Ford fans, we have a treat for you. This 1967 Shelby GT350, #02148, is an incredibly special car. From the pictures, you’ve already noticed that it is equipped with center-mounted driving lights, which in-and-of-itself makes this a rare and highly desirable car. You’re probably also digging the Nightmist Blue paint, which is this car’s original color. Yes, it has a 4-speed gearbox behind the high-winding small block engine, too. And by now, you’re wondering if it’s matching numbers – I can assure you that it is. It was fully restored 14 years ago, and remains in incredible running and driving condition today, exactly perfect for the guy who likes to exercise his hardware on a regular basis.

Oh, and one other thing I almost forgot to mention- it’s one of only 34 Paxton supercharged GT350s built in ’67.

Restored by Curt Vogt of Cobra Automotive in North Haven, CT in 1996, #02148 remains in outstanding condition today. According to the Elite Marti Report that comes with the car, the original invoice shows power steering, power disc brakes, shoulder harnesses, a radio, and a fold-down rear seat as regular production options. In addition, the Cobra Supercharger was added at a cost of $549.00, adding almost 15% to the base price of this GT350, and pushing its sticker above that of its big brother, the GT500.

1967 was a pivotal year for Shelby American production. Expected demand for the cars was higher which would force some production changes at the factory. The earlier Shelby Mustangs were produced in much smaller numbers allowing more time for assembly. As an insurance policy, Ford sent several engineers to assist with Shelby Mustang production early in the year. Fred Goodell, one of the Ford engineers, arrived in Los Angeles in September 1966, just as the factory was working on 1967 Shelby Mustang #21. What he saw did not meet Ford production standards. The fiberglass parts being supplied for the nose, hood and rear end were so poorly made that they had to be adjusted and sanded by hand just to get them to fit. An additional item was that the Shelby American designers had made some modifications to the lighting systems, and it never occurred to anyone to check the law.

After working out production issues, Goodell visited the California Department of Motor Vehicles to see if the modifications would pass inspection. The state had issues with the distance between the driving lights in the grille. Back at Shelby American, the designers worked out a new grille that relocated the lights further apart. Goodell made sure the early cars were shipped outside California, and most cars with the letter “Z” preceding the serial number came with the outboard driving lights.

The bodywork on #02148 is outstanding, and with a deep, dark color like Nightmist Blue, it had better be right. The panels are straight and well-aligned, and even the fiberglass fits extremely well. Obviously this was a bare-metal restoration, and despite almost 15 years of storage, driving, and showing, #02148 looks beautiful in the flesh. As a stripe-delete car, it’s almost subtle – a true sleeper. Notice how well the rear deck fits, the panel gaps at the leading edges of the doors, and the hood opens and closes easily. Note that it was not over-restored as often happens, and the underside of all the fiberglass pieces is just as crude and rough as it was in 1967, only the fit has been improved. Yes, there are signs that the car has been driven and enjoyed – who wouldn’t want to drive this car – but it will still draw a crowd at the SAAC national meet, and the detailing is authentic throughout. The SAAC is one of the rare clubs where driving the priceless hardware is not only permissible, but actually encouraged! If you don’t exercise your Shelby regularly, don’t let them know about it.

The trim and bright work on this car is a combination of new and original equipment. New bumpers were just installed. The stainless was polished to a mirror shine years ago and well-maintained, while all the Shelby-specific badges and decals are correct and in place, including the GT350 stripes along the rocker panel and the Shelby-specific gas cap. The side mirrors and door handles are original and unrestored, as are the GT350 badges on the front fenders. Out back, the sequential taillights are in outstanding condition and function perfectly – I was behind a Mercury Cougar with these lights the other day, and they really are attention-grabbing. You’ll also notice the chrome exhaust tips under the rear valence, the front grille with center-mounted driving lights, and the hood pins are all very nice.

