AMERICAN CLASSIC CAR CLUB AUCKLAND
  • Home
  • Corkboard
  • News
  • Gallery
    • Xmas @ Bridgewater - 13 December 2020
    • Toy Run - 7 December 2020
    • Piha Bowls - 15 November 2020
    • Bill Tweed shed raid - 25 October 2020
    • Te Aroha Cruise In - 3 October 2020
    • Caffiene & Gasolene - 27 September 2020
    • Packard Museum - 5 & 6th September 2020
    • Willow Glen& Ross Bros - 19 July 2020
    • Huljich Military Shed - 21 June 2020
    • Port Waikato run - 22 March 2020
    • Waipu Car & Bike Show - 9 February 2020
    • Ellerslie Classic Car Show - 9 February 2020
    • Morrinsville Motorama - 8-9 February 2020
    • Cruise Martinborough - 23-26 January 2020
    • Kumeu Classic & Hot Rod Festival - 18 January 2020
  • Join us
  • Contact
  • Members only
    • Committee contact details
    • Members contact details
    • 2020 Annual Accounts
    • Club apparel & badges
    • Cruisepaper

“Original Venice Crew” announces limited run of licensed 1965 Shelby G.T.350Rs

23/8/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
The “Original Venice Crew” of (L to R) Peter Brock, Jim Marietta, and Ted Sutton pose with a continuation Shelby G.T. 350R. Photos courtesy OVC Mustang unless otherwise noted.
​Launched in 1965, the Shelby G.T. 350R – the competition version of the Shelby G.T. 350 – went on to capture SCCA B Production Championships in 1965, 1966 and 1967. As good as it was, those building the original car – the Original Venice Crew (OVC), as they’ve come to call themselves – believed it could be better. Now, a limited production run of 1965 Shelby G.T. 350Rs, designed by the OVC with all the upgrades meant for the original car, stands poised to improve on the original.
Picture
Shelby American test driver Vince LaViolette exercising an OVC Shelby G.T. 350R prototype at Willow Springs
​The OVC, consisting of Peter Brock, Jim Marietta and Ted Sutton, reconvened in 2015 to build a pair of “new” Shelby G.T.350Rs, one incorporating an experimental independent rear suspension (IRS) originally designed for the 1965 car. The cars also received a new front valance designed to improve engine cooling, Plexiglas rear and quarter windows designed by Brock to improve aerodynamics and ventilation, and improved brake ducts. The project was intended to honor the 50th Anniversary of the G.T.350R’s first win, at Texas’s Green Valley Raceway on February 14, 1965, but afterward, those involved with the project continued to refine and develop the tribute cars.
Picture
The independent rear suspension.
​As Sutton explains, “During track testing, people began to ask if the car was for sale. After a landslide of inquiries we decided to see if there was a good case for offering a limited run of them.” The answer was yes, and Marietta stepped in to head up the new venture.
Picture
The OVC G.T. 350R on display at the 2017 Concorso Italiano. Photo by Matthew Litwin.
​One of the first steps required to put the car into production was obtaining permission, via licensing agreements, from both Carroll Shelby International and the Ford Motor Company. These in place, the 36 G.T. 350Rs to be produced by OVC (matching the original production run of G.T. 350R models) will be badged in the same way as the originals and will be given a Shelby serial number. Papers on each car sold will be sent to both the Shelby American Automobile Club Registry and the Shelby American Registry.
Picture
Picture
Above 2 photos by Matthew Litwin.
Beginning with a reconditioned donor 1965 Ford Mustang fastback chassis, each Wimbledon White OVC Shelby G.T. 350R will receive a competition-prepared, iron-block V-8 from the Carrol Shelby Engine Company, mated to a period-correct four-speed manual transmission. Marietta tells us that the goal is to source original K-code body shells, but if this proves impossible, other production fastback variants will be used. As for engines, the standard issues will be a 289, but since each car is bespoke, buyers opting for horsepower over authenticity will have that option. The improvements from the 2015 OVC car (front valance, Plexiglas rear and quarter windows, brake ducts and IRS) will be incorporated into the continuation cars, producing what Marietta describes as the ultimate G.T. 350R.
Picture
Photo by Matthew Litwin.
​Production of the 36 cars, which will be road-legal, begins this fall, and each will carry a base price of $250,000 before any extras are added. That’s not an insubstantial sum, but where else, at any price, can one buy a new 1965 Shelby G.T. 350R, designed by the original project team and incorporating features the original car was meant to have, had development time and money not run out? The new version is a race-proven, too; in 2016, Shelby American test driver Vince LaViolette qualified one of the prototypes third on the grid in a vintage race at the Hallet Motor Racing Circuit in Oklahoma, driving the Shelby to a win in the event.
Picture
Detail of Peter Brock’s rear-window design.
Once the OVC Shelby production kicks off, the company has plans to offer the valance, Plexiglass windows, brake ducts and IRS to vintage Mustang owners, either installed or as stand alone parts. For more on the OVC continuation Shelby G.T. 350 Mustangs, visit OVCMustangs.com.

Article courtesy of Hemmings Daily, written by Kurt Ernst.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Classics
    Concepts
    Custom
    Hot Rods
    Interesting Stuff

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

Copyright © ACCCA 2020
  • Home
  • Corkboard
  • News
  • Gallery
    • Xmas @ Bridgewater - 13 December 2020
    • Toy Run - 7 December 2020
    • Piha Bowls - 15 November 2020
    • Bill Tweed shed raid - 25 October 2020
    • Te Aroha Cruise In - 3 October 2020
    • Caffiene & Gasolene - 27 September 2020
    • Packard Museum - 5 & 6th September 2020
    • Willow Glen& Ross Bros - 19 July 2020
    • Huljich Military Shed - 21 June 2020
    • Port Waikato run - 22 March 2020
    • Waipu Car & Bike Show - 9 February 2020
    • Ellerslie Classic Car Show - 9 February 2020
    • Morrinsville Motorama - 8-9 February 2020
    • Cruise Martinborough - 23-26 January 2020
    • Kumeu Classic & Hot Rod Festival - 18 January 2020
  • Join us
  • Contact
  • Members only
    • Committee contact details
    • Members contact details
    • 2020 Annual Accounts
    • Club apparel & badges
    • Cruisepaper