Shelby GT350

A 350 SWANSONG

Many of us have heard the old cliché ‘Life is all about timing’. When Carroll Shelby proposed his plan for a small, American V8powered sports car to Ford, his timing was perfect. At the time, the company was looking to create competition for Chevrolet’s Corvette.

In January 1965, that competition arrived: the Shelby GT350. At first glance it looked just like any other Mustang fastback, but looks were where the resemblance stopped.

Carroll Shelby’s exciting ride atop Ford’s ever-popular pony car lasted just over five years. During that time Shelby’s companies transformed the Mustang into something quite remarkable. Shelby built 36 factory competition GT350S, thus legitimizing the pony car as a true sports car, and in doing so handed Ford three consecutive Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) B/production championship titles, in 1965, 1966,

and 1967. Shelby had given the Shelby Cobra a large set of fangs, turning it into a true Corvette-beater. On the street, the cars set the standard for muscle car performance, later becoming more luxurious with a strong performance edge. A sporty ride for the masses was turned into a sports car for the elite.

EARLY PASSION

Paul Dainton’s passion for muscle cars started at an early age. When we catch up with Paul, he reminisces about those days.

“It’s November 1970. I’m eight years old and have spent the last two months saving all my pocket money for the Riverina School gala day. The reason for this is someone’s dad donates his old American stock car and hot rod magazines every year to the gala day,” he says. “I am up bright and early on gala day and head straight to the magazine pile to sift through them and buy all of the above mags that I can find. This caused an addiction for classic and muscle cars that lasts to this day.”

Given Paul’s early passion for muscle cars, we weren’t surprised when he told us that he owned a 1973 Valiant Charger during the early ’80s and went on to own an immaculate 1972 308-powered LS Monaro in about 1983.

“I cringe now about how I used and abused it, and with the current values I wish I still had it,” he explains. “I was also privileged during that era to have friends who also had some cool cars and I had some pretty scary rides in a genuine XY GT Falcon and an E49 Charger.”

During the ’90s, Paul also owned various Mustangs, including a 1970 351 manual fastback, 1984 GTHO convertible, 1986 GTHO, 1995 GT. Cuyrrently, he has this Shelby GT350 and a 1967 RS SS Camaro.

RENT-A-RACER

Paul purchased this pristine 1969 Shelby GT350 in early 2014 off a well-known Mustang enthusiast from Havelock North. The car was imported into New Zealand in 1994 and driven for a

“I had some pretty scary rides in a genuine XY GT Falcon and an E49 Charger”

few years before undergoing a complete restoration to its original specification. What makes this car particularly rare is that it’s one of 152 Rent-a-racers supplied to Hertz in 1969, one of 11 Hertz Grabber Blue cars, and one of two that was sent to Cutter Ford North Hollywood, a well-known Ford performance and Shelby dealer. After its tenure at Hertz, it was resold as a used car.

The Rent-a-racer programme began in 1966 after Carroll Shelby convinced Hertz to order 1001 Ford Mustangs modified by his shop for rental cars. Not surprisingly, this venture became enormously successful, especially for motor racing enthusiasts. There are many stories of renters driving these cars to the racetrack, where they would remove the engine and install it into their personal race car. At the end of the day they’d drop the Cobra engine back into the rental car and return it to Hertz, who were none the wiser. Other stories tell of Shelbys ending up at drag strips around the country for a weekend of racing, and, as such, many of the rental cars were returned in need of engine and other repairs. Although Hertz admits the venture was successful, the cost of keeping the cars in the fleet was indeed considerable.

Despite the negative opinions of some Shelby enthusiasts, Hertz recognized the value in adding the more refined 1969 Shelby to the fleet by purchasing 150 of the luxurious GT350S. Unlike 1966, when Hertz got its very own special model, the 1969 Hertz Shelby GT350 Sports Roof came straight out of the factory fully optioned with air conditioning, automatic transmission, Traction-lok rear end, Sport Deck (fold down) rear seat, tinted windows, AM radio, and tilt-away steering wheel. There was, however, one exception to the rule due to a long-standing Shelby tradition. A few convertible cars were delivered to Hertz, though it is believed that they were not for hire.

There are many variations of the Shelby Mustang but they all share a common trait: performance and raceinspired looks. From 1965 until today, the intertwined legacies of both Shelby and Mustang mean that it’s virtually impossible to talk about one without talking about the other.

BEST LOOKING

Paul’s GT350 is completely stock standard, including its original drivetrain. Although he says it’s not a fire-breather like its early predecessors, it’s a strong cruiser that performs well. Nestled beneath its bonnet, the 1969 Shelby GT350 boasts Ford’s 290hp (216.2kw) 351-cubic-inch (ci) (5.8-litre) Windsor V8. The 428ci (7.0-litre) V8 remained in the GT500. Both engines were fitted with Ford’s ram air cleaner, which was similar but not identical to the 1968 GT500 KR’S assembly. Small block cars received a Shelby aluminium intake manifold and stylish black die-cast valve covers mated to Ford’s FMX automatic transmission, while big block cars had bare aluminium valve covers in a couple of styles and received the much heavier duty C-6 automatic transmission.

