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After approximately 32 years, production number 191 is back. My father bought this car from what is believed to be the third or fourth owner around 1984. At the time I was doing auto restoration, paint and body work professionally. The previous owner had street racing in mind for this car and had already replaced the drive train. Since the car was not all original my father decided to build it the way, as he said, “Shelby should have.” Vs. a concurs resto. Yes we knew that black with a gold stripe was not offered in 1969, but as anyone can see, it should have been! The original color was Silver Jade, with blacked out hood. The car could easily be returned to that color if someone wanted to, since the engine compartment and trunk compartment were mostly black anyway. We started the car around 1985 and had it about 80% complete by 1987. At this point I changed careers but my father continued to work on the car as well as some other projects he had picked up, 3 corvettes to name a few. The car was a fixture in his shop for all those years. He was obsessed with not returning it to the street until he was completely finished. Unfortunately he passed away about 5 years ago without ever really driving it. I decided to complete the car, to his specifications, about a year ago. After another 900 hrs. of labor on top of the literally thousands he put into it, it’s done!
Drivetrain- Starting with the engine, the car did not have the original block. The block is a 1972 351W. It is the thick wall casting that is highly sought after. During this time I was not very involved with the car, but I talked to my Dad quite often and the car was always part of the conversation. From what I remember and after reviewing all of his receipts and the log he kept on the car, here is what I know. Although the seller said the engine had just been rebuilt, Dad tore it down anyway. It has the original heads and they were in good condition, he had them redone anyway and added hardened valve seats and a triple angle valve job. The bottom end was fairly new with a balanced rotating assembly, steel crank and forged 20 over flat tops. He had the cylinders honed and installed new rings. He pulled the crank, had it polished and replaced the bearings for good measure. The cam, lifters, and double roller timing chain and gears appeared to be new. I am not sure of the cam specs but it definitely was a good choice judging from the performance of this engine. The original Shelby intake manifold is in place with a new Holly 4150/600cfm carb. It also has a vintage Cobra deep sump finned aluminum oil pan from the Ford special products catalog of the day, it may have been dealer installed. All engine accessories are new or rebuilt. The clutch is original with performance pressure plate and disc. The transmission is an earlier model Borg Warner T-10 with Hurst shifter; both have been gone thru and work great. The rear end was swapped out for a Lincoln Versailles. This was a common upgrade for the period in order to get 4 wheel disk brakes. The Entire brake system has been completely reworked with working emergency brake system. The chunk in the Versailles rear end was replaced with a 9”Ford Nodular iron, Trac-Lok with Daytona pinion. These are very rare. I just had this unit completely gone thru by Zimmer Gears. Mr. Zimmer himself actually did it. He put in new spider gears, a new clutch pack and bearings and set it up. The ring and pinion had been replaced at some time with a set of Richmond gears that looked like new, 3.50 ratio.
Body – The entire car was disassembled, stripped and repainted. Any rust was cut out and the panel replaced. At the time you could still get factory body parts. The undercarriage was done in gray epoxy and the rest of the car is 2 part urethane. As seen in the pictures it’s beautiful. All seals, gromets etc. are new. Of note is that this car was never driven and stored in a climate controlled environment since 1984.
Interior-Most of the interior is original. Carpet and headliner are new. Everything including the clock is in good working condition. Ac works great and has been completely gone thru.
Suspension and Steering – All new or refurbished, including the steering box.
While not a concurs correct restoration this is an absolutely beautiful car. During the build we repaired and kept as many of the original parts as possible or replaced with original ones we found. We went to the aftermarket as a last resort or when it made since. The drivetrain, while not the complete original, is a restored, period correct, high performance upgrade. This car runs way better than an original and is practically brand new. If a late model Mustang pulls up beside you, you wont be embarassed. If the drivetrain was all original you would be. 
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