Steve Beck, founder of Checkpoint Automotive, has a 1965 Ford Mustang Shelby that he bought on his 18th birthday for $900, so this car has been with him his entire adult life. These were the days before the Mustang hobby had really started to pickup, but Steve always knew what he has is special. He pins his car as being a life changing ride, even citing that he got his first big mechanic job because he drove the Shelby.
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Steve Beck is the former Vice President of the Shelby Owners Club of L.A., and is extremely active in the Shelby community. His car may look perfect, but he’s had it taken apart and put back together several times throughout many different projects. Every time something on the car breaks, Steve jumps on the opportunity to make sure to put the car back together as a better machine than before.
Historically speaking, the number 258 of 562 car itself doesn’t have a lot of history. Many would recognize it from the local car clubs, and it was involved in a little PR work through Shelby. It also has a few little quirks that have always been with the car. For example, the side pillar gills that came on the 1965 Mustangs are completely missing the hardware on Steve’s car.
For 21 years, Steve drove the car everyday, and is quite the veteran at California’s Willow Springs International Raceway since the 1970s. Steve has never turned down the chance to enjoy his car, and that’s what makes this story so great. In fact, he’s has so much fun in it that he got so many speeding tickets at one point that he couldn’t keep insurance on it, and had to have the car registered in his mom’s name so he could keep driving it.
Steve has no desire to ever part with his car, noting that it’s mostly original, with the exception of the engine, but he said that’s someone else’s problem after he “leaves this earth”. Looking at it now, you would never know it ever had any issues, but when Steve first drove it, the engine was smoking like a train and had many issues, but this was the car he wanted, even picking it instead of a Boss in much better condition. Listening to Steve walk through the driving characteristics of the car is like listening to someone talk about being in love. Steve is truly a lifer with the car he’s had since he was a teenager.
Shawn Henry is a Texas native who has spent the majority of his career building and selling F-Bodies and Corvettes. Now studying journalism, he is taking a new direction with his love of performance vehicles.