Enough cosmetics, the real story on this car is under the hood. Most importantly, Shelby GT350 #02148 is one of only 34 factory-built Paxton supercharged 1967 Shelby GT350s. Production of the Paxton supercharged cars ended at the end of the 1967 model year, and the Shelby American World Registry estimates that only 50 to 100 Paxton supercharged GT350s were ever constructed by the factory. More information on the Paxton GT350s is set forth below in an excerpt from the 1997 Shelby American World Registry, page 430:

In early 1965, Paxton Products’ Joe Granatelli approached Carroll Shelby with the idea of providing a supercharger kit Shelby could install on GT350s as an option. Shelby was skeptical but lent Granatelli a ‘65 GT350 (5S425) as a test vehicle. After the installation was complete, Granatelli met Shelby in the back of Shelby’s airport facility with the car. Still skeptical, Shelby brought a 289 Cobra with him to compare the supercharged GT350 against. When Granatelli, in the GT350, walked away from Shelby in the Cobra, Shelby was convinced and promptly gave him an order for 500 Paxton supercharger kits.

Paxton did not install any of the kits, themselves, on GT350 production cars. That was done at Shelby American. Paxton only worked on prototype cars in advance of the new model year. The original carburetor supplied on Paxton-equipped GT350s was the Autolite 4100 4V with mechanical choke. It was rated at 460 CFM and, according to Paxton, this was the best carburetor for this application. It fit inside their pressure box without problems and required only one jet change.

The original Shelby carburetor pressure boxes had the word “Cobra” cast into the front of the top half. Towards the end of Paxton production the boxes were changed to read “Shelby” because Shelby had sold the “Cobra” name to Ford and was not allowed to use that name on aftermarket items. Fuel pumps supplied with the kits were Carter High-Volume units, specially ordered by Paxton and assembled with thicker diaphragms and heavier springs. The pump housing was modified by Paxton to supply the pump with supercharger boost.

Early supercharger compressors were painted black, while later ones (such as the one fitted to this ’67) were painted Ford Blue, and in 1968 they were painted white. When they were shipped from Paxton they carried red and black Paxton emblems which were affixed to the top of the compressor. At Shelby American, the Paxton emblems were removed and replaced with red, white and blue “CS Shelby American” emblems. All Paxton compressors were individually serial numbered. Early Cobra blowers contained the prefix “C” in their serial numbers. Later in production (around mid-1967) the “C” was replaced with an “S”. Paxton units without either a “C” or an “S” at the beginning of their serial numbers are standard aftermarket blowers from Paxton and not Shelby American. The serial number was a 9-digit number; the first four digits the unit’s consecutive production number and the last 5 digits the date of manufacture (01116 was January 11, 1966). A date was necessary because each supercharger carried only a 90-day warranty.

In the summer of 1965, as the first 1966 GT350 models were being assembled, Shelby American pulled one car out of the production line and painted it Ivy Green. This car, 6S051, was the first GT350 that was not white. It also became the 1965 Paxton Prototype. It was given a Paxton supercharger and white rocker panel stripes which carried the designation “GT 350 S.” At that time, Shelby American was planning on offering the Paxton-equipped cars as separate models. However, it was later decided to offer the supercharger as an option. The cost was $670 and included a pair of Paxton gauges (manifold pressure and vacuum) mounted in a chrome bezel under the center of the dashboard. Shelby American claimed a 46% horsepower increase with the Paxton supercharger. Various road tests of cars in 1966 put the peak horsepower between 390 and 400.

The only other modification required was an air-inlet hole cut into the radiator support bulkhead, on the driver’s side. The compressor was mounted behind the support and its inlet hole was mated to the bulkhead hole, which was covered by a mesh screen.

Shelby American factory invoices show that a total of 34 1967 GT350s were shipped with Paxton superchargers. The Paxton option was continued throughout the 1967 model year, but was only available on the GT350. The reason this was not a more popular option is because in 1967, a GT500 only cost $200 more than a similarly equipped GT350. The Paxton option, at $549, was more than twice as expensive.

These production figures indicate that Shelby American never received the full order of 500 Paxton supercharger kits Carroll Shelby originally committed to in 1965. Although Paxton supercharger hits were offered through Shelby American’s parts catalog until 1969, it is highly unlikely that 461 Paxton kits were sold. The actual number is probably somewhere between 50 and 100.

