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Info about '60s Shelbys


Alloy Dave

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Ok, I know very little about the '60s Shelbys, so let me ask a few questions. And please...don't direct me to some Shelby site with a billion facts about the car....it will overwhelm me. Let me learn a few facts at a time.

 

  1. Why did they use the names 350 and 500? I know that couldn't be the HP ratings...so what gives with the numbers?
  2. What engines were available in the GT500s?
  3. What was the "base" engine?
  4. Which engine is regarded as being the "best" of the bunch?
  5. What were the colors available, or were there too many to list?
  6. Were those cars built within a Ford plant, or were they shipped out for modification like the Shelby GTs today?

 

Thanks,

 

Dave

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Ok, I know very little about the '60s Shelbys, so let me ask a few questions. And please...don't direct me to some Shelby site with a billion facts about the car....it will overwhelm me. Let me learn a few facts at a time.
  1. Why did they use the names 350 and 500? I know that couldn't be the HP ratings...so what gives with the numbers?

  2. What engines were available in the GT500s?

  3. What was the "base" engine?

  4. Which engine is regarded as being the "best" of the bunch?

  5. What were the colors available, or were there too many to list?

  6. Were those cars built within a Ford plant, or were they shipped out for modification like the Shelby GTs today?

Thanks,

 

Dave

I can answer at least one but I think the rere 427 equipped GT 500's were the best.

1968 and newer were built in the Ford plant

They made up the numbers 350 and 500

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289 302 351 427 and 428 Some of the smallblocks had superchargers

Really....superchargers? Wow...that's cool....that was unique back then. I did have a '67 Mustang with a 289, but it certainly was not a Shelby. I had to put a clutch in that thing once a year. It was the smaller of the two clutch sizes, and the engine was beefed up a bit...289 built.

 

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Ok, I know very little about the '60s Shelbys, so let me ask a few questions. And please...don't direct me to some Shelby site with a billion facts about the car....it will overwhelm me. Let me learn a few facts at a time.
  1. Why did they use the names 350 and 500? I know that couldn't be the HP ratings...so what gives with the numbers? According to Carroll, it was the number of steps it took him to walk from his office to where the cars were being assembled. Technically a random number.

     

  2. What engines were available in the GT500s? A Cobra Jet 428 rated at 390 H.P. but was really 400 H.P. Caroll offered the side oiler 427 engine as an option, but made less than 100 of them between late 67 and 1968. I have never seen one; ever. The KR had 428 (police interceptor) engine with 355 H.P. The KR was also supposed to get a Paxton blower, but USEPA emission standards killed it.

     

  3. What was the "base" engine? Base engines for the GT350's (all years) was the 306 H.P. 289 and then the 250 H.P. 302. But if you added the Paxton blower, the 302's H.P. went up to 355 H.P.

     

  4. Which engine is regarded as being the "best" of the bunch? IMO, the 302, 351, and 429 Boss engines.

     

  5. What were the colors available, or were there too many to list? Yea, I'd say so. I can tell you that they offered a beautiful Green though.

     

  6. Were those cars built within a Ford plant, or were they shipped out for modification like the Shelby GTs today? 1967 was the last year that Carroll had his hands in the cars. The 1968 production went in house, but Carroll still sold upfits through the dealer network.

Thanks,

 

Dave

You're welcome.

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Ok, I know very little about the '60s Shelbys, so let me ask a few questions. And please...don't direct me to some Shelby site with a billion facts about the car....it will overwhelm me. Let me learn a few facts at a time.
  1. Why did they use the names 350 and 500? I know that couldn't be the HP ratings...so what gives with the numbers?

  2. What engines were available in the GT500s?

  3. What was the "base" engine?

  4. Which engine is regarded as being the "best" of the bunch?

  5. What were the colors available, or were there too many to list?

  6. Were those cars built within a Ford plant, or were they shipped out for modification like the Shelby GTs today?

Thanks,

 

Dave

Dave, Believe If I remember correctly hearing that they were talking to Carroll about what to call the two different mustangs and he asked the engineers how far is it to that shop? Reply about 500 ft ie: gt-500 , how far to that one , 350' . Also think the cars were completed outside the ford factories. wh

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Here are the answers

 

1. The 350 came when no one could come up with a name so Carroll said to one of his staff how far is it from the office to the Hanger someone said 350 feet hence the G.T 350. The 500 came from the term 5 litre

 

2. The G.T 500`s are big blocks all were 428 cu. The 350 were small block 289 Hi Po`s 306 H.p. & in 68 they went to the 302.

 

3. Base engine 65`& 66 was 289 , 68`- 302 & 428 cu , 69`& 70` -351 & 428 cu

(In the 68` brochure they listed the 427 cu bought non were produced for the public)

 

4. The 428 cu

 

5. Wimbledom White in 65`( HERTZ were black ) 66`- W/white,Candy Apple Red,SapphireBlue, Ivy Greeen& Raven Black ,67 , 68 ,69 & 70 had some other colours added accu/ Blue, Maroon, Sunlite Gold, Moss Green .

