Well, I just had to weigh in on this. I recall that I found #4052 in about 1981. I may have a file on it that will pin down the date, but I moved last September and most of my records are still at my former house.
First of all, yes, that is me in the one photo. The story behind this car started when I met some members of the Capitol Region SAAC (TCR) at SAAC 4 in 1979. I joined TCR and regularly traveled to the Washington area over the next decade to attend their meetings and shows. They were a great bunch and I always enjoyed myself in their company.
Of course this association led to leads on cars, and the Washington, DC metro area had many interesting Shelbys and Mustangs still lying around at that time. This led to me being introduced to a fellow by the name of B.I (Butch) Mattingly, who lived in a rural area of the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
I was told Butch had a project '66 Hipo fastback for sale, and one weekend some TCR members took me to look at it. Upon meetng Butch, I learned he also had a '69 Boss 429 and a '68 GT500, neither of which were for sale. But as he showed me the GT500, he mentioned that he had used parts from his "other" Shelby in redoing it.
I asked "What other Shelby?". Whereupon he took us to a ditch that had been excavated on the property. At the bottom of the ditch was the remains of #4052. Athough wrecked and largely parted out. it was remarkably solid.
Following some discussion, I bought it. We returned a week later with a truck and trailer. The car had no suspension, so we had to hoist it out of the ditch. Butch had a bucket loader so we put a chain around the roof and attached it to the bucket. Three of us climbed into the bucket at the other end of the loader to counterbalance the weight of the car.
Following a somewhat suspenseful ride, Butch set #4052 onto the trailer as you see it in the photo with yours truly. Later we put some suspension under it so it could be rolled, as shown in the other photos.
I sold #4052 later that year to Phil Askew of Michigan. Phil worked on the body over many years, but did not complete the car. He sold it to Peter, who has now also had it for many years,
Being a black 4 speed A/C KR, it is a rather cool car. I'm glad I was able to be part of saving it and I wish Peter success in getting it together!
Oh, and I did buy the Hipo fastback from Butch.