Thread: Shelby clone?

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Ive had this 65 Mustang fastback since 73. I've been restoring it for the second time and I love Shelbys but their all the same. I don't want blue with white stripes. It was poppy red when I got it but the original color was burgandy. I think the original color only matters if it's still the original paint job. The first time I restored it I painted it candy apple red. (The FOMOCO version, not the real candy paint) This time I want to go back to poppy red with Shelby stripes in white.
I have a pair of 64 T-bird tail lights and I know Shelbys didn't use these lights till 67 but I was thinking of useing them on my 65.
I have a pair of Shelby side scoops but no hood scoop yet
As for wheels I have a set of 69 rally wheels that were also used on the Torino GTs. Two of my hubcaps are the plain Mustang caps and two have the GT emblems. I can remove them and just have two small holes till I find another plain pair.
So what do you think?
Should I build it with the parts I have and just resemble a Shelby?
Should I Try harder to make it look like a real Shelby?
Should I just go with a stock 65 Mustang look?

Here's a picture of one of the tail lights taped in place.

The burgany was a extremely good color for this car. I would stick to the stock look.The car will be worth more & look better.
Don

This question pops up from time to time on this and every other car forum I visit . Ask the question to 20 people and chances are you will get 21 different answers. No matter what you do with the car there will always be at least be someone who says "IF IT WAS MY CAR I WOULD.........."

The point I'm trying to make is it's your car, and you should do what makes YOU the happiest with it. Visulize what you want the car to be and then make you vision happen whether it's to restore the car or to modify it.

PS. Personally I like you Ideas on modifying it.

Jeez Al, you ask for opinions and you're liable to get some!!

You've got the right idea with those tail lights, they look like they were made for that back panel. Unless you're a Shelby nut I don't see any percentage in your doing a "faithful" clone. It'll still be a clone when you're done.

Like always, we each have a picture in our head of what we want. You've probably got a pretty clear one in yours. Is it just like you've described? Or have you over thought it and started making compromises to fit what you've got on hand? I don't know, just askin'. I know I've done that, and then when I'm done I either cuss myself, or go back and change what I've done to what I should have done in the first place.

Now I'll be the guy Mike talked about. I come from the school of thought that the wheels make the image. The GT wheels you've got have their place, but to my eye they're a bit "flat" for the "texture" of this body style, particularly once you do the scoop mods you've described. I see the car with 17" hoops, the newest Torque Thrust II's with the grey centers. These harken back to the Can Am days, but, because of their size they add just a bit of the modern touch without going tuner. I know, they're a bit spendy compared to what you've already got on hand, but they'll make the "look". Of course the car needs to be lowered a bit to complete the image. You didn't mention whether to put in the sail panel windows like the Shelby, but then, the '65's didn't have those, '66 was the year they appeared. I think it would look fine with the stock "vents".

As for color either the Poppy Red with silver stripes, or the burgundy with gold (warmer colors to warmer colors thing) would work for me. Or, skip the stripes altogether and go for the "clean" look. But then, I'm a red kinda guy anyway.

Definitely shave the emblems. Avoid spoilers, and keep the stock front valance.

Whichever way you go, you're gonna have fun!!

OK, its a pretty clean car, so why not let it stay that way? Very few mustangs of that era are around anymore. I am not a big ford fan, but any car that can hold up across that ages without major catastrophy is doing well. I would agree with the functional scoops, but leave the rest close to factory. After all, whats better than a classic Mustang sleeper?

drg, that's been the point of contention between restorers and rodders since the beginning of these two forms of the hobby. We're the rodders. It's what we do.

Poppy red has always been a neat color, if you're collecting votes. I've always been a believer in the use what ya got or can swap for to build what ya want. Hey Al, I will look around next time I'm out to the farm, see if I have a pair of GT centers.

When i used to hang out at the local A&W ( the local hot rod hang out ), it would really bother me that i would have these little puke wanna be hotrod losers coming up to my car to give me their opinion on everybody elses car. Maybe they felt that i had one of the nicer cars so my opinion mattered. Not everybody likes what i did to my car either. I used to go up to the obvious "budget hot rodder' and give him some words of encouragment, as no one else would even give these poor saps any advice. But i remember when i was one of those guys, proud of their ride no matter what it looks like. I would much rather hang with the those guys then the high end rodders who were to stuck on themselves and their rides to give a rats ass. The high end guys were always giving me a hard time when i would'nt talk with them and then call down my ride. I just told them to F off and went my way, always stayed out of trouble that way anyways. I guess what im getting at is build what makes you feel good, becouse you have to drive it. Who cares about resale or original # matching. One of the best feeling when i drive my rod is the pride of ownership, and your not going to get that if you build someone else's ride instead of the one you really wanted to do. Paint it pink and green with yellow flames, put some fins on it with a Mcdonalds trash can lid top for a hood scoop ( don't laugh, iv'e seen it done ). Then my ride will look that much nicer when i pull up beside you. Just my 2 cents

There's no doubt I'm going to build it my way. But I still have time to change my mind. I can't think of a better place to get opinions than CHR.

