Summary

The sixth drag racing GT350 built by Les Ritchey's Performance Associates. 'GT6' stampings on the 289ci V8 engine, 4-speed manual transmission and rear end. One owner from new to 2013. Unrestored, incredibly documented, original paint.

Details

Shelby's GT350 was conceived for SCCA B-Production road racing, but it was also a potential 'Corvette Killer' on the drag strip. In early 1965, Don McCain, Shelby's national sales director, conceived a drag-racing GT350, working with Ford racing expert Les Ritchey's Performance Associates. This 1965 Shelby GT350, SFM 5S242, was delivered to Mel Burns Ford in Long Beach and tagged as a showroom car and demonstrator at the urging of Shelby American and then sold on January 22, 1966, to San Jose racer Jerry Mendes, who immediately sent it to Performance Associates for the drag unit upgrades. Stamped 'GT6' on the engine, transmission and rear end, 5S242 remained with Mendes until 2013. While eight GT350 drag cars were previously known, 5S242 is in fact the sixth drag racing Shelby GT350 built at Performance Associates. The parts and precision work added $1,494.63 to the GT350's cost; all original take-off items were returned to Mendes and remain with the car today. Mendes either drove or flat-towed the car to races at Sacramento, Fremont and Carlsbad, reaching 12.38 seconds at 110.83 mph and setting an NHRA class record. The car saw limited use after the NHRA combined Sport Stock and Super Stock classes for 1968, and it was stored at 6,455 miles from 1971 until 2013 when the consignor, a die-hard Shelby enthusiast and collector, purchased it directly from Mendes with the condition of keeping the car as raced. Never wet, at least since Mendes' purchase, 5S242 retains the original paint, plus factory overspray. While stored since 1971, Mendes kept the GT350 registered yearly, and the annual registration stickers and original CA title are included, plus the original invoices, documents and correspondence from Shelby, Mel Burns Ford and Performance Associates, along with the original owner's manual, racing trophies, awards and articles on GT350 drag cars in general - including a 2013-dated Mustang Monthly article on 5S242 specifically. Never restored, 5S242 is an amazing, four-wheeled document of Shelby history with showstopping, investment-grade originality, affirmed in Shelby circles by achievement of the SAAC-38 Premier Award and Concours Gold at SAAC-46.