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Like most of you know Carroll Shelby presented us with some of the nicest, fastest and most brutal Mustangs. He gave the Mustang a sporty reputation. He struck a deal with Hertz so that the GT 350 was for rent ! I wish I was there in 66, renting a Shelby for the weekend.......
This page shows you the "street" models with pictures, prices, options, production data and trivia. I hope you enjoy it ! If you want to see the "R models" click here.

1965

The 65 model is closest to the standard Mustang, just add some stripes and wheels and the GT 350 is ready. Mmmm ok, now the real stuff. The 289 Hi Performance engine produces 306 bhp thanks to Mr Shelby, the 4 speed manual gearbox is from Borg Warner. A Detroit Locker 9inch axle finishes the job.
The suspension treatment: lowering the front upper control arms with 1 inch, new 1 inch anti-sway bars, Koni shock absorbers and special idler and Pitman arms. The brakes were upgraded as well: 9.5inch front disc brakes + station wagon rear drum brakes with metallic linings.
Inside a wooden Cobra steering wheel an instrument pod in the middle of the dash
(oil pressure, tachometer), a spare tire mounted on the fiberglass deck that replaces the back seat and 3inch wide Ray Brown competition seat belts.
The standard wheel is the heavy duty station wagon one, argent-painted steel with chromed lug nuts, there was an optional Cragar wheel available.
The standard side stripes and the optional Le Mans stripes are in Guardsman Blue. Only one exterior color:  Wimbledon White, interior: standard black.
Production Prices
   
Street prototype:                       1 R Model         $ 5,995.00
Competition shelbys               34 S Model         $ 4,547.00
Competition prototype             2  
Street models                        521  
Drag racing models                  4  
Total                                       562  

 

1966
The 66 model was more mustang and less Shelby. Since none of the 65 cars made any profit, Ford decided to cut on the costs. OK the 65 GT 350 gave the mustang a fantastic sporty name and several victories, but Ford is a manufacturer. And they have to make money !
There were 252 leftover 65 models, they received the 66 job (new grille, Plexiglass C-pillar windows, quarter panel air scoops, Deluxe Mustang wood-grain steering wheel, dash-mounted Cobra tachometer and Cobra logo GT 350 gas cap) but kept most of the 65 goodies as well. The actual 66 models lost most of those features. An automatic transmission became available and 4 colors were added. The rear seat came back as well. And together with the standard 66 Mustang, the GT 350 also received emergency flashers and back-up lights.
Some of the lost goodies were on the option list though, the Detroit locker for instance. And if you wanted power, Shelby even offered a Paxton supercharger !!
The standard wheel was the Magnum 500 and an attractive cast-aluminum ten-spoke wheel became optional. Interior was standard black.
Four convertibles were built as well, all had different colors. The green one (6S2375) and the blue one (6S2378) were automatics. The yellow one (6S2376) and the red one (6S2377) were 4 speeds. All 4 had airconditioning and a non functional side scoop (because of the convertible mechanism

Production

Hertz cars                            999
Convertibles                            4
Supercharger prototype         1
Hertz prototypes                      2
Street prototypes                    2
Dragracers                              4
Street production              1365

Total                                    2377

Prices and options

Shelby GT 350                     $ 4.428.00

Fold-down rear seat                     50.00
AM radio                                        57.50
Alloy wheels                                 275.00
Rally stripe                                     62.50
Detroit Locker                             141.00
Paxton Supercharger                 670.00

Colors

Wimbledon White        M
Raven Black                 A
Ivy Green                       R
Candyapple Red          T
Sapphire Blue              G

 

 

1967

" The Road Car" that is how they called the 67 Shelby. It looks completely different from the previous model and it is different again from the standard Mustang. It has roof mounted and quarter panel air scoops, an extended nose and an unswept, spoilered tail. There are also center grille-mounted high beams, the wide wind-split hood scoop, the roofline sweaping to the rear of the car and clean taillights.
Also new is the exciting GT 500, with the 428ci engine. With 355bhp it went from 0 - 60 in 6.7sec !!
It also became more luxurious: the Mustang Deluxe interior, power steering, power brakes and optional airconditioning + twice as many exterior colors !
Still with the 428ci possible and progressive rate springs and the standard roll bar, the Shelby was still in a league of its own.

