On March 9th 1964 Lee Iacocca made himself an eternal place in American automotive history with the release of a car which would reshape the design and performance expectations for all automobiles sold within the North American market within the next forty years-the Ford Mustang.
Unlike many contemporaries of the car named after the famous World War II fighter plane, the Mustang was not a large sedan with a big block motor shoe-horned in as an after thought, but rather a purpose built performance coupe with its sights set on creating a new niche within the automotive sphere.
For 1965 the legendary Carroll Shelby created 36 racing variants of the already great Mustang fastback, which became the venerable and extremely valuable GT350 R-a very rare, powerful, and collectible automobile.
This fully restored, and very well prepared and finished 1965 Ford Mustang GT350 R Shelby Tribute is finished in Wimbledon White with Blue Lemans stripes and Black interior. This very special car has not only had a complete nut and bolt, rotisserie restoration, but is also performance prepared and outfitted for racing as a proper “R” should be.
This exceptionally potent and fully restored Shelby Tribute is equipped with:
- Keith Craft motor with aluminum heads
- 302 block bored and stroked to 347 producing 437hp at the wheels
- 5-speed manual transmission
- Roll bar
- Kirkey racing fabrication aluminum seats with padding
- Five-point harnesses
- Aluminum window frames on both doors
- Plexiglas side and rear windows
- Fuel cell
- Trunk located battery
- Safety shut-off
- Adjustable front suspension
- Racing clutch and brakes
- Fiberglass hood and rear deck lid
- Sub-frame connectors
- 1,840 Miles since restoration
- …And too much more to inventory here.
This carefully prepared Shelby GT350 R tribute has been prepared for B-production (small block) vintage racing, is street legal, won best of show at the Shelby in Tulsa meet in 2005, is extremely fast, reliable, exhilarating, and a small fortune invested in its restoration and mechanicals.
With GT350 Rs selling for several hundreds of thousands of dollars, and a variety of Shelby GT replicas bringing over $100K on an average day, it should be clear that this is a car with miles of track and appreciation before it. Nevertheless, though the investment opportunity may be far superior to many blue chip stocks-this is a car meant to be enjoyed from the business end-and is not for posers or those looking for a comfy ride, or power options, or peaceful Sunday cruises.
The serious enthusiast, looking for a fearless Pony to wrestle on weekends, or to turn your friends white after dinner, has found his proper steed!
