NorthWest Auto Salon

Whether it’s winning first place in a race, car show, or owning the first in production, it doesn’t get much more special than being “first”. Northwest Auto Salon is privileged to work on some important collections and this particular client is no exception. This gentleman has several historic Shelby Mustangs in his collection that are actually the first ones produced by the company. Not only does he have several first production cars, he also owns Shelby Mustang serial number 002 produced for each of the years 1965 to 1967. From the first GT350 R-Model (race car) produced to 1 of 11 factory supercharged 1966 GT350s (1 of 3 in red). Last week, in preparation for the annual Kirkland Concours d’Elegance (click here for link), the NWAS team conducted an intensive three day mobile detail on some of these very special cars. While we only detailed the three of his cars that were heading to the Concours, I have been given permission to give you a sneak peek into more of this beautiful collection.

The owner refers to the first car we detailed as his “driver”, which is fitting because that is how this car started its life as well. A wealthy businessman originally purchased this GT350 for his son who subsequently drove it 8,400 miles in his first 2 months of ownership. This car had a few drivability modifications done to it during its recent 2000 hour restoration, including a stroked motor and modern radial tires to make it enjoyable to drive on a regular basis. Although it’s a “driver”, this beauty is at home in any concours or car show. The owner retained the original restored motor so that he may change from “go” to “show” at any time.

The next car is a beautiful red 1966 GT350. This extremely special car is one of the few (1 of 11 to be exact and 1 of 3 in red) that was factory optioned with a Paxton supercharger. From Gold in the Trailered Concours division at the 2010 Mustang Club of America’s Grand National Show (click here for link) to participating in the Quail show at Monterey (where even being asked to show is itself an honor), to winning Gold at SAAC-35 in Sonoma (the Shelby American Automobile Club’s national convention (click here for link)) – this particular car has been widely recognized in car shows and concourses across the country.

The last car we worked on was the first production GT350 from 1966. For many years, this car was campaigned in vintage road races but has now come home from a full concours restoration.

Now, on to some of the cars that we didn’t work on this time. The first of these is the first ever built 1968 Shelby GT500 KR, the “KR” signifying that this car was equipped with the “King of the Road” package. Among other things, this included the massive 428 Cobra Jet power plant.

Above the KR sat the owner’s 1968 GT500KR convertible. This was about 7th or 8th from last GT500KR convertible off the production line. What makes this car even more special is that it only has 10k original miles!

The most historically significant of his cars, was 5R002 – the first GT350 R-model ever to be produced and the second GT350 in general (click here for link and more info). This car was the beginning of Shelby’s dominance with Mustangs in the B-production racing world at the time. (he had already been VERY successfully racing Cobra’s prior to the Mustangs and also became extremely successful racing GT-40’s and later Trans-Am cars) Immortalized in everything from video games to artwork to famous photographs, to diecast cars, the famous number 98’s racing heritage is world renowned. After changing hands a couple times between independent racers, and winning the southwest national championships in B-production in 1967, 1968 and 1969, being left to die in a Mexican desert, and doing a stint in a U.S. private collection, it’s now on loan to the Shelby American Collection (click here for link), a private museum in Boulder, Colorado, where it will stay until it begins its restoration to all its past glory.

Loading it up for the show

Part 2

As I mentioned before, all of this detail work was in preparation for the annual Kirkland Concours d’Elegance. Each of the three cars that were detailed were invited to be displayed at the Northwest’s most prestigious car show. At this event there were so many GT350s that they were able to have their own class. Blake and I didn’t arrive until around 2pm but were pleasantly surprised when we did. Directly adjacent to the entrance, sat three familiar Mustangs. This was the first time I had seen them outside of the garage, and I couldn’t believe the shine that the Swissvax Crystal Rock provided. As we approached the cars, we could already tell that all the work had paid off. The supercharged red 1966 GT350 wore a yellow third place ribbon, and the newly restored white 1966 GT350 had…well, a paint mixer. Confused, we inquired as to what was going on with the mixer. He told us that this paint mixer was actually just a placeholder for his first place trophy! As it was just about time for the award ceremony to begin, Blake and I made our way to the podium so we could watch the car drive across and receive its award.

The Best in Class winning 1966 GT350

A familiar red 1966 GT350

1 of 71 1966 Ford GT MKI

5R002

Class Winning Aston Martin DB4

1967 Ford GT MKIV

1965 Ford GT Prototype Spyder. Was made to give the driver better visibility in racing traffic.

1933 Mercedes Benz 380SS Special Roadster – One of two built by coachbuilders Erbmann & Rossi and one of the first supercharged cars. Won 1934 Deutschland-Fahrt.

1965 Shelby Cobra 289 Race Car

And finally it was our clients turn to drive across the podium

Part 2

Ford GTX

All polished aluminum Cobra we saw on our way home

Hope you enjoyed reading about these special cars and checking out all the photos! If you haven’t gotten the chance to do so yet, please help out Northwest Auto Salon by voting for us at the link below:
Vote NWAS as Best Auto Detailers in Seattle for King5’s Best of Western Washington Contest

To check out ALL the photos from the Shelby detail check out the flickr album:
Shelby Mobile Detail (9.10.10) – a set on Flickr

To check out ALL the photos from the Kirkland Concours d’Elegance check out the flickr album:

Kirkland Concours d’Elegance 2010 (9.12.10) – a set on Flickr