How easy is it to convert a race 65 GT350 back to stock trim?

[Bob Gaines]

I saw a for sale ad posted here on the forum recently and got a chuckle out a comment the seller made . The price is 450K  for a high placing at Monterey Historics vintage race prepared 65 GT350 .
With that said and all that that implies given the competition etc. The comment - "The car is currently ready to race or could easily be converted for street use." I suppose
easily is a relative term .   http://www.saacforum.com/index.php?topic=1699.0;topicseen#msg14411    Some of those vintage prepared cars are stitched welded all over the unibody for rigidity. I wonder how many hundreds of hours that would take to reverse if you restored back to stock . Anyway I took it as a funny statement.

[Bigfoot]

" relax,....my Dads got this ultimate set of tools... I can fix this."

[427heaven]

Most all of the cars running at the historics are street cars with race tires,maybe some numbers,graphics and bigger cams,carbs etc. I believe that those are minor details of bringing back to stock condition. There are only a handful of guys that are running fully race prepped cars like Cobra Automotive does, and those mods are usually mindfull to get them back to stock if that is what the new owners whishes are. Then there are the few cobbled,hacked,butchered,altered cars that are true bad to the bone race cars and NO ONE cares about these cars anyway, those are the most fun to race.

[J_Speegle]

Looks like the car has seen a number of changes over the years. More recently the exterior body looks closer to what it was originally than it once was. Only looked at it quickly and snapped a couple of pictures a few years ago when it was parked in the paddock at Monterey when we were there

[SFM5S000]

To convert it back to a "street driven" car is one thing from a vintage racer. To convert it back to a completely stock assembly line car for the purpose of car shows (if that's the goal) is another. Why would one want to do the latter when it's race history is part of its history? It's a 2 digit car. Racing is part of the 1965 GT350's heritage and blood line. It doesn't lose any value in my book. It is what it is.
Would you do the same thing to 5019 if it were for sale? Granted 5S075 doesn't have the same type of race history as 5019. 5S048 was raced too, would you remove 048's 66 quarter windows? 5S111 I believe has Webers would you remove those?
Now if the car had been been modified and evolved to mid/late 70's GT-1/IMSA with tube frames, monster flares /extensions with spoilers and wings etc. then it's toast.
Just say'in my opinion.

Cheers,
~Earl J

[J_Speegle]

....................................
Now if the car had been been modified and evolved to mid/late 70's GT-1/IMSA with tube frames, monster flares /extensions with spoilers and wings etc. ........

But still just another part of its history

Don't think, if it were mine, I could go back to the big flares on all for corner look - with the flat lips all around

[Bob Gaines]

Most all of the cars running at the historics are street cars with race tires,maybe some numbers,graphics and bigger cams,carbs etc. I believe that those are minor details of bringing back to stock condition. There are only a handful of guys that are running fully race prepped cars like Cobra Automotive does, and those mods are usually mindfull to get them back to stock if that is what the new owners whishes are. Then there are the few cobbled,hacked,butchered,altered cars that are true bad to the bone race cars and NO ONE cares about these cars anyway, those are the most fun to race.

Without seeing the car and the mods it is hard to say for sure what it will take. I have wandered the pits at the Monterrey Historics dozens of times and what with my back ground can see how many of those cars are typically prepared . I guess you didn't read that it took second in the Shelby feature race. As I indicated in my initial post that implies a higher level of race prep then the street car with race tires plus a few mods that you imply they most all are. I think you are being naive if you believe that the discussion car is a street car with race tires if the race circumstances are to be believed. Of course you can believe what you want but given what I have seen as the typical competitive prepared  Monterrey 65 GT350 the "easily converted back " struck me as funny because I think it would take a lot of work regardless of making a reliable street driver or restored to stock. Just me others are welcome to their own opinion. 

[98SVT - was 06GT]

It's as easy as writing another check. If you've got 450K to dump on a modified street car another 150 to convert it back to a street car shouldn't bother you. Of course then you'd end up with a $600,000 street car. Even Barrett Jackson couldn't sell that one for a profit.

[sfm5]

I was googling around for some information and pictures on this car, and came across this site. The page looks to be from 2007/8 when it had just sold & asking price at the time was $249K (seems about right for that time). Lots of pictures and info on the various mods, etc.

https://www.ferraris-online.com/pages/carintro.php?reqcardir=SH-350GT-5S075

[tesgt350]

I am sure this has been asked before but, here goes again.

Did ALL 1965 Shelby Mustangs have the GT 350 Emblem on the rear Panel?  If not when did they start putting them on?  Asking because I have Photos with them in place and the Car being discussed here does not have it installed.  I tried posting both Photos but it says Folder is full.

