Topic: Hello

[65gt350]

Hello from Vancouver. Just registered after looking at these forums (lurking?) as a guest for a while. Looking forward to exchanging knowledge & information with other's here on the forum, as I am a long time fan of Mustangs & Shelbys.

I've attached a couple of pictures of my 65 Shelby and my 66 GT Fastback - hope I did the attachments correctly

Cheers!

[66GTKFB]

Welcome to the forum. That's a nice stable. What's with top of the 66?
Jim

[65gt350]

Thanks for the welcome - you have a very sharp eye. That is a dealer installed vinyl sunroof. The car was ordered from a Phoenix dealership and the original owner ordered it with a sunroof. It took me a long time to research this and I finally found a Mustang book with a section dealing with some rare dealer options. The author of the book previously owned this car (I have the title with his name on it) and I think the picture in the book is of my car.

Decoding your username - I'm guessing you must own a 66 GT Fastback K code? If so - that is a very awesome car!

Lothar

[Soaring]

Welcome to the forum.  You have an unusual 66 with a vinyl sunroof.  Stick around and share with us. 

[65gt350]

Soaring - thank you. I definitely plan to stick around this forum and would be glad to provide some better photos of the '66. It has some other unusual stuff. I have owned the car since '95 and while it was basically a solid car that ran well & all the pieces were decent - once you got within 30 feet it showed it's age! I kinda struggled with the decision to restore it or leave it (I like unrestored cars). I finished restoring it a couple of years ago - in fact the photo is of the day I picked it up from the paint shop.

I'll post a few more pic's when I get a chance...

[Joe AZ 2 PA]

Welcome to the group. I'm also running a 66 fastback that I bought new. I share your love in the early Shelby's. When I picked up my fastback they had a black AC Cobra in the showroom with a sticker price of $6,200.00 and change. Hind site is always 20/20. . . . . 

[65gt350]

Hi Joe. Who knew what would happen with the value of AC Cobras, huh? I have a "hind sight" story that involves a '63 Split Window Corvette...but I'll save that story for a different day! I'll bet $6200 must have seemed like a fortune for a car at that time. I think its really cool that you are an original owner of a '66 fastback that you still own - definitely have my respect! Can you remember did you consider a convertible or coupe, or were you sure about buying the fastback?

Maybe you could post some pictures for us.

[Soaring]

Yeah, 6,200 was a lot of money back then for a cheap Ford.  You could buy a basic Mustang coupe for 1,700 or so.  Hind sight..........

[Joe AZ 2 PA]

Hi Joe. Who knew what would happen with the value of AC Cobras, huh? I have a "hind sight" story that involves a '63 Split Window Corvette...but I'll save that story for a different day! I'll bet $6200 must have seemed like a fortune for a car at that time. I think its really cool that you are an original owner of a '66 fastback that you still own - definitely have my respect! Can you remember did you consider a convertible or coupe, or were you sure about buying the fastback?

Maybe you could post some pictures for us.

Pic's are in the plans for over the Christmas holiday shutdown.

Most of the ones in our area were coupes. The limited nice weather in this area ruled out the vert and I felt the closest I could get to a GT-350 was a fastback with the GT package.  I have the original paperwork for the car and it cost me $3,281.14 before sales tax. Life is good, live it well. . . . 

[65gt350]

[/quote]
Pic's are in the plans for over the Christmas holiday shutdown.

Most of the ones in our area were coupes. The limited nice weather in this area ruled out the vert and I felt the closest I could get to a GT-350 was a fastback with the GT package.  I have the original paperwork for the car and it cost me $3,281.14 before sales tax. Life is good, live it well. . . . 
[/quote]

IMHO - You made a good choice going GT fastback, of course I'm a bit partial since I own 2 - ha ha. The reason I asked is that I have read in several magazine articles that, initially, the buying public wasn't really that keen on the fastback and that was why Ford sold so many more coupes & verts for the first couple of years ('65 & 66). Hard to figure that now.

Life is good, live it well...I like the attitude! Another good mantra - I'd rather regret the things I did, then regret the things I didn'd do. That's why I bought the Shelby...that and to fulfill a lifelong dream!

Look forward seeing your pic's soon.

