1965 Mustang 289 High Performance Convertible

We are continuing to make progress on our 1965 HiPo Mustang Convertible project. The car is painted, and it is time to start bolting the parts on!

The engine was recently assembled and painted. We installed a factory 3 x 2 carburetor set up along with correct Cobra Valve Covers and Oil Pan. Before installing the engine in the car, we wanted to run it on the engine dyno. This way, we could do the initial break in and check for any leaks or problems that we may have. We also decided to do a few little "pulls" up to 5000 and 6000 RPM's while we were all hooked up.

Everything went extremely well. We will be now working on the final few details on the engine and hope to have some more pictures of that soon.

Mustang Big Block Clutch Release Rod

We now have the 390 and 428 Big Block Clutch Release Rods for the 67-70 Mustangs. This is another quality part from Scott Drake. It features hardened steel with a clear zinc finish. It is made from the Ford print. Our part number is BK-2591.

We also have the end adaptor for this part. It is also hardened to OEM specifications and properly plated. It is part number BK-2592.

65-66 Mustang Consoles

We have had our IN6322 65-66 Black Console Bases for quite some time now. They are just very nice pieces. We now (or will be very soon) have the same, super quality part molded in the correct off white color. It is our part number IN6322WHI.

Here is our description:

ABS molded in color plastic. Paintable with any solvent based paint. Exact reproduction. Injection molded just like the original with correct grain surface. Very sturdy and durable. The console has cut lines embedded into the plastic on the underside detailing where to cut for Convertibles and Air Conditioning equipped cars. No cutting templates needed. Also comes with IN6321 (plastic plate at rear of front compartment.) We have assembled the console with original and reproduction chrome trim parts, and they fit great. We started with a NOS console to make the tooling 100 percent correct as most consoles are warped at the mounting edge.

Customer Car - Early 1966 GT350 Mustang Shelby

Everybody always tells as they enjoy seeing pictures of cool cars here on our Blog Posts. Well, here is a rare one. It is one of the first 252 1966 GT350 Mustangs. These were actually 65 model Mustangs that were "converted" to 66 specifications by Shelby American.

Sharp readers will note the 65 model style door panels, dash pad and seat upholstery in this "1966" model car.

Shelby American had to have a bit of time to modify the cars that were ordered from Ford. In order to get the 1966 models ready for the new model year, they had to get these 65 Mustangs to convert since Ford was not actually running the 66 Models yet.

This car will be at SAAC-35 the national convention of the Shelby American Automobile Club in August at Sonoma, CA.

65 Mustang High Performance Convertible Project

Here are a few more pictures of our 1965 K Code Convertible. It is coming along nicely. We should have a post about running the 289 HiPo engine on the dyno. soon. Stay tuned...

67-68 Shelby Ammeter Gauge Wiring Harness

The 1967 and 1968 Shelby GT350 and GT500 were equipped with "add on" oil pressure and ammeter gauges. We now have the wiring harness feed that runs from the ammeter gauge to the junction block that is located under the hood near the starter solenoid. It is our part number WG696.

We also have the plastic junction block itself - part number EG400.

Mustang Instrument Panel Voltage Regulator

We now have Electronic Instrument Panel Voltage Regulators for your Mustang. They are a huge improvement over the mechanical original style. We have them for the 65-66 Mustang - Our part number IN4991 and the 67-68 Mustang-Our part number IN4992.

-Mounted behind (on back of) panel that holds gauges in dash.

-Factory cans and brackets give a stock appearance and provide an easy installation.

-Much more accurate than the stock style, mechanical regulators.

-Over voltage (surge) protected. Prevents potential damage to the regulator or gauges caused by a damaged charging system, wiring problems or high amp battery chargers.

-No heat is generated from this style regulator.

-Completely eliminates gauge damage caused by sticky original style mechanical type instrument voltage regulators.

-Generates no radio interference.

-Eliminates pegging of gauge needles on start-up, which can eventually lead to gauge failure.

