Build the Shelby Mustang GT
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Step by Step: Assembling the front end The Shelby Story: Shelby and Ford CONTENTS ISSUE 1 3 THE SHELBY STORY The American racing driver, car designer and entrepreneur Carroll Shelby played a key role in the development of the Ford Mustang in the 1960s. 5 MUSCLE CARS When it was launched, in 1964, the Pontiac Tempest GTO set a new standard for street performance, and today it is widely regarded as the rst muscle car. 9 THE AMERICAN DREAM Muscle cars, a new category of performance cars that hit the streets of the USA in the 1960s, were modestly priced but fast and powerful. 12 STEP BY STEP Putting together your 1967 Shelby GT-500 nose, front bumper and licence plate. VISIT THE WEBSITE www.buildshelbymustang.com CUSTOMER SERVICES PUBLISHING INFORMATION To receive your issues by post: MISSED A COPY? Published by De Agostini UK Ltd, Call the Order Line on Please call Customer Services Battersea Studios 2, 82 Silverthorne Road, London SW8 3HE, UK UK and Ireland 0844 338 9842 UK and Ireland 0330 159 3821 Australia (03) 9872 4000 Australia (03) 9872 4000 © 2016 Editorial Planeta DeAgostini S.A. New Zealand (09) 308 2871 New Zealand (09) 308 2871 All rights reserved. South Africa (011) 265 4304 South Africa (011) 265 4304 ISBN 978-1-4439-3441-1 USA 1-877-544-6779 USA 1-877-544-6779 BYOFMN01 16 01 06 or ask your newsagent to reserve future issues for you to collect. (NOT USA) Editorial and design by Continuo Creative, 39-41 North Road, London N7 9DP Picture Credits: Ford, General Motors, Car Culture/Corbis Printed in the EU SHELBY®,CARROLL SHELBY’S SIGNATURE & INITIALS®, CARROLL SHELBY’S PHOTOGRAPH, LIKENESS & VOICE®, GT-500®, THE SHELBY MODIFICATIONS TO CREATE THE SHAPE AND DESIGN OF THE 1960s SHELBY GT-500 VEHICLE™ are registered trademarks and/or the trade dress of Carroll Shelby and Carroll Shelby Licensing, Inc. (Shelby). COBRA and the COBRA SNAKE Designs are trademarks of Ford Motor Company used under license. THE SHELBY STORY Shelby and Ford, a perfect alliance A PASSION FOR RACING Carroll Shelby (on the right) and driver Dan Gurney at the 1966 12 Hours of Sebring race. Passionate about cars and ithout Carroll Shelby, the story Mustang Concept, was presented in motor racing, Carroll Shelby Wof the Ford Mustang would 1962. Two years later, in April 1964, played a major part in the have been very di erent, because this Ford launched the de nitive model. It multi-talented designer played a was extremely well received, so much development of the Ford decisive role in the enduring success so that in the following year, its Mustang, starting with the of that legendary American car. creators decided to go one step launch of the Shelby Mustang For all lovers of sports coupes, the further and develop more powerful GT350 in 1965. name ‘Mustang’ evokes memories of and sportier versions. one of the most fascinating models in Ford’s aim was to boost the American automobile history, and Mustang’s power and handling so one which brought prestige and glory that it could outperform its major to its constructor, Ford. The rst rivals, such as the Plymouth prototype of the car, known as the Barracuda, the Mercury Cougar 3 THE SHELBY STORY and the Dodge Challenger, as well Thanks to Shelby, the GT40’s racing sports performance of the Mustang as the Chevrolet Camaro and the results soon improved dramatically. because its looks and heritage were Pontiac Firebird. GT40s distinguished themselves in more ‘American’ than that of the GT40, endurance races such as the 1965 which had originally been designed THE GT40 IN COMPETITION Daytona 2000, but they still lacked and built in England. At the time, Ford was racing its GT40 reliability and again they failed to do Ford turned to Carroll Shelby to sportscar, with which it hoped to win well at Le Mans. develop a more powerful version of the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours But in 1966, everything fell into the Mustang, and the result was the race. But at its rst attempt, in 1964, place for Ford when three GT40s, all 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350, the three GT40s that it entered in the prepared by Shelby, took the rst powered by a 4.7-litre (289cu in) race su ered mechanical problems three places in the Le Mans 24 Hours. 