1965 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R – The Mexican Flash

1965 Shelby GT350R

When Ford introduced the first Mustang to the American public in 1964, the company knew it had a winner, and orders came in a rush on the heels of almost completely positive reviews of the car. This was in spite of the fact that it was not a performance car, even though it was invited to be the pace car at the Indy 500 that year.

Ford decided to cash in on this publicity and built 37 promotional cars, two of which were taken off the line and had the High Performance 289 V-8 inserted, and these two became the Indy pace cars. These two cars also featured a four-speed transmission and an up-rated suspension. This performance package would later be offered as the “top of the range” set of options for the Mustang. As attractive as the new car was, however, it still wasn’t in the same league as the other new “muscle cars” of the period: the Pontiac GTO, the Chevelle and Chevy IIs, big Galaxies and Plymouth Belvederes…the whole range of production cars which were growing impressive performance option packages and cornering an important sector of the market.

Ford, however, wanted a sports car. The Thunderbird, of course, had never really made it as either a performance machine or as a refined sports car. The Mustang looked like it might go the same route when Ford tried to force its way into SCCA racing to compete with the Corvette. The Sports Car Club of America said it was a sedan, not a sports car, and that was that. Ford then turned to old friend Carroll Shelby, a master driver, builder and more importantly, interpreter of rules. Shelby digested the rulebook and met with the SCCA, essentially asking what it would take to make the Mustang acceptable as a sports car to the competition committee. The general answer was that it had to be a two-seater, and it could have an “improved” engine or suspension but not both, and there had to be a minimum of 100 of them.

What was clear to Shelby and Ford when they began to see a way round the rules was that there was not a market for 100 racecars, and thus they needed to build both a racing and a street version. The plan was to concentrate on designing a common suspension that could serve as a standard feature on both the street and race version, while the racecar would receive a proper competition engine.

While this plan worked, it meant the streetcar was pretty intractable, with side exhausts and suspension pick-up points inside the car. Some states required rear exiting exhausts so 14 cars were so equipped in 1965. Ken Miles was set to work trawling the Ford parts catalogue for suitable Ford parts that could be used in the project. He had two notch-back Mustangs on which he could test various components at the Willow Springs track in California, while Pete Brock at Shelby-American had two fastback cars to use to develop an identity for the new car and make it recognizable to the public. Miles developed what would become the 350’s suspension and he and Bob Bondurant sorted out the handling so that it was suitable for road and track, though most owners would say it was more suited to the track!

As the 100 cars that would form the production had to be ready in January 1965 if the car was to be raced in that year, the whole program developed under great pressure during a very short period of time. Basically, unlike almost all other similar projects, the racecar was designed first and the streetcar was a de-tuned version of the competition machine. The cars used Ford’s 289-cu.in., V-8, four-speed Borg-Warner aluminum transmissions, and 9-inch rear ends with 3.89 gears.

 

The 350R

The SCCA’s requirement of a minimum of 100 production cars to be built in order for a car to run in a production racing class allowed both street and race models to count towards the total number. When the SCCA inspection team showed up at the Shelby workshops to see the cars in January 1965, Shelby had cleverly chosen the last 15 cars of the first batch to be the race versions, so it was clear that the racecar had been derived from a production car! He had also built more than the minimum number to be safe. The inspectors stamped their approval and the car was accepted into SCCA racing.

Ford’s San Jose production plant had thus turned out an initial order of 110 white fastbacks with standard black interior, the 271 bhp V-8, four-speed transmission and 9-inch rear end. Fifteen of these first cars came with no side or rear window glass, heater, defroster, interior upholstery, interior headliner, exhaust system, insulation or sound deadening. These cars were set aside at the workshop and built as the racecars, and consisted of chassis numbers 94 through 108. The second batch of racecars, 209 through 213, came after the first ones had been completed, and were constructed concurrently with the street version. Towards the end of the year, the final 14 racecars, 527 through 540, were built and delivered to customers, making a total of 34. Of course, many of the street versions also found their way onto the track.

