Shelby 350H – Unrestored and 30 Years Racing

Posted by pikesan on Oct 28, 2009 in Muscle & Style, Racing | 7 comments

It’s easy to like iconic muscle cars like a Mustang, especially when it’s a true Shelby. Add to that it’s an original Hertz Shelby and I’m a little more curious. Without much effort, I can see a young man strolling up the Hertz counter (long before internet reservations!) and asking for a 1966 Mustang GT 350H.  “Yes, I would like the optional insurance.”

If you’ve seen a perfectly restored 350H or any Shelby Mustang, they’re obviously valuable and visually, they’re cool. You’re likely to see one a concours show or more likely at auction. But for me, (and I hope most of you) I look twice when it’s driven! I wanna hear it run! Beyond that, there’s the rarest of rare: The unrestored racing Shelby.

The first unrestored race Shelby I saw was out of pure luck. I was invited to an anniversary celebration for Bob Bondurant at the Bondurant Racing School of High Performance Driving. A treat in itself no doubt.  We drove the Mustangs he had back then (the ‘stangs were later replaced by Corvettes) then he gave an interesting talk. After, we all went outside to see a plain white trailer had pulled up and was unloading an unrestored 289 Cobra.  When I say unrestored, I mean it probably had the original oil in it from the last time Bondurant raced, and won, in it back in 19-sixty-something.  Dented, scratch and rough around the edges describes it perfectly. It even had some in-field pea gravel in the cockpit from that last race track. It was the most unique car I’ve ever seen.  Bob fired it up and took a few hot laps. I’ll never forget it.

That brings me to the second unrestored Shelby I’ve seen. I found it at the Orange County “Cruisin for a Cure” car show.  It was parked discretely in line with a few other cars. Not much to see in the plain white 66 that could use a little detailing. Most people walked right by, but I talked to the owner, Randy Gillis, when I saw the 350H on the side. Randy’s owned the car for 30 years and he’s the 3rd owner including Hertz as the first.  For that entire 30 years, he’s been racing it.
The front calipers are aluminum not the rotors. I am using the original auto trans for the car although modified as you can imagine. The rear gear is 5.29. The car weighs 2830 in it’s current configuration. Every piece of sheet metal is original to the car. No new floor pans or any thing else. Next in line is a little bigger roller cam and a trans brake to squeeze the et into the 10’s. Then the engine will be swapped for an all aluminum 374 ci Boss 302 I am now building. Only the paint work was farmed out , I’ve done all the rest myself.

The current non original hipo 289 block has been filled with a stroker crank which gives 331 ci. This engine was first built with the Tunnel Port 302 heads but later were replaced by Edelbrock Victor Jrs. I use the Trans Am dual four barrel intake and a roller cam. The best time with this engine is 11.15@120 mph. The best ever was 10.75@125 with a stroked (351ci) Boss 302. A host of Ford experimental parts like the GT40 distributor and damper and experimental carb. There’s also some lightweight goodies like aluminum front calipers and he’s even got the original 1965 Cure-Ride 90/10 up-lock front shocks.

Randy sent over an update for the story and added this:

I am using the original auto trans for the car although modified as you can imagine. Next in line is a little bigger roller cam and a trans brake to squeeze the ET into the 10’s with the 5.29 rear gear and the car’s weight at 2830 lbs. Then the engine will be swapped for an all aluminum 374 ci Boss 302 I am now building.  Every piece of sheet metal is original to the car. No new floor pans or any thing else. Only the paint work was farmed out, I’ve done all the rest myself.

Yea, this Shelby was a outta place at the car show. It didn’t belong in a museum or tucked away in a private collectors garage. It belongs at the track and I bet that’ll be the next place I see it, if I’m that lucky again. Thanks Randy! This car is, My Ride is Me!

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