selling for, so owning one was out of the question for David. At the time, the only other option He had to owning a Shelby Mustang was to build a Clone.

    By 1996, David’s life had gone through many changes, He was Married, He and his Wife owned a Home, He had Bills to pay and He was driving a 1996 Plymouth Neon 2 Door Sport Coupe. It was a 5 Speed and got great gas mileage. Of all those Vehicles that He has owned over the Years, David has modified 99 percent of them, and the Neon was no exception. He turned the 2 Door Neon into a Tribute to the Plymouth Superbird Road Runner, and it looked great. Hitting David like a One Ton Ford Dually Truck, David got the idea to modify a special late model Mustang, but, making it look like a Shelby. While designing it, David felt it needed something special, that’s when He came up with the idea to design a special Portrait Decal of Carroll Shelby’s likeness for the Rear Quarter Panel. That’s when David knew He had to call the special Mustang a “TRIBUTE EDITION SHELBY” to pay Tribute to Carroll Shelby for all he has done in the Automotive World. When all the pieces came together, David knew that He won’t be the only one to want one, He wanted to produce more. To avoid any legal hassles, he spent a few weeks putting together a Proposal seeking permission from Carroll Shelby to produce the “TRIBUTE EDITION SHELBY ” package for the Ford Mustang.

    Since the late model Mustangs only came in 3 Models, LX, GT and Cobra and only had 3 Engines, the 3.8 V6, 4.6 SOHC V8 and the 4.6 DOHC V8, David felt that the 3.8 V6 was the new “Small Block” and the 4.6 V8 was the new “Big Block”, He could use all Three Shelby Logo’s, G.T. 350, G.T. 500 and the GT 500KR. It took over a Year, but Carroll Shelby loved the idea and Contracts were signed between David T. Hawkins and Carroll Shelby to allow David to produce the all new “TRIBUTE EDITION SHELBY ” package as a “Post Title” option for owners of 1994 to 2005 Ford Mustangs. With a Signed 5 Year Contract in hand, MUSTANG F/X, Inc. was born January 1, 1999, and David’s new Company was the only Company in a very long time, Licensed to put the Shelby name on a Ford Mustang, turning it into a Limited Edition Vehicle. Soon after production, David was granted permission and Licensing to begin production on a special “TRIBUTE EDITION SHELBY HAULER” package for 1997 to 2005 Ford Trucks. After all, People needed a cool Truck to Haul their Shelby ’s to the Show.

    Over the Years, David has caught some flack for using the G.T. 350 logo on V6 Mustangs but He didn’t care because the V6 Mustangs were pretty quick in stock form and the G.T 350 package made up for about Half of all the Packages installed. Apparently, that was enough to show Carroll Shelby that there was a Market for the V6 Mustang as He is now using them as well with the Terlingua, CS6 and the new Shelby GTS, all are Post Title builds just like the TRIBUTE EDITION SHELBY’S. With less then 100 TRIBUTE EDITION SHELBY ’S being built, they will sure become future collectibles. A couple of Years after the First TRIBUTE EDITION SHELBY hit the Streets, people began calling their Shelby Clones, Tributes.