Shelby Mustang for sale in Scotts Valley, California

1965 Shelby Mustang GT 350 VIN: SFM5S176 5S176 was completed at Shelby American on May 6th 1965. It was sold to its first owner by Hi-Performance Motors in Los Angeles a few months later in October of 1965. The lucky person to walk out the door with the legendary pony car was Howard P. Erickson of Los Angeles, CA. He would go on to service the car at Hi-Performance Motors until it was sold to Robert Key of Laguna Hills, CA in 1975. It is with this owner that the car would enter into automotive history. In 1979 Key decided to join a select group of individuals in protesting the national speed limit in a secret" road rally" know as the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-sea Memorial Trophy Dash, otherwise known as The Cannonball Run. The Cannonball was the brainchild of noted automotive journalist Brock Yates in response to the nationally mandated 55 MPH speed limit. The idea was to see who could drive from New York to Los Angeles in the shortest time. 1979 would be the fifth and final Cannonball, and would go on to become the basis of the Cannonball Run movie. Seeing his last chance to participate Rick Kopec, one of the National Directors of the Shelby American Automobile Club, started calling all of his contacts to see if they wanted to make the run with him. Key answered the call, offering 5S176 as their method of conveyance. Writing about his choice of car Kopec said painted the traditional Wimbledon White with Guardsman Blue Le Mans stripes, this car was the antithesis of stealth. But we weren't thinking too clearly at that point." He goes on to describe the preparation of the car, When he arrived at my place in Connecticut I discovered that his GT350 had 156,000 miles on it and was in need of a general overhaul. We tuned it up, adjusted the valves, replaced a broken crankshaft dampener, wired in two new Escort radar detectors (the state-of-the-art at that time) and a CB radio. We also swapped the 3.89 rear end for a 3.10. We calculated that would improve mileage and allow the engine to run at 4000 RPM while cruising at 110 MPH. The car got new brakes and tires and I made a 32 gal. fuel tank which, when the low rear end was factored in, gave us a cruising range of about 850 miles." They left Darrien, CT at 9:24pm and arrived at the George Washington Bridge by 9:46pm. A journey that usually takes one hour was made in 22 minutes, in the rain! They thought they were on their way to victory. Unfortunately the NJ State Police disagreed with that assessment, and here is where the car enters into Cannonball legend. After being clocked at over 120mph on the New Jersey Turnpike, Kopec tried to pass himself off as an off-duty police officer. The police didn't buy it. Kopec was handcuffed, stuffed into the police cruiser, and charged with impersonating police officer a felony offense. After two hours of explaining they were doing the Cannonball, wanted an American car to win, and saying sorry, a lot, they were released with a speeding ticket for 75 in a 55 zone. A felony converted to a speeding ticket, only on the Cannonball. Luck continued to evade them as they were stopped again for speeding in Pennsylvania, and then had a 2-hour delay in New Mexico when a rear brake cylinder failed. They finally made it to LA 48 hours and 53 minutes after departing Darien. Not bad, you say? The winner did it in 32 hours and 51 minutes in a Jaguar XJ-S. The full story can be found in The Shelby American, Vol 4, Num 3. Shortly after the Cannonball the car was sold to Bud Williams, a Mustang enthusiast from Southern California. Bud had been involved in racing all of his adult life, and he'd just finished restoring a 1970 Shelby. He decided to restore the GT350 with the goal of winning a major concours and going head-to-head against Cobras and Corvettes, something a Mustang had not done up until that point. The event would be the 1983 Newport Beach Pantera invitational. The car was finished at 5:00 PM on Saturday June 26, 1983 and one day later it took first place in the American Sports Car class. Bud entrusted the restoration to famed drag racer Art Chrisman and his son. The car was disassembled right down to the last nut and bolt. The body was in excellent condition but the hood had seen better days. Bud brought in Steve Davis (who is one of the best sheet metal men in the race car business) to make a very special hood for the car. Starting with a New Old Stock (NOS) hood, Davis separated the outer skin from the inner structure, and then hand formed the hood scoop exactly to the shape of the stock Shelby unit. All the paint was done at Chrisman's shop and particular attention was given to the layout of the Shelby stripes to ensure that they were exactly to Shelby specifications. Nothing was left untouched. All hardware was either replaced with new or re-plated. All chassis components, inner front fender panels, export brace, Monte Carlo bar, driveshaft, etc were all powder coated. All the brake lines were replaced with new stainless steel lines. The exhaust system was custom fabricated to duplicate the original in stainless steel. Chrisman built a very strong and reliable 310 horsepower 289. He left the external mostly stock with the exception of polishing the aluminum parts and braided hoses. A custom racing radiator was built to improve cooling. The rear axle was replaced with a beefier Lincoln rear end with disc brakes. The interior was restored to 100-point perfection by Len Barnett of Thornton Upholstery in Santa Ana. If an original part was not perfect, it was either rebuilt or replaced with a NOS part. In addition to the Pantera Newport show win, 5S176 won its class at the 1984 Concours De Nice" presented by the Cobra Owners Club of Orange County, and the 1987 Regency Concours. The car was also featured in the Feb 1987 issue of Mustang", the January 1984 issue of Sports Car Graphic", and the March 1986 issue of Classic Sports Cars". Most recently the car was owned by James Farley, the Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, Sales and Service at Ford Motor Company. A huge fan of the GT350, Farley wanted to return the car to very original, stock condition. He entrusted David Wagner, the noted 289 Cobra expert, to remove the hot rod modifications made by Chrisman, and bring the car in-line with its 1965 heritage. A correct 9" rear axle was installed with 3:73 gears and drum brakes. The front brakes were rebuilt to exact Shelby specifications. The suspension was completely sorted with new shocks and bushings. The Chrisman racing radiator was removed and a new, period correct radiator installed. All of the braided hoses and polished parts were put aside, and replaced with correct period parts. Farley also wanted the car to be easier to drive at low speeds without power steering, so a complete overhaul of the steering system was undertaken. The icing on the cake was the engine rebuild. Thanks to Farley's close connecti

Year:  1980 or older
Miles:  90 000 - 94 999
Transmission: Manual

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