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Wildcardfox

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It is my understanding that SA only built 2 prototype Competition Cars and 34 customer Competition Cars (including chassis #5R537) for a grand total of 36 Competition or R model cars.

Based on the above scenario there were only 2 prototype Competition Cars namely "5R002" and "5R001" with the one of the very last unsold customer Competition Race Cars (+10 still available at that time) being "5R537" which ultimately was chosen to have a full race 427 side oiler engine installed for further testing at Willow Springs.

Subject to the above I am really not sure how chassis number "5R537" adds another car to the list of 36 cars already in question and with that being the case what is the chassis number for car #37?

Some time ago I read Chuck Cantwell's "Shelby Mustang GT350" publication and he made it very clear that SA hand built only 34 customer race cars including chassis number "5R537" and of course we only know of 2 prototype Competition Cars therefore how does that now add up to 37 Competition Cars assembled?

With respect to 2020 HEP chassis numbers being integrated into the regular 2020 GT350 chassis number series hopefully we can get a better understanding of where this issue sits in the very near future.
I am saying that the official number is not so black and white. It’s is gray. Cantwell over the phone says that he is not sure. One of the reasons is because these were race cars and the record keeping was not that good. We won’t solve the question of whether there were 36 or 37 here as it for decades has remained a contentious subject in the Shelby community.
 

Mikefd

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Love the info! Just wanna see more of this “heritage edition” I turned down for a twister orange R I ordered .....wamp wamp wampppppp
 

PP0001

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I am saying that the official number is not so black and white. It’s is gray. Cantwell over the phone says that he is not sure. One of the reasons is because these were race cars and the record keeping was not that good. We won’t solve the question of whether there were 36 or 37 here as it for decades has remained a contentious subject in the Shelby community.
Understood but must say that after 50+ years of following the '65 GT350 Competition Cars and being around fellow enthusiasts with many of them being long time SAAC members the original total number of Competition Cars was always 37 cars but only in recent memory has the total number of cars been reduced to 36 with my understanding that is the number of cars recognized by SAAC.

What I also find intriguing is that the OVC is only building 36 OVC 1965 Shelby GT350 Competition Models therefore I suggest that it must have been an interesting conversation between Peter Brock, Jim Marietta and Ted Sutton during the very early stages of this cool project as to how the OVC determined whether they would build 36 or 37 cars?

Appreciate all of your input and comments with respect to this gray and contentious issue!

:like::like:
 

Doran

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We are just talking about history. Ignore.
I love hearing about the history and stories of these cars especially from a couple of fellows that seem to know what they are talking about. Enjoying the thread and Yes! more pictures will be nice too
 

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Wildcardfox

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Understood but must say that after 50+ years of following the '65 GT350 Competition Cars and being around fellow enthusiasts with many of them being long time SAAC members the original total number of Competition Cars was always 37 cars but only in recent memory has the total number of cars been reduced to 36 with my understanding that is the number of cars recognized by SAAC.

What I also find intriguing is that the OVC is only building 36 OVC 1965 Shelby GT350 Competition Models therefore I suggest that it must have been an interesting conversation between Peter Brock, Jim Marietta and Ted Sutton during the very early stages of this cool project as to how the OVC determined whether they would build 36 or 37 cars?

Appreciate all of your input and comments with respect to this gray and contentious issue!

:like::like:
Being apart of the OVC and Shelby American/International family, I know that Jim and Peter did not always see eye to eye on every aspect of the cars. I know that them picking that number doesn’t equal a decision on which way that they fell on the debate.

I am happy that we had this discussion because it connects the old cars to the new and really shows people who just bought the new cars that these second generation of GT350s are tied directly to the history that was made back in the mid sixties at Shelby American.
 

PP0001

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Being apart of the OVC and Shelby American/International family, I know that Jim and Peter did not always see eye to eye on every aspect of the cars. I know that them picking that number doesn’t equal a decision on which way that they fell on the debate.

I am happy that we had this discussion because it connects the old cars to the new and really shows people who just bought the new cars that these second generation of GT350s are tied directly to the history that was made back in the mid sixties at Shelby American.
Totally understood and whether the OVC picked 36 or 37 cars to build, either number of cars assembled could have been correct.

With respect to Jim and Peter not always seeing eye to eye is certainly not surprising based on the fact as to how passionate they both were and are still to this day and really no different than enthusiasts such as yourself and myself surrounding these great cars.

I absolutely love the DNA, knowledge, passion and experience that the entire OVC brings to these new GT350 Competition Models and just may call Jim next week and hopefully get brought up to speed with this cool and outstanding project.

I really liked how "98i" is spec'd out with an independent rear suspension, hump in the rear Plexiglas window amongst all of the other outstanding features of these new Competition Models.

If I was going to make one change it would be changing out the C-pillar glass for a riveted aluminum plate over this area but other than that I would stay with the 3.89 gears, of course the 34 gallon gas tank and all of the other great features including the iconic Wimbledon White paint and Guardsman Blue racing stripes.

Who knows what could happen down the road with respect to one of us owning one of these iconic Shelby Mustangs.

:clap::clap:
 

Fordified

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Sometimes it just takes a little time and a great deal of hard work and continued engineering development for these cool and outstanding options in order to all come together over the last 6 years.:like::like:

You can thank Bill Ford and Jim Owens for their intuitive collaboration with respect to putting the HEP option out there for the rest of us enthusiasts to have access to!

:thumbsup::thumbsup:
I really appreciate our conversation that we had the other day and enjoyed the time to talk about all things Mustang-very interesting to say the least! Also, for your help in locating that special HEP 2020 GT350 that is no easy find up here in Canuck Town.
My dealer still hasn't gotten back to me, but I finally made contact with Paul after a few tries on both sides (he actually called me Saturday evening at home). He's going to call me tomorrow to see if we can tweak his order to my preferred options (no leather seats or Tech Pack). According to him, there will be few HEP cars in Canada as most dealers were only allotted one each and many did not opt for the package and went with a regular street GT350. I spotted a new 2020 GT350 in Dartmouth (Red with Black stripes-# L423?) in the showroom. He also said that new 2020 GT500's sent to Canada were to have no more than 30% of total units with the CF Track Pack- why, I don't know. He also mentioned that some of the 5.2 L engine parts from the GT350 would probably find their way into the new Mach 1, but couldn't confirm as certainty. I've heard this rumor as well.
Anyway, will know more this week.....
 

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