 

6. 65` 66` & 67` Were built in California In an old air port hanger then production moved to A.E.O Smith in Michigan in 68`

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GT500 Engines

 

1967 all Gt500 had a police interceptor 428 with Dual 4V Carbs & 4spds

1968 Started out with the same Police interceptor but with single 4v carbs

1968 GT500 KR's actually had 428 Cobra Jets

1967 2 4 barrel carb motors with the 4spds were the fastest the 428CJ's up a close second

 

427's in Shelbys were not a regular production thing. Some dealers stuffed them in but you could not order a factory installed one.

1968 brought the 427 into the cougar.

 

The 67 supersnakes where the only ones counted any dealer installed ones didn't count. I am thinking 10 built at the factory. Might be wrong though, awhile back a 67 supersnake was up on ebay.

 

The real specialness to 65-67 Shelbys to me was they where built right next to the race cars that where whipping A** on the track. That doesn't happen to often you can't buy that now and badges or whatever else you can put on can't make it so.

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Great responses son...thanks! I've heard a lot about the 428...I had a friend that had a Torino (not that unusual one Fastback had :hysterical2: ) and I think he had a 428 in it...really moved.

 

Looks like the options and colors were all over the map for these cars.

 

Couple of things to add to this:

1965 Whimbleton White Only. 350 was the number of steps. By the way-- GT500 for '67-- 500 was an arbitrary number picked because it was bigger than 350.

1966 White, Black, Blue, Green

1967 Lots more colors....first year of the '500.....production was moved to Ford in Mid-1967. Early 1967 Shelbys had "inboard" (high beam lights lights close together), but it was found that overheating was an issue, so they were moved further apart or "outboard" I forget the exact number of 427 Supersnakes. Tasca Ford made 12 aftermarket 427 Supersnakes, and these are highly valued.

1968 First year of the PRODUCTION convertibles. It was also the only year (besides the '66-H) that black was offered. The KR was an option that actually made no difference in performance, in spite of it's slightly higher HP rating. He rolled it out quick because it was rumored that Chevrolet was going to use it. He patented the name and the KR model was born.

1969 & 70- Grabber colors were offered (orange, blue, and green). 70's were re-vin# 1969 models, leftovers. last years for the Production Shelby Mustangs---until '06 ;)

 

Believe me, I left out alot...just trying to give you a slightly better pic of what went on. Hope this helps!

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Great responses son...thanks! I've heard a lot about the 428...I had a friend that had a Torino (not that unusual one Fastback had :hysterical2: ) and I think he had a 428 in it...really moved.

 

Looks like the options and colors were all over the map for these cars.

 

 

You can probably get alot of info from the books about the shelby mustangs their are some good ones out there also you can find some good videos with some of the older cars racing around as well. I personal just like to listen to them tach them up on the straight aways. :D

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Couple of things to add to this:

1965 Whimbleton White Only. 350 was the number of steps. By the way-- GT500 for '67-- 500 was an arbitrary number picked because it was bigger than 350.

1966 White, Black, Blue, Green

1967 Lots more colors....first year of the '500.....production was moved to Ford in Mid-1967. Early 1967 Shelbys had "inboard" (high beam lights lights close together), but it was found that overheating was an issue, so they were moved further apart or "outboard" I forget the exact number of 427 Supersnakes. Tasca Ford made 12 aftermarket 427 Supersnakes, and these are highly valued.

1968 First year of the PRODUCTION convertibles. It was also the only year (besides the '66-H) that black was offered. The KR was an option that actually made no difference in performance, in spite of it's slightly higher HP rating. He rolled it out quick because it was rumored that Chevrolet was going to use it. He patented the name and the KR model was born.

1969 & 70- Grabber colors were offered (orange, blue, and green). 70's were re-vin# 1969 models, leftovers. last years for the Production Shelby Mustangs---until '06 ;)

 

Believe me, I left out alot...just trying to give you a slightly better pic of what went on. Hope this helps!

Clarification of the 67` Shelby inboard lights Fred Goodwell , Shelbys engineer started production of the 67` before checking the California vehicular codes & they built 200 cars with inboard lights which also had running lights in the upper scoops that came on when you put the brakes on. The lights were moved outboard to comply with state vehicle codes. There never was an over heating problem that I have heard of & there couple of these cars in our club that have inboard lights & no heating problem.

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Ok, I know very little about the '60s Shelbys, so let me ask a few questions. And please...don't direct me to some Shelby site with a billion facts about the car....it will overwhelm me. Let me learn a few facts at a time.
  1. Why did they use the names 350 and 500? I know that couldn't be the HP ratings...so what gives with the numbers?

