1965/01/27 - Introduction Event of the GT350 (New 25.10.20: German Car Magazin)

[Szabo]

Hello,

i start a new thread about of the "Magic" Points in Time from the Shelby GT350 ... and even the Ford GT and the 427 Cobra ...

First i have to thank Richstang again for all the support on me and my threads !!!

Well, you surley all know that the GT350 was officilly presented on 27 Januar 1965 on the Riverside Racetrack,

And for sure you know all the Magazines like Road & Track or Car & Driver coming on April or later 1965 on the Market
and the photos from the only Cars are driven around the track.

but for a long Time i found know real Pics about this in Magazines or any Book.
But, when you hit the WWW long enough you get some Breadcumbs and for this Pic is when the hole magic
is beginning...



We can see:

7 GT350 Street Cars - Vin´s are unkown but all have Le-Mans Stripe ...
1 GT350 R - identified as 5R002 with painted rear bumber and fresh silver bright wheels
Ford GT with silver wheels - identified as GT/103 or GT/104
Cobra 427 - identified as CSX3002 (first "427" Race Cobra)
Ford Econoline in Two-Tone-Paint ( i love this little van)

some markabale Person like:
-the woman with the Red Jacket and sunglasses
-the man with Sunglasses left from her
-Man with Suit behind
-some Stuff with blue Cobra Shirts

When i saw the pic for the first time, i just was electrified and i like a addict person i want to
the more Pics of this event and the hole Cars together...

but on every main Magazin i looked nothing was to find ... so i tryed more and more research
and found one more breadcumb

RACEWAY - official Publication from Riverside International Raceway - 1st Issue - March 1965





first i was only looked on the right side and see a GT350 in action
and above a GT350 right behind is that brick yard wall and when have a close look you see the white roof ot this Chevy Bel Air Wagon Car

but on the left side we can see some more interesting stuff like a Race between Ford GT, 427 Cobra and a DAYTONA Coupe we dont
see at the 1st main Pic... and even the Dragginsnake Cobra



On this Pic we see two interieurs but without the Cobra Emblem on the steering wheels so it should be a "pre-production" Pic and is
not shooted at the Introduction Event.


So at this Point we can say that some Action was going on and not only the GT350 was involed at the Game.

So what you think about the thread, interessed in more or just some cold coffee
because all know about that Facts and Pics.

Greets Steve

[2112]

I was born at the wrong time.   

[68countrysedan]

Steve:

Keep up the good work. These photos are priceless documentation and many have been unseen. Even if the photo has been published before, you can look at it for more critical details that you might have missed the first or fifth time. Plus internet searches for photos and details aren't always found under the usual search terms like Shelby, GT350 et al. The RIR publication is an obvious example, plus it brings up other questions. Like does anyone know the author's name Eric Hauser?

[Chad]

Man I love the picture!!!

[tesgt350]

We can see:

7 GT350 Street Cars - Vin´s are unkown but all have Le-Mans Stripe ...
1 GT350 R - identified as 5R002 with painted rear bumber and fresh silver bright wheels
Ford GT with silver wheels - identified as GT/103 or GT/104
Cobra 427 - identified as CSX3002 (first "427" Race Cobra)
Ford Econoline in Two-Tone-Paint ( i love this little van)

Notice how the Red Stripe comes to a point on the front?  That is the first time I seen that.

[Side-Oilers]

Hey guys, I've been away on a 35-day road trip and am finally home and getting caught up.

Steve: Great new thread!  Sorry I missed contributing to everything that you and Richstang and others have posted while I have been on holiday.

The Riverside Raceway official publication was produced by Petersen Publishing Company, as Robert E. Petersen owned RIR in those days. Notice that the cover photo says "Petersen Pub photo."

Petersen was also a good friend of Carroll's. I traveled with them both many times when I worked for each of them...(late 1980s thru early 2000s.)
I wish I could've been there in the 1960s, but I was in elementary school.

[Richstang]

We can see:

7 GT350 Street Cars - Vin´s are unkown but all have Le-Mans Stripe ...
1 GT350 R - identified as 5R002 with painted rear bumber and fresh silver bright wheels
Ford GT with silver wheels - identified as GT/103 or GT/104
Cobra 427 - identified as CSX3002 (first "427" Race Cobra)
Ford Econoline in Two-Tone-Paint ( i love this little van)

Notice how the Red Stripe comes to a point on the front?  That is the first time I seen that.

I just noticed that as well!
We get a hint of that pointed red stripe in this B&W, but the color photo Stephan posted makes it real clear.

NICE COLOR PHOTO Stephan...That was in the 'Ford Times', correct?!

Is that csx2000 in the distance, behind the pit wall. No way of really knowing, but it's a possibility.

[Side-Oilers]

Cool photo.

Looks like Carroll's saying: "Here you have to take the inside line to set up for the next corner...and what are you doing tonight, honey?"

[Szabo]

Thanks all for your friendly replies on the thread.


@68countrysedan

Thats right, the usual Terms are not work at when you need a closer look on some details or Points in time ...
i tryed often only some words and find a breadcumb, but the hole thing to find it´s not possible

@Richstangs

my first pic is not see in the Ford Times Magazins i know, i found it on the Internet, but no source admitted.

i notice also the red stripe on the Econoline Van, still had your B/W Photo in Mind, but have no clue when or why this is happend.

