Vehicle Description
This iconic 1966 Shelby Group II Mustang #12 is one of the rarest
Shelby Mustangs ever built and is fully documented in the SAAC
Shelby Registry, which includes its historic SCCA and Trans-Am
racing pedigree. It was one of only 16 Shelby Group II Mustangs
built in 1966. They were built to the 1965 R-model specifications
to compete in the SCCA and Trans-Am A/Sedan class. As documented in
the SAAC Shelby registry, it was originally built for the famous
Shelby American driver Ken Miles, who was killed testing a J-Car at
Riverside before he could drive it. After the tragic death of Ken
Miles, it was offered to John McComb by automotive design engineer
and GT350 project engineer Chuck Cantwell of Carroll Shelby's
legendary racing shop. It was invoiced on August 24, 1966, to
Turner Ford and purchased by John McComb, both of Hutchinson, KS.
McComb and this Shelby Mustang helped Ford claim The Trans-American
Sedan Championship for 1966. This Shelby Mustang participated in
over 30 documented races, including SCCA, Trans-Am, ARRC and 24
Hours of Daytona. Some notable races in 1966 included First Place
at Pan-American Trans-Am in Green Valley, TX, and First Place at
Continental Divide SCCA National. It was featured on the cover and
in Sports Car Graphic December 1966 magazine, which is included. It
was also featured in Sports Car Graphic June 1967 magazine and
Motor Trend World Automotive Yearbook for 1967, which are both
included. It was purchased in 1967 by Keith Thomas. It won First
Place at SCCA National in Wichita, KS, in 1968, where it set an
A/Sedan lap record and tied A/Production Corvette of Don Yenko for
the second-fastest lap ever run at Lake Afton. It was raced
consistently in 1969. It was purchased by Melvin Hammontree in
1973, then purchased by Max Anderson in 1978 and by Gary Spraggins
in 1984. Gary had the car restored early on during his 28 years of
ownership. Gary purchased the engine and transmission from Shelby
American lead mechanic Terry Doty. He had the car signed by Carroll
Shelby, John McComb, Chuck Cantwell and Terry Doty. Gary provided
concrete documentation, including letters from Shelby American,
photos and the Special Collector's Edition of Mustang Monthly
January 1995 magazine, where he and Carroll Shelby were interviewed
about the car, confirming it was built for Ken Miles. It was
purchased by Rick Davis in 2012 and then by Chris Turner of Dockery
Ford in 2013. The car made its way to Shelby experts Legendary
Motorcar, where it received a show-quality concours restoration.
The car is powered by an era-correct Shelby American Racing 289
Hi-Po V8 engine that runs excellent. The engine casting date is
#C5AE-6015-E with a build date of October 14, 1964. It's been
outfitted with the correct Hi-Po heads, aluminum high-rise intake
manifold #S2MS-9424-A, Holley 715 CFM carburetor #S2MS-3510-A and
steel valve covers with specially fabricated breathers. It's
equipped with a heavy-duty oil cooler with remote Cobra oil filter
adaptor and the 18-quart Ford Galaxie radiator. The engine breathes
through the Tri-Y headers. The engine is coupled to an era-correct
BorgWarner T10 close-ratio 4-speed manual transmission. The
transmission has a build date of July 27, 1965. The power is
transferred to Ford 9-inch Detroit Locker rear end with 3.89 gears.
This Shelby Mustang was verified by 1965-66 Shelby Registrar Howard
Pardee and Shelby Trans Am Registrar Gary Underwood. John McComb
and his wife Vici McComb were reunited with the car in June 2022.
Many items will be included with the car, such as Shelby
documentation, restoration photos, SAAC Shelby 1965-66-67 4th
Edition book signed by John McComb, an interview transcript with
John McComb, miscellaneous books signed by John McComb,
miscellaneous articles and copies of various photos of the car and
John McComb. This car was recently serviced and detailed, which is
documented with an invoice that is included. From the MS CLASSIC
CARS Collection.