Production

GT 350                 1175

GT 500                 2050

Total                     3225

Prices and options

GT 350                                                  $ 3,995.00
GT 500                                                  $ 4,195.00
Power disc brakes                                       64.77
Power Steering                                             84.47
Shoulder Harness                                         50.76
Select-O-Matic transmission                       50.00
Airconditioner, Selectair                            356.09
Exhaust emission control system                45.44
Closet crankcase emission system              5.19
Fold-down rear seat                                      64.77
Deluxe (Shelby) wheels                              185.00
Rally stripe                                                      34.95
Paxton supercharger for GT 350               549.00

 

Colors

Bronze Metallic           V
Dark Blue                    K
Raven Black               A
Wimbledon White      M
Dark Moss Green      Y
Metallic Grey *            4
Lime Gold                    I
Brittany Blue               Q
Candyapple Red        T
Acapulco Blue            D

* Not a Mustang color


 

1968

New: the Shelby convertible ! It was discussed for 67 but it only arrived in 68. Again there is a new styling (for Shelby only) a massive grille opening with rectangular foglights, dual air intake scoops and air extractors on the hood and 65 Thunderbird style taillights. The interior is Deluxe with console and full instrumentation and for the convertible there is a rollbar (with D rings for the surfboard)
The GT 500 is still there but changes mid-year into GT 500KR (King of the Road) when Ford introduces the 428 Cobra Jet engine (different from the 428 Police Interceptor engine)
The standard wheel was steel with a generic Ford wheelcover, the ten-spoke wheel was optional.

Production

GT 350 Fastback                1253
GT 350 Convertible               404
GT 500 Fastback                1140
GT 500 Convertible               402
GT 500KR Fastback             933
GT 500KR Convertible          518

Total                                       4450

 

Colors

Raven Black                         A
Acapulco Blue                      D
Lime Gold                              I
Wimbledon White                M
Highland Green                    R
Candyapple Red                  T
Fleet Yellow                          W
Dark Blue Metallic                X
Gold Metallic                         Y

 

1969

1970

Competition, for the first year Shelby gets competition from within Ford. The Mach I and the Boss cars gave the Shelbys a hard time. Because of that and the fact that the Shelby was more a luxurious cruiser than a true sportscar Carroll Shelby decided to stop production

Still the 69 model was an excellent and beautiful car and power was still available ! The wide grille has a chromed rectangle inset and a Cobra insignia. The extended, sculptured hood has 5 (!) scoops. Even the fiberglass front fenders have scoops. The quarter panel scoops are ahead of the rear wheel openings and cool the rear drums. The lower Shelby stripe was moved upward and were reflective with several colors available. The rear has again 65 Thunderbird lights and has the hidden gascap in between. Just below the bumber in the center there was a custom aluminum exhaust outlet handling the dual exhausts. To finish the rear, there was also a chrome-trimmed black expanded aluminum section in the deck lid and extensions. There was only one wheel: a five spoke aluminum center in a chrome steel rim with a Cobra logo center cap. The interior was Mach I Deluxe with several Shelby touches.

Around 800 69 Shelbys remained unsold. Those were converted into 70 models through minor changes and updating of their winsdshield VIN plates (checked by the FBI for legal reasons) The cars were updated with black stripes on the hood, a lower front spoiler and emissions controls were brought to 1970 standards. Total production is 3153 units, according to Shelby 3294 units. With these cars the Shelby era comes to an end

 

Prices

GT 350 Sportsroof          $ 4.434.00
GT 350 Convertible            4.753.00
GT 500 Sportsroof             4.709.00
GT 500 Convertible           5.027.00

 

Colors

Royal Maroon                         B
Black Jade                             C
Acapulco Blue                        D
Gulfstream Aqua                    F
Wimbledon White                  M
Candyapple Red                    T
Grabber Blue                          J
Grabber Orange                     U
Grabber Green                       Z
Silver Jade                              4
Pastel Gray                             6
Grabber Yellow                       -