306bhp V8 engine. This car was such a and had to retire. In the years that followed, GT40s commercial success that two years To try and solve these problems, scored victory after victory – later, Ford launched a yet further Ford turned to Carroll Shelby, at that including wins at Le Mans in 1967, improved version, the Shelby time a famous racing driver who had 1968 and 1969. Mustang GT500, with a 7-litre re-engineered a number of cars and (427cu in) 355bhp engine. won many races for various makers. A MORE POWERFUL MUSTANG Ford and Carroll Shelby continued Among other things, Shelby had Meanwhile, Ford had decided to their very productive relationship for become famous for tting a concentrate its future competition several more years, during which the lightweight Ford V8 engine into e orts on the car that it had just company enjoyed a successful period an AC Ace chassis in 1962 to launched onto the market, the in motorsport, and in which the create the renowned Shelby Mustang. The company Mustang proved itself to be a Cobra sportscar. wanted to improve the seriously competitive car. A WINNING CAR Carroll Shelby with a Ford GT40, the car that he helped develop into a race winner. Its successes included four consecutive wins at Le Mans. 4 MUSCLE CARS A DISTINCTIVE HOOD SCOOP The ‘air scoop’ on the hood was a distinctive feature of the GTO, and helped to make the car easily recognisable. As standard, it was purely decorative, but it could be converted into a working scoop. Pontiac Tempest GTO, 1967 It wasn’t the rst high- he decision by General Motors to As a result, it decided to put more powered medium-sized car Tban its divisions from competing e ort into developing performance to hit the US market, but the in motor racing from 1963 led, cars, at a time when younger buyers unexpectedly, to the development of wanted more power with less Pontiac Tempest GTO, medium-sized cars with big, powerful emphasis on luxury. launched in 1964, set a new engines, which later became known But to do this, Pontiac needed standard for street as muscle cars. Some cars that could, a new car, and the model it came performance. It is credited in hindsight, qualify as muscle cars up with was the result of an idea with being the original had been around for some time, but developed by three of the company’s muscle car, a term applied to it was to be GM’s take on the concept engineers: engine specialist Russell that became the benchmark for the Gee, chassis engineer Bill Collins, the more powerful versions new genre. and their boss, John DeLorean. In of mid-range American cars After GM’s racing ban, one of its the 1980s, DeLorean became famous that were built from the brands, Pontiac, which had always when he founded his own company 1960s onwards. boasted of its racing successes in its to build a sportscar with a stainless marketing campaigns, found itself steel body and gull-wing doors. This without one of its main selling points. car, the DMC-12, became famous all 5 MUSCLE CARS In spite of some opposition from GM’s marketing department, which couldn’t see a clear position in the market for the new model, and ignoring GM’s own policy, which at the time limited the capacity of the V8 engines of their mid-range models to 330 cubic inches (5.4 litres), Pontiac president Elliot (‘Pete’) Estes gave the green light to the project. Gee, Collins and DeLorean then developed the car that would become the GTO. ORIGIN OF THE NAME There is uncertainty about the exact origin of the GTO part of the car’s name. Some say that it was inspired by the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO. That particular GTO stood for Gran Turismo Omologato (Grand Touring Homologated), because Ferrari had produced the car to gain type approval (homologation) to compete in Group 3 Grand Touring Car races. An alternative theory suggests that EIGHT TAIL LIGHTS over the world as the time-travelling Eight tail lights, four on each side and the Pontiac car’s initials came from sportscar used by Marty McFly mounted ush with the bodywork, Grand Tempest Option, a proposed distinguished the 1967 model from (Michael J. Fox) and the eccentric Doc those of previous years. but later rejected name for the new Emmett L. Brown (Christopher Lloyd) model, which was a variant of the in the movie Back to the Future. basic Pontiac Tempest. And as for the ‘Grand’ designation, that came about because, at the time, Pontiac had THE CONVERTIBLE VERSION As well as the coupe versions, with or without a central pillar, the GTO was also available with a four-seater convertible body. 66 MUSCLE CARS carburettor and twin exhaust manifolds. As an option, the standard carburettor could be replaced to order by three twin-barrel carbs that increased the engine’s power from 325 to 348bhp. The gearbox was a three-speed manual unit with a oor- mounted gear lever, but customers could also order the car with a four- speed manual box or a two-speed automatic transmission.