The 1965 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 was a Brute Back in the Day
"For the racing driver, it will also be a source of great amusement, as it should enable him to laugh all the way to the winner's circle in SCCA's class BP racing."
By r&t staff
This article originally appeared in the May 1965 issue of Road & Track.
We sometimes find it difficult to know when to take Carroll Shelby seriously. He's a great kidder. He has been known to put more effort into staging a really elaborate stunt than most people will to get rich. Therefore we're never really sure whether what he does is for real or is simply a result of his far-out whimsy.
The latest item we're not really sure about is the Ford Shelby American Mustang GT-350. The admitted purpose of the car is to win class BP in the Sports Car Club of America's production category racing. Which is a pretty amusing reason for building a car in the first place. Except that this isn't altogether a new car. It's a Ford Mustang with the 2+2 fastback body plus those alterations that Shelby American deemed necessary to outrace such cars as the pre-Sting Ray 283-cu-in. Corvette, the 3.8 or 4.2 XK-E Jaguar, the 260-cu-in. Ford-powered Sunbeam Tiger and miscellaneous others in the somewhat unreal world of SCCA production category racing.
So why didn't Shelby American just fix up a few Mustangs for racing and go at it? First, to be assured of winning, the racing Mustang would resemble the Ford factory Mustang so little that it wouldn't be eligible for SCCA production racing. Which is all part of the joke, really, because SCCA insists that at least a hundred examples be "series-produced with normal road touring equipment" in a year. So Shelby undoubtedly let off a big whooping laugh and made plans to do exactly that—build a "street" version with normal road touring equipment and then tailor a competition version around that.
A brief run-down of the changes made in the standard Mustang will not only illustrate the thoroughness with which Shelby American went at the project but also show what was necessary to get the job done. To start with, the street version GT-350 has the same unit construction chassis and the same basic sheet metal as the 2+2 Mustang except for a fiberglass hood. It also uses the standard interior trim, front seats and instruments. Virtually everything else is either changed or completely different—sheet metal headers, in­ creased oil capacity, wider wheels, high-speed tires, re-engineered front suspension, beefed-up rear suspension, limited- slip differential, Warner T-10 gearbox, no rear seat, spare tire moved to platform behind the seats, battery relocated into trunk, wood-rimmed steering wheel, added tachometer and oil pressure gauge, disc brakes at the front, heavy-duty drum brakes at the rear, quicker steering, Koni shocks all around and the whole package topped off with a special paint job. The competition version is basically the same, only more so—lightweight seat shells, stripped instrument panel, bare floors, rollbar, plastic windows, fiberglass front end section with built-in air scoops, wider wheels, different tires, bigger gas tank, bigger water radiator and an oil cooler for the differential. Get the picture?
The engine of the GT-350 is basically the 289-cu-in. high performance Ford engine but uses Ford's new high-riser manifold (which gives a tuned intake effect) with the new center-pivot float 4-barrel Holly carburetor which will not flood or starve during hard cornering. The GT-350 also uses lightweight tubular headers and straight-through mufflers. The engine is dressed up by the use of a thin air cleaner, handsome finned aluminum rocker covers, and oil pan. The oil pan increases the sump capacity to 6.5 quarts (from 5.0) and includes baffles to assure that the oil doesn't surge away from the pickup. The engine is rated at 306 bhp at 6000 rpm, exactly 35 more than the 271 bhp figure advertised for the standard high-performance version.
Because weight is saved wherever possible in the GT-350, the Warner T-10 gearbox with aluminum case is used instead of the heavier Ford 4-speed unit. The limited-slip differential, made by Detroit Automotive Products and called the "No-Spin," is a heavy-duty unit which is used in trucks in civilian life.
The GT-350 uses the same basic suspension system as the standard Mustang but there are important differences. At the front, the inner pivot of the upper control arm has been moved down one inch. This results in greater changes in wheel camber during cornering, which keeps the front wheels more nearly vertical. It also raises the front roll center and consequently reduces the tendency to plow. Adding to the front roll stiffness, the diameter of the anti-roll bar has been increased from 0.84 to 1.00 in. At the rear end, the live axle is retained by 4-leaf semi-elliptics plus beefy torque reaction arms that sit atop the axle and are anchored into the chassis. Adjustable Konis are used at both front and rear and stiffer shock settings are reportedly the only difference in suspension between the street and competition versions.
In appearance, the GT-350 is readily distinguished from the standard Mustang. First, all GT-350s are white with blue racing stripes. There is also the fiberglass hood with pin-lock hold-downs and the giveaway airscoop to clear the high-riser manifold. The air intake at the front is simplified by the use of an anodized grille and smaller horse than the decorative cross bars and insignia of the standard Mustang. And in case you overlook everything else, including the bigger wheels and the 130-mph rated 775-15 Goodyear "Blue Dot" tires, there's a "GT 350" painted on the lower panel ahead of the doors on either side of the car. The overall effect is good, we think, simple and uncluttered— and with room for big racing numbers.
