1966 Shelby GT350 Fastback

As the ‘65 Shelby GT350 was completing final production, Shelby American began work on the new 1966 model. Ford wanted the new ‘66 model to be more road compliant, so gone were racing features like side-exit exhaust, override traction bars and the Detroit Locker that had made the GT350 a race-winning success. Instead, their focus was to produce a car that was easier to sell to the normal enthusiast rather than the amateur racer.

Before the re-tooling was completed for the 1966 model, Shelby had ordered 250 cars from Ford at the end of the 1965 production run from the San Jose plant. Without these cars in the pipeline, Shelby American would have had to shut down their assembly line for about a month and a half. So, these cars were meant to “carry over” Shelby American until the new 1966 Mustangs arrived in October. These “Carry-over” cars are 1965 chassis built into 1966 model year cars by Shelby, and as a result, are a unique blend of 1965 and 1966 features. Today these carry-over cars are the most desirable 1966 production GT350s and have a devout following.

This 1966 Shelby GT350 offered here is one of only 252 “Carryover” models produced. The car was shipped new to Jack Loftus Ford on October 7, 1965. As per Shelby records, this GT350 came equipped from the factory with the optional Cragar alloy wheels.

Recently, this example was subject to a rotisserie restoration finished in Wimbledon White paint with Lemans stripes to absolutely show quality with incredible panel fit. Under the hood remains the matching-numbers 289 CI/306 HP Hi-Po backed by a 4-speed manual transmission. Great attention to detail was paid, not only on top but on the underside as well, to bring the car to this absolutely stunning state.

Important with any collector car of this caliber, this example comes heavily documented with SAAC serial number verification, the Shelby invoice, Warranty invoices and more. Additionally, its ownership history is listed in the Shelby American World Registry.