by Mike –
In 1964 Ford asked Carroll Shelby to transform the Ford Mustang from a “secretary’s car” into a race car. He did that and in 1965 the Shelby GT350 Mustang won the SCCA B/Production Class championship. There were 562 1965 GT 350s produced: 34 were the race version, 9 were drag racing models, 1 street prototype, 2 race prototypes and 516 street versions.
In 1966 there were 2,367 GT350s made. These have become highly collectable and have increased in value over the years. The GT350 was produced until 1970, however, the 1965 and 1966 are the most desirable and valuable.
I especially like the 1965 “double digit” cars, these are the first 100 produced for homologation purposes. They were all made at the San Jose, California Ford factory and then sent to Shelby in Los Angeles for the Shelby feature upgrades. The former San Jose Ford factory is now a shopping mall.
This one shown here, No. 5S049, was at a local car show last year. The owner has owned it for many years.
All 1965 GT350s were painted Wimbledon White with Guardsman Blue rocker stripes.
One of my all time faves. I believe they used the GT350 in the French movie “A Man and A Woman”…
I stand corrected, the car in the movie was a 1965 Mustang GT, also white but notchback. Amazingly, I learned that this car was for sale in 2004 for just €14,000. I was working in Russia at the time and could have easily picked it up. Wish my classic car bug was as bad then as it is now…
These cars are a blast to drive! Compared to the ’66 they are much more raw. The ’65 has no power steering or brakes. There is no exhaust to speak of; straight pipes from the headers to the exits in front of the rear wheel. The ratcheting locker rear end clunks and creaks when you turn a sharp corner. The Koni shocks provide a stiff ride that wouldn’t be very comfortable for any long distance trip. The seats really don’t provide much lateral support so hard cornering can be a bit of an adventure. Any distance at highway speeds will have you checking to make sure all your fillings are still intact. One could construe these as negatives. Absolutely not! It’s all part of the experience…
I may be wrong but I’m pretty sure these cars were available with or without stripes.
Dale
The stripes down the middle of the car over the hood and top were an option and most were dealer installed but I believe the rocker panel stripes and GT350 logo were standard on all.
From the registry I take this was originally delivered to Larsen Ford. I am looking into the licence plates they used on their cars. Did they have 1965 NY plates with the Worlds Fair theme? I am researching an export car that probably came via Larsen Ford.