The idea behind this car is to build it the way Carrol Shelby would have built it if I was there to influence him. I think he would insist on the stripes and scoops. And the tail lights were his idea anyway. Maybe I can fool a few people into believing it was his personal car and he put the tail lights in it himself. Some people will believe anything if you can keep a straight face.

This car is far from a cherry original car to begin with. The fenders, hood, doors and trunklid have all been replaced at least once in it's life. When the rear springs rusted up through the trunk floor they didn't have any aftermarket parts. I replaced the entire floor from the rear door posts to the tail light panel. On this rebuild I replaced the Quarter panels, inner wheel houses, front floorboards and tail light panel. Not much of the original body remains. The front clip, the cowl and the roof. I even replaced the rear glass once.

I don't think I would buy a car that had so much work done on it. If I restore it to original it'll never bring top dollar.

I can't be subtle. That's not my style. I already bougt 2 qts of poppy red to spray door jambs, underhood and trunk etc. The stripes I'm not commited to yet. If I do the stripe I want all the scoops.

This car has never had Mustang tail lights in it since I've owned it.
Whoever painted the poppy red added a pair of 60 Bonneville tail lights. They looked good. People were always telling me how much they liked it. If they were Ford lights I would have reused them but I kept thinking about replacing them with the 64 t-bird lights. A friend gave me the lenses and bezels. I got the buckets cheap on ebay because they had cracked lenses and chrome.

The tail light panel cost $40 so I'm not concerned about cutting into it. The next owner can change it back if they don't like it. I'm not selling it anyway so it's going to my daughter after I'm gone. It's the only car I have that she wants. The boys want them all.

It's not a k-code but it has the hi-po 289/4 speed and posi. I got the chrome kit for it with Cobra valve covers and the chrome shock tower support. I also have a black pony interior.

It had a set of slotted mags that were aftermarket Shelby wheels. They were very lightweight. Probably real magnesium. They had the Shelby name cast on the inside. I let them go with a 73 coupe that I sold last year. I'm not to thrilled with these rally wheels. They looked good on my Torino GT but I think you're right Bob. They just don't say musclecar when I look at them on the Stang. What they are saying is "incorrect wheel". I can't use plain wheels and hubcaps on the GT so I should probably put them back. The slotted mags never looked wrong so I think I'll look for a set of them or maybe a set of Cragar ss wheels.

Silver sounds better then it looks. I painted a 70 Mach 1 silver for a friend and everyone asked him why he went with grey? He sold it to my wife shortly after I painted it. I put it back in the shop scuffed the fresh paint and sprayed it candy apple red. The next morning when I went out to unmask it I was stunned. It was like a whole new car. So no more silver muscle cars for me.

The engine bay is almost ready for paint. I don't know if I'll paint it semi gloss black or poppy red. I think the red would be easier to keep clean.

Thanks for all the input guys. The only thing I'm sure about so far is the color. And about 90% sure of the tail lights. So keep the ideas and opinions coming. I'd rather get my criticism from you guys than some jerk at a car show after it's done.
AL

Mod it up the way you like it....just don't get to crazy cause that will get old. Now after saying that I gotta say (as I'm putting on my tomato protection suite) that I love the front hood scoops on those older stangs. Infact back in the late 70's an old HS buddy had a shaker hood scoop on his convertible 65 GT. He modded his car all up and rebuilt and kept the original parts so he could replace them when he later sold the car and sold all the aftermarket parts and extra shaker hood and scoop later too. I've just always loved the earliest Transam shaker scoops and those few that had them on early Mustangs.

Hey Al; I think you got some great idea's the tail lights look awesome,And I like Bob's Idea onthe GT Wheels they just make a mustang stand out. You should be able to have a sheet metal shop, build you a front scoop that looks like a shelby's cheap,and you won't have to worry about it cracking.I don't know if you've seen that shelby on the internet. It's silver got a flag flying behind it,and looks like they just put water on the floor.Now I don't know If that cars all original BUT,that car looks hot. And If your anything like me, I just love it when people are breaking thier necks to get a look at my car when I go by! Bottom line, If you like it, do it. ENJOY YOUR RIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vegas