Average Joe Restoration

Consignment # 39-1046
VIN:   SFM5S155

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In 1964, the Ford Motor Corporation fired the first shot in the Pony Car Wars, introducing an adaptation of their popular compact Falcon that would change the American car market and even stood as a symbol of a revolutionary decade: the Mustang. Itself a compact sporty car offered at an attractive price and aimed at youthful starting car buyers, the Mustang immediately made a big impression and it sold very well; the original Mustang still holds the record for first-year new-model sales of an astounding 680,989 units between April 1964 and August 1965, when it was replaced by the 1966 model.

From early days, Ford's division chief Lee Iacocca still felt that the Mustang's image needed a boost, so he contacted former racecar driver and nascent sports car manufacturer Carroll Shelby, famous for the iconic Ford powered AC Shelby Cobra and also involved in Ford's GT40 racing car project. Shelby was asked to modify the Mustang in a way so it could win the Sports Car Club of America's national B-Production Championship Series. And so, early in 1965, a new competition breed of Mustangs came into life; finished at the Shelby-American shop in Los Angeles and topped off with Shelby badges and trademarks like the Cobra's own logo and named the Shelby GT-350, the designation that would go on all small-block Shelby Mustangs until 1970.

The first Shelby Mustang GT-350 appeared on January 27, 1965. It was based on the Ford Mustang fastback and was painted white with blue stripes, which was to remain the original color scheme for the 1965 and 1966 models. From the outside the GT-350 didn't look very different from a regular Mustang, but underneath the body and under the hood, many changes were made. The GT-350 was fitted with Ford's 289ci small-block V8 engine in "Hi-Performance" trim. This unit produced 271hp as standard, but modified by Shelby it cranked out 306hp at 6000 rpm, which rendered the GT-350 a top speed of about 150mph, quite good for a 2600 pound car without serious big-block power. The elaborate Shelby modifications made the GT-350 a true racing car. The engine was fitted with a high-rise manifold, a bigger four-barrel carburetor and a free-flowing exhaust. A fiberglass hood featuring a functional air-scoop covered the engine which made it stand apart from regular less powerful Mustangs. To cope with the additional power the Mustang's optional Borg-Warner T-10 4-speed gearbox was standard in the GT-350 and also the Falcon rear axle of the standard Mustang was replaced by the stronger rear axle of the full-size Ford Galaxie. Remarkably, this treatment was practically copied from the work Shelby and Ken Miles had previously done to create the Sunbeam Tiger. The GT-350's suspension featured adjustable Koni shocks and Shelby-cast 15 inch alloy wheels with high-performance Goodyear tires were fitted.

This 1965 Shelby GT-350 was the 155th of the first 562 cars so finished by Shelby during the first year of production. Among its most desirable early car features are its original porthole hood and factory rear battery mounting, an option found only in about the first 300 examples. Finished as well first-year GT-350s were, in Wimbledon White with bold blue side stripes down each side bearing the car's designation, this car is as authentic and original as the day it was delivered new. Under the hood, the numbers-matching original engine received a recent careful comprehensive overhaul, following which everything was checked over to make sure the car ran, drove and stopped as it should. Wearing all its original sheetmetal and bearing all of its original equipment, this early GT-350 would be hard to duplicate anywhere and represents a solid automotive investment from the golden age of the American performance automobile.