The list price of the GT-350 is $4311 (plus $273 for the cast magnesium wheels if you want it to look like our test car) and it will be marketed through dealers who also handle Cobras. Shelby American is tooling up to produce as many as 200 copies a month for this trade. The competition version with the rest of the goodies will be sold only through the Venice, Calif, factory and will go for about $6000. These prices seem eminently reasonable considering the highly specialized and specifically tailored product that is being offered.
The driving position of the GT-350 is slightly better than in the standard Mustang, thanks to the nearly flat wood-trimmed Cobra steering wheel which has replaced the deep-dish Ford type. The long-legged driver still hits the turn signal lever with his knee when he puts his foot on the clutch, but except for this the driving position is good. The standard Mustang seats offer little lateral support but the extra-wide air force type seat belts clamp the hips firmly in place.
The standard key start is retained and once warmed up the engine settles down to a steady rumble at about 800 rpm. A touch on the throttle pedal results in a little twitch from the gyro effect of the engine and an impressive harrumpha from the exhaust pipes which exit ahead of the rear wheels. Perhaps it wasn't typical but the carburetion on our test car seemed a bit rich at the low end, tending to load up and make it necessary to clear its throat periodically when easing along in slow traffic. This attracted widespread attention, of course, and the teenagers who sidled up to eye the car gave us a hint how the fastest gun in town must have felt when he walked down main street in the old West.
Driving the GT-350 is as enlightening as it is dramatic. The clutch pedal is heavy compared with that of the standard Mustang but the action has a distinct "feel" and can be accurately controlled. This, plus the tight rear end that tends to stay on the ground rather than hop up and down, makes it an easy car in which to get good clean acceleration. You simply feed on enough throttle to break the tires loose, feather it slightly to pick up traction, then mash on it and watch the tach needle wind around toward the 6500-rpm red line. The gearbox linkage is excellent, the synchro fault­less and you can chirp the tires at each shift if you want to. Our acceleration figures, obtained over the surveyed quarter- mile at Carlsbad Raceway, represent typical figures obtained in six timed runs. Our first try resulted in a flat 15.0 sec, very respectable indeed, and the two best runs were timed at 14.6.
The ride of the GT-350 would have to rate as poor if comfort were the main consideration. The springs, though comparatively soft, are snubbed by the stiff shock settings and an abrupt dip results in thunking at both ends. On glass-smooth turns, the GT-350 is very fast, the considerable body lean not at all disconcerting to the driver and a cornering attitude can be readily maintained with the throttle. The most effective technique for a slow turn seems to be to wait late, brake hard, shift down, point the nose toward the apex and push it around with the throttle. This is easily controlled in the GT-350, even when the rear end begins to go and it's time to feather back a bit to keep the car aimed in the right direction. Past the apex, winding off, the GT-350 will take a surprising amount of throttle without losing its balance. Over rough paving, the cornering technique is altogether different as the combination of power, mass and stiff suspension demands a very delicate touch. The rear end, which carries only 45% of the car's weight, even after all the changes which were made, is inclined to lose its poise on rough surfaces and changes in throttle opening must be made with extreme care if embarrassment is to be avoided. The steering of the GT-350 has been quickened by lengthening the Pitman arm so the overall ratio is now 19:1 compared to the standard 27:1 and the turns lock to lock reduced from 5.0 to 3.75. You give a little for everything you get, naturally, and this quicker steering also results in more muscle being required to move the wheels.
The brakes, which are 11.375-in. Kelsey Hayes ventilated discs in front and 10 x 2.5-in. heavy-duty metallic lined drums in back, are eminently suited to their job. The pedal pressure is a bit high, as you'd expect, but is in keeping with everything else about the car. The competition version uses the same brakes, of course, except that harder pucks are used for increased longevity.
The curb weight of our test car came out to 2790 lb, which is about 150 lb less than a standard Mustang, due primarily to the fiberglass hood, the lighter weight of the tubular headers and the omission of the rear seat. Even with the re-located battery and the weight lost toward the front, the weight distribution of the GT-350 is 55/45 front/rear compared with the 56/44 of the standard version. The com­ petition version of the GT-350, which has an "approved" SCCA racing weight of 2550 lb (minus another 5% if it's needed), should get down toward the minimum with its more stark interior, plastic windows and so on.
All in all, the GT-350 is pretty much a brute of a car. There's nothing subtle about it at all. Making the obvious comparison to the Shelby American Cobra, or even the 325- bhp Sting Ray, the GT-350 seems more suited to the drop­ out than the serious scholar. It will undoubtedly assure its owner of much attention whenever it is driven down the street, rumphed at a stoplight or parked at the drive-in. For the racing driver, it will also be a source of great amusement, as it should enable him to laugh all the way to the winner's circle in SCCA's class BP racing.
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