1966 Mustang Shelby GT 350 Clone Project Car

I was looking back over some of our past project cars and though you might like to see one of our earlier projects that now resides in Japan.

We started with a very sound California car with no rust. Unfortunately, we found out later there was some front end frame damage.

The car went to the body shop and the demolition has started.

If you look closely at the driver’s side headlight area you can see the first hints of the prior front end damage.

The idea was to make a Shelby GT 350 clone that was very accurate from the outside but powered by a more powerful 351.

The repairs begin.

Sand and prime , sand and prime.

More of the same.

The car was not blasted, it was all a DA.

The body was getting very smooth at this point.

The first shot of primer is on.

More primer and more sanding.

Some new (used) front end panels were required.

The car did require a trip to the frame shop to get the prior damage made correct. It was impossible to line up the sheet metal correctly until the frame rails were where they were suppose to be.

The first layer of color goes on.

This is when you start to feel good about a project!

The correct Wimbledon white stripes were applied exactly to Shelby specifications.

It is almost ready but still needs some detail work.

This is what the interior looked like prior to the restoration. It was a combination of red and black.

With the seat covers removed, the old red interior was unfortunately visible.

When completed the interior was all black and new. Note the 65 style dash pod in the center of the dash and the racing seat belts.

Almost ready to hang the new bumper and do the final detail.

The completed project was beautiful and a lot of fun to drive.

Sitting to the side of a winding mountain road in Southern California was its favorite place to visit.

The license plate says it all, “IBATOY 2″. It shared a garage space with a red Corvette with the license plate “IBA TOY”.

I miss this car but our current 1967 Mustang Project Car fills the previously empty space in the garage.