Owner of 5S449 Unique opportunity !

[tesgt350]

Just curious:  It is already at $1,611.  If the Owner buys it, what would be the bump in Price of the Car to have in the Glove Box compared to just having a Reproduction one?  Example:  If the Car is NOW worth $450,000 with out it, what could it be worth WITH it?  If the actual Sell Price would not change, which I don't think it would, why waste $1,711 on it? That's a big nut to spend just to be able to SAY it has the original Owners Manual.

Regardless of if original to the car I am curious if you know what original 65 GT350 owners manuals trade hands for?

Yes I am, I have seen them go for crazy money which is why I asked the question.

[pchmotoho]

Interesting.  I did not know that many 65s did not come with a manual when brand new (per auction description).   To each his own but I would've jumped on the chance to own the original manual if it went with my car. 

[texas swede]

In the beginning of the 90's, I lived in Evergreen, CO and attended a car show in Denver just after my 65 had been restored.
An older gentleman, same age as I am now, came up and said he bought a 65 GT350 new but had sold the car many years ago.
We talked about the cars and he mentioned he still had the original Owner's Manual from his car. I begged him to sell it to me as I missed mine but he said he was going to keep it for nostalgic reasons.
Texas Swede

[KR500]

Some people don't get it. Although not a 65 or for 65 money I had a chance to buy the original owners manual for my 68 about 20 years ago. I was thrilled to get it even though it was more the the current market valve, but not crazy money either. By a small twist of fate about an hour before I got my original back I was able to buy another original at a very fair price. Since I had no need for this one I tracked down the owner of the car that the manual came from and offered it to him for slightly more than I paid for it witch was still way less than market value. He was not interested. After talking with him on the phone for a half hour, offering it to him for what I paid for it and basically telling him he would be a real dumb a$$ if he didn't buy it. He reluctantly agreed to buy it. Then he took 3-4 months to send me the money for it. Like I stated, some people don't get it. These cars have significant value. A lot of that value can not only be contributed to the car but  the history of the car and the documentation of the car, with owners manuals being part of that. Cars with more documentation typically sell quicker and for more money than those with less. Spending some $$ for your car's original owners manual may bring many more $$ when you decide to sell.
Rodney

[sfm5]

Interesting topic, and one I have had to wrestle with. There's different ways to look at this, and every car owner has different priorities & goals. If someone called me and said they had something that belonged to my specific '65 and they wanted to sell it to me for $6K I might think they believe they have me over a barrel and are attempting to gouge me. Looked at from another perspective, I could say that person only has 1 prospective customer so their chances of getting top dollar are pretty slim if I am not interested. I can see both sides and it really depends on how far the owner is willing to go to get the car back to "original".

In this case, the car will run just fine without the manual. With rising values these cars have become investments, and the expected ROI has to be there to spend $6K on a document.

[SFM5S159]

Interesting topic, and one I have had to wrestle with. There's different ways to look at this, and every car owner has different priorities & goals. If someone called me and said they had something that belonged to my specific '65 and they wanted to sell it to me for $6K I might think they believe they have me over a barrel and are attempting to gouge me. Looked at from another perspective, I could say that person only has 1 prospective customer so their chances of getting top dollar are pretty slim if I am not interested. I can see both sides and it really depends on how far the owner is willing to go to get the car back to "original".

In this case, the car will run just fine without the manual. With rising values these cars have become investments, and the expected ROI has to be there to spend $6K on a document.

Good observations.  I recently negotiated on a part for my '65.  The seller reminded me several times how rare and unique the part was.  I pointed out that buyers are equally rare for his part.  A large percentage of '65's are restored or at least in a condition satisfactory to their owners.  How large is the market for very specific items like a steering wheel?  I think my point of view prevailed as I was able to secure the item and a "reasonable" number.   Your point is well taken, the car runs just fine without the manual. 

There are a lot of enthusiasts who are not as passionate about history or documentation compared to the small sample of opinions here.   On the other hand the individuals who own '65's are likely passionate about the history of their particular car.  Not to say there aren't rich guys who simply want to own a '65... 

