1966 Shelby GT350 Mustang Fastback Up For Auction In Sydney

The Shelby guys may like to know about this nice original 1966 Shelby GT350 that is up for auction next month at the 2008 Shannons Sydney Autumn Classic Auction.

We do see see a few original Shelbys up for sale in Australia but not all that often. This example is chassis 6S263 and was originally a white car with Le Mans stripes and was first shipped to Trudell Ford, Inc. of Warren, Michigan on the 15th of November, 1965, before an order for a car matching this specification was received by the Northwestern Motor Car Co. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who took delivery on the 23rd of February, 1966.

Being an early 1966 car, this Shelby has several important features later phased out to keep costs down, including lowered front control arms, traction over ride bars, axle limiting cable and bonnet latch deleted. On the 6th of April, 1971 the Shelby was sold to Arnold E.Benson of Grant Ford Florida who kept it in storage, along with a collection of more than 100 years, in a shed from 1976 until his death in 2001 with 40,950 miles on the clock.

Since then the car has changed hands a few times and has undergone a full restoration, which was done to the “original factory specification with the red oxide of the undercarriage combined with over spray from the exterior colour. The exhaust has been changed to 1965 side pipes using a correct reproduction system and the transmission changed to a T-5 five-speed gearbox for improved highway driving (the original transmission and components remain with the car) during the rebuild. The engine retains the correct engine block with casting dates on the block, heads, transmission and differential all matching. The car is now painted in the original colour scheme of white with blue stripes and retains the Crager wheels. The car arrived in Australia shortly after the restoration was completed in mid-2004, with 41,600 miles on the clock and the odometer now reads just over 43,000 miles.”

“The current owner has made only one modification since purchasing the car, fitting modern seatbelts to comply with local regulations but the original belts are included in the sale and can easily be refitted.”

Shannons has said that the car is to be sold with “documentation including two factory invoices, purchase order, factory memos, US titles tracing the history back to 1971, Shelby American Club verification and photos of the restoration.”