SAAC Forum

Here's a re-post of this video clip (on SAAC forum 2.0) of Carroll shifting through the gears around the back lot of LAX.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_h9E9u2TSc

I keep coming across these '67 "K" code Mustangs in my "67 Shelby searches for one reason or another. Most recently in the "Tulsa Midwest Shelby Meet" thread I started."J_Speegle" posted a photo of a Nightmist Blue fastback with black steel wheels displayed on the right side of the car. I can't recall ever seeing a car like this before. I just figured it was a base GT with the standard steel wheels and typical Mustang base hubcaps, not the Galaxie hubcap.



Bob Gaines replied back
"That is a 15 inch base wheel because of the competition suspension package . It also got a special high speed tire with the package.  FYI he has hubcaps on the other side. Hubcaps were optional.  That is a similar looking hubcap as Shelby except different center emblem. Those type hubcaps required a special extra long lugnut similar looking to the ten spoke or 69 Shelby lugnut. The lugnuts poke through the hubcap for more authentic "Mag" look. Jim C. make the special lugnuts on a limited basis now.  It also has the adjustable shocks and bigger sway bar. Very few Mustangs got the special competition suspension package in 67 that were not a Shelby." 

Dizzy replied
"For years I told people about the 15" wheels on 67 Mustangs with factory competition suspension and most just told me My memory was fuzzy. In 1967 I was 19 years old and working in Chicago at Burt Rose Ford as apprentice tech and doing a lot of pre-delivery prep work. Two 390 GT Mustangs came on same truck that had that package. One was a FULLY loaded, red convertible and the other a dark green fastback. On my normal test drive route I had the fastback way over 100 mph. 19 year olds are not too bright. I knew they were a very special vehicle and remember them today. The red convertible was purchased by one of the dealers most loyal customers and he kept it for years and modified it many times. I remember installing the T-Bird type wheel covers and thinking they were very weird compared to the factory 14" SS wheels most had. I can remember the RWL Firestone tires ,but can't be 100% sure if they said "Super Sports Special" or other wording. What was the original tire for that option?"


So off to the internet for more research... This article popped up about two of these very rare cars. 
http://www.mustangandfords.com/featured-vehicles/mump-1108-1967-ford-mustang-fastback-special-ks/photo-gallery/#/
As luck would have it, one of these two was the Tulsa car. The article mentions how many "K" code cars were built in each style and also notes how many of these "K" code cars received the "Comp Suspension Pkg".  "According to Kevin Marti's Ford production database, only 195 Mustangs (non-Shelby) were sold with the Competition Suspension in '67--141 fastbacks, 33 hardtops, and 21 convertibles." No breakdown by transmission

"K" Code Mustangs    Hardtop   Fastback   Convertible
4-speed (5)                77             205          34
C4 auto (W)               43             114          16
Totals                      120             319          50
Total: 489         


The article also mentions the "K" code required the GT package. That's a questionable statement based on recent discussions.

"K" code cars with "Comp Suspension Pkg"

After many years sitting in the box, I finally finished up this kit. It's built right out of the box except for the decal for the lettered tires that were purchased from the aftermarket. The kit includes a both a convertible top and a boot cover.

I've been collecting photos of VIN plates for several years now hoping to clear up some confusion in the Registry vs. Simkins data.
With each added photo I'm noting the build dates for cars with & without the "Z stamping.

It appears the "Z" started getting stamped on VIN tags on 4/27/67. I have not found any "Z" stamps on anything early than this date. This includes 3 cars built on 4/26 and 3 cars built on 4/25. (Repro tags are not included in my date notations).

The "Z" stamp appears on and after 4/27 (in my photo file) on every car with only 2 exceptions.
-The first exception is #0025 (San Jose build 10/11/66 - SA completion 6/25/67). This car has always been troublesome because of the 8 months in between delivery & completion. 
-The other exception #2955 (San Jose build 6/6/67 - SA completion 7/8/67). This car was a replacement for one of the railroad derailment wrecked cars.
What is the relevance to the "Z" stamp???

