Barn Find Shelby GT350 Goes Under The Hammer At Bonhams

By: Andy Enright, Photography by: Bonhams

Date: 09.05.2016

Unrestored one-owner Shelby hits the block at Greenwich

It’s the sort of barn find we all dream of finding – a 1966 Shelby GT350 in totally original condition. As you’re probably aware, Shelby owners can be a tad obsessive and there are vast reams of paper trails that document the whereabouts and condition of virtually every last nut and bolt that came out of the old Venice Beach factory. So how did this car seemingly pop up out of nowhere?

It’s been doing a good job of staying hidden from view. After being bought as a demonstrator from a Ford dealership in Framingham, Massachusetts, it clocked up 55,000 miles before being driven into storage in 1976 where it has remained in hibernation to this day. Crucially, the car isn’t found on the Shelby America register, since the owner didn’t tell anybody about his purchase.

This is a so-called ‘carry-over’ car from 1965/66 that feature the engineering of a ’65 car but with the updated styling of the ’66 model. It carries a 1965 VIN which means that it’s eligible for historic events with a 1965 cut-off.

In genuine time warp condition, the GT350 comes with every service receipt and document from new, including the original bill of sale, handbook and Shelby promo literature. The five original Cragar Shelby mag wheels are hot tickets on their own. These early cars are the smallest and lightest of the whole GT 350 series and are highly sought after by collectors of what is one of the most iconic American sports cars. Bonhams has slapped a fairly conservative estimate of between AU$110,000 and AU$160,000 on the car, which will be sold without reserve at the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance auction on June 5th.

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