1966 Shelby GT350 Convertible

Offered Without Reserve at the Scottsdale Auction by Worldwide Auctioneers • Historic as 1 of the 4 Shelby GT350 convertibles produced • Documented in the SAAC’s Shelby American World Registry • Owned new by Bob Shane of the Kingston Trio; the sole red car • Factory equipped with air-conditioning and Chrome Magnum 500 Wheels • Offered from a prominent collection 289 cid Ford High-Performance solid-lifter V-8 engine, single Holley four-barrel carburetor, 306 HP, four-speed manual transmission, independent front suspension with coil springs and anti-roll bar, live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs and traction bars, and front disc/rear drum hydraulic brakes; wheelbase: 108" Having already won the 1965 SCCA B-Production road-racing championship with the potent Mustang-based GT350 and well underway to repeating the feat for 1966, Shelby American was clearly on a roll as the vanguard of Ford’s legendary “Total Performance” racing program. However, with the incredibly successful first-generation Mustang slated to be phased out in mid-1966, Shelby set out to build four convertible “test” cars to see if a convertible body could withstand the power of the potent Hi-Po 289 in anticipation of a 1967 ½ release GT350 convertible. Each GT350 convertible was uniquely finished – green, yellow, blue, and red. All were identically equipped to the regular-production GT350 fastbacks built for 1966, differing only in the convertibles’ non-functional rear-fender scoops, since the brake-cooling ductwork interfered with the convertible-top mechanisms. While many sources in the past have pegged GT350 Convertible production at six cars, research by the Shelby American Automobile Club (SAAC) confirms that only four were indeed produced. Numbered SFM6S2377, the stunning 1966 Shelby GT350 convertible offered here is one of those four very special original cars produced and the only one of the four factory-finished in Candy Apple Red. It also features the most desirable four-speed manual transmission. As written by Eric English during 2012 for Mustang Monthly magazine, “Whether you call them test cars, prototypes, or styling exercises, the crux is that they certainly weren’t available to the general public.” The first owner of 6S2377 was Robert Castle Schoen, better known as Bob Shane of the popular vocal group, The Kingston Trio, who had already owned two leaf-spring Cobras and forged a friendship with Carroll Shelby. Shane had once intimated to Shelby that he would buy a GT350 convertible if Shelby would build it and the snake charmer’s response was positive. Just a few months later, Shane was contacted and advised that a GT350 convertible was ready for him and he picked it up on July 7, 1966 at S&C Motors, the Shelby dealer located in San Francisco. According to the SAAC Registry, one of the four cars was listed as “already sold,” while the other three were assigned for testing. Bob Shane’s time with 6S2377 was quite brief as well. Soon after picking up the car, Shane let a friend drive him to the airport to catch a flight to a show, but the car was damaged in a minor accident on wet pavement. Shane was disappointed and lost interest in the car. One of his personal assistants returned the car, most likely to S&C Motors, since Shelby Registry entries list some minor repairs made to the car in August 1966 at just 3,815 recorded miles. Next, 6S2377 was sold to Hi-Performance Motors in El Segundo, California, the Shelby dealership co-owned by Lew Spencer and Carroll Shelby. During the late 1980s, a subsequent owner commissioned a cosmetic restoration of 6S2377 and following completion, it was displayed at the 1992 SAAC-17 meeting in Portland, Oregon. The current owner purchased the car in 2001 and then during 2009 and 2010, the special convertible was restored by Mike McCullough of Worldwide Muscle Cars in Edmond, Oklahoma, with much of the work on the car performed by Jason Aker of American Muscle Car Restorations. Clearly performed to the highest of possible standards, of workmanship and authenticity for judged concours events, the restoration was guided with the able assistance of head 65-66 SAAC Judge John Brown. Maintained following completion in the owner’s private collection, 6S2377 is simply stunning throughout. It is one of only four 1966 Shelby GT350 convertibles originally built, one of one in Candy Apple Red, and equipped with a four-speed manual transmission and Chrome Magnum 500 Wheels, 6S2377 is a “Holy Grail” example and one of the finest GT350s in existence today.