Anyone have any thoughts they'd like to share.
As always, please let me know if you have any information that would contradict what I have noted above.

Thanks 

The 2011 registry notes 35 production cars and an additional 4 dealer installed cars had a Paxton Supercharger (all GT350's; VIN breakdown on page 37). Later it notes SA invoices show 28 cars were equipped from the factory with them (page 791).

After the registry was published a SAAC forum member and owner of a '67 Paxton equipped car posted a detailed breakdown of 35 the production cars (I don't recall who that was). He noted;
1 Factory Test car 210F (only known automatic); #0121
4 Factory Installed cars 200F; #0145, 2148, 2213, & 2309
27 Factory Production Order cars 200F; #0390, 0391, 0392, 0399, 0827, 1036, 1039, 1071, 1072, 1075, 1477, 1662, 1664, 1669, 1677, 1692, 1694, 1696, 1697, 1698, 1714, 2085, 2304, 2308, 2310, 2311, 2354
3 Unknown cars 200F; #0044 (FPO per registry), 0055 (no FPO, returned for installation per registry), 0077 (no FPO noted per registry)

Besides the 1 test car, I assumed 4 were factory installed at LAX, the 27 FPO were shipped in the trunk to be installed at the dealer, and the 3 unknown could go either way. The additional 4 cars (not listed above) would be dealer installed as an accessory at the time of sale or shortly afterwards. If anyone knows more information or other info contrary to what I've typed here please chime in.

Information on the Marti reports for Paxton equipped cars would come from Shelby American records, not from Ford. The number seems to have changed over the years. "KShane" noted 1 of 35 while #2085 noted 1 of 33 cars. I don't know when either of these reports were issued, but assume #2085 is the later report with updated info. Hopefully we can get some clarity on the numbers from some Paxton owners / forum members with Mart reports.

We're told Dave Mathews noted #2213 is no longer one of the Paxton equipped cars. That is likely based on the second invoice for the car as the first invoice was voided.  #2309 and 1662 are two cars I've seen with an SA invoice showing a Paxton supercharger for $479.00. #2085 and #2354 are two more cars I've seen the window sticker noting the supercharger retailed for $549.00.

EDIT; I removed the line about FPO listed cars having the Paxton's shipped in the trunk. That was not an accurate assumption!

The first few early cars received the Flat-Style trim on the exhaust cut outs (this version was later used on 1968 Cougars). These were made and installed at LAX by Shelby American workers until approximately 10/28/66. That only includes approximately 6 production cars.

(Some background; Shelby workers at LAX made the cut-out opening in the standard Mustang valance. It had no cut-outs for the dual exhaust tips that Shelby American would be adding to exit out the rear of the cars. These hand cut openings were rough and needed a trim piece to dress them up.)
The two brochures cars (V-738-2 and #0176) also had the Flat-style trim.

The Flat-Style is thought to be a prototype solution. It was replaced by using the existing '66 Mustang Hi-Po exhaust trim. Shelby workers only had to cut off the lower portion. These pieces were a readily available Ford part that only needed the trimming to use (thus a faster and less Shelby worker or sub-contractor expense). These '66 Mustang trim pieces were used until the end of March '67 on approximately 1725 cars. The change notice for the '67 GT Valance was issued 1/13/67 and stamped received on 1/25. When it was implemented by Ford on Shelby units is still in question. My unit estimate is not valid.

At this point, base Mustangs were shipped to Shelby American with the standard '67 Mustang GT rear valance. The Mustang GT valance had a wide stamped opening to accommodate the twin exhaust tips used on the Ford Mustang GT. The GT valance was used for the remainder of the '67 Shelby production.

Below is a short list of the cars known or believed to have this Flat-Style. If you have or know of any others please let us know.