  2. What engines were available in the GT500s?

  3. What was the "base" engine?

  4. Which engine is regarded as being the "best" of the bunch?

  5. What were the colors available, or were there too many to list?

  6. Were those cars built within a Ford plant, or were they shipped out for modification like the Shelby GTs today?

Thanks,

 

Dave

 

Try & get a copy of the 97` Shelby American World Registry it has all the info ,racing history serial# of Cobras & shelbys . SAAC is also working on the new edition which will include the new Shelbys & G.T -40

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Clarification of the 67` Shelby inboard lights Fred Goodwell , Shelbys engineer started production of the 67` before checking the California vehicular codes & they built 200 cars with inboard lights which also had running lights in the upper scoops that came on when you put the brakes on. The lights were moved outboard to comply with state vehicle codes. There never was an over heating problem that I have heard of & there couple of these cars in our club that have inboard lights & no heating problem.

 

I heard about overheating prob's, but my '350 never did--and it had the inboards. I completely forgot about the scoop lights. Pretty cool!

 

Try & get a copy of the 97` Shelby American World Registry it has all the info ,racing history serial# of Cobras & shelbys . SAAC is also working on the new edition which will include the new Shelbys & G.T -40

 

I got that one, it is an excellent source of all things Shelby. Helped me out ALOT! Well worth it even if you don't want to buy one but are a fan!

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Black was one of the colors offered on 1967 Shelbys. A friend of mine here in Kansas owned #127 which was a GT350. Since sold to a collector. That car was black with white side stripes and no Lemans stripes. Being an early 67 it has inboard headlights and the little red lights in the roof scoops. The car also has the paxton supercharger which was an option and a C4 automatic transmission.

I own a candy apple red 1968 GT350 and grabber yellow 1969 GT500 drag pack car, besides my red/white stripe 07 GT500.

I've been into Shelbys since they came out in 1965 and have spent a lot of time researching and studying Shelbys. I don't claim to know everything about them though.

There was only one 427 cid 1967 GT500 made by Shelby American. It was white with one wide stripe over the top of the car with narrower stripes on each side of the wide stripe. The car was made for a Goodyear tire test. The test was held at Texas motor speedway and was driven at speed for 24 straight hours. Shelby himself even drove some of the laps. After the test the car was taken to a LA Ford dealer and offered for sale. It sat well into the 68 model year before being sold to two airline pilots. The $7,500 price tag was the reason it didn't sell quickly, and the reason Shelby American didn't build anymore 427 GT500's.

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Couple of things to add to this:

1965 Whimbleton White Only. 350 was the number of steps. By the way-- GT500 for '67-- 500 was an arbitrary number picked because it was bigger than 350.

1966 White, Black, Blue, Green

1967 Lots more colors....first year of the '500.....production was moved to Ford in Mid-1967. Early 1967 Shelbys had "inboard" (high beam lights lights close together), but it was found that overheating was an issue, so they were moved further apart or "outboard" I forget the exact number of 427 Supersnakes. Tasca Ford made 12 aftermarket 427 Supersnakes, and these are highly valued.

1968 First year of the PRODUCTION convertibles. It was also the only year (besides the '66-H) that black was offered. The KR was an option that actually made no difference in performance, in spite of it's slightly higher HP rating. He rolled it out quick because it was rumored that Chevrolet was going to use it. He patented the name and the KR model was born.

1969 & 70- Grabber colors were offered (orange, blue, and green). 70's were re-vin# 1969 models, leftovers. last years for the Production Shelby Mustangs---until '06 ;)

 

Believe me, I left out alot...just trying to give you a slightly better pic of what went on. Hope this helps!

 

My 67 500 was an early car (#264) and had the inboard lights.

Modified 428 8V, 4spd.

Never had any over heating issues, not even during open track at the SAAC conventions.

After the first 200 or so cars, The DOT had a nutty about the upper marker lights near the upper scoops.

The whole inboard/outboard placement of the center lights, had more to do with DMV regulations which varied from state to state.

Depending on where the car was shipped, determined how the lights were set up.

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Couple of things to add to this:

1965 Whimbleton White Only. 350 was the number of steps. By the way-- GT500 for '67-- 500 was an arbitrary number picked because it was bigger than 350.

1966 White, Black, Blue, Green

1967 Lots more colors....first year of the '500.....production was moved to Ford in Mid-1967. Early 1967 Shelbys had "inboard" (high beam lights lights close together), but it was found that overheating was an issue, so they were moved further apart or "outboard" I forget the exact number of 427 Supersnakes. Tasca Ford made 12 aftermarket 427 Supersnakes, and these are highly valued.

1968 First year of the PRODUCTION convertibles. It was also the only year (besides the '66-H) that black was offered. The KR was an option that actually made no difference in performance, in spite of it's slightly higher HP rating. He rolled it out quick because it was rumored that Chevrolet was going to use it. He patented the name and the KR model was born.

1969 & 70- Grabber colors were offered (orange, blue, and green). 70's were re-vin# 1969 models, leftovers. last years for the Production Shelby Mustangs---until '06 ;)

 

Believe me, I left out alot...just trying to give you a slightly better pic of what went on. Hope this helps!

Wow, thanks Chris. So there was a color called Grabber Blue and Grabber Green? Can you find me a pic of each of these colors? I also like knowing about the headlights...helps me ID a model when looking.

 

Dave

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