Shelby Chassis No. SFM5S089

Nineteen sixty-four was an extraordinary year in the history of the American-built sports car. In April of that year, Henry Ford II unveiled his company's new Mustang at the World's Fair in New York, creating the "pony car" segment overnight. Just one month earlier, Carroll Shelby's stunningly beautiful Cobra Daytona Coupe had won its class at the 12 Hours of Sebring, on a global tour in the FIA International Championship, and was soon on its way to Le Mans to compete head-on with the finest manufacturers from Europe. Carroll Shelby, the genius Texan behind the program was already a household name, having won the 24-hour race outright in 1959 behind the wheel of an Aston Martin and would soon play a pivotal role in the long-term success of the GT40 program as well.

Ford's "Total Performance" strategy was clearly well underway but whereas the Cobra Daytona and GT40s were roaring their way down the straightaways of the world's most famous tracks, the sprightly little Mustang lacked an aggressive enough punch to compete with Chevrolet's small-block Corvette. Ford therefore decided to homologate the Mustang for SCCA B/Production racing, taking the Corvettes head on, along with Jaguar E-Types, Sunbeam Tigers, and various Ferraris. There was only one man and his team capable of taking on the assignment and that was of course Carroll Shelby.

Shelby turned the Mustang into an all-out sports car - the GT350 - and in so doing created a machine that not only dominated the competition, it won the B/Production Championship outright. Modifications included an additional 35 horsepower over the standard "K-Code" Hi-Po 289 V8, courtesy of a Holley carburetor and high-rise manifold, suspension modifications, larger rear drum brakes, front Kelsey-Hayes discs, Tri-Y headers, and more. All 1965 cars were finished in Wimbledon White and are widely regarded as the purest iteration of the breed. From the side-exit exhausts and stiffer Koni shocks to the Detroit-Locker rear-end and lack of power steering, these were racing cars suitable for street use, one might say, as opposed to the other way around.

Of the 562 total examples built for 1965, the earliest examples, commonly referred to as "double digit" cars are considered among the most desirable and were among the 100 cars necessary for homologation purposes. This particular GT350, 5S089, is one such car, with its battery located in the trunk, as expected - a noteworthy feature on early cars that was considered too involved a modification later in production. Dispatched to Shelby American in California shortly before Christmas in 1964, the car was delivered new in March 1965 to Hayward Motors of Hayward, CA before delivery to its local first owner, P. Calbett. Subsequent ownership is well documented in the SAAC Registry and includes serviceman Jim Sanchez of Alamo, CA, who drag raced the car in North Carolina. Sanchez made several modifications, including replacement of the Detroit Locker, and also used the car in a film he produced in college. Several subsequent owners are recorded in the registry, each of them based in California, and while the car was at one point modified to R-Model specification, its acquisition by noted Shelby collector Bill DenBeste in 2010 saw the commissioning of a restoration, during which the car was returned to its Shelby-correct, as-delivered specification. As presented, the car is truly stunning, finished in Wimbledon White without stripes, steel wheels, proper Goodyear Blue-Dot tires, the proper four-speed T-10 transmission, and numerous other correct Shelby features.

It is often said that car manufacturers "get it right" the first time. All too often, countless factors and influences, market forces, executive requirements, or simple developmental changes result in the evolution a model that, over time, loses its purity of purpose. The GT350 is surely one such example, and the 1965 iteration is inarguably considered the very best - raw, brutish, limited in production, and with all the racing character that Carroll Shelby envisioned from day one. 5S089 is an outstanding example of this pioneering year, with a great specification, known history, and a detailed specialist restoration.