[427heaven]

Not to be disrespectful to those on this site because I hold all to a very high level of knowledge, but even before we saw pictures of that car I figured it would fit the mold of what typically races at these events. That is your typical HOPPED UP street car with fender flares, race tires,warmed up engine, and probably a good driver that runs against senior citizens that don't drive anywhere near their cars potential. That is what I like about old race cars because that's the way we did things 40-50 years ago. Today a well thought out-prepped car would run circles around it no matter if Mr Vogt is driving or any other wheel man is driving. If someone needed to pay 150 thousand dollars to fix its discrepancies they probably should take up kite flying or possibly ice curling something that doesn't require hand tools,thought and effort. This is just one mans opinion that tries to do the work himself, as opposed to just paying people to do everything

[SFM5S000]

I am sure this has been asked before but, here goes again.

Did ALL 1965 Shelby Mustangs have the GT 350 Emblem on the rear Panel?  If not when did they start putting them on?  Asking because I have Photos with them in place and the Car being discussed here does not have it installed.  I tried posting both Photos but it says Folder is full.

Answering your question; No, not all had the tail panel emblem (as I recall it was a supply issue) 5010 did not due to the t-bird lights (prototype) 5019 has "Tred" in place of GT350 (TRED= Tredway I believe) numerous numerous 2 digit cars did not. 5026 and 5032 I think did as did 5S041. But as I recall 5S050ish up to 5S088 a good number of them did not. Rod Creiger's old car 5S089 did.

Stan (NCTRACKRAT) does your car 5S071 have the emblem?

The first batch of R Models beginning with 5R094 I believe did. (I'd have to check photos) Pardee's 5R095 can be easily looked up. 5R102,  5R106 and 5R108 did not.

Again it's hard to determine as many were retrofitted. A good number of the Carter street cars were hand built in batches (before moving to the airport hanger production) without the tail panel emblems. Exactly which ones is anyone's guess. 5S(low one hundred teens and onwards did). That's about all I can say.

Cheers,
~Earl J

[camp upshur]

still water can run deep....
IMHO this is a most impressive and outstanding 1965 GT-350. I wish the seller good luck.
This example, which has been raced and aptly represented the race-car bonafides of the 65s for many many years brings to light a lot of things which need to be refreshed - lest they be forgotten:
https://www.ferraris-online.com/pages/cardetail.php?reqcardir=SH-350GT-5S075;

-I agree 100% w the posting of "SFM5S000". This car could easily and cheaply be reconfigured to street trim. In concurrence, it would not necessarily be 'concours 1965'. But a concours 1965 GT 350 is a car w significant shortcomings and easily embarrassed by its' peers. This has all but been forgotten as 65 GT-350s have largely disappeared from common ownership and street/track usage;

-we have all been meaconed by the very real, although dissociated, auction/private-sale collectors laying down 500 (large) for a '65 to round out their collections. But what are they buying? Dare I say that many of these auction queens are masterfully restored old floozies reborn as new found virgins... (not necessarily a bad thing);

- I herein posit that the halcyon days for the 1965 GT-350s were in 1968-1980~ range when 65s, in various states of sensible modification, took the attack as club racers, autocrossers (remember?), open trackers, SCCA B prod, doorbangers, run-whatcha-brung, etc.

Although, yes, the R ran at Green Valley etc and, yes, Jerry Titus, Donahue etc al were truly outstanding, the vaunted reputation of the 1965 GT-350 as a serious performance car was demonstrated in 'club racing' 1968-1980.  These were great days for the 65 GT-350s, probably the most aggressive widespread usage, most wrenched by their (then) enthusiast owner-drivers. Secret: (lightweight) shhhh
A (then) 'set up' 65 GT-350 could indeed stick it to a '68 302 Camaro or B302, but it wasn't easy.  THAT is what this instant sale represents (warts and all). It is this where the 1965 GT-350 proved its' worth;
-most of the guys who aggressively raced and established the enduring reputation of the 65 GT-350s have passed and the naive 'market' now wants a 'hanger car' as a collection trophy. But hey? that's  where we're at I guess....can't argue w the money!
- BTW, these were all modded 'S' model 65s, as above, (by the mid 70s most R models were junk heaps subject to re-body). '427' is also correct about these period 'racer' cars not at the level of today's Cobra Automotive prepped cars- which are masterful. But the CA level cars are creations of the twenty-first century! There was NEVER anything of the sort when 65s established their enduring reputation.

Dare I say:
Why would anyone want a 3939S fuel pump? functionally worthless
or a stock fan? laughable
or a G2 radiator? first to be vaulted into the dumpster....
289 heads? run for your life
external balance? give up now

These things are all sacrosanct in our 'collector-pseudo concours world' now, and the mere mention is unspeakable, with the inference that this degrades the car. wow.
It is in these areas  that a car such as 5S075, can so accurately portray a 1965 GT-350, and the real history of the 1965 GT-350s at their best, but I agree that is not the 'market' today. By gosh there may even be a chance that a car such as this may not have the 'correct' date coded wind-wing!
Back to lurking.

Steve
SFM5S339

[NC TRACKRAT]

"Stan (NCTRACKRAT) does your car 5S071 have the emblem?"

Earl-
   No, no emblem.  Those w/o are lighter...therefore faster!
Regards,
Stan

[papa scoops]

maybe lighter and faster, but they were put on the rr to aid in traction. the cars with no emblem have posi. phred