1966 SHELBY GT350 PROTOTYPE #001

Details

Chassis #SFM6S001 is a historic pre-production prototype. The very first 1966 Shelby GT350 built, it is documented in the SAAC Shelby American World Registry. It’s powered by a matching-numbers high-performance 289ci V8 engine and 4-speed T10 manual transmission. 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 Pony car.

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 1966. 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 moldings 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, CA, 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, CA, and he kept it in storage until 1998. In 2011, a complete restoration was commissioned to as-new, original delivery condition, including a Medium Blue vinyl top as it received prior to the first owner taking ownership of the car from Shelby. Of particular note, SAAC 1966 Shelby Judge John Brown of Piedmont, Oklahoma, played an instrumental role in ensuring the correctness and authenticity of this historic GT350’s restoration. In confirmation of the enduring excellence of the restoration work, SFM6S001 has received the Gold Award in Division II judging at the Mid-America Ford and Shelby Nationals and was invited for display at the 2015 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where it formed part of the first showing of Shelby Mustangs on the lawn. Driven only sparingly since it was completed, SFM6S001 participated in the annual Pebble Beach Tour – a 60-mile excursion for all concours entries – and performed outstandingly. Correctly restored, and simply fascinating, it is an exemplary one-off example with tremendous historical significance. There is no other Shelby quite like the important and distinctive SFM6S001.