50 years after Jim Morrison’s death, where is his 1967 Shelby GT500?
Jim Morrison was a poet who dreamed of becoming a filmmaker. When destiny knocked, he answered the door—technically, The Doors—and quickly became a rock legend. Morrison’s meteoric rise to fame and his reign as frontman for the iconic California band lasted only six years. On July 3, 1971, 50 years ago this week, he died of an accidental drug overdose … or congestive heart failure … or a combination of the two, depending on the source. He was 27.
Morrison, whose instantly recognizable voice belted out a string of rock hits that included “Light My Fire” and “Riders on the Storm,” owned just one car in his lifetime, a 1967 Ford Shelby GT500 that he called “The Blue Lady.” What happened to the car is a mystery. So was the man.
“A walking bundle of contradictions, he was larger than life on stage, whether enraptured by the music or stumbling in a drunken haze,” George Varga of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote recently. “Off stage, he could be sensitive or surly, charming or sometimes combative, an unabashed hedonist, or an urbane aficionado of film, literature, and theater.”
There’s a ton of speculation out there about Morrison, but what was already known about his love for poetry and filmmaking is further confirmed in a new book from HarperCollins, The Collected Works of Jim Morrison: Poetry, Journals, Transcripts and Lyrics. Compiled by Morrison’s sister, Anne Morrison Chewning, it contains excerpts from 28 of Morrison’s recently discovered notebooks, his recorded and unrecorded lyrics, some of his final writings before his death in Paris, and a script and photos from his unreleased experimental film HWY: An American Pastoral, which was shot in the Mojave Desert in 1969. Morrison starred in the film, and so did his Shelby.
Morrison grew up in a strict military family, the son of a Navy admiral who didn’t appreciate Jim’s lifestyle or his long hair. After graduating from UCLA film school, however, it was music that drew Morrison in. In 1965, he joined keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore to form The Doors.
“Getting to be in a band was kind of an accident for Jim because he didn’t set out to be a singer. He was always writing poetry and wanted to go into film,” Morrison’s sister told Varga last month. “I thought Jim would be a poet, like one of the Beat poets in San Francisco. That’s what I was expecting. And I was worried, because I thought he would never make enough money as a poet to get by.”
Morrison did more than get by. After “Light My Fire” topped the record charts in 1967, The Doors became huge stars, practically overnight. Elektra Records founder and president Jac Holzman was so thrilled with his label’s first #1 hit that he offered to reward the band members with whatever gift they wanted. Manzerak and Krieger asked for state-of-the-art reel-to-reel tape recorders. Densmore chose a horse. Morrison, the thrill-seeking frontman, went for horsepower.
As the story goes, Morrison wasn’t sure what car he wanted until he saw the Shelby Mustang GT350 owned by his hair stylist, Jay Sebring. (If Sebring’s name sounds familiar, that’s because he too met an early demise. In 1969 he was murdered, along with actress Sharon Tate, by the Manson Family.) Holtzman not only agreed to buy Morrison a Shelby, he upgraded it to a new Nightmist Blue GT500 with a 355-horsepower, 428-cubic-inch V-8, mated to a four-speed manual. Only 2000 or so were built.
By all accounts, Morrison loved the car and drove it hard—so hard that it was often in the shop for repairs, both cosmetic and mechanical. Thanks to HWY: An American Pastoral, we’re able to see Morrison behind the wheel.
So what happened to “The Blue Lady”? The most popular explanation is this: One night, Morrison was driving recklessly and hit a telephone pole on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. After inspecting the damage, he walked to the Whiskey A-Go-Go and partied the night away. When Morrison returned, the car was gone. Then there’s this version: Morrison parked the car at Los Angeles International Airport while The Doors went on tour, and when he returned the car had been towed. There’s also speculation that the car was sold and resold multiple times—with the owners unaware of what they had—before it was driven into the ground and eventually crushed in the 1980s.
Regardless of which story is true, if someone out there knows where Morrison’s Shelby went, they aren’t saying. There is hope, of course, that the car will be found someday. Steve McQueen’s Highland Green 1968 Mustang GT from Bullitt disappeared for decades, and many speculated that it had been destroyed. Then it resurfaced in January 2018, and two years later, it sold for $3.74M.
