Saleen 66 GT350 Racecar

[98SVT - was 06GT]

Anybody know the number of the '65 GT350 he drove off the cliff?

http://www.driverstalk.com/?fbclid=IwAR1egUNt7NW2QYUi4K_S2fzqVMeS2FiC3PBX5f0K74iD5n6iBAcwjIKARFE

[cob4ra]

Thanks for the link; great story ; we saw he bought SFM416 (66) ! I had some sponsorship from Saleen in scca pro solo in an 88 #200 and got to win a pro solo in San Diego ; fun memories

[gt350hr]

   The '65 was 5S554 and the '66 was 6S417.  The tag from 554 was put on 417 when he raced it AND when it was sold and went to Australia.  I worked on the B/P car when he raced it with Boss 302 power.
    Randy

[KR Convertible]

Did 554 come with gauges like the carryover cars?

[silverton_ford]

I found a few photos of 6S417 on the internet.

Here:  (click "next" to flip through them)  http://mariemmusic.com.au/brianmag1.htm

Export brace doesn't look right and looks like it is right hand drive now.

[gt350hr]

Did 554 come with gauges like the carryover cars?

     No it was a '65, Sweep speedo and idiot lights

[gt350hr]

I found a few photos of 6S417 on the internet.

Here:  (click "next" to flip through them)  http://mariemmusic.com.au/brianmag1.htm

Export brace doesn't look right and looks like it is right hand drive now.

  That is a FAR cry from when it was racing with huge "batwing" flares. Obviously the entire drive line is not original to the car so I cane see why some items don't look right.
   Randy

[KR Convertible]

The video showed the round speedometer with 65 door pads.  At first I thought carryover, but then learning it is 554 I started wondering.  Seems like a lot of work to change the gauges and harnesses over adding aftermarket.  It also showed a 66 GT gas cap.

[camp upshur]

Steve Saleen is a very credible guy, but the pics used don't line up. It appears as if there are three GT-350s.
The white/ black /green 65 is NQR 390. That is a High Performance Motors CA plate number for us 65 trivia buffs (mine NQR 842 like it's HPM contemporaries).
The red car (perhaps a 66?) is ZNT 976. It was wrecked in Turnbull Canyon which gave rise to the purchase if 'SFM 417' in 1971 which is shown as the subsequent white race car.

[gt350hr]

The video showed the round speedometer with 65 door pads.  At first I thought carryover, but then learning it is 554 I started wondering.  Seems like a lot of work to change the gauges and harnesses over adding aftermarket.  It also showed a 66 GT gas cap.

     The car you are looking at IS ( now that I looked at it) 5S554 It was white then black then Chartruse ( green) and then red when it was crashed.  The car in the first few shots ( with his name over the door) is 6S417. Steve only had two cars . Again I was there.  I can't answer the license plate deal but ZNT would be from early '69 before the change to blue plates.
   Randy

[KR Convertible]

In the video, the red car shows a 65 dash pad and pod, 65 style door pads, but wood grained round 66 style gauges.  I was trying to figure out a timeline and ID the cars before the VINs were provided.  I tried to post a still of the video but couldn't.  It's right around the 10:00 mark.

[gt350hr]

   One very cool thing I remember was from an SCCA race we went to at Laguna Seca. The day was over and we were at dinner. Steve , myself , and another crew guy , (Lyndon Bacheldor) . Steve was recounting the race that day and how much he enjoyed it. Out of the blue he says "I want to be like Carroll Shelby and build my own cars with my name on them" . This was around August of 1974. It took him 10 years to put it into motion but he did what he dreamed of doing.
   Randy

[KR Convertible]

Sorry, it was at the 1:40 mark.

[gt350hr]

In the video, the red car shows a 65 dash pad and pod, 65 style door pads, but wood grained round 66 style gauges.  I was trying to figure out a timeline and ID the cars before the VINs were provided.  I tried to post a still of the video but couldn't.  It's right around the 10:00 mark.

   The red car is 554. He did convert it over to the  deluxe "GT" dash. Notice it also has 1/4 windows and side scoops plus Hilborn fuel injection sticking through the hood. It was a glass / steel frame hood. These were just cars back then , none of had any idea they would be as valuable as they are today. If we did Steve would never have let 554 go to the junkyard. It could have been fixed.
    Randy

[KR Convertible]

Seems like a lot of work to change the cluster and associated harnesses.  I would have thought a $15 set of aftermarket gauges would have been easier and more accurate.

I wish I could have been hangin' out with you and Steve back in 74, but I would have been a pretty annoying 10 year old at the time!