“The GT350 Shelby, with its long fibreglass bonnet and short boot, is arguably the best-looking muscle car of its era,” says Paul.

That year, 1969, was the year of the scoops. But instead of air scoops bulging above the surface of the bonnet, low-drag ducts, developed by NACA (National Advisory Council for Aeronautics, the predecessor of NASA), drew the layer of air in direct contact with the surface of the bonnet into the opening. The 1969 Shelby received five scoops on the Naca-style bonnet: the centre to ingest cold air, the rear for hot-air release as well as semi-functional brake cooling ducts at the front of each Shelby-designed fibreglass front guard, and one internally ducted scoop mounted high on each rear quarter-panel ‘hip’ behind and above the door handle. Paul believes the result personifies the art of the muscle car.

The front of the GT350 features a unique, large, full-width black mesh grille opening. The headlights, instead of flanking the grille opening, as in years gone by, are situated within the large, open-mouth grille surrounded by chrome trim on the edges of the opening. The front bumper was not the standard Mustang unit as used in previous Shelbys but a unique Shelby component. A pair of Lucas driving lights complement a unique Shelby

designed valance pan under the front bumper, and a pair 1969 Cougar parking lights provide the final touches to the front of the car.

The reflective stripes along each side of the car, which were offered in more than a dozen colour choices, featured the GT350 or GT500 moniker to show through the stripe with body colour at the front of each guard.

The rear of the 1969 Shelby also received its fair share of restyling. The GT350 differed from the standard Mustang, on which it was based, having adopted the Shelby-like ducktail. The 1965 Thunderbird tail lights set in a moulded fibreglass tail panel with black mesh panels also set within recesses moulded into the tail panel added to the Shelby’s uniqueness. To complete the rear fascia styling, the exhaust exits through a pair of aluminium ports in the centre of the rear valance panel. The number plate was repositioned into the middle of the rear body panel and hinged to allow access to the fuel-filler cap.

MORE REFINED

A look inside Paul’s GT350 confirms that by 1969 the Shelby customer had become a more refined car buyer than in 1965. No longer the unembellished, ‘any colour as long as it’s black’ bare-bones interior, you were instead greeted with an abundance of (simulated) woodgrain trim panels, offering a more sophisticated look and feel. High-back Mach 1 seats were selected; in fact, the interior was essentially lifted complete from the Mach Tom Trevathan 1 Mustang, the only difference being Shelby badges on the door panels and centre of the rim-blow steering wheel. The Mach 1 instrument panel layout featured a large tachometer, which was optional for the Mach 1, next to an equally large speedometer. The ammeter and oil-pressure gauges displaced by the tachometer were relocated below the dash, mounted in a bezel at the front of the centre console and angled towards the driver for better viewing.

The rear seat area of the 1969 Shelby featured a tubular-steel roll bar covered with rubber. While the roll bars were visually identical to those of the 1968 Shelby, they differed structurally. Instead of running down to the floor, to be welded directly to the unibody, the 1969 roll bars were shorter and bolted to the inner side of the quarter panels. They were also manufactured from thinnerwalled tubing and incorporated the same suspended shoulder harness as used in the 1968 Shelbys.

By 1970, the Shelbys that were left over from 1969 were retitled as 1970 models, a conversion that had to be made under federal police supervision. The only changes to these 1970 Shelbys were the addition of two black stripes on the bonnet and a lower front chin spoiler.

ABORTED MISSION

In June of 1969, just as Apollo 11 was on the launch pad ready for blast-off from Cape Canaveral, taking Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins on the first manned mission to land on the moon, the Shelby programme should also have been ready to blast off. However, instead of launching the GT350 and GT500 programmes, Carroll Shelby aborted the mission and asked Ford to terminate the Shelby Mustang programme.

Shelby had found himself in a nowin situation by having to spend too much time defending his right to run his business his way. Ford accountants were now calling the shots. The Ford corporate sales structure wasn’t helping matters either. Shelby was once the only game in town but by now Ford had develped several performance versions of its Mustang — the Boss (302 and 429) and Mach 1 basically in competition with the Shelby cars.

Shelby’s enthusiasm waned further after he learnt that some of the Boss 429 development costs had been paid for from finances initially allocated to his programme. This surprising revelation, coupled with his increasing interest in his big-game African reserve, meant the writing was on the wall.

Just as Shelby knew when to get in, he also knew when it was best to get out. Just as he had started out with perfect timing, he timed the end to perfection, before the Shelby Mustangs had become mere shadows of their former selves. By leaving when he did, Shelby ensured that the Shelby Mustangs with which he and his companies were associated retained a permanent place of distinction in the dictionary of the American muscle car.