Car #       Model    Trim        SA Completion / Source
V-738-2   GT500     Flat         9/1/66 (estimated) Sid Avery photo
0176        GT350    Flat          9/1/66 (estimated) Sid Avery photo
0003        GT350    Flat         10/19/66 photo BG
0018        GT350    ?             10/19/66 uncertain which version from SA
0002        GT350    Flat         10/20/66 photo JD
0019        GT350    ?             10/20/66
0024        GT350    ?             10/26/66
0031        GT350    Flat         10/26/66 photo rcgt350
0004        GT350    '66 style  10/31/66 photo shows '66 trim style
0017        GT350    ?             10/31/66 photo appears to have '66 trim style
0029        GT350    ?             10/31/66 photo appears to have '66 trim style
0030        GT350    '66 style  10/31/66 photo shows '66 trim style
0049        GT350   ?              10/31/66
0053        GT350   ?              10/31/66
0059        GT350    ?             10/31/66
0060        GT350   ?              10/31/66 photo appears to have '66 trim style
0066        GT350    ?             10/31/66
0072        GT350   ?              10/31/66
0075        GT350   ?              10/31/66
0078        GT350   '66 style   10/31/66 photo appears to have '66 trim style

Thanks to JD and Randy "rscgt350", for sharing photos and added information.

Edit 4/27/2023
The first few cars with the flat trim are not made from the Cougar parts.
After some conversation with Greg Kolasa, and following his caption in one of his books,
   We determined the Cougat trim part was added after they the '66 Mustang Hi-Po trim.
   It did not need to be cut to fit, saving time, and was a natural progression from the '66 Mustang part used.

It appears the Cougar trim was used on the tail end of trim parts needed...right around the transiotion to the stamped valance opening.
We see the Cougar trim on cars in the 700 VIn range. Cars with the stanped valance were arriving at that same time

The transition date is critical to note on the Shelby American 'Production Order'
It will help to determine the trim type that should be used in any restoration.
There were more than a few cars that had the Cougar trim part.

I'm hoping someone might have a Bronze paint color Marti report so I can compare the statistics against the registry info.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Send me a PM if you want to keep this private.

Thanks for any help.
Rich

Would anyone happen to know what the difference is between a typical "Vehicle Invoice" compared to the rarely seen "Continuation Invoice"?

Looking at the photo, I notice that these continuation invoices seem to be issued to Shelby dealers (non-authorized?) who only received one or two cars.

Completely off topic subject vehicle but relevant per the title of this thread.

Not being an AMC enthusiast, I think the car is cool, but I would not want to pay a premium. It's just a tribute to the original.
Once again the "marketing" folks are working overtime with a twist to make an extra buck. ARGH!!!

http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/classic-cars/rarest-gremlin-in-the-world-headed-to-auction/ar-AAwi2u3?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=iehp#image=AAwi2u3_1|1

Up until recently I had only read about a 2 piece fiberglass nose. I had never seen one, not even in photos. (Keep in mind I've been collecting photos of each and every '67 I find for several years now, about 850 so far.) I started looking for more info about it (roughly when they started and stopped), but can't find anything. They must be extremely rare. I don't recall the topic ever being discussed on the old forum. I'm hoping someone might know a bit more to share.

Recently, Randy (owner of #0031) sent me a photo of a red GT500 with this unusual 2 piece nose split right down the center of the grille. Neither of us know the ID number, but it is an early build with a slanted grille. I don't believe it's a double digit car since it has plates for the light mounting. It appears at the Mustang Roundup in Washington every few years. Maybe someone knows the car and can share the ID number.

Tonight I came across a second car with the 2 piece nose. It is another GT500 this time painted in Dark Moss Green. Unfortunately there is no ID on this one either. It is stated to be an early car built in 1966 (SJ or LAX is not noted, but I strongly suspect that is a SJ date). It also has a slanted grille and plates for the light mounting. It was restored by Dragon Wheel Restorations and is pictured on their website.

Anyone else know of another car with this 2 piece nose. Please let us know.


EDIT #1: List of cars known or believed to have a 2 piece fiberglass nose.