As both models had a common suspension, SCCA rules allowed engine modifications for the racecar, which included balancing, blueprinting and dyno-tuning. The 350-R engine was producing between 325-360 bhp with a single four-barrell Holley carburetor. Aluminum hi-rise in-take manifolds from the Cobra were also added. There was additional welding to the bodywork and the fenders were widened to receive the American Racing 5-spoke magnesium 15” by 7” wheels. Front and rear bumpers were removed and a fiberglass apron added. Airflow to the radiator was improved and a hood scoop was added as well. Some early cars had fiberglass racing seats, and the rest had ordinary Mustang bucket seats.

Even by the time the first car was ready to race, the GT 350 had yet to be officially named. There were apparently countless meetings to decide the name, and Shelby finally leaned over to Phil Remington at one of these meetings and asked what the distance was between the race shop and the production shop. A puzzled Remington replied that it was 350 feet. Shelby thus declared it would be the GT 350. Other stories say it was related to the power rating, or to the square root of the total floor area in both factories!

The R designation—or the R-model designation—did not appear when the cars were new. The chassis numbers mentioned above were Shelby chassis numbers and Shelby had them stamped as 350S for street and 350R for race versions, but they were not known as anything but GT 350 competition cars until owners of these cars started to use this term in the 1970s. It was not even widely known that there was a clear distinction between the S and the R. However, from the beginning of the project, the intention was that customer cars would be built to the same spec as a factory racer and all improvements would be passed on to customers, and this practice did actually work, as many customer cars were very competitive.

Racing the 350-R

The very first 350-R prototype was completed and sent to Green Valley Raceway in Texas for Ken Miles to compete in a B-Production race on Valentine’s Day, and he gave the new car a maiden win, which was invaluable in guaranteeing substantial publicity for the car. This car became the Shelby team test car and mule, and was used by Jerry Titus to test components under race conditions, a fact which was used by Ford to promote its performance image. As Titus was the editor of his season in one of the factory team cars did no end of good for Shelby and Ford. In fact, Titus went on to win the 1965 B-Production Championship.

Long before Titus started winning, however, word of mouth had served to bring orders to the Shelby doors for the racecar version. Early cars went to Comstock racing, Scuderia Filipinetti and Bob Johnson. Virtually all the new owners were racing immediately…and winning. This included Yale Kneeland’s chassis 105, which was driven by Mark Donohue. The last three cars from the first batch of 15 went to Richard Jordan, Jochen Neerspach in Germany and Gene Hammond Ford in Texas City, Texas (chassis 108).

It was interesting that the second small batch of five cars was harder to sell. At $5,995, they were not considered to be cheap, although they had already achieved the aim of beating the Corvette. Eventually, five cars from this second batch went to Peru to a group of wealthy sportsmen who were more or less running their own series in identical cars against each other! At least one of the last batch ended up racing at Le Mans in 1967. To confuse matters somewhat, the final 1965 cars were built in early 1966 and some were invoiced as 1966 cars.

GT-350Rs managed to win five of SCCA’s six divisions in 1965, and thus it was no surprise, when the Championship run-offs took place at Daytona, that the model dominated the field, with Jerry Titus winning the race to become B-Production Champion. Bob Johnson was 2nd, Tom Yeager 6th and Mark Donohue 10th. When the run-offs were held the following year, again the GT-350s were well represented, with Walt Hane winning the race and the 1966 B-Production Championship. However, by 1966 Shelby had abandoned his factory GT-350 team and focused instead on supporting customers, including setting up a race assistance program to pay cash to national SCCA race winners. The remaining R-model cars were sold to customers in 1966. In 1967, the road version had become much more road-friendly and thus was too heavy for racing, but earlier cars continued to do well in SCCA events. At the 1967 ARRC finals at Daytona, the B-Production race and the Championship were won by Mexican driver Freddy van Beuren, Jr., driving chassis 108, the car you see here. Over the next few years, the GT-350R continued to win SCCA divisions and qualify for the run-offs, but they were no longer winners and in the early 1970s, started to be recognized as important collector cars.

