THE SHELBY STORY:

 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350

I will try to give you enough information so that upon sighting of one of these prized collector's items,

you will have a good understanding of why these cars are so special and legendary.

The marriage of Ford and Carroll Shelby began in early 1965 with Ford attempting to enter the market

of GM's famous Corvette. Unveiled by Mr. Shelby, January 27, 1965, the Mustang Fastback had some

mild exterior changes. The fiberglass hood with functional hood scoop and clean looking grill first caught

the eye. With all Mustang emblems removed, a tri-colored running horse was located on the driver's side

of the grill. All Shelby's in '65 would be one color, a "take it or leave it " Wimbledon White with a bold

blue GT350 side stripe located below the door. Also available as a dealer option were LeMans stripes

running over the top and down the center of the body. The interior was a black only option with roll bar

and a special flat wood-rimmed 3-spoke steering wheel. A special instrument pad located in the center

of the dash surrounded a large oil pressure gauge and a tach. It also had competition seat belts.

A special fiberglass shelf replaced the rear seats and was the new location for the spare tire. It had to be

a 2 seater sports car for SCCA rules. Later, when the rules changed, Shelby had to use a coupe due

to the fact that the fastback was considered a two-passenger car, thus the Talidega racing coupes.

A special intake manifold raised the horsepower output of  the already venerable 289 V-8 from its

normal 271 h.p. to a whooping 306. The exhaust from the new Tri-Y headers exited the body in front

of the rear wheels. Each '65 Shelby had a Borg-Warner T-10 4 speed coupled to a 9" Detroit locker

"no-spin" rear end.

Each Shelby GT350 had extensive suspension work including a larger front stabilizer bar, special Pitman

& Idler arms, lowered upper "A" frames, Koni shocks and rear traction bars. The front section was stiffened

considerably with an export brace and a Monte Carlo bar. The battery was located in the trunk. The wheels

were 15" 5-spoke Crager on Goodyear Blue-Dots. The 1965 Shelby GT350 Mustang was the most race

worthy of all the Shelby's ever produced, including the famous big-block Cobra's!

The 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350 "R" model

(click on photo to enlarge)

There were a special group of race prepared Shelby GT 350's called "R" models. They only built

37 Shelby "R" models and it is estimated that only 32-34 of them remain in existence today. Each

one was basically hand built by Carroll Shelby and his team, in an old airplane hanger in California.

They were ordered from Ford with the following items "deleted": carpet, headliner, side glass and rear

windows, door panels, original gas tank and bumpers. Then Shelby did their magic to them. Windows 

were replaced with plexiglass.  The rear window was replaced as well but the top portion of the rear

back window was left "Open" for a vented slip-stream. The front apron was replaced by a 'fish mouth' 

fiberglass opening which allowed fresh air to be ducted for the oil cooler, radiator and brakes. The 

quarter panel vents were riveted closed while the front fenders were flared. The rear bumper was 

initially painted white and then eventually eliminated entirely on some "R" Models. Shelby Mag Wheels 

were replaced by the American Racing Mags. Even the speedometer was replaced by a 0-160 m.p.h. 

version and the tach with an 8k unit. Special dash lights were installed to indicate alternator, high beam 

and turn signals below the instrument pod. Each car received a roll bar, fire extinguisher and a special 

fiberglass seat. The motor was 'Shelby-ized" by Shelby Americans wizards and each boasted 350-370 

h.p. by the time it left the airplane hangar (factory). The engine had huge oil breather stacks and a 

mammoth 7.5 qt sand cast aluminum oil pan. The gas tank was replaced w/ a 34 gallon unit, which was 

fed by opening the trunk. Even the battery was moved, for weight transfer gain, to the trunk. Every "R" 

model was track tested at Willow Springs Ca. before delivery. Shelby even gave notice to all Corvette 

racers that "the only time a Corvette would see Victory Lane would be if a Shelby GT350 wasn't in

the race". 

SCCA rules allowed only one change between the "B" Production class race cars and the cars sold to 

the public-and that was a change to either the engine or the suspension, so the above modifications 

made by Carroll Shelby was basically to the engine and it was automatically a winner. The suspension

of the regular street version Shelby GT350 was left unchanged. 

At a price of $4,000 in 1965, the GT350 was not a hot seller. A buyer had to be a real car enthusiast 

because these cars were basically a factory built race car, right off the showroom floor. Future years 

of Shelby's would see many changes to satisfy the more comfort oriented consumer as well as Ford's 

needs to beef up sales. The 1965 Shelby GT350 has become probably the most significant vintage

American race car in recent history. Hence the legend of the 1965 Shelby GT350 was born.

Thanks! 

I hope you've enjoyed this information about the legendary Shelby GT350.

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