Quick Spin: Classic Recreations Shelby GT350CR
 

Classic Recreations Shelby GT350CR

Gallery:
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/class...photo-1257701/


If you've got an itch for a classic Mustang Fastback, you may want to give Classic Recreations a call. The Oklahoma-based company, which has made a name for itself building award-winning muscle cars licensed by Shelby, recently handed me the keys to its latest creation – a prototype 1966 Shelby GT350CR (serial number SCR350-00P) with a nitrous-injected 427-cubic-inch small-block Ford Racing engine sending power to its rear wheels through a Tremec five-speed manual gearbox. Yeah, it's the sort of machinery that whets my appetite.

As you might suspect by looking at the company's name, the team starts with a standard stock 1966 Mustang Fastback and then tears it down to the chassis in preparation for a full rebuild into what they call a Shelby GT350CR. This particular restoration includes the fitment of the aforementioned 7.0-liter V8 with BBK Long Tube ceramic-coated headers, Magnaflow mufflers, coil-over suspension and rack-and-pinion power steering. Stopping power is provided by Wilwood brakes, in the form of four-piston calipers over ventilated and cross-drilled iron rotors, and the mechanical upgrades are finished off with four brightly polished 18-inch aluminum wheels wrapped in BF Goodrich g-Force T/A tires (245/45ZR18 front and 275/35ZR18 rear).

Inside the passenger compartment, occupants are treated to Carroll Shelby Scat Rally Series 1000 seats, five-point Camlock belts, three-spoke aluminum woodgrain steering wheel with tilt column, a full complement of gauges and full carpeting. An Old Air Products air conditioning system blows ice-cold breezes, and a powerful audio system with external amp and subwoofer ensure a sweet background track to the V8's wild bellow.

Classic Recreations met us with its beauty in Southern California, so we turned its striped nose toward Los Angeles' classic Mulholland Highway for an evening run.

Driving Notes:

• A brief walk-around of the Mustang before the drive reveals an attention to detail that will leave countless onlookers waving and asking questions. The metallic blue paintwork is excellent and the craftsmanship inside the engine bay, passenger cabin and trunk are show-worthy. In particular, I really like the epoxy-coated sheetmetal and satin-polished aluminum components under the hood, the functional and easy-to-read Shelby gauge cluster and the lightweight HRE wheels, which provided a nice compromise between classic and modern design.
• It's hard not to be intimidated by the Shelby GT350CR. Its purpose-built seats, polished metal shifter and competition harnesses have me looking around for my helmet moments after buckling in (in truth, the harness really needs a pass-through in the lower cushion to fit properly). The mechanical feel of the manual lever and clutch mechanism drives the racing message home. That said, the cockpit is comfortable and spacious. Thin A-pillars provide excellent forward visibility, and the view out back is clear, but sightlines over the shoulders into the rear quarters are challenged by the blocked windows.
• The controls are 1960s-era simple, primarily consisting of a few polished knobs that require a simple push-pull to operate and the windows manually crank. The optional NOS system, fitted to the test car, automatically engages if enabled by its red dash-mounted switch (the tank is full, but sadly I will never have an open opportunity to use it).
• The 427-cubic-inch V8 drives and sounds every bit as good as it looks. It idles with an angry demeanor and then backs up its bark with a ferocious bite. There is plenty of power in each of the lower gears to initiate immediate wheelspin, leaving rear tire life completely up to the operator (the company quotes a 0-60 sprint of 3.7 seconds, but based on available grip, I feel that number is a bit optimistic). Kudos to Classic Recreations for putting an open side pipe on both the passenger and driver side of the car, as the two provide stereophonic rumbles and backfires reverberating throughout the cabin. While the climate control works perfectly, I would never roll up the windows for fear of suppressing the exhaust noise - it's addictive.
• Despite the upgraded and modernized coil-over suspension with oversized sway bars and race-tuned ride on sticky BF Goodrich rubber, this Mustang is still more of a cruiser than a carver. Initial turn-in is on the slow side and the coupe drives with a large demeanor that requires plenty of anticipation in the corners. When compared to other ungainly muscle cars of its era, its handling would certainly be considered impressive, but today's multi-talented sports cars would run circles around this Pony in the canyons.
• Classic Recreations is making only 10 of the legacy cars each year, and buyers are offered a grocery list of options to customize each to their specifications. While it wouldn't be my first choice in a canyon or race track, bring this muscle car to a drag strip, crowded boulevard, summer beach or car show and it will simply shine – we had to pull impressed gawkers away in order to leave a Mulholland overlook.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/10/c...helby-gt350cr/