GT-350 Chassis 5R108

Thanks to the Shelby American Automobile Club and its immensely detailed registry, both the original and more recent histories of most of the GT-350s are known and recorded. 5R108, (“5”) signifying the year 1965 was delivered as the basic chassis to Shelby American on December 18, 1964, to be prepared for the SCCA inspection in January, and although work started on January 3, this car wasn’t completed until much later in September, though it had been shipped to Dearborn, tested, and returned to Shelby before being shipped to Gene Hammond Ford in Texas. The first owner was Texan Bill Steele, who started racing it. In February 1966, Charlie Barns asked Mexican Grand Prix and sports car driver Pedro Rodriguez to race Steele’s car at the SCCA national meeting at Green Valley. Rodriguez was a relatively frequent visitor to Texas, where he had a number of friends. Pedro was also driving a Mini in the A-B-C-D-E Sedan race that day for Overseas Motors but retired after an exuberant performance. In the B-Production race, Rodriguez soundly beat the factory prototype (5R002) of Jerry Titus. This was a good demonstration that the factory cars were not automatic winners and that a customer car was not only capable of winning races, but could beat the factory Championship-winner.

The car was then bought by the other Mexican, Freddy van Beuren, Jr. and that was when it departed from the standard blue and white Shelby livery and acquired a Mexican identity with a green and red stripe. With van Beuren driving, 5R108 won the SCCA Southwest Division title in 1966 and was 3rd at the Riverside run-offs. In 1967, van Beuren entered the car for himself, Paul Jett and Don Pike in the Daytona 24-Hours, a race won by Chris Amon and Lorenzo Bandini in a Ferrari 330P4. However, the GT-350 failed to finish, retiring after 313 laps. The Over 2-Liter Grand Touring class was won, oddly enough, by a Triumph TR-4!

The car was repaired for Sebring, where it ran consistently in van Beuren’s and Jett’s hands, finishing 16th overall and winning the “Up to 5-Liter class,” a significant accomplishment for what was essentially a good club racing car! The car then was campaigned by van Beuren throughout 1967, culminating in winning the B-Production Championship at Daytona in the SCCA run-offs. 5R108 was sold in 1968 to Sidney Finkel in Pittsburgh who raced it at Marlboro, Maryland that year and raced it through 1972, after which it went into storage for 10 years. In 1982, it was purchased by Georgians Bill Maney and Lee Roswell and restored to its 1967 Championship-winning state and Mexican livery. It appeared at the Shelby reunion at Dearborn in 1983 and was sold to Fernando Lozano in California the following year, who raced it in vintage events. It then went to Richard Rothenberger in Pennsylvania in 1989, and he raced it at Pocono vintage races that year and then in 1990 at Watkins Glen. The car returned to California in 1996 to John Young, until it was sold more recently to James Lindsay in the U.K.

Driving the “Mexican Flash”

Earlier this year, VRJ was at Goodwood for one of the pleasant events that take place there…an open test day, with lovely machinery, a relaxed atmosphere and…sunshine. This day was being organized by Julius Thurgood’s Top Hat organization, and testing was mainly for his historic saloon and Gentleman Drivers race entrants. We were there to sample a nice but tame Alfa saloon, when something appeared out of the corner of the ever-vigilant editorial eye…a Shelby Mustang with unmistakable livery…Mexican colors.

Sauntering over to have a closer look, it turned out that the owner was James Lindsay, part of the well-known historic racing Lindsay family. “You won’t know this one, Ed.” “Pedro Rodriguez, Green Valley Texas, 1966” was the instant reply. As the astonishment subsided, I recounted my long quest for Rodriguez history, especially the less-renowned aspects of it, like Volvo racing in Mexico, Minis and Mustangs in Texas and a Studebaker Lark in Alaska! I was completely unaware that this car had survived, had been racing in vintage events in the U.S. and was again in Mexican colors. James could do little but hand over the keys, generous guy that he is.

