On March 31, 1971, 50 years ago today, I purchased my 65 GT350 serial 006. I had wanted one of these cars ever since seeing one in the film Red Line 7000 in 1965, but being in my mid teens at the time, an actual purchase had to wait.
I bought 006 from Ned Beshore. Ned, along with his brother Scott, each owned a '65 350 (Scott had 5S200) plus they had '66 GT350H, 6S819, which they were running as an SCCA hill climb car. They wanted to buy a Cobra to race, which required that the Hertz plus one of the '65's be sold to fund the acquisition. They arbitrarily picked 006 to sell, and put it out on their father and uncle's used car lot, where I spotted it during one of my frequent visits, as they were good friends of mine. I asked them what serial number it was, to which they replied "Oh, it's number 500- something". So I cannot lay claim to be being savvy in that regard, it was just dumb luck that it was 006.
They were asking $2300 and I managed to negotiate that down to $1900. I only had about $1000 in cash, so I went to two finance companies on the same day, borrowed $500 from each of them and got the car. They later sold the Hertz and purchased CSX2566, which raced under the name "Snake Express".
I thrashed 006 for the first ten years I owned it - street raced it, outran the cops in it, had romantic encounters in it, all the things 20-somethings do to their cars. I later installed a Boss 302 engine and drag raced it for a while. In 1980, I decided to return it to street trim and take it to SAAC 5 (the original engine and driveline had been pulled and saved). Unfortunately, I didn't complete it in time, so I shoved it into the garage with the thought "I'll get back to this later" and rode off to the Dearborn convention with some friends.
"Later" turned out to be 30 years. The family homestead was put up for sale in 2010, so 006 was losing its storage. I decided it was time to get it back on the road. Off it went to a trusted mechanic friend. and not long after I was driving it again.
So to celebrate the day, I thought a little photographic history would be appropriate:
The first photo is the January '65 press preview at Riverside Raceway - 006 is one of the cars in that lineup - but I don't know which one!
The second photo is the first owner with 006 on the day he bought it, March 5, 1965 at the Baltimore Auto Show. The sign on the roof reads "The meanest of Mustangs - Cobra GT350"
The third photo is yours truly with 006 about eight months after I bought it. A plan to restage this photo today at the same location was thwarted by heavy rain.
But it doesn't melt when it gets wet - The last photo is in the rain at the 2014 50th Anniversary of the Mustang show at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
006 retains a rough and ready look - some would say "patina" - I call it "experience". I have been asked if I intend to restore it, to which I reply "H--l no, it took me 50 years to get it looking like this!" Besides, it's more fun to drive it as it is.
So Happy Anniversary, 006 ! I hope to keep enjoying you for years to come.
Impressive feat.
Fantastic story.
First owner's girlfriend is eyeballing It thinking I better be getting a ring out of this transaction. ;D
This would be a great expanded story to put in an issue of the "Shelby American". 8)
Bill Congratulations - well done!
Awesome! Thank you for sharing.
Congrats on the 50 years, I'll have my car, 6S1431 50 years this December
I saw your car at Pittsburgh, it's such a great piece of Shelby history, thanks for sharing
Great story and pictures bill. Thank you for posting!
Thanks for sharing Bill.I love to hear longtime Shelby ownership.
Brad
Thank you for sharing such a great story... I love this kind of stuff especially all of the old pictures.
Congratulations Bill! And here you are in SFM5 006 at Hershey in 1977. Cool sunglasses.
Great Milestone Bill! Hell yes, keep it as is!
Thanks for sharing! Enjoyed reading it and seeing the pics!
Congratulations, Bill. Great story. I have the pleasure of being acquainted with you and your car.
Don
I always enjoy reading stories of early owners, and the circumstances leading to their ownership of these great cars. It seems every car has a great story, thanks for sharing yours!
Thanks for sharing, congrats!
Thanks for sharing your experience and congratulations!
Love the snow tires on the black steel wheels..... Gangsta! 8)
50 YEARS !!! that's a lot ! congratulations ! keep on riding ! ;)
Very very cool Bill. Great presentation.
