1965 Shelby Mustang GT350

1965 SHELBY MUSTANG GT350
1965 was the first year that Ford contracted Shelby-American to build a race version of their best-selling Mustang. Who but Carroll Shelby could pull it off? Ford sent partially-assembled 1965 Mustang Fastbacks to Shelby’s “Frankenstein Laboratory” at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport), where Ol’ Shel added his special mix of high performance goodies.

1965 SHELBY MUSTANG GT350 UPGRADES
It all started with a Cobra hi-rise aluminum intake manifold which, along with some other magic, boosted theK-code 289 V8s output from 271hp to 306hp. The stock rear end was yanked and a heavy duty 9-inch rear end out of a Galaxy was installed. Stock brakes were replaced with metallic-lined rear drum brakes, and Kelsey-Hayes front disk brakes. Numerous suspension and hardware tweeks improved the track performance and endurance of the car. The battery was relocated to the trunk, for weight bias-purposes. Over-rider traction bars were installed over the rear leaf springs rather than under (hence the name). The side-exit exhaust had glass pack mufflers. The only transmission available was the Borg Warner T-10 4-speed manual. For 1965 only, tires were Goodyear “Blue Dots”, rated for 130mph. Standard wheels were silver-painted steelies, with optional Cragar Shelby 15” wheels with steel rims and cast-magnesium centers.

1965 Shelby Mustang GT350 INTERIOR

1965 Shelby Mustang GT350 ENGINE

1965 SHELBY MUSTANG GT350 FACTOIDS
All ’65 GT350s were painted Wimbledon White with Guardsman Blue rocker stripes. About 28% came with the optional Le Mans stripe package which ran down the hood, roof and trunk deck, bumper-to-bumper. Total production for all 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350s was 562 units. The rear seats were removed and the full-sized spare tire mounted in its place, making it a 2-seat and allowing it to be considered a ‘sports car’ by SCCA rules. 34 race-spec GT350R versions were built and dominated SCCA racing, retaining the B-production class championship for 3 rears running.