Wildcardfox
Well-Known Member
We are just talking about history. Ignore.All this is good info.... BUT.... more pics! More!
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We are just talking about history. Ignore.All this is good info.... BUT.... more pics! More!
I am saying that the official number is not so black and white. Itâs 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 wonât solve the question of whether there were 36 or 37 here as it for decades has remained a contentious subject in the Shelby community.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.
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.I am saying that the official number is not so black and white. Itâs 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 wonât solve the question of whether there were 36 or 37 here as it for decades has remained a contentious subject in the Shelby community.
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 tooWe are just talking about history. Ignore.
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 doesnât equal a decision on which way that they fell on the debate.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!
Congrats! One step closer to being in your drivewayGot a window sticker!
Totally understood and whether the OVC picked 36 or 37 cars to build, either number of cars assembled could have been correct.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 doesnât 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.
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.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.
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!
They do exist ! !