66 GT350 Project

Would be interesting to see in person .... much to check that is not shown. See a couple of things that are a concern (other than the rust) and at least one thing I would not have expected if the car was rebodied.

Not a buyer.... so oh well. Sure we will see this car again at some point

Jeff

 

...The aircleaner cover looks like a rusted repo. Why is it even in the pictures?? maybe to hide the carburetors identity..
...The seatbelt toggle bolts are not screwed into the floor.. they are a real pain to take out of a rusted car why would anyone bother to do that??..
...The seatbelts in the group shot are folded so that you cants see the clips
(...the hardest seatbelt part to find or get right)
...the Konis are still bright orange.. (the bleach didn't work on them??)
...In the question section someone asks him about the export brace re-enforcement bracket and he responds with a non-answer
...he claims there is no number under the Shelby tag but the picture shows the rivets still there (help from Kreskin maybe)
..In picture 12 it looks like we can see a seat belt folded out of the picture..
but no toggle bolt and clip.. probably the belts fasten with a flat plate hookup.. Ray Brown made all kinds of seatbelts for all kinds of applications.

For me what is the most fishy is what there are NO pictures of.
Cobra intake
disc brakes/proportioning valve
rear scoop to brake ducting
inside texture of hood fiberglass
rear end housing, rear brake drums,
carburetor
autographed glove box door (kidding on this one)
screw holes and dent in dashboard from tach mounting

I think what we have here is a real serial number and a bunch of junk.
Probably a 25 year old re-body that has been hiding from view.
jimbo

 

I guess I'm too nice...
I did notice a lot of the other stuff but I just could not tell from the pics.
Here in Cincinnati, 20 years ago a friend came across a '66 Shelby re-body. Hell, the original body that surfaced some years later was not bad at all!
This sort of thing happened even though the cars were not worth huge money. If I were a buyer, my biggest fear would not be the re-body, because it will be a re-body when it is done anyway, it is the thought that the Ford VIN is out there somewhere on another car.

This brings up an interesting question for me:
When is a car a re-body? if 80% of the original metal is replaced I would think that it's a re-body anyway. You could argue that an original rust free FB body is closer to "original" than a restored car because the work was done in '65 or '66 when it was assembled. I would almost rather see this than having a shop replace all the metal on a car.

Has anybody asked Howard about the car?

Thanks,
MC

 

if it's not a rebody now, it will be soon. No other way to make the numbers work.

Z. Ray

 

How convenient..


I guarantee the original body will "reappear" for this hunk of junk as well.
It is probably half finished already. A quiet "lady in white" waiting for the title to change hands.. Then the secret Ford VIN (safely locked in a vault ..known only to a few of the most noble knights).... will rise like EXCALIBUR ...from the flat metal of a new piece of steel

I have said this before.. At some point there will be a perfect car to go with every single serial number.

jimbo

 

Reading the Ebay add and looking at pics I was thinking the same thing

 

Let's see if I understand this.

Right now someone is bidding $50k (plus) for an I.D. tag, a title, a few parts, and the opportunity to rebody a Shelby whose original Mustang inner fender panel and Ford serial number may show up on another car some day?

Does that pretty much summarize the thoughts here or am I misinterpreting something?

Steve

 

Yes, to your question of misinterpreting. You are assuming the bidder knows what you know. The person bidding on the car probably doesn't know it is a rebody AND OR he doesn't have a concept of what rebody even MEANS in terms of how much is replaced of the body and parts or the economical and legal consequences to the INFORMED buying public when this is discovered. Unfortunately there are many out there that are clueless.

 

Bob I respectfully disagree with you here, I think the buyer knows exactly what he is getting.. He is getting a title and a serial number. Whatever the final price is ....will determine what a title is worth Today. Sept. 27 2007. There is no person in this world who is silly enough to believe they can fix that pile of iron oxide. Certainly nobody with 50,000 laying around. In 10 years nobody will give a rip about how authentic the sheet metal that goes with that "number" is. What percentage of the "real" cars out there now are still driving around with the original windshield, bumpers, seats, paint, waterpump, brakes, and tires vs. how many are "pretending" to.
Just like we here pretend that these cars have some sacred provenance that can't be bought or sold..

jimbo

I would imagine the buyer of this "Shelby" will have a box full of parts and a midnight trip to the crusher scheduled asap.

 

.....The person bidding on the car probably doesn't know it is a rebody...

