This Immaculately Restored 1966 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 With A Very Special Past

The 1966 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 you see here is a unique example of the classic American sports car. Made in the same year as Ford’s legendary win against Ferrari at LeMans, it also has a rich racing legacy of its own. Driven across some of America’s most prestigious racetracks, this GT350 has been restored and mechanically overhauled back to its original glory very recently. What further increases the exclusivity of this particular example of the 1966 GT350 is that it is one of the 12 cars made that year that are known to have competed in professional races.

This 1966 Shelby GT350 Has An Immense Racing Heritage

The journey of this Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 began at Hayward Motors, California. Here, freshly tinkered by Shelby, it was built to race and sold to a Mr. Arthur Flores. Supported by Hayward Motors, Flores participated with this car in the SCCA California. Right from the year it was purchased up until 1975, this Shelby GT350 competed in several races at Riverside and Laguna Seca racetracks.

After this stint at the hands of Flores, the Shelby was sold to Lebsack. It was then fully restored and put back on track once again. This time it competed in several racing events at famous racetracks such as Road Atlanta, Palm Beach, Sebring, and Watkins Glen.

This phase in the history of the Ford Mustang GT350 lasted till 1985, when it was sold to a known car collector Mr. James K Dobbs. Likewise, he didn’t miss the opportunity to take this beast out on the track and raced it in Road Atlanta in 1985 and 1986.

After Mr. Dobbs, this GT350 found itself in the hands of Mr. J Doll. He, too, raced this car at SAAC-19 1994. This, however, seems to be the last track appearance of this Shelby GT350. After this, it was sold to Mr. Mantilla in 1995, who did not compete with it in any race but did change its original ‘Candy Apple Red’ color scheme to the classic Wimbledon white.

In 1996 however, this car was again fully restored and painted back to its original color with its signature LeMans stripes. Following this, it was imported to the United Kingdom, where it was stored until sold to its current owner in 2017. Since then, this car has rarely seen the open roads, kept only for occasional outings. This 1966 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 is again being auctioned by its current owner through Hilton and Moss after being recently restored and mechanically overhauled.

The complete restoration of this GT350 took £8,300 (approx. $8,470). Under this, it was given a brand new custom side exhaust pipe, four new Avon CR6ZZ tires, and a Tilton twin plate clutch kit. In addition, this car has received other mechanical upgrades besides a full inspection and health check.

Carol Shelby’s Brainchild, This GT350 Paved Pay For Future Mustangs

The exclusivity of this particular example, the 1966 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350, is not all because of its rich racing heritage. Instead, some it has garnered by default, simply by being manufactured in 1966.

The GT350s built in 1965 were designed with just one goal: to be a performance-oriented track monster. As a result, little thought was given to providing amenities in this car that would aid in driver comfort.

However, for the model year 1966, several modifications were made to the GT350 to make it more appealing to the general public. In addition, several creature comforts were added to ensure that the performance-oriented version of this muscle car could be considered a viable option for someone looking for an exciting daily driver.

The changes saw the 1966 GT350s sold for the first time with rear seats, an optional deluxe steering wheel, rear quarter windows replacing the older model’s extractor vents, and a functional brake scoop for the rear wheels. Also included in this list was the option to choose a three-speed SelectShift automatic transmission. Previous models only came with a 4-speed manual transmission from Borg Warner.

As a result of these changes, the 1966 Mustang GT350s currently go for staggering prices in the classic car market. Not only this, but the 1966 model year GT350s, with their mass market appeal, yet rich performance pedigree, paved the way for the future generations of the Mustang.

Because of its racing past, this particular example of the Shelby GT350 has been stripped of the above-mentioned luxuries. To illustrate, the cabin of this car is entirely race-ready and comes with a custom roll-cage. In addition, it also features racing seats in the front along with a race-spec safety harness.

This Shelby GT350 Does Not Compromise On Outright Performance

Several changes were made to the GT350 models starting in 1966 to make them more appealing to the masses; that said, no compromises were allowed regarding this car’s performance attributes. Since we are not aware of any modifications being done to the powertrain of this particular GT350, we are assuming that it continues to retain the exact performance figures from the time when it rolled off Carol Shelby’s shop floor.

Taking this into account, we would say that it continues to retain the same 289 cubic inch V8 engine, which features Shelby-inspired modifications such as Tri-Y headers, Holley 4-barrel Carburetor, and a high-rise aluminum intake manifold making it produce 306 horsepower along with 329 lb-ft of peak torque.