Hey, I happen to need a manual.  If the the "proper" owner isn't interested, so be it! 

[Vernon Estes]

FWIW, i generally find the owners of the cars when i have a manual which belongs to a certain car. More often than not the owner wants the manual and I sell it to them at cost.

A surprisingly high percentage of the time, though, the owner doesnt care to have the manual back. I dont understand it but to each his own.

Kind regards,
Vern

[shelbymann1970]

FWIW, i generally find the owners of the cars when i have a manual which belongs to a certain car. More often than not the owner wants the manual and I sell it to them at cost.

A surprisingly high percentage of the time, though, the owner doesnt care to have the manual back. I dont understand it but to each his own.

Kind regards,
Vern

Back in the 2000s I met via emails the second owner of my 70 Vert. He had the original owners manual and my steering wheel both came out of the car before he sold it in the 70s. I balked at the 7K for the 2 parts. I put a real NOS wheel in my car(free with a Mach I bought) and bought a nice 70 Owner's manual off of Jim Cowles(RIP) for about a 100 bucks. Nothing written in it. Same with the one the guy still owns in Belgium. So am I crazy  not to give the guy 7K for both parts? I think not.

[98SVT - was 06GT]

Anyone have any idea how big the original print run was?Cant be too big with only 525 original street cars.I am assuming the comp cars didn't come with a manual.Is that right?

Didn't they run out at some point and put xerox copies in them?

When I bought my GT350 in 1975 the guy was asking $800 - I wasn't shopping but found it for a friend who had just gotten out of the service. My friend declined - said he wanted a project car not a career car. The only way we were thinking it was real being a red automatic was the retaining cables on the rear axle. The 200 pounds of bondo flairs and spoilers did not deter me. The seller was on the verge of having his motorcycle repoed and needed $140 by Monday. I told him I'd give him the $140 and a 1968 Tbird (that had been given to me for putting a water pump in a 62 Bird). He called Sunday night and I met him at the bank.
I paid over 2.5 times as much $370 (if I remember) for out 68 GT500 4spd convertible that had been abandoned in a body shop. Flipped that one a month later for the princely sum of $700. Ah the good old days. Every piece of FG was cracked, missing the console and had seats from a Econoline.

[Bob Gaines]

Anyone have any idea how big the original print run was?Cant be too big with only 525 original street cars.I am assuming the comp cars didn't come with a manual.Is that right?

Didn't they run out at some point and put xerox copies in them?

When I bought my GT350 in 1975 the guy was asking $800 - I wasn't shopping but found it for a friend who had just gotten out of the service. My friend declined - said he wanted a project car not a career car. The only way we were thinking it was real being a red automatic was the retaining cables on the rear axle. The 200 pounds of bondo flairs and spoilers did not deter me. The seller was on the verge of having his motorcycle repoed and needed $140 by Monday. I told him I'd give him the $140 and a 1968 Tbird (that had been given to me for putting a water pump in a 62 Bird). He called Sunday night and I met him at the bank.
I paid over 2.5 times as much $370 (if I remember) for out 68 GT500 4spd convertible that had been abandoned in a body shop. Flipped that one a month later for the princely sum of $700. Ah the good old days. Every piece of FG was cracked, missing the console and had seats from a Econoline.

I had not seen or heard of any stories about a alternate 65 owners manual however I have examples of alternate 66,67,68 ,69 and 70 manuals that I have collected over the years that are primitive by comparison to the typical manuals. With that said, there might be. FYI all of the alternate manuals which supplied by Shelby and were used by dealers to replace delivered missing or lost manuals and consequently just as genuine .

[FL SAAC]

Hi ,if  the owner of 5S449 is here , or somebody knows him , his original owner manual is for sale on Mecum, how many owners here would like to have this opportunity !!!

https://ontime.mecum.com/auction/249/item/1965-mustang-gt350-owners-manual-39958/

heck yeah what a opportunity