HA!
The person selling the car has laid it out as plain as a mud fence that this car IS a rebody... he hasn't said so because that would spoil the deal.. If that hunk of junk in the pictures was established as the real ford/shelby number. It wouldn't be worth anything. The whole world would see that car was lost..It is obviously left to the buyer to chase down the "real" body.. and I'll bet he finds it in a barn... (yuk yuk)
I can write the story now If you like:
Viet Nam vet comes home. ...wife left him for his cousin, steals his cousins Shelby and is last heard from at a hari krishna festival. The wife and cousin need cash so they do a quicky paint job on a stolen rental car (car now in auction). and sell the car with the title to the missing Shelby.
.......Time goes by......
New E-bay buyer does great detective work and finds real car in a barn at an abandoned convent in New Hampshire.. The retired monk who runs the place is a chevy guy so he sells the car for 50 bucks to our E-Bay buyer.. and get this!!! the car is almost perfect!!!
how am I doing??

A couple of pictures of this restored car with Jay Leno standing next to it and we are back up to $180.000.

Like I said at least is isn't a damn clone.

 

Over 50K now! Have any 65 or 66 ever been documented without that cowl reinforcment plate? Factory workers are far from perfect. Still no sign of a signed glove box door...

 

I asked the seller about the missing support and expressed my concern that it may be a rebody. I'll let you know if he answers.
I'm going to save the photos....
MC

 

I don't mean to open a can of worms but I agree to. I can't believe how many people are saying that it IS a Rebody, just because it is missing a support brace. Has anyone on here actually gone to look at the Car in person? If there is more info to say it could be a rebody, please post it, I would like to learn the differances, please include comparison Photos. It looks to me that it is to far gone to have ever been a Rebody. Thanks.
David.

 

Not stating an opinion on the main issue. As far as too gone to have been one remember some of these car (had a close experience with one) where changed out after an accident very early in their life. With time and age these cars can look even less unsuspecting.

Car I was describing was wrecked when 8-12 months old and everything but the Shelby VIN tag was swapped over.

Made for a great parts car

In this case we have a Shelby tag and a stamping (from what I see) on the passenger side.

 

In addition to the great wealth of information that you guys have provided here, do the floors look like silver blue to you (Snakepit?), or is it my eyes?

Also, I can't quite make out the gauge cluster opening in the dash......looks like a 65 style, with no cut-out to accept the 66 5-dial gauges.

Just my observations.....I would have to see the car in person to tell for sure.

Ken

Also, my guess is that for the car to rust so quickly, maybe it was invloved in a flood?

 

Nice catch Ken ... yes it appears to have been a silver blue fastback.

Anyone notice the odd rear springs. Not a make or break detail just "different"

The dash may just be an angle thing ( in close up there appears to be a dip mid point) The dash pad supports are 66

 

Wow! Everyone was looking for the little details that separate a Shelby from a Mustang and the color of the interior floor pans appears to be the dead giveaway staring us in the face. Thanks, eagle-eyed mustangmann.

Does everyone agree that is fairly conclusive proof of a rebody?

And if so, what about the numbers stamped into the passenger inner fender panel and the matching Ford VIN. How does that get explained? I'm confused.

Snakepit, You mentioned at least one thing you saw that you would NOT expect if this is a rebody. Could you elaborate?

Steve

 

I think we have conclusive proof that the car is being presented as a "probable" re-body. It would take Snakepit one minute to determine if the car was a fake if he was there looking at it. I guarantee the buyer and seller don't want him anywhere near this car. Asking him to elaborate on his observation is probably not cool.. I'm sure the auction participants are reading this thread, or are aware of it.. (Maybe even posting here..Ha)
This is a very small world..
jimbo

 

Thanks, Jimbo. If my question was inappropriate I take it back. I'm still fairly new at this "forum" thing and obviously have much to learn about what's proper to post in this type of medium. I appreciate you taking the time to give me a polite nudge in the right direction.

To Snakepit: I apologize for putting you on the spot like that, and I rescind the question.

Steve

 

"Fairly conclusive" kind of almost pregnant

As for conclusive …. No not in my opinion as I’m rarely comfortable using one piece of a puzzle to determine what the picture is look like.

Like all of these “inquires” I would suggest using all the fact found and then let individuals draw their own conclusion.

We must always be careful how we deal with on going auctions both on this forum and others, unless we are directly involved in the process and then private is often prudent. At the same time discussions about issues and findings help expand every ones knowledge and an understanding of the process one goes through when faced with mix messages. It’s just how we conduct the process


Jim ... thanks for the kind comment and support