A Short History Of The Shelby Mustang
In late 1964, Ford Motor Company teamed with Carroll Shelby to build an all new sports car based on the new
Mustang fastback. The goal was to create competition for Chevrolet's Corvette. On January 27, 1965, the
competition arrived! At first glance, the GT350 looked like a regular Mustang fastback, but on closer inspection,
looks were where the similarities stopped.
The 1965 Shelby GT350's were white fastbacks shipped from Ford's San Jose plant without hoods and rear seats
but with disc brakes, a four speed transmission, and the 271hp 289 engine. The cars were then prepared by Shelby's
crew. Some of the changes included: the engine was beefed up to 306 horsepower, the front suspension was lowered
1", the rear seat was replaced with a fiberglass panel that held the spare tire, the battery was relocated to the
trunk area, and a fiberglass hood with a functional scoop was installed. Other changes included the installation of a
1" front sway bar, 'Koni' adjustable shocks, rear traction bars which were located above the rear axle, 9" rear end,
a dash mounted gauge pod which housed a tachometer and oil pressure gauge, and 3" competition seat belts. The
Shelby was basically a full bred race car that could be bought straight out of the Ford dealer's showroom. There
were a total of 562 Shelby GT350's built in 1965, 550 street models and 12 race models.
The 1966 Shelby underwent some minor changes. Most of these changes were because Ford decided that they
wanted to make a profit on the cars. This made some of the modifications that were originally considered necessary
- unnecessary. Approximately 200 of the 1965 models were held over and sold as 66's. These early models
retained the 1965 changes. Some of the things no longer considered necessary were relocating the battery to the
trunk and lowering the front A-arms. The rear traction bars which were originally installed over the axle were
changed to simpler units that went under the axle. 14" wheels became standard rather than the 15" units furnished
previously. Since the 1966 Mustang's instrument cluster now included an oil pressure gauge, the instrument pod
was discontinued and a separate tachometer was mounted on top of dash pad. One of the biggest visual differences
to the 66's, was the replacement of the rear air extractor with a clear 'plexi' glass window. During the 1966 model
year, Ford received a contract from Hertz Rent-a-Car for 1,000 specially prepared units.
Although they didn't quite
make the 1,000 mark, they came close. 936 Hertz Shelby GT350's were produced in 1966. All Hertz units were
supplied with gold side stripes that read, G.T.350H. Most of the units also had gold Le Mans stripes, but not all.
The Hertz models were shipped with chrome Magnum 500 wheels. The very early Hertz models were shipped with
a 4 speed transmission, all of the rest had automatics. There were a total of 2,378 1966 GT350's built. Of these,
1,433 were street models, 936 were Hertz models, 3 were race models, and 6 were specially prepared convertibles.
The convertibles were not offered for sale to the public, they were for Carroll Shelby's friends, his secretary, and
himself. To this date only 5 of the convertibles have been accounted for, and one of those five was destroyed.
The 1967 Shelby was more of a radical departure from the standard Mustang. Through the extensive use of
fiberglass, the Mustang was transformed into an aggressive looking machine. The front end of the '67 Shelby was
extended about three inches with a fiberglass extension, hood, and fenders. The hood featured a massive, dual
scoop. The rear of the car featured a fiberglass trunk lid with built in spoiler that blended into the quarter panel
extensions. The early 67 Shelby's had had driving lights placed together in the center of the grill and red side
marker lamps mounted in the upper rear quarter panel scoops. The side marker lights were discontinued due to the
DOT regulations in some states. There are contradicting reports as to why the driving lights were moved to the
outside of the grille. Some reports say that it was done because of the DOT regulations in some states, others say
it was because it hampered the engine cooling. The big news for '67 was Shelby's new model - the GT500. With
Ford's addition of the 390 engine in the Mustang, it opened the path for the big block Shelby. Carroll Shelby, in his
usual fashion, decided to go one up on Ford by installing a 428cid engine. The 428 boasted 355 horsepower at 5400
rpm and 420 foot pounds of torque at 3200 rpm. There were a few (probably less than 50) GT500 Shelby's built with
the 427 Medium Riser engine. There were a total of 3,225 Shelby's built in 1967 - 1,175 GT350's and 2,050
GT500's.
The 1968 Shelby, like the '68 Mustang, was little changed from it's 1967 counterpart. 1968 was the first year that
the name Cobra was actually attached to the breed. The cars were now known as the Shelby Cobra GT350 and the
Shelby Cobra GT500. The biggest news for the '68 Shelby's was the addition of the convertible. The Shelby's again
were offered with the 302-4V for the GT350's and the 427-4V or the 428-4V for the GT500's. When the 427 was
dropped from the Mustang line, the 428 Cobra Jet engine was offered in the GT500's. With the addition of the 428
Cobra Jet, a new model was born - the GT500KR (for King of the Road). The hood of the '68 Shelby's boasted two
large scoops that almost engulfed the entire hood. The tail lights on the '68's were 1965 Thunderbird units complete
with the sequential indicators. The interiors featured the Mustang deluxe seat covers and walnut-grained appliques,
full instrumentation including an 8000 rpm tachometer and 140mph speedometer, and a padded center console with
the "coiled cobra" embossed on the storage cover. There were a total of 4,450 Shelby Cobra's built in 1968, 1,253
were GT350 Fastbacks, 404 were GT350 Convertibles, 1,140 were GT500 Fastbacks, 402 were GT500
Convertibles, 933 were GT500KR Fastbacks, and 318 were GT500KR Convertibles.
1969 was to be the last year that the Shelby was built. A few of the '69's were held over and sold as 1970 units,
but in all actuality, this was the last year of this fine breed. The engine lineup was changed to include an optional
(the 302 was still standard) 351-4V Ram Air engine for the GT350 and only the Ram Air 428 for the GT500's. 1969
was the year of the "scoops". The Shelby's had five scoops on the NASA style hood, one at the front of each
fender, and one on each quarter panel. The Lucas driving lights were now mounted below the front bumper, rather
than in the grille. The dual exhaust system now exits through a massive aluminum outlet mounted in the center of
the rear valance panel. The license plate was moved up to the center of the rear body panel and hinged to allow
access to the fuel filler cap. The interior continued to be the deluxe Mustang trim as in previous years. There were
a total of 3,150 '69 and '70 Shelby's produced, 1,085 were GT350 Fastbacks, 194 were GT350 Convertibles, 1,536
were GT500 Fastbacks, and 335 were GT500 Convertibles.
The 1970 Shelby's were left over 69's sold as 1970 models. The only changes to the 1970 Shelby's were the
addition of two black stripes on the hood, and a lower front chin spoiler.