Vehicle Description
Chassis No. SFM5R212
With a well-established reputation as one of the top American
performance brands, by 1965 Carroll Shelby would turn his attention
away from his 289 and 427 Cobras that were regularly trouncing the
competition at racetracks and stoplights around the world, toward
the new Ford Mustang. Prompted by Lee Iacocca who believed that he
could increase Mustang sales with more powerful engines and better
handling, he approached Shelby to prepare and campaign the new pony
car as a B Production SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) racer.
Seeking to create the lightest possible Mustang for optimum track
performance, Shelby and his team would order fifteen cars for their
R version and stripped them even more than the original 100-car run
of GT350 street cars.
Per SCCA rules, the steel bumpers were removed from the R version
and to further "add lightness" plexiglas windows, a fiberglass
front apron and hood, and other weight saving measures such as
removing the rear seats and sound deadening made the Mustang nearly
unbeatable in B-Production competition. The lower valance and
gravel pan were custom designed as a one-piece fiberglass unit by
Pete Brock with a large opening to direct airflow through the oil
cooler and radiator. The rear quarter window vents were removed and
covered to improve aerodynamics while the plexiglass rear window
also features a custom vent across the entire top of the window to
relieve the air pressure generated inside the cockpit at speed.
Powered by a 289 cubic-inch K-code engine, Shelby benefitted from
three years of experience modifying this engine in his Cobra
competition cars, resulting in an unprecedented combination of
power and reliability. Upon receipt from Ford, the engines were
torn down and the heads were sent out to have their ports enlarged
and polished before all pistons, connecting rods, crankshafts, and
other reciprocating parts were balanced and re-assembled. Topped
off with a Holley 715 CFM carburetor and a set of Tri-Y headers,
the stock 306 horsepower of the K-code engine was increased to
around 350 horsepower on Shelby's dyno. Combined with a lightweight
chassis that was around 250 pounds lighter than the street version,
both Shelby factory racers and customer cars enjoyed tremendous
success and eventually earned the SCCA/B Production title in 1965
and again in 1966. Winning five out of the six highly competitive
regional SCCA championships, it is unlikely that any other
production-based car built in such small numbers has won as many
races as Shelby's GT350 R.
Ordered by Shelby American on 30 December 1964 and later shipped
from Ford's San Jose plant on 9 April 1965, Shelby American would
begin the process of converting chassis SFM5R212 to a
factory-competition car. Eventually completed on 10 November 1965,
this example was delivered to Bill Currie Ford of Tampa, Florida
where it was first purchased by Michael Reina. Along with co-driver
Don Kearney, Reina would prepare and enter his new GT350R in the
1966 Daytona 24 hours where they were photographed on the banking
dicing with a mighty Ferrari 250 GTO on their way to 2nd in their
GT 3.0 class and 18th place overall with 527 laps completed.
Entered at the 12 Hours of Sebring with Kearney driving, it is
believed that chassis SFM5R212 served as a backup entry resulting
in a DNS to mark the end of a short competition career, with Reina
eventually selling the SFM5R212 in 1967. Passing through a series
of short-term owners, records indicate this example was acquired by
Vincent Sandbridge and Charlie Mallett in 1971, whose racing team
was sponsored by "Gourmet Salad." It remains unknown whether the
car was ever entered by them to race. Later passing through a
series of racers in the mid-1970s and reportedly raced in SCCA and
IMSA events at Lime Rock Park, Watkins Glen, Cumberland, and
Mid-Ohio, among other tracks, the car was believed to have been
included as part of a trade for a wrecked GT40 in the late
1970s.
After remaining in storage for a number of years, records indicate
it was purchased by a racer and enthusiast in Oceanside, California
in September of 2000, who began a full restoration as an authentic
vintage racing entrant. It debuted during the events surrounding
the 40th anniversary of the Mustang in 2004 at the SAAC vintage
races at Nashville Superspeedway. Subsequently, this GT350R would
pass through a series of owners before it was eventually acquired
by the consignor in 2020. Complete with the rarely-seen fiberglass
brake-duct intakes found underneath the car, this example is one of
only 36 cars ever produced and offers collectors a seldom-seen
opportunity to acquire one of Carroll Shelby's most successful
racing cars and certainly one of the most desirable cars with which
to come home victorious from both the concours field and the
racetrack.