If the Shelby GT500 ever follows suit and reemerges, you can bet that the car community will take the words right out of Morrison’s mouth: “Hello, I love you.” And we’ll certainly “Tell All the People.”
Youtube 1970 all original hemi Cuda an(possibly) Jim Morrisons 67 GT500 they found bullets in the dash the guy doesn’t care if it was Morrisons or not likes it for what it is and is it? With the vin someone should know…The auto should be in a museum if it’s Morrisons and the guy could get another…
Kenneth, in reference to the Shelby on YouTube watch the Motor Trend TV show Autobiography Episode
Entitled Missing Mustangs. The Producers featured this Shelby in the program and physical evidence of past damage to this car matched damage to Morrison’s plus’s the bullets. They talked to the owner of the registration card and he refused to give them a redacted copy so Motor Trend could verify if it was Morrison’s Car.
I see part of the registration- where’s the full vin number?
It is alive. It never left LA. Ray (former Shelby employee) owned it after Jim passed away and later sold it.
Yeah that is probably true, I had heard that the car languished for a couple years with a mechanic that had worked on the car. The work went unpaid and the storage fees racked up. Back then it wasn’t really that collectable just a modified Mustang. Apparently the mechanic tried to put it up for sale with no takers. Probably because he didn’t have the Title, Then I believe he sold it to Shelby with a bill o sale. Couldn’t register it, so what do you do? You make it a race car/movie car.
Interior Mostly parted out, change it from an Automatic to a stick, and add a rollcage.
If You look at the footage of Morrison Driving, he does not look like a skilled driver, You can tell it’s an Automatic.
Plus how can you drink a beer and Drive a stick at the same time.
🤣
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMiAQPABgHA
Did some research on the subject, If someone needs help locating the Morrison Automatic Transmission or Engine block. Shoot me an email
I Walked into a bar and was declared the winner of the ongoing Jim Morrison contest in my mid twenties.
I guess I resembled Jim a lot when my eyes got glazed over which was often.
I drove camaros and the only Shelby I ever had was a green 68.
Back in 2016 a friend turned up a Honda 305 Scrambler that was originally registered to Jim Morrison. No one has ever seen a photo of him with the bike, but the DMV paperwork seems real. It was apparently sold to Von Dutch who had painted the gas tank and side covers, but never signed the work. This was after Morrison had died. We have copies of the form of the original sales and then a separate request for a duplicate title after the original was “lost” not long afterward.
Morrisons car is in my garage. It’s been there since 1971.
Right on
What if someone knew where a ’67 Shelby might be buried? Who would be interested in the info?
I am not really a car guy. I just recently learned about Morrison’s car. When they said “67 Shelby went missing” it clicked in my head. I grew up in a rural area where there was a barn with a 67 Shelby in it for many years. One day the car was gone.
I ended up learning what had happened to it, where it was at, and where it came from as well as how the info about where it came from was obtained.
Very intriguing!
I know exactly where this car is. I even have a pic
Let’s see the pic…
Anyone really knows where it is, reach out to Dennis Collins for some Benjamins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9w4SNlwFqc
Yeh..
this car did not go to the crusher. no chance.
Another car everyone is looking for is James Dean Speedster. Traded for the 550. huge reward on that one.
I think Dennis has already seen the car
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIj4-HGI6Zk&t=1338s
I think there is a lot misinformation about the car out there
I think the car was originally an Automatic, Morrison could barely walk half the time let alone drive a stick. He got his license later in life, probably learning on an Automatic.
I think that is why there are so many anomalies with the car.
I think there were title problems with the car, so it was sold with a bill of sale and made into a movie/race car.
Last American Hero. Put together by Shelby. The Interior was gutted and changed over to a 4 speed.
The Frame is probably gone( chicago scrap yard?)? But the Engine is possibly out in the Chicago area.
The Automatic Transmission could possible be in California, In someone elses Mustang for that matter. Probably parts of Morrisons car are all over the place, Probably most of the interior stayed in CA though.