#0344  GT500 SJ build 12/22/66 -SA completion 1/24/67  Slanted grille (photos) added 5/19/21
#0345  GT500 SJ build 12/27/66 -SA completion 1/06/67  Slanted grille (photos/registry) added 10/28/18
#0376  GT500 SJ build 12/30/66 -SA completion 1/26/67  Slanted grille (photos)
#0403  GT350 SJ build 12/30/66 -SA completion 1/27/67  Slanted grille (owner note "KPHartley" on SAAC forum) added 5/15/18, update 12/5/18
#0413  GT500 SJ build 1/5/67     -SA completion 1/30/67  Slanted grille (photos OwenK)
#0458  GT500 SJ build 1/7/67     -SA completion 1/30/67  Slanted grille (photos RandyS)
#0467  GT500 SJ build 1/6/67     -SA completion 1/27/67  Vertical grille (Shelby forums owner note / photo JS)
#0482  GT500 SJ build 1/9/67     -SA completion 1/27/67  Slanted grille (SAAC forum note "Wedgeman") updated 11/28/18
#0486  GT500 SJ build 1/9/67     -SA completion 1/31/67  Vertical grille (owner notes plates not bands)
#0500  GT500 SJ build 1/10/67   -SA completion 1/31/67  Stanted grille (registry footnotes)
#0504  GT500 SJ build 1/9/67     -SA completion 1/30/67  Stanted grille (owner reported)
#0515  GT350 SJ build 1/4/67     -SA completion 1/31/67  Slanted grille (owner photos)
#0772  GT500 SJ build 1/23/67   -SA completion 2/27/67  Vertical grille (Survivor -SAAC 38 - Chairman's Award)
#0803  GT500 SJ build 1/24/67   -SA completion 3/3/67    Vertical grille (Survivor -SAAC 32 - Chairman's Award)
#0817  GT500 SJ build 1/26/67   -SA completion 2/16/67  Vertical grille? (registry photo)
#0906  GT500 SJ build 1/30/67   -SA completion 3/1/67    Vertical grille (photos from internet) added 11/26/18


EDIT #2; CORRECTIONS made to dates for #0500 5/21/2021

EDIT #3; added #0344
EDIT #4; added #0504 and #0817

A smaller version of this photo was posted in the "Shelby American History" section.
It was in the "Shelby American; transporters and support vehicles" thread with no added info.

Looking for more info I came across this photo without any captions or notes.

Can anyone confirm the location and or date (possible LAX 1966) or ID either of the two cars?
The CA plate number of the '66 GT350 is "SQG 576"   Thanks for any help?

It sounds like the Ford GT's are a bit behind the lead car in class (BMW'S?)
We'll see how the day progresses... Hope to see a repeat of Daytona.

Ok, who follows these vehicles...or has any interest in them?

Last year I started a list of all these "other" Shelby American vehicles. This included the CS Driving School, Goodyear / CS Enterprises, and well as the SA Transporters and Support Vehicles. (I can't explain why I do this stuff)


Anyway, I'm building the list with the approximate year/model, license plate, and locations spotted. I suspect there is ledger(s) that exists with most of this info, but I've never seen anything like that so far.

To start this off here's the first CS Goodyear Enterprises van. It was a CHEVY!?!
Yes a Chevy Corvair Greenbriar window van. Not what I would have expected as a tire hauler for Shelby.

A conversation with Road Reptile today reminded me we needed a thread on the '67-'68 Shelby de Mexico GT350 hardtops. The '68-'70 registry has the exact numbers for both years, but together they were less than 380 cars. I don't think they were documented, or at the least, nothing has been found and shared. They were limited to a few colors, 10-spoke wheels, Goodyear Speedway 350s, and possibly only a 289 in both years. No lemans stripes were pictured and I'm not sure what interior was included. Was it the standard black camera case dash or the brushed aluminum?

Has anyone ever seen one in person?