Boy, has the context of 65 ownership and utilization of these cars changed over the years!
-Steve A (I'm three years behind you)
Very kool and great story Bill but did u have any idea back in 71 how rare any shelbys were as no books or shelby clubs were around to get info back in 1971 that i know of anyway. I always told Bill how lucky he was for a car guy to be living BETWEEN hershey and carlisle and have all them parts and cars in his home town area delivered to those big great swap meets especially back in the 70s 80s early 90s before the internet and ebay came along. If i lived in Bills area i would have been broke all the time instead of just some of the time like i am now anyway. All the rest of us car guys had to make big trips with lots of driving and fuel, beer and motel expenses to go to carlisle and hershey and Bill only had to drive 10 miles east or west to go to the big swap meets and sleep in his home bed every night and if he needed to travel the airport and 8 major roads going all directions connect within a few miles of his house and PA is in the heart of most major car related events across the USA. Congrats Bill as u were born in the right place at the right time and a great car guy!!
Quote from: S7MS427 on April 01, 2021, 07:55:58 AM
Congratulations Bill! And here you are in SFM5 006 at Hershey in 1977. Cool sunglasses.
Thank you everyone for your kind comments. I had forgotten about that SAAC-2 photo! Thanks for including it.
Seeing this photo prompts recollection of another facet of my 006 experience. Pennsylvania had a regulation in the 1970's forbidding modifications to exhaust systems from factory spec. They strongly enforced it, especially against young drivers with cars equipped with Thrush side pipes, Cherry Bomb mufflers, etc, which were very popular at the time.
So 006's side exit pipes attracted constant law enforcement attention. The first year I owned it I was stopped over 30 times. It got to be kind of a game - I carried a copy of the '65 GT350 owner's manual in the glove box. The manual has a diagram highlighting the equipment that made the Mustang into a GT350. Whenever I was stopped, I would show the manual to the officer and politely explain how the exhaust was factory installed and as much as I agreed it was loud, I couldn't legally change it under the law.
I was into wearing those reflective sunglasses at the time, partly because of these police encounters. Being a young smarta--, it was offputting for them not to be able to see my eyes, thereby providing some psychological balance to the situation. The only drawback was my then girlfriend hated them!
Pennsylvania eventually relented on the exhaust law, I believe following some legislative action by SEMA.
Quote from: terlingua11 on April 01, 2021, 10:17:04 AM
Love the snow tires on the black steel wheels..... Gangsta! 8)
And here you can see why I needed those snow tires!
I've owned 6S550 since August of 1967. Lots of fun with it. Maybe one of these days I'll get around to writing a story about it. Ron
Bill its a good thing your white shelby had them blue stripes so U could find your car in them snow storms. Another PA only law back then U couldnt order louvers on your car but dont know if that was so cops could see in back seat area for troublemakers wearing reflective sunglasses haha or fog or why PA didnt allow louvers as besides looking good on fastbacks they kept the interior 40 % cooler keeping direct sunlight off rear seat passengers so they dont get a red neck HaHa and i would think also helped keep some snow and ice off rear glass so u could see out better in the winter storms ya think.
Congrats, Bill. You're one of the reasons I got "bitten by the Snake". You've always been very kind to share your knowledge and enthusiasm for the marque.
Awesome story. Congrats Bill!
Congrats, Bill! And, many thanks for sharing the pictures - love it!
Happy "Golden Anniversary" to you and 006.
Great story, thanks for posting 8)
I 100% agree on pretty much every comment above, and feel lucky to have seen 006 in-person a few times and enjoyed chatting with you (and your hospitality).
Best Wishes for many more years of "experience" with your cars.
Mark
Congratulations and a great story. Wishing you many more years of ownership and fun.
Greek
Quote from: bluemax on April 01, 2021, 07:18:27 AM
Thank you for sharing such a great story... I love this kind of stuff especially all of the old pictures.
+1. Could listen to stories like this all day ;D
Very cool Bill! I always enjoyed looking at your car.
Awesome