Ford Mustang Shelby GT350

Shelby Mustang GT350 at a glance

The GT350 is listed in the catalogue as a version of the Ford Mustang, next to the bigger-engined Shelby GT500.

How the GT350 began

In 1964 Ford vice-president Lee Iacocca wanted the new Mustang to win races and asked Carroll Shelby to make it a credible competition car. The Henry Ford museum notes that Shelby was reluctant at first, because Shelby American was busy developing Ford's GT40, but work started in mid-1964. Ford supplied Mustang fastbacks from its San Jose plant, and Shelby modified them in Venice Beach, California, and later at a site by Los Angeles airport.

The name has a simple story. According to The Henry Ford, "GT" stood for Grand Tourer, and "350" came from an associate of Shelby who paced about 350 steps to a nearby building; the name was picked once Shelby had grown tired of Ford's long naming discussions.

The target was SCCA B-Production racing, where the rules treated the car as a sports car. Shelby removed the rear seat and put a full-size spare wheel in its place, which made the GT350 a two-seater, and fitted a glass-fibre bonnet instead of the steel one.

The 1965 GT350

The engine was Ford's 289 Hi-Po V8, the K-code unit that produced 202 kW (271 hp) in a regular Mustang. Shelby added a Cobra high-rise intake, a 725 cfm Holley four-barrel carburettor and Tri-Y headers. The rating rose to 228 kW (306 bhp) at 6,000 rpm and 446 Nm (329 lb-ft) at 4,200 rpm.

The chassis received Kelsey-Hayes front disc brakes, larger rear drums from the Galaxie, traction bars and relocated A-arms. The only gearbox was a Borg-Warner T10 four-speed manual. Every 1965 car was painted Wimbledon White with Guardsman Blue rocker stripes; about 28 % also had the wide Le Mans stripes over the roof. Many early cars had the battery in the boot, which Shelby changed during the year after complaints about fumes.

Shelby built 562 GT350s for 1965. Wikipedia counts 34 race-spec GT350R cars among them; The Henry Ford says 36 were built for competition.

GT350R and SCCA racing

The GT350R was stripped for racing: plexiglass instead of side and rear glass, no carpets, aluminium door panels and a glass-fibre front apron in place of the bumper to feed more air to the radiator. The Henry Ford gives more than 268 kW (360 hp) for its engine.

The car raced against Corvettes and Jaguars. In the 1965 SCCA season it won five of six divisional championships and the national title, and Wikipedia records that the GT350 was B-Production champion three years in a row. Shelby withdrew his own team after 1965, but private teams kept winning with the GT350R.

1966–1967: Hertz, more colours and more comfort

For 1966 the car lost the Mustang name and was sold simply as the Shelby GT350. Blue, red, green and black joined white, rear quarter windows replaced the extractor vents, and brake cooling scoops appeared on the sides. A three-speed automatic and a rear seat became options, the battery stayed in the engine bay and the traction bars were dropped. A Paxton supercharger was offered as an option, rated at 328 kW (440 hp).

One customer took a large share of the cars: Hertz. Ford's stake in the rental company led to about 1,003 fastbacks, including two prototypes. The first 85 had four-speed manual gearboxes for the "Rent-a-Racer" programme, and about 800 more had automatics; returned cars were sold on as GT350H models. Shelby built 2,378 cars for 1966, including two prototypes and four drag cars, and 1,372 went to private buyers. Four experimental convertibles were also made.

The 1967 car was given a new look with a longer glass-fibre nose, 11.3-inch front discs and taillights taken from the 1967 Mercury Cougar. The 289 kept its 228 kW (306 hp) rating with a single Holley four-barrel. Wikipedia gives about 7 seconds for 0–60 mph and a top speed of 225 km/h (140 mph).

Classic GT350 engines

For the 302 of 1968 Wikipedia gives two ratings, 172 kW (230 hp) and 186 kW (250 hp), the higher one with the high-rise intake; the table uses 186 kW.

1968–1970: Ford takes over

From 1968 the GT350 used the factory 302 V8 with hydraulic lifters. Shelby's headers were deleted to make room for power steering, a convertible joined the range, and the taillights now came from the 1965 Thunderbird. Wikipedia says an outside contractor, A.O. Smith, modified the 1968 cars; the page is not consistent about which Ford plant built the base cars.

The 1969 GT350 was designed by Ford rather than by Shelby. It had a 351 V8 and a body several inches longer than the Mustang's, and Carroll Shelby ended his agreement with Ford in the summer of 1969. No new cars were built for 1970: unsold 1969 GT350s and GT500s, 789 in total, received 1970 serial numbers under FBI supervision, plus a chin spoiler and two black bonnet stripes.

The modern GT350 (2011–2012 and 2015–2020)

Shelby American showed a new GT350 at the 2010 Barrett-Jackson auction to mark the car's 45th anniversary. It was a conversion of the 2011 Mustang GT, carried out after the car was registered. Output was 321 kW (430 hp) naturally aspirated or 391 kW (525 hp) supercharged; a 465 kW (624 hp) setting was available without warranty. Motor Trend measured 0–60 mph in 3.7 seconds. The 2011 cars came in Performance White with Guardsman Blue stripes, and a convertible arrived for 2012, the first GT350 convertible since 1970.

Ford's own Shelby GT350 arrived for 2015 on the sixth-generation Mustang. Its 5.2-litre "Voodoo" V8 used a flat-plane crankshaft and produced 392 kW (526 hp) at 7,500 rpm and 582 Nm (429 lb-ft) at 4,750 rpm. The only gearbox was a Tremec TR-3160 six-speed manual, lightened and adapted for track use. The car had aluminium suspension knuckles, a carbon-fibre grille and optional MagneRide dampers, which Wikipedia describes as a first for a Ford. Wikipedia gives 0–60 mph in 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 277 km/h (172 mph).

The GT350R was more than 59 kg lighter than a GT350 with the Track Pack. Road & Track named it its 2016 Performance Car of the Year. The racing GT350R-C, run by Multimatic, won three races in its first season in 2015, and in 2016 the No. 15 car won six of ten races and took the team, driver and manufacturer titles. Ford updated the suspension, aerodynamics and Michelin tyres for 2019 and added Heritage and Carroll Shelby Signature editions for 2020. Production ended in October 2020, when the GT500 took over as the top Mustang.

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