Mustang 6 Cylinder Auto Trans Vacuum Lines

Here is something for you Six Cylinder Mustang owners today. We have two different automatic transmission vacuum lines for the 6 cylinder cars. The earlier 64 1/2-66 Mustang used the one piece design pictured above. These are our part numbers EG232T (OE / Standard Steel) and EG232S (Stainless Steel.)

We also have the two piece design that is most often found on the 66-68 Mustangs. These are our part numbers EG233T (OE / Standard Steel) and EG233S (Stainless Steel.)

Customer Car - 1967 GT350 Shelby

We want to thank Bill Mian for sending these images along with his great story about his 1967 GT350 Shelby. We hope you enjoy Bill's story as much as we do!

A VERY VERY RARE ORIGINAL ONE OWNER SHELBY

Around the age of 10 I began reading every car magazine I could get my hands on, traveled to car dealerships to learn more about the cars that interested me and soon I knew more than most salesmen. My first car in 1964 was an unrestored 1940 Ford Coupe that my cousin gave me! This car was in storage in Poughkepsie NY for about 15 years before he gave it to me. It needed a little body work but was otherwise in excellent condition with a full race flathead, I enjoyed every minute in that car! After I had the body work done and had it painted Ford Black Enamel I used to drive it every day and to car shows where it always took 1^st & 2^nd place trophy’s in its class!

However, I needed a reliable car to commute to college and the 40 Ford was not exactly reliable. The Mustang had become my favorite car and when the Shelby’s came out, I promised myself someday I would buy a used one. My Dad knew how much I was infatuated with the Mustangs, so he bought a used 1965 Mustang 6 cylinder 3 speed coupe! I was devastated, how could I drive a stick six! There really was no choice; either I accepted it or he said he’d return it! I kept it. I worked every summer and every school vacation during college saving every penny hoping I would be able to have enough money before I graduated college to buy a used 67 Shelby GT 350. I chose the GT350 because I knew it handled better than the GT500 due to the weight distribution and I decided on a 1967 because the 67’s retained the same wild cam and solid lifters as the 66’s plus the newly designed body on the 67’s I thought was gorgeous.

During the summer of 1968 I began my search which took me all over New England looking for a used 67 GT 350. I had calculated that by the end of the summer I’d have enough money saved plus the trade of my 65 Mustang to buy my dream car. By August I had not found one and every salesman I talked to told me “you’ll never find what you’re looking for.” My last stop was Robie Ford in Dorchester, MA. He had quite a few new leftover 68 Shelby’s, some used 68 Shelby’s and a few used 67 Shelby GT500’s. I was disappointed and began to walk away when a salesman approached me and asked if he could help me. I told him what I was looking for and he began to try to sell me one of the ones on his lot. I explained to him why I wanted a 67 GT 350 and he said, “you know I think I can help you.” I said, “what do you mean, you don’t have any 67’s here.” Not here but we have two at our warehouse down the street. He drove me to this dirty warehouse and there, were two BRAND NEW leftover 67 Shelby GT350’s! One was a Red 4 speed with the Magstar wheels and the other was a Nightmist Blue Automatic with 10 spokes! I was blown away but now I had another dilemma, I hated the Ford Red but I didn’t really want the Automatic even though I loved the color and the 10 spokes! Once he understood my dilemma he offered to sell me the Nightmist Blue car for the same price as the Red one which meant he wasn’t charging me for the Automatic or the 10 spokes. I knew from all my reading and research that the Automatic had been altered by Shelby and shifted faster than the 4 speed. So, I finally agreed to take it without even taking it for a test drive. My Dad and the salesman tried to convince me that for the same price I could have a new 68 Mustang GT 390, but I knew better! I bought that car and that is the car I enjoyed driving every day till the summer of 1976 when I took it off the road.

Description of this 1967 GT 350 VIN 67210F2A00159

This Shelby GT350 is a very early (No 159) original one-owner vehicle with 88,519 miles original miles with almost all of the original parts! My goal was to take this valuable piece of Shelby muscle and “renew” it to impeccable standards while maintaining as much of its originality as possible.” I use the word “renew” because almost all of the original components were rebuilt, re-plated and/or refinished whenever possible.