[Joe AZ 2 PA]

The blue one you have is one sharp looking car. I can't say enough about your choice for the GT-350. My original color was Signalflare Red because I wanted it to stand out over the herd. In 1970 it got sold to a guy I worked with and he did his thing to it. I moved to Mesa, AZ and he called one day in 1999, 29 years later, and asked if I wanted to buy the Mustang back. Pic's were sent out from Pennsylvanla and I had a buddy check it out to see what the collateral damages were after 29 years away. A deal was made and it was shipped 2,200 miles West to AZ and it's home in the "valley of the sun". Couple years later we decided to move back to Pennsylvania and the Mustang got shipped 2,200 miles to the East. The pic's will show its history from April 14th. 1966 thru today. Right now it's been at a shop going thru another redo but based on what My wife and I envision for the car. By the way I met my wife 6 weeks after I bought the car in 1966 on a blind date proving that Mustangs are chick magnets. . . . . . 

[Soaring]

Yup, 65-66 Mustangs were chick magnets.   

[65gt350]

Are you re-painting the car with the original sinalflare red that it was born with? I hope the other owner didn't make any irreversible changes to the car. Good luck with the restoration. I'm guessing its an "A" code or "K" code GT fastback - did you order any other options?

Chick magnet - haven't heard that term used for a while. That reminds me...in England, back in the day they refered to Jag E-Types as crumpet catchers. It seems that they don't make chick magnets or crumpet catchers any more...

[Joe AZ 2 PA]

Are you re-painting the car with the original sinalflare red that it was born with? I hope the other owner didn't make any irreversible changes to the car. Good luck with the restoration. I'm guessing its an "A" code or "K" code GT fastback - did you order any other options?

Chick magnet - haven't heard that term used for a while. That reminds me...in England, back in the day they refered to Jag E-Types as crumpet catchers. It seems that they don't make chick magnets or crumpet catchers any more...

I'm changing the color. It will be a surprise for the after pic's. It is an "A" code. I couldn't swing the "small" amount extra for the "K" code. A small amount now but back then I was working on the 1st year of a 4 year tool & die maker apprenticeship and funds were low. I did order it with the 4 speed transmission. You are correct saying the "E" types were also "crumpet catchers". Things of the past. As for things that need changed on the Mustang, wow. During the 70's the rear quarterpanels were flared out to cover the tires that were mounted on 10" wide wheels. They are being replaced with stock panels. I already changed the wheels to 8.5" wide American Racing Torque Thrust. The paint was changed to a gold metalflake on much of the car. This has been stripped off and the car was in red oxide primer for the last several years. The motor was modified by adding a Weiand high rise manifold with 2 Holly 450 4-barrel carbs. that stuck up thru the hood. I've already changed it back with a Hi-Po manifold with a single Barry Grant  620 4-barrel. Just put new "tri-Y" headers on and changed the exhaust over to a 2 1/2" system. I'll fill in more gaps of the story later. . . . . 

[Blown2v]

03 mustangs ftmfw lol

[65gt350]

03 mustangs ftmfw lol

I'll have to ask my teenaged daughter to translate your post...LOL! Sweet ride you have there.

[Joe AZ 2 PA]

03 mustangs ftmfw lol

I'll have to ask my teenaged daughter to translate your post...LOL! Sweet ride you have there.

Hey 65gt350,
What's the stories behind your two rides? Both are worth the time to read about. . . . . . 

[65gt350]

03 mustangs ftmfw lol

I'll have to ask my teenaged daughter to translate your post...LOL! Sweet ride you have there.

Hey 65gt350,
What's the stories behind your two rides? Both are worth the time to read about. . . . . . 

I'll post a few more pics with their "stories" after Christmas. For the '66 I did the engine bay, suspension and running gear in one shot in 2002 then , after replenishing my toy fund, I did the body & paint as a second phase. I have over 500 hundred pic's of the body & paint resto because they took pics at virtually every step at the place that did the bulk of that work. I recently found my album of hard copy pic's from the engine build, suspension upgrade, engine bay & undercarriage resto. I had a local engine builder (that specializes in Mustang & Shelby engines) build me the engine after giving him a short block with a bunch of original engine components I had been collecting for the occasion. I had to keep the engine & everything under the hood looking 100% original because I wanted the car to remain "collector plate" eligible so I could keep the  cheaper insurance that goes with it. The only (external) engine bay mod's are that I replaced the original Autolite carb with a Holley that works much better, and put in a Petronix electronic ignition with a flamethrower coil. Along the way I had traded for some K code (or GT? - can't remember now) exhaust manifolds that I put on the car. I also wanted to improve the handling while maintaining a stock look so when I replaced the suspension components I did the common upgrades including 5 leaf springs, a 1" sway bar & self adjusting gas shocks and a few other things. The car handles much tighter since those upgrades and I can wail around corners pretty well... for an older car that is.

Like yours, the car is an "A" code GT with automatic transmission, and just about every major option available. I'll post some pics when I have more time.

[Joe AZ 2 PA]

Great, looking forward to the pic's and the next part of the stories. . . .