Base Price: $119,000 = massive FAIL

I can dig it :thumbup:

How is this a fail? Have you priced out getting an old muscle car restored not to mention upgraded? That engine alone is about 15k plus labor, 6k plus labor for tans and rear-end, paint and body 20-30k, interior 10k, wheels and tires 6k, suspension work 8-10k, 4k for brakes, etc. If you brought a ragged out 65 fastback that you paid $20k+ for to any reputable shop you would be lucky to get out of the whole endevor for under $100k.

X100

FAIL.....waaaay too pricey.

and your pricing is waaaaaay off too....(IMO)

Because of this for a Shelby GT500:
Propulsion
Fuel Type: Gas
Engine Type: 5.8L V8
Power: 662 hp @ 6500 rpm
Torque: 631 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm
Transmission: 6-Speed Manual
Highway Fuel Economy: 24 mpg
City Fuel Economy: 15 mpg
Forced Induction: Supercharger
Direct Injection: No

PRICE: $55K

Have I priced a restore... uhhh, YEAH, several times

And as a long-time Mustang guy, I know plenty of folks doing rebuilds (sat in them first-hand) on classic body styles, getting ridiculous HP & torque for WAY under that price... LABOR, you kidding???? They're doing it themselves

Do a search on my Mustang posts before asking questions you don't know answers to... :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

And as a long-time Mustang guy, I know plenty of folks doing rebuilds (sat in them first-hand) on classic body styles, getting ridiculous HP & torque for WAY under that price... LABOR, you kidding???? They're doing it themselves

Do a search on my Mustang posts before asking questions you don't know answers to... :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:[/QUOTE]

Ask your buddies how many hours they spent doing the work, now multiply that by $80-100 per hour. You are comparing apples to oranges with a self built car and a shop built car. And comparing it to a new mustang is frankly just ignorant. Name a shop that will fully restore a 1965 mustang to these specs listed above for $55k including the cost of the car.

I don't know you or your vast mustang knowledge, so I cannot question it. I can however say that the prices I listed are ballpark costs for having a reputable shop perform this level of work on a 60's muscle car.

Thus the reason I am building my own classic muscle, becuase I can do it cheaper by buying the parts, my labor costs me nothing but my time, and I enjoy it. To someone who has the abilities to do work themself it seems crazy to spend $100k on a classic car, but for those without the skills or maybe the desire this is the going rate for high level shop built rides. And if you want to step up to true one off custom work done by RS, Ironworks, RB, etc, you are looking at $250k and up.

PS. Looked through your posts and saw nothing related to restoring old muscle cars, but would like to read up if you can point me in the right direction or provide a link.

great comeback and post :D:D:D

:rolleyes:

cars like in the OP goes in auctions for 50-60k

Why stick in a 427 though, and call it a GT350? The original GT350 didn't have a 427. It also had genuine 60s-style mag wheels instead of those oversized chrome ones with rubber-band tires on the one in this article.

This is true, usually on a build you are lucky to get half back out be it classic iron or new. But the same is true for the above mentioned 2014 GT500 or any other car for that matter. Very few cars, even classics truly increase in value unless they are very rare coveted models. My point was if you wanted to buy a "new" calssic mustang the $100k asking price was not bad compared to having one built for you. From a $$ per perfomance standpoint a vette, GT500 or ever a GTR is a better buy, no doubt. But parked at a gas station, stoplight or cruise in, the classic will get more looks and most likely be a more fun weekend driver than the others mentioned. Not everything about a car is measured in 1/4 mile times, 0-60 and braking. To me it is important for whatever you drive to bring a smile to your face, different strokes for differnt folks I guess.