Some of you may have seen a color photo of a lime gold hardtop that appears to be a '68 by the front side marker. I'm not convinced this is a Shelby de Mexico GT350 hardtop. It appeared to be custom built car with '69-'70 side stripes '68 California Special styled stripes, '66 10-spoke wheels, and a '67 Shelby hood scoop on a standard '67 Mustang hood (shorter hood to fit Mustang nose).

I'll post some of the known vintage photos with a few comments about each one.

The early 1-piece slanted grille was found on approximately the first 75 cars. These cars also had some hand-fabricated brackets, rather crudely made. They used a flat strip of steel, shaped to a band/clamp, for mounting both the low-beam fender and high-beam center of the grille mounted lights. 

At some early point in production Shelby American started making (or cutting?) the slanted grille in 2-pieces to help ease installation. They also changed the mounting of the headlight buckets from 4 band clamps to 4 metal plates - one for each bucket. It seems it started first with the high-beam grille light buckets and then the fender light buckets as well.

This change is thought to coincide with the arrival of Fred Goodell, in early December of 1966. It eliminated a number of fasteners and hand-fabricated parts that all had adjustment variables and must have been labor intensive to make and install. 

The plates for the grille light buckets were spot welded to the hood latch support. The fender light plates were still captured with the Shelby license plate/nose support to the radiator core support. (The later version outboard mounted high-beam grill lights used different style of mounting plates.  There were additional sheet metal pieces that would attach to those plate/brackets on Air Conditioned cars to direct air through the radiators.)

The very bottom edge on all of the grilles, early 1-piece and 2-piece as well as the later inboard and outboard versions, got a protective "U" shaped polymer (rubber/plastic) strip. It prevented the bottom of the grille from damaging the painted surface of the lower nose opening. This is missing on many cars. 

There are some other variations of items related to the grilles...such as the presence of added fasteners, one to four, to hold the bottom of the upper nose opening to the top of the license plate/nose support...the 3 different locations of hood pin lanyard attaching points to the top surface of the grilles, the early cars used two locations...the fasteners used to attach the grille to the back of the license plate/nose support and the variations of the license plate/nose support! 

Here's an initial list of 1-piece and 2-piece grille cars. This should help identify the approximate transitions for each of these versions as well as the headlight bucket mounting method. As always, please tell us if you know of a car that can be included or of other variations, errors or additions.

NOTE: Many unique early parts don't seem to have been inventoried for service replacements. Over the years, cars that were in accidents and/or restored were likely to have had later style parts used. This was because the same styles were not available or the originals were so crude and difficult to install. Also, the fender light components rusted so terribly that using later parts may have been necessary. SAAC Registry footnotes and known car histories are important to this topic.

I'm still hoping someday this car will appear out of it's fallout shelter and we'll get to see some more photos of it.


Luckily I saved what was on the old forum.

There are only a few early photos of the Super Snake with its Magstar wheels and small letter Goodyears. This is how it is noted as built from the factory.
Here it is parked in front of Mel Burns Ford with Don McCain. What a cool Shelby!


 

As the subject states, I'm looking for a Marti Report for both paint colors. I'm looking at the statistics for all colors and comparing to the registry.

It appears the Marti reports are short a few cars, depending on when they were processed.
The GT350 total from Marti is 1174 units.
The GT500 total is currently listed as 2048 units, but between 2003 and 2013 it jumps back and forth with up to 2050 units.

Dark Moss Green paint is the only exact match in total quantity at 527 units. Every other color is off plus or minus 1 or 2 units.
Lime Gold is short 1 car in the Marti reports, but I suspect the #176 GT350 is the missing unit.

(I'd love to see if Marti Reports had the springtime yellow or vintage burgundy listed, but those may never surface).
Thanks for any help or thoughts on these.

This was my first all Mustang car show in 1984. My Grandfather worked at ITT and mentioned there was a show scheduled on the weekend. My parents drove me there and I was besides myself. It was the coolest thing to see all these cars in person, instead of just pictures in a magazine. The photos are not great (from my pocket 110 camera), but are better than nothing.

I thought the painted chin spoiler on the '68 was awesome back then.

67 Dark Moss Green