@Side-Oiler

Please no Sorry about your answers, i am still happy when someone answers, even after a few days or weeks.

@All

on my Search for more pics of this event i decided to make a completet Magazin Research on every old Magazin from 1964 or 1965 to find online...
at one point i read about a Article in the House Intern Ford Motor Company Magazin called FORD TIMES.

i found both Magazins and was happy again, there was even more pics from the Event
let me say that both Issue was on July and August 1965, what means that Ford was a little Late to promote
the Shelby GT350 ... The first Major Magazin was printed a Story in April 1965.

FORD TIMES, Issue 7 / 1965





we clearly see 5R002 with still fresh silver wheels and painted rear bumper
(funny fact at this point - a street GT350 is not seen in this pic ... )
the other Cars can be identified as white Cobra, Daytona Coupe and Ford GT

on the other side on the Top a well known PR Shoot from David Friedmann
and above an Inside Shoot (with Cobra Emblem on the steering whell, but unkown vin or location where the pic is made)




FORD TIMES, Issue 8 / 1965

in this Issue officilay it goes about the 427 Cobra but when you make a comparsion with the Main Photo from Post 1
you can see all the same Details





we see that for sure it is on Riverside and the Woman in red jacket and the same Car Driver with Sunglasses
and we see CSX3002 from the Side ...

on the other side a very interessting Photo is shown...



we see a pic from this "Mock Race" with:

Daytona Cobra, identiefied as CSX2287,
the Ford GT with silver wheels, identified as GT/103 (GT/104 was deliverd early to SAI, have black wheels and was still modified at this point)
Cobra 427 (RACE) - CSX3002
white 289 Cobra - Vin unkown
GT350R - 5R002
and one of the street GT350 at last (not the best Photo for the introduction of the GT350 as shown in Issue 7  )

[](https://abload.de/image.php?img=19658fordtimecobra427qpk4d.jpg)

on the other side the real new Cobra 427 Street ... Vin still unkown



Any Thougts about this

Greets

Steve

[Richstang]

Nice posts with not only the article / photo.s but including the cover is a bonus for anyone who might want to keep an eye out for these issues.

Great work identifying all the cars at the Riverside GT350 introduction in January '65.
It would be nice to know which csx2000 series Cobra that white car is.

I don't have a clue about the 427 Cobra ID. Not enough to see in the article pictures. I'm not even sure what color it is...maybe white or unpainted.

[Side-Oilers]

My $0.02 (or 0.018 Euros)...

The color photo of the rear of 5R002 is Turn Nine at RIR...probably after a rainstorm.  I can't ever remember seeing green grass in the infield like that.  Must have been a rare day.

Wayne Thoms and Ralph Poole were Petersen Publishing contributors, or possibly employees, at the time.

The ad for Larry Reed sports cars in the first set of magazine photos Steve posted is interesting.  That Westchester (near LAX) location was later Billy Krause Honda.

[gt350hr]

Szabo,
    Years ago former '65 GT350 production manager , Bruce Junor spoke about this very day. The "plan" was to have 50 GT350s there that day for a "show of force" to the press. Fifty "production" GT350s were prepared and drivers set out in mass toward RIR. One by one , the cars developed engine problems later traced to "soft" camshafts ( poor heat treatment) and didn't complete the trip resulting in the few in your photo. Those in the picture were those that ''made it" ( and some barely made it) . Some were fine and were used for demonstrations. Ford air freighted replacement engines for those that failed. Because of this , SEVERAL early cars have replacement engines without the Ford VIN stamped on them. 5 020 was one of them for sure. SAI kept it hush hush for obvious reasons.
   Randy

[Side-Oilers]

I'll bet that the crew learned some new swear words from CS that day.  The old man must have been livid.

[Bill Collins]

Steve makes this comment relative to the GT350 interior photo in Raceway magazine:
"On this Pic we see two interieurs but without the Cobra Emblem on the steering wheels so it should be a "pre-production" Pic and is not shooted at the Introduction Event."

Allow me to offer some insight on this. Shelby apparently had not yet received quantities of certain parts by the time the advanced prototypes were completed. I have the good fortune to have a copy of the "build sheet" for my car, 5006. I attached it. If you go to page 4, there is a handwritten notation "shipped short" on the line item "Escutcheon - Horn button". The sheet is dated Jan 15 '65. This suggests that certain parts may not have been installed on the cars at the press preview.

Just another nuance in the world of early Shelby activity. Since 006 has its original engine, I can entertain the notion that it was one of the cars that "made it" to the press preview, so it may well be among those in the group photo. To me that is very cool, as is this thread. Thanks Steve!

[98SVT - was 06GT]

The color photo of the rear of 5R002 is Turn Nine at RIR...probably after a rainstorm.  I can't ever remember seeing green grass in the infield like that.  Must have been a rare day.

Looks like turn 9 - but there shouldn't be a pond either. Weather wise here's the record: Rainy season 1965-1966   20.44 inches   +5.71 over average One site shows a lot of rain on the 24th but none for the rest of the month.