Carroll Shelby , maker of the 1965 - 1966 Shelby GT-350 , was a Texas chicken farmer who drove for Enzo Ferrari in the ' 50s and retired from racing for wellness reasons in 1960 . He then became America ’s most charismatic God Almighty of high - performance specialty cars . Between 1962 and 1970 he built or contribute to such blindingly immobile machines as the awesome Cobra 289 and 427 , as well as the Sunbeam Tiger and Ford ’s mid - engine GT40 and Mark IV competition cars . The last took Ford to the performance peak with outright victories in the 24 time of day of Le Mans in 1966 - 69 .
Shelby ’s most pop project from a sale standpoint was the GT-350 , a super - tuned interlingual rendition of the Ford Mustang . It was born of Dearborn ’s desire to give its new 1965 " ponycar " a solid performance paradigm , and it did precisely that by reigning as national Sports Car Club of America B - yield champion for three age in a row ( 1965 - 67 ) .
The GT-350 began as a white Mustang 2 + 2 fastback delivered to Shelby - American ’s small Venice , California , shop with Ford ’s " Hi - Performance " 289 V-8 and four - f number manual gearbox pick . Shelby implement a " High - Riser " manifold , vainglorious four - barrel carb , hot cam , and loose - flow exhaust headers , plus train arms to locate a rearward axle borrow from Ford ’s big Galaxie to replace the stock , light - obligation Falcon assembly . This brought fully grown drum brakes in the rear that Shelby fitted with metal linings , while Kelsey - Hayes disc brakes were used in front .
Also instal were Koni adjustable shocks , spry - ratio direction box , front anti - sway cake , a stalwart steel - tube underhood bitstock , and 15 - in cast - aluminum wheels with high - operation Goodyear tires . Finally , the front suspension ’s forward-moving mounts were relocated for optimum geometry . The result of all this was near - neutral manipulation or else of the standard Mustang ’s strong understeer – plus furious performance with 306 rat HP , versus the factory ’s 271 .
Outside , the Mustang ’s prancing pony was relocated on the wicket , the stock steel thug was replaced by a fibreglass replica with operable scoop , and wide blue racing stripes were lend oneself to rock ‘n’ roll musician panel and atop hood , cap , and trunklid . inwardly were racing seatbelts , wood - rim steering bicycle , full instrumentation – and no back seat , for measure up the GT-350 as a " sports car " under SCCA rules .
But this was just for the street . For the track , Shelby devised a " GT-350R " with particular high - power heads , tops - duty hiatus , racing tires , aluminum transmission showcase , stripped national , and a bumperless fiberglass olfactory organ with rudimentary tune dam and large central air slot . All this reduce curb weight by some 300 pound . Per his philosophy , Carroll made most of the special racing component part uncommitted over - the - riposte at take Ford dealers .
Go to the next page for more details on the 1965 - 1966 Shelby GT-350 .
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Continued
With its race - auto dynamic ability and 6.5 - second 0 - 60 acceleration , the street 1965 - 1966 Shelby GT-350 drew rave reviews at an initial cost of $ 4,547 . That was about $ 2,000 above a V-8 Mustang but only $ 200 more than a Chevy Corvette – and a bargain by any monetary standard . in high spirits volume was never a finish , yet Shelby did well to grow out 562 of the ' 65 mannequin ; of these , no more than 30 were radius - spec racer .
Despite some insidious softening , the ' 66 edition was as vivid as the ' 65 . outside changes included sterilize Plexiglas rearward side windows instead of the bloodline fastback ’s aura - exhaust fumes vents , plus side scoop shovel for rearward - brake temperature reduction , Mustang ’s thin - streak ' 66 wicket , and 14 - inch chrome - elan or cast - aluminium wheels .
After the initial 250 or so units , Shelby expanded color choices to include red , racy , green , and calamitous , all with blanched stripes . At the same time he added the stock fastback ’s optional fold - down rear seat , return the battery to the locomotive compartment from its former trunk location , reverted to heavy - duty Ford cushion - and offer automatic transmission . But he also listed an optional Paxton centrifugal supercharger that allegedly boosted horsepower beyond 400 and reduce 0 - 60 times to a mere five seconds . Finally , Shelby ramp up a fleet of gold - on - opprobrious " GT-350H " models for the Hertz Rent - A - Car society , which leased them at major airports – and before long give up after observe that many were hotfoot on weekend .
Other GT-350s continue racing and succeed in ' 66 , but they were fundamentally the car that had competed the previous yr , as no ' 66 radius - role model were build . However , Shelby did construct six ' 66 convertible as gifts – presumably for very special friends .
But all skilful thing must come to an ending , and Shelby - Mustangs would n’t be quite the same after 1966 . Indeed , post-‘67 mannikin became more like regular Mustangs and were even built by Ford , hence the in high spirits status – and monetary value — of these early models among collector . But that ’s only as it should be . Unquestioned thoroughbred , the 1965 - 66 GT-350s stay some of the hairiest and most memorable American cable car ever built – and always will .
The next page contains 1965 - 1966 Shelby GT-350 mechanically skillful and production specifications .
1965-1966 Shelby GT-350 Specifications
With a 289 V-8 and four - speed manual gearbox , along with a body borrowed from the Ford Mustang 2 + 2 fastback , the 1965 - 1966 Shelby GT-350 was probably as close to a street - effectual racing machine as ever was offered by an American company .
Specifications
engine : ohv V-8 , 289 Criminal Investigation Command ( 4.00 × 2.87 ) , 306 bhp
Transmissions:4 - speed manual of arms , 3 - upper SelectShift automatic
temporary removal front : upper and lower A - arm , scroll give
Suspension rear : alive axle on semi - elliptical leaf spring
brake : front discs / rear drums
Wheelbase ( in.):108.0
Weight ( lbs.):2,800
Top fastness ( mph):130 +
0 - 60 mph ( sec):5.0 - 6.5
Production:1965 562 ; 1966 2,380
