Designers of the fiberglass

[Coralsnake]

http://www.thecoralsnake.com/Ionia

[roddster]

69/70's....Good looking cars.  I'm glad they put the GT350/GT500 forward of the fender side scoop.   Looks better.
  And yes, a 69/70 GT500 with a 428 should have carried the "KR" moniker.

[SChatman]

I think the KR moniker should have been used on the SCJ since most 69-70 500s had the 428cj So as the difference the standard 500 from the KR. JMHO

[Bob Gaines]

I think the KR moniker should have been used on the SCJ since most 69-70 500s had the 428cj So as the difference the standard 500 from the KR. JMHO

Ironically I do not think the drag racers back in the day preferred the SCJ drag pack options besides the low gears ?

[gt350hr]

     Bob ,
       Back in the day drag racers were not interested in spending the extra bucks to get a Shelby for drag racing. Those who chose to run NHRA Stock Eliminator , shied away because the Shelby's were in a tougher class than a regular Mustang. You are correct that "most" guys did not do the "drag pack" because they didn't need the oil cooler , the Lemans rods were heavier , and 4.30 wasn't the "perfect gear". The rules were far more strict back then.
    Randy

[Bob Gaines]

     Bob ,
       Back in the day drag racers were not interested in spending the extra bucks to get a Shelby for drag racing. Those who chose to run NHRA Stock Eliminator , shied away because the Shelby's were in a tougher class than a regular Mustang. You are correct that "most" guys did not do the "drag pack" because they didn't need the oil cooler , the Lemans rods were heavier , and 4.30 wasn't the "perfect gear". The rules were far more strict back then.
    Randy

Exactly .

[Mongo]

Randy,
Being an x-drag racer 68-71 i have photos of this 1969 Shelby 500 4-sp holding track records and i even have photos of tear down to check specs!

9F02R480744. GT500. E70x15 tires. Shipped to Sud Automobile, Inc. (Longueuil, QC, CAN) 2/22/69. Bill of lading dated 2/22/69 for Nu Car Carriers Inc (Wixom, MI) for 6 shelby units picked up A. O. Smith for delivery via E&L railroad to dealership. Straight Bill of Lading dated 3/4/69 from E & L Transport Co 2 Shelbys delivered Windsor, Ont CAN via Maris Transport to dealership. IBM 10 day report indicates U-01 wheel recall campaign. Warranty service 3/20/69 for damage loss claim for fog lamps and wires missing; 6/13/69 for wheel recall campaign U-01 with 17 miles. Purchased by the original owner Alban Gauthier (Montreal, QC, CAN) who was a professional drag racer in Canada and ran this car "Invader III" in E/SP (sports) with an et in 11.90 and a record miles per hour of 118.11 at Cayuga Can-Am on July 5. 1969 and ran a faster et of 11.81.

Mongo

[gt350hr]

   Mongo ,
        Yes VERY familiar with SUD and it's excellent drag race presence in the day. Alban went on to run Pro Stock in later years.
    All things considered 11.8s was very good given the tires we had back then. We were just into the "softer" wall slicks and dropping air pressures. The "Sports" class rules were easier than the "stock" class rules we raced under. They could run a wider tire too. We were stuck with a 7" wide "cheater slick" . They had to be "grooved" to be legal.
    The Cobra Jet with it's lowered HP rating  was a natural in many classes. In my case the 306 or 390 hp engines made my '66 un competitive with the NHRA so I raced AHRA where I had a chance at all.
    Randy

[Coralsnake]

[Mongo]

that's still fast for a 1969 Shelby!
Mongo

[Coralsnake]

Do you have to convert it to US mph?

😝 lol

[cj750]

A couple of years ago I had the chance to spend a few minutes talking to retired Ford designer Gale Halderman. Among the things I asked him was whether the '69 Shelby design came primarily from Shelby or from Ford. He said 10% Shelby, 90% Ford. I asked if he could name anything specifically that came from Shelby, and he said "primarily logos and such." I mentioned that Larry Shinoda is generally credited with the design of the Boss Mustangs and Cougar Eliminator, and I asked if there was anyone that deserved similar credit for the '69 GT350 and GT500. He said no, it was very much a team effort with a lot of people contributing. "But I was responsible for the team!" I suspect he was being overly modest, based on some of his sketches.
Many of the signature design features, such as the extended front fenders and grill shape, front fender vents and central exhaust are present in his work.
I wish I'd had a way to record our chat, and of course I thought of many more questions later on, but I still found his responses most interesting.



Note: Sketches and captions (I have no idea why they're the same) from his book "Mustang by Design."

[2112]

I see a lot of the '71-'73 Mustang in those sketches.

Also note the MACH I emblem

Thanks for sharing those.

[Coralsnake]

I have also seen a prototype that looks similar to the second car. Thanks for sharing.

[propayne]

Good stuff - Thanks for sharing cj750!

- Phillip