The detailing of the engine bay is incredible, with everything correct and in place. First off, the supercharger has been painted the correct Ford blue, and carries serial number C181102107, which means it was built February 10, 1967, correct for this car which was built in April. The engine is also painted Ford blue as original, and all the authentic Shelby-installed components are present, including the Cobra-logo cast aluminum valve covers. Belts and hoses are date-coded and proper reproductions with tower hose clamps. As a production supercharged GT350, this one sports the correct “COBRA” logo carburetor box, not the later “Shelby” ones that were sold as part of the over-the-counter kits. A set of Tri-Y headers have been installed for performance (and boy do they sound great!), although they were not original equipment in 1967. An aftermarket Crane vacuum reserve system was installed in 2004 to help with the power brakes, since the supercharger often leaves vacuum assist unavailable, especially if the car has been running under boost. The installation is professional and clean, and can easily be removed if the next owner decides to go back to 100% stock condition – this modification was done simply because the previous owner loved to actually DRIVE this GT350. All the little details are correct, too, from the oversized pulley on the alternator for extended high-RPM operation, to the black distributor cap, to the tops of the Koni “red” shock absorbers and shock tower brace.

It runs extremely well, suggesting that Granatelli’s blower kit was well engineered and fully developed. Already making a stout 271 horsepower, the blower adds a lot more power and especially more torque, giving the lightweight GT350 the muscle of its bigger brother, the GT350, in a package that was several hundred pounds lighter. The blower is incredibly quiet thanks to its innovative drive system, and the car gives no outward indication that anything is special when you see it running down the road. Just don’t tangle with it at the stop light grand prix, or you’ll be badly disappointed.

The engine is backed by the original Toploader 4-speed manual. The correct Hurst shifter has just been installed and you have no idea how hard it was to find! It slices through the gears, and the car barks the tires on the 1-2 AND the 2-3 shifts. The chassis has been well detailed, but shows signs of having been driven and enjoyed, which is perfectly OK as far as I’m concerned – I don’t want a trailer queen, especially if it’s supercharged with a 4-speed. Floors are done in the correct red oxide primer with the right Nightshade Blue overspray on the outside edges. The shocks are correct Koni reds all around, the sway bars are upgraded Shelby units, and the springs are the correct progressive-rate Shelby coils installed in 1967. The exhaust system uses glasspack-style mufflers behind those Tri-Y headers, and this car sounds killer at idle and going down the road. The brakes have been fully rebuilt and our shop foreman informs me that this is the best-stopping early Mustang he’s ever driven – he wasn’t prepared for how hard this thing stops. That’s more Shelby breeding, I suppose. The wheels are correct 10-spoke alloys wearing street-friendly BFGoodrich T/A radials. Please, promise me, if you’re the guy who buys this car, DO NOT park it in a garage and trailer it around. Drive it!

Like the trim on the exterior, this car’s interior is a mixture of restored pieces and excellent originals. The carpet, seats, and headliner have to be recent, but I’m betting the door panels and gauges are original. The Shelby wood steering wheel is definitely original and unrestored and in very good condition. Seat belts are probably original and the sun visors carry their original warning stickers. The optional fold-down rear seat is in perfect working order and the trunk compartment is properly finished with a correct trunk mat and matching alloy wheel and T/A radial. Again, this car was built to drive, and has been used sparingly since its restoration, so it’s comfortable and inviting in there, but not so nice that you’re afraid to try it on for size. And I guarantee once you’re in there, you won’t want to get out, especially after you key up that potent small block and listen to the barking exhaust. Paxton supercharged Shelby GT350 #02148 was originally shipped to Robie Ford Sales in Dorchester, MA) on 4/26/67. Previous owners include noted Shelby expert Tony Branda of Altoona, PA, so you know it’s correct and authentic in all the ways that matter. If you’re looking for a Shelby with a pedigree, cars like this are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

Shelby enthusiasts are the best kind of car guys – they don’t just love the cars as art, they love the cars for what they really are: performance machines. These guys celebrate all things Shelby, the most important of which is driving fast. They don’t think twice about taking their six-figure-plus hardware out on the track for a session and running these machines hard. It’s what they were designed to do, and they do it extremely well. This car has clearly been owned by a true Shelby enthusiast who understood that it has value, but that value is directly related to the size of the grin it puts on your face every time you get behind the wheel. This is a very well known car with a strong ownership history that is fully sorted and ready to drive and enjoy. Fire it up, drive it to the SAAC national meet, and tear up some pavement. It’s what it was born to do. Call now!