Vehicle Description
1967 Ford Mustang Group II For Sale - #24 Of 26 Cars By Shelby
American, Monterey Historics 2023 LMC is very proud to offer for
sale this 1967 Ford Mustang Notchback Group II Sedan The Trans-Am
series, officially called the Trans-American Sedan Championship, in
1966 consisted of seven professionally recognized races at road
courses throughout the United States. The accumulation of points,
based on finishing position would determine the season
manufacturer's champion. Ford was keen to take part in the 1967
Trans-Am series and sell many additional cars with such positive
publicity. The SCCA quickly realized they were on to something and
they expanded the Trans-Am to twelve races. They saw manufacturer
support as the key to the series' success and did everything they
could to entice marques like Ford, Chevrolet and Mercury. The
manufacturers, in turn, saw the Trans-Am as the perfect vehicle to
market their new "Pony" cars. Group II rules specified that cars
had to maintain their basic stock appearance, including all window
glass. The job of coming up with specifications for the 1967 Group
II cars landed on the desk of Shelby American GT 350 Project
Engineer Chuck Cantwell. His experience with the GT 350 competition
model and 1966 Group II cars made him the obvious choice.
Fabricator Jerry Schwarz, who also had participated in the prior
projects, did most of the hands-on work. They built a prototype and
from it came the team and customer cars. Factory documents show
that Shelby American built a total of 26 1967 Mustang Group II
racers. One was a prototype which was never actually raced by the
team. It was used for evaluation of components and then sold during
the race season. Four were actual team cars and the remaining 21
cars were sold to independent racers who used them in Trans-Am
and/or SCCA A/Sedan competition. The Group II Shelby Mustang that
is being offered is Car #24 of the reported 26 prepared by Carroll
Shelby for the SCCA Trans-Am Series and was originally sold to and
raced by Fred Sutherland. After many years apart, the Shelby and
Mr. Sutherland reunited and the car has been restored as closely to
the original specifications that memories, documentation and
vintage photos allowed, and to be able to run current historic
racing events. Like the GT 350 Shelby built for the SCCA
B/Production class, this version has all the Shelby details. These
cars came heavily equipped. Among the many features are a
race-prepped Hi-Po 289-cid engine mated to a Top-Loader four-speed
transmission, relocated upper A-arm mounts, bigger disc brakes on
the front, driveshaft retainer strap to keep it from falling if a
U-joint should fail, nine-inch rear axle housing with the
customer's choice of gear ratios, racing oversize wheel studs and
nuts, an SCCA-approved rollbar, "Over-Rider" traction bars from the
top of the axle into the interior, stripped interior with a single
fiberglass racing bucket seat and competition harness, special
racing gas tank with dual electric fuel pumps with the battery in
the trunk, rear firewall, no heater or fan, American Racing
magnesium Torque Thrust D Wheels, Goodyear racing tires, racing
headers and straight dump pipes ending in front of the rear tires,
front license plate recess cut out for an oil cooler, window
retainer straps, hood pins, brake cooling ducts, racing springs,
Koni double-adjustable racing shocks, fire extinguisher, aluminum
plates where the headlights go, racing wire harness, tachometer and
oil pressure gauges set in an aluminum dash insert, no speedometer,
aluminum switch box on the center tunnel behind the shifter and
more. The cars left Shelby's Culver City, California factory truly
ready to race except for numbers and fuel. The engine was rebuilt
by Dave Dralle, who successfully raced Cobras in the 1960s and is
considered to still be one of the best in relation to Cobra and
Mustang expertise. The car was originally ordered by Fred
Sutherland who relates that he had bought it new from Shelby for
approximately $4,000 and due to its delivery being tardy; he was
offered a free paint job of his choice by Mr. Shelby. He conveys
that he won some races and set some lap records with it. It is
related that a race program from an SCCA race at Willow Springs in
1969 lists the lap records for the track. For the A/Sedan Class,
which is the over two-liter class for Trans-Am cars, Fred held the
lap record with this car at that time. Very impressive considering
the Shelby team and many others used this track for practice. Just
before ordering this car, Mr. Sutherland had won the regional
Championship for A/Production with his 289 Cobra. Among the other
track achievements for this well-documented car and Fred Sutherland
are winning overall first time out at the 1967 Times Riverside
Grand Prix for production sports cars. Following this success was
second overall for A/Sedan at the 1967 Daytona American Road Race
of Champions and first in A/Sedan at the 1968 Stardust
International Raceway in Las Vegas. From here the car had numerous
owners, as racecars are well-known for. Prior research by the SAAC
shows that the Shelby was purchased by Jim Whelan of Minnesota and
raced in the 1969 Brainerd Trans-Am race. Sam Miller purchased the
car in late 1969 and it was raced in Midwest regional and national
events. Norman Frame acquired the Shelby in early 1974 and the car
was the 1976 Southeast Division regional champion and raced at Road
Atlanta, Charlotte Motor Speedway and in the Camel GT series. In
1979 the car was purchased by Gordon Stennes in 1979, before
changing hands three additional times without mention of the car
being raced with this succession of owners. Mr. Sutherland
reacquired the Shelby in 2009 and put into the capable hands of
John Ryals for the restoration. Mr. Ryals worked for the
aforementioned Jerry Schwarz (original Shelby American crew
member/fabricator) when they were both on the Roy Woods Racing Team
when they campaigned the ex-Penske Javelins in 1972. Also included
in the sale are the correct and original dual carbs and manifold
setup (the car races much better with the current setup),
documentation tracking the ownership history, a Deluxe Marti
Report, original data plate, historical photos and restoration
records that total over $200,000 invested in bringing this
magnificent racer to this level. This is a very unique opportunity
to purchase a true piece of Shelby American history and is a
perfect addition to any collection or eligible to race at some of
the most prestigious events. Additional Details: 1967 FORD MUSTANG
SHELBY GROUP II RACECAR -