Sliding into the black Mustang bucket seat, there was that famous three-spoke Shelby steering wheel, this one the slightly later, smaller diameter version which was used after some American drivers complained that the original 18-inch wheel got caught on their thighs. The racing dash was as per 1965, minimal, oil pressure to the left, oil temperature, speedometer and rev counter to the right of the center of the wheel and water temperature and fuel gauges to the right. There’s a fire extinguisher but virtually nothing else, and the car’s sympathetic restoration is very pleasing…it doesn’t look restored but it’s quite tidy. It does indeed exude period feel, from the squeaky material of the bucket seats to the languid way it makes it way down the narrow Goodwood pit lane out onto the broad Sussex track’s long corners. The seats are comfortable, though dangerous with those low mid-1960s backs, the alloy door skins give away the amount of effort that went into losing weight, and the solid and smooth four-speed box is excellent at controlling the acceleration of what starts out as a lumbering beast and then shows its mettle as it gets up to speed.

Most of Goodwood is smooth, so the car sticks well, with some lean. The bulging air-scoop carrying the stripes of the Mexican colors can be used for aiming the car into the corners and holding a smooth line while booting the 300+ horsepower lump that sits in front. Pushing the throttle produces surprising acceleration which belies the car’s weight, as well as a thumping great noise from the exhaust. 5R108 has the early exhaust configuration, exiting at the back of the driver’s door…useful for knowing just how hard the engine is working! The period reports of the Rodriguez-Titus Texas duels recall the two cars thundering up on Al Goldman’s A-Production Cobra and blowing past him in big power slides. They simply intimidated the potentially faster car by “letting the ponies loose”! It didn’t take many laps at Goodwood to appreciate just why owners loved having and racing the R-version of the GT-350. While not streetcar at all, the GT-350 had matured into a most sophisticated performing muscle car.

The high-seating position and the good front, rear and side vision means you know what’s going on all around you. Even as smaller, more nimble cars start to take a run up the inside at the chicane, a little tail waggle keeps them back so you can get full throttle out of the chicane onto the straight. Again, there’s some characteristic lean as the car wanders right out to the grass with the revs rising fast as the charge down the straight begins…and ends just as quickly as you are suddenly in Madgwick, setting up another, faster slide, again keeping the revs up to get the most of the car’s power through Goodwood’s mighty swerves. The Dunlop 550M-15 tires on five-spoke mag wheels were working fine in the dry conditions, allowing the reasonably hard suspension set-up to be used to its best. It was clear now why a car designed for short races was also so successful in long-distance events…it’s a true driver’s car, rewarding hard and smooth driving. Thanks, James.

Buying and Owning a GT-350R

These cars became collectibles almost as soon as they were announced and sold. Titus’ racecar was restored and raced by Titus’ son in vintage events in 1978–79. All but half a dozen of the original cars were found and restored or are being restored so they are out there. However, there is such a cachet about a genuine race version that they bring large sums of money, the GT-350R ranging in price from $225,000 to $275,000. In comparison, the street GT-350 fetches between $60,000 and $90,000, so that is a very big difference. Shelby notchback Trans-Am cars are currently bringing between $100,000 and 175,000.

Because the GT-350R was based on available Ford parts, maintenance is not a major obstacle. In addition, many, many R replicas have been built either from the Shelby street versions or from standard fastback Mustangs, and that means there are people out there manufacturing the special components. However, if you do come across an R, you are advised to consult with the Shelby Registry, as they seem to know all the real cars!

Specifications
Engine: Ford V-8 High Performance
Bore and stroke: 4-inch x 2.87-inch
Capacity: 289 C.I.
Power: 325–360 bhp
Cylinder block: Cast iron
Cylinder head: Cast iron
Carburetor: Holley four-barrel, C4AF 9510-DA
Ignition: Coil Ford 12-volt
Clutch: Ford 10.5-inch diameter
Rear: axle Ford 3.89 limited slip differential
Suspension: Front: Coil springs above upper A frame with strut-type hydraulic shock-absorber, extra heavy-duty springs and sway bar. Rear: Heavy-duty, leaf springs with additional radius rods to control axle wind-up, strut-type hydraulic shock absorbers.
Wheels: 7-inch x 15-inch magnesium
Tires: 7.75-inch x 15-inch
Body style: Fastback two passenger coupe

Resources
Thanks to James Lindsay for the use of his car, and to Julius Thurgood for the track time.
Competition Press and Autoweek March 6, 1966
Dallas Morning News February 15, 1966
Shelby American World Registry 1997