The very early 67 Shelby’s had the inboard headlights, smooth vinyl upholstery, functioning brake scoops, Koni shocks, the 4 point attachment rollbar, steel backed fiberglass hood & trunk lid & chrome trim bezels around the dual exhaust cutouts. Almost everything you read states that the automatic cars came with a 595cfm Autolite carburetor, but this car came with a 715cfm Holley 4150 carburetor with LeMans float bowls.

Highlights:

· Stamped on the backside of the interior passenger door panel is the date, Nov 01, 1966

· During the restoration I made contact with SAAC’s 67 Registrar Dave Mathews and traveled to his home in Connecticut to visit him. To my surprise, he had documentation that showed my car was originally consigned to Downey Ford in Downey, CA on December 21, 1966 and when they didn’t sell it, Ford re-consigned it on February 14, 1967 to Robie Ford in Dorchester, MA which is where I ended up buying it!

· Original Shelby American Invoice No 001941 to Robie Ford for $3,799.34

· Original Robie Ford Bill of Sale documenting this car was purchased on August 29, 1968 by Louis Mian Inc

· Last registration documenting on November 4, 1976 the title was transferred to me personally

· Original Shelby Pre-Inspection Sheet, owners manual & maintenance records

· Original, complete number matching engine and drive train

· Original seat belt tags

· Original 10 spoke alloys & original Goodyear Speedway spare tire, jack, etc.

· Original drive train, brake power booster (rebuilt), brakes (rebuilt), power steering unit (rebuilt), transmission (rebuilt)

Production Statistics: Out of 1,175 1967 Shelby GT350’s built, this car is one of:

151 painted Nightmist Blue

348 Nightmist Blue with this trim combination

351 with Select-O-Matic Transmission

38 Nightmist Blue Automatics

As of May 2009, according to the Shelby American Auto Club, this vehicle is only one of 2 original owner 1967 Nightmist Blue GT350 automatics in existence today!

Ford Carlisle Pictures

Ford Carlisle - Customer Car

There were lots of cool cars and parts at the Carlisle Ford Nationals this past weekend in Carlisle, PA. We took a few pictures and will post some of them this week.

We will start today with this beautiful 1966 GT350 Shelby. This is an extremely rare version in that it is one of the few factory black cars that were not Hertz Rent-a-Cars. It features factory "Lemans" Stripes and the standard painted Magnum 500 wheels.

This particular car is also featured in the popular book, The Complete Book of Shelby Automobiles.

When is the last time you saw an original window sticker for a '66 GT350?

Customer Car

Nicolas Deslie responded to our blog post about customer cars and sent us this picture of his 1964 1/2 Mustang Coupe. His car is an early production Mustang with an April 24, 1964 scheduled production date. It is equipped with a C4 automatic transmission and power steering along with the D code 289 4V engine.

You may have noted the license plate. Nicolas brought the car over to France in 2008.

American Racing Torq-Thrust D Wheels

One of our very popular catalog cover cars was the Chrome Yellow 65 Mustang Convertible that appeared on our 2002 cover. That car just looks great with those 15 x 7 American Racing Torq-Thrust D Wheels. Tons of customers have asked not only about that wheel for their Mustang, but the exact same wheel and tire package. Lots of questions revolve around what size tire is needed for that set up to work on a 65 and 66 model Mustang. The 67-73 models have even more room.

We always recommend the 215/60 x 15 tire, particularly for 65-66 models that do not have as much room as the later years. The yellow Mustang pictured is lowered a bit, but has basically stock suspension, and this size works great.

We just got a huge shipment of these wheels in, so they are in stock and ready to go. You may want to just order our wheel and tire package - that's 4 wheels with centers and 20 lug nuts mounted on BF Goodrich Radial TA raised white letter tires. They come to you mounted and balanced. Just bolt them on. It cannot get any easier than that.