Herbert Müller's 1966 Shelby GT350 Fastback 289/360 Hi-Po

 

When Carroll Shelby unveiled the GT350 to the press in early 1965, the reaction was almost universally rapturous. Here, finally, was the very car a performance Mustang should have been all along. The production GT350 was fast, loud and exhilarating to drive, a uniquely brawny American GT that was a match for almost any other muscle machine on the road. But the production GT350 was in reality a compromise, a streetable half-step toward the car Shelby actually planned to race – the GT350R, the “R” signifying its racing specification.

Because Shelby had already configured the production GT350 with the suspension, steering and brakes necessary to make it perfectly suitable for the toughest SCCA competition, he had a built-in advantage when it came to preparing the R-model’s K-code 289 powerplant for its mission. R-model engines were built to order, using blueprinting, heads ported and polished by Valley Head Service, Tri-Y headers by Cyclone, a center-pivot-float Holley 715 CFM carburetor on a Cobra intake and flow-through side-exit exhaust.

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