Above all others, there is no year of Shelby Mustang as revered as the inaugural production year of 1965. Known for their raw, unfiltered driving experience, 65 GT350s have become one of the few “holy grails” of all American automobiles in the eyes of sports car enthusiasts.
Without a doubt, though, there is no year quite like 1965 when it comes to the degree to which these “race cars for the street” were beaten on, ridden hard, and put away wet. Due to their uncompromised specifications, these cars were the clear choice for racers of all skill levels which makes the task of finding an honest, highly original example quite difficult in today’s marketplace.
The example seen here today, 5S302, was finished by Shelby American on May 26, 1965 and was delivered to Herb Tousley Ford in White Bear, MN on July 14, 1965 in a group of cars which included 5S299, 5S300, and 5S301. Following its arrival, on October 21, 1965, 5S302 was purchased new by Benny Demeter. Demeter, allegedly fed up after consistently losing drag races in his supercharged Studebaker Avanti, immediately set about upgrading the already stout Shelby Mustang by fully balancing and blueprinting the engine. Although living in North Dakota at the time of purchase, Demeter soon moved to Arizona with the GT350 which undoubtedly saved the car from the rusty future shared by most all cars delivered in Northern startes.
Around Father’s Day of 1968, 5S302 was traded by Demeter to Jerry Stewart of Paradise Ford in Scottsdale, Az. Being an authorized Shelby American dealership, Paradise Ford was widely regarded as the epicenter for Ford performance offerings in the Southwest and always a large inventory of new and used Shelby American offerings.
Shortly after arriving at Paradise Ford, a young man by the name of Gary Triscornia visited the dealership in search of a 65 GT350. Gary Triscornia lived a life to be admired by all “car guys”. At the time of visiting Paradise Ford, Gary’s daily driver was a 66 GT350 which he purchased new and his “fun car” was a Type 37 Bugatti Grand Prix car! Although Gary loved the 66 Shelby, he desired to have the rawer, unfiltered experience of a 65 GT350 for his daily driver. Gary purchased 5S302 on the spot and so began a love affair between him and the car for just shy of 50 years. During that time, Gary’s collection of cars saw many changes. Cars which came and went included a Type 57 Bugatti, a Ferrari Lusso, a Ferrari 275 GTB, an Iso Rivolta, and an Allard J2. The car which outlasted them all and remained closest to his heart was 5S302.
Knowing just how rare it is to find, not only a car which has been under such long term ownership, but also one with immaculate, rust free original sheetmetal and an unbroken chain of ownership from new- I jumped at the opportunity to purchase 5S302 in December of 2017.
Today, 5S302 presents itself as a wonderful opportunity to own what is surely the most honest 65 GT350 on the open market. 5S302 is an original trunk mounted battery car which has lived nearly its entire life in Arizona and California and has never seen rust or adverse driving climates despite being delivered new at a Northern dealership. Additionally, 5S302 was the recipient of a high quality restoration from a shop which has garnered many awards at the world's most prestigious concours events. 5S302 displays a high level of finishes and has recently been completely sorted for the open road to be used as Carroll originally intended. Finally, 5S302 has something which only one other 1965 GT350 can lay claim to. The car retains its original Shelby American issued, hand signed, and hand stamped MSO which was acquired by Coleen Triscornia from the original owner as a birthday gift for Gary. According to SAAC Registrar Howard Pardee, only one other 65 is known to retain its original Shelby American MSO.
The 1965 GT350 market today is one where very few honest cars are publicly available at any given time. In general, most examples are purchased privately, long before they are advertised. 5S302 survives today with its original Shelby American serial number tag, all its important Ford VIN numbers on the car's original aprons, and in absolutely wonderful, rust free condition. The opportunity to acquire a car such as 5S302 is one which should not be passed up and one which certainly will not last.
