1970 Shelby Mustang GT350

1970 SHELBY MUSTANG GT350 BACKGROUND
Carroll Shelby had severed it’s ties with Ford by the summer of 1969, but Ford still had the right to use the Shelby name on high performance Mustangs and it continued to do so. Ford had the rights to the Cobra name as well, but chose to drop it from the name in 1969, calling it simply Shelby GT350. Ol’ Shel had had less and less to do with the actual design of the Mustangs that bore his name, and the 1970 Shelby Mustang GT350 was now almost completely divorced from Shelby’s DNA. It was now wholly Ford. Gone was the rev-happy 302, replaced by the brawnier 351 Windsor, duly juiced up for Shelby duty. The cars had become decidedly more luxurious as Shelby backed away, and inevitably heavier as the result. The 1969 and 1970 Shelby Mustang GT350s and GT500s had drastically modified bodywork that clearly distinguished it from normal Mustangs.

1970 SHELBY MUSTANG GT350 ACTUALLY A 1969?
There were no Shelby GT350s or GT500s built in 1970. All were built at once in 1969, and unsold cars were retitled (with FBI approval) as 1970 models and sold. Despite being built at the same time, there actually are cosmetic differences between the 1969 and 1970 Shelby Mustang GT350s. Just two: the addition of a chin spoiler, and two black stripes added to the hood. There were also some mechanical differences, required to comply with 1970-model-year emissions requirements. A total of 789 1969 GT350s and GT500s were retitled as 1970s.

1970 SHELBY MUSTANG GT350 SOLD IN AUCTION
This gorgeous, totally original GT350 ran through the Barrett-Jackson Auction in Reno during Hot August Nights 2014. It sold, with no reserve, for $77,000. A bargain, I say.