To be Offered for Auction at The Auburn Auction by Worldwide Auctioneers
• Historic Pre-Production Prototype – the very first 1966 Shelby GT350 built
• Documented in the SAAC Shelby American World Registry
• Numbers matching Hi-Po 289 V-8 and T-10 four-speed transmission
• Depicted in Shelby brochures and marketing materials for ‘66
• Used late in its Shelby days to test the vinyl roof under consideration
• Gold Award in Division II judging at Mid-America Ford and Shelby Meet
• Just three owners from new; concours restoration completed 2011
• Part of the first group of Shelby Mustangs ever shown at Pebble Beach
289 cid Ford High-Performance solid-lifter V-8 engine, single Holley four-barrel carburetor, 306 HP, four-speed manual transmission, independent front suspension with coil springs and anti-roll bar, live rear axle with leaf springs and traction bars, and front disc/vented rear drum hydraulic brakes; wheelbase: 108"
Conceived and built to homologate Ford’s wildly successful Mustang for SCCA competition, Carroll Shelby’s original GT350 exemplified Ford’s “Total Performance” mantra and conferred an unbeatable image on the trendsetting new “ponycar.” While all surviving GT350s are indeed special, SFM6S001, the car offered here, is particularly important as the Pre-Production Prototype and very first Shelby GT350 built for 1966. A primary Shelby American test car used for most of the driving tests for the 1966 GT350 development program, it was also used to evaluate a vinyl roof treatment, which was ultimately not released for sale. This GT350 was also shown by Shelby American and depicted in Shelby American brochures and marketing for ’66.
Unlike the regular production GT350s, SFM6S001 was not a “delete” car from Ford that was later upgraded to GT350 spec by Shelby American. Rather, it began life as a factory-standard, Wimbledon White K-Code High-Performance 1965 Ford Mustang fastback with all factory-standard features remaining with this car. Among them were the welded Export Brace brackets and all the welded/filled holes in the body panels for the standard Mustang emblems and body mouldings that were removed during the Mustang’s conversion into the first ’66 GT350. In addition, SFM6S001 is the only Shelby GT350 to have been originally equipped with the upscale, factory-optional “Pony” upholstery available with regular Mustangs. Other fascinating features of SFM6S001 include aluminum inside-rear quarter window trim and the fittings for the rear-brake cooling ductwork. Late in its Shelby American days – during the last two or three weeks there – SFM6S001 was sent to ACME Auto Headlining in Long Beach, CA and fitted with a Medium Blue vinyl top, which was briefly considered as a potential factory-available option for 1966.
According to the Shelby American World Registry, SFM6S001 was shipped to California’s Hayward Motors for use as a demonstrator on May 17, 1966. Circa 1968, it was purchased by its first owner, a resident of the San Jose, California area. In 1971, Oakland, California’s Jack Schroll purchased the Shelby, still sporting the blue vinyl top, and he would go on to retain the car until early 2004. During Mr. Schroll’s tenure, the car was displayed as a painted rolling chassis at the 1976 SAAC-1 meeting in Oakland, California, and he kept it in storage until 1998, entrusting the car for restoration to Jim Cowles’ Shelby Parts and Restorations in Green Bay, Wisconsin during 1999. Following completion, SFM6S001 earned 1st Place in the ’66 GT350 popular vote class at the July 2002 SAAC-27 meet in Fontana, California.
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