STUMPTOWNBLOGGER: Collectables

Back when I was a freshman in high school, this was my dream car; the Shelby GT 350. Carroll Shelby took the standard Mustang fastback, massaged 50% more power out of the Ford 289 V8 engine, stiffened and modified the suspension and removed any “nonessential” bits (like the back seat) for lightness. It was for all intents and purposes, a race car that was (just barely) tame enough to be used as a daily driver.

But driving them wasn’t for sissies. They were loud, they ran hot and they were a rolling billboard for cops looking to fulfill their <ahem> quotas. I got picked up hitchhiking with a buddy by a guy who had a white one with blue stripes. I sat in back (no back seat, remember? I folded myself up like a 14 year old hairy duffle bag). My friend sat shotgun. The driver couldn’t resist showing off for us; he drove us from Walnut Creek California to Danville, about 6 miles, on the old Danville highway, speed limit 45 mph, hitting 105 mph. By the time I crawled out of there, my knuckles were sore from digging my fingernails into the seat back.

I decided then and there, I was gonna get me one o’ them! My plan was to get a job, save for two years, then by the time I had my license, I could buy one! 😍 The cost of a new ‘66 Shelby GT 350 was around $4,500.00. A veritable fortune for a teenager. And don’t even get me started about insuring one:

👨🏻‍💼 “So you say you’re sixteen years old? And you just got your license? And you just bought a race car? And you want us to insure it for you? Sure thing sonny, sit right there while I go get my slide rule.”

Well, shit. Part 1 of the plan went okay, I got the job, but everything from there on went bust. I ended up buying a used ‘65 Corvair Corsa turbo instead, for $930.00. It was a hoot, but it was no Shelby. But what I saved on insurance alone, I probably could have bought the Taj Mahal.

Fast forward 58 years.

I’ve been comparing specs of the original GT 350 with my current jalopy; a Heritage Bronco (links below). The raw numbers are almost unbelievable.

Price — Shelby in 1966: $4,428 ($47,000 in 2024 dollars), Bronco in 2023: $50,000.

Engine — Shelby: 289 cid V8, Bronco: 138 cid inline turbo 4

Horsepower — Shelby: 306, Bronco: 300

Transmission — Shelby: 4 speed manual, Bronco: 7 speed manual

Fuel mileage — Shelby: 13-15 mpg, Bronco: 20-22 mpg

Curb weight — Shelby: 2,940 lbs, Bronco: 4,700 lbs

0-60 mph — Shelby: 7.3 seconds, Bronco: 6.5 seconds

1/4 mile — Shelby: 15.6 secs @94 mph, Bronco: 15.1 secs @90 mph

Top speed — Shelby: 124 mph, Bronco 106 mph

Bottom line: due to advancements in technology, for roughly the same (adjusted) price of an original GT 350, the trucklet has an engine less than half the Shelby’s displacement, half as many cylinders, about the same power rating, the same torque, gets nearly double the gas mileage, weighs half-again MORE, and can suck the doors off its ancestor.

So after all these years, do I STILL want an original Shelby GT 350?

What do you think, dumbass? 🤤

1966 Shelby GT 350

https://www.carmemories.com/shelby-mustang-articles/specifications/1966-gt350.html#top

2023 Bronco:

https://fastestlaps.com/models/ford-bronco-2-3-t