This Bonkers 1969 Shelby GT350 With a Wild History Is Headed to Auction
Now is the time to add a genuine Shelby Mustang from the 1960s to your racing stable.
A gorgeous 1969 GT350 “B Production” fastback will be auctioned off by RM Sotheby’s in Phoenix on Thursday. The blue-and-white race car looks to be in stellar condition but is ready for competition if you don’t mind it getting a little dirty.
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If you’re familiar with muscle cars, you know that the GT350 was something special. Shelby’s take on Ford’s pony car turned everything up to 11. The auto legend’s shop outfitted the already muscular fastback with a more aggressive body and an even more potent V-8. Thanks to the modifications the car was now ready for competition. The first-generation muscle car is an icon for a reason, but Shelby’s version was arguably better, especially if you care at all about performance.
This GT350, serial number 480033, dates to the two-year period (1969 to 1971) when Ford took over production of the car from Shelby. Shortly after leaving the factory as a Silver Jade GT500 (which had a bigger engine), it was stolen and damaged. The insurance company refused to pay for the necessary rebuild and it ended up in the hands of Jerry Lancaste, the owner of ABC Auto Wreckers, who was inspired by a friend to turn the car into a GT350 race car. He equipped it with a Boss 302 engine and roll cage and began racing in the Sports Car Club of America’s B class, in which it would compete until 1980.
A subsequent owner painted it Sapphire Blue, equipped it with a 351 Cleveland big-block V-8, and began entering it in GT1 racer. After that, there was an attempt to return it to its original racing spec but that was abandoned after a storage unit fire in the 1980s. In the mid-’90s, the late hot rod legend Doanne Spencer helped with another restoration, a process that Mustang specialist Dave Mani would finally complete in 2012. It’s Sapphire Blue still, but now has a 437-hp Boss 302 V-8, along with other period-correct parts, meaning it is eligible for the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association Gold Medallion class. In total, over $140,000 has been poured into the coupe.
The GT350 “B Production” fastback is set to hit the auction block on Thursday, as part of RM Sotheby’s annual Phoenix sale. Despite undergoing as much work as Frankenstein’s monster, the auction house has high hopes for the muscle car. It expects it to sell for between $200,000 and $300,000.
Click here for more photos of the Shelby GT350 “B Production” fastback.
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