1965 Shelby Mustang GT 350 R Competition HardTop

The Ford Motor Company of Canada ordered this Shelby GT350 R to be used by the Comstock Racing team of Toronto. It was finished in April 20th of 1965 and was the second privateer car to be shipped. It was finished in Wimbledon White with no Le Mans stripe. After arriving in Canada, it was repainted in the Comstock team colors of white with green stripes. It was given Weber carburetors, which were legal under Canadian racing rules.

The car's first race was at Mosport where it was driven by Eppie Wietzes. Wietzes and Craig Fisher raced it on August 23rd of 1965 at the 500-mile race (again at Mosport) where it won 1st overall.

The following year, it was listed for sale and would remain in Canada. It was acquired by Stan Ward and was repainted blue. Ward continued to add to the car's resume, racing around Eastern Canada at Harewood Acres in Ontario; Argentia in St. Johns, Newfoundland; and St. Jovite in Quebec. At Harewood, the engine blew and destroyed the aluminum oil pan. It was then acquired by Brian Burgess of Toronto and, subsequently, the car moved to the United States. It passed through Mike Gaffney of Bloomington, Illinois, it was traded to Richard Leuchner of Noank, Connecticut, who began a restoration. Before the restoration was completed, it was sold to Texas, and eventually returned to Leuchner in 1982. In 1995, it was purchased by Dave Mathews of Guilford and the restoration was completed in 1996, returning it to its Comstock specifications and livery.

In July of 1996, it was shown at SAAC-21 at Lime Rock. It was then purchased by an American collector and subsequently converted for vintage racing. It was used mostly overseas on long-distance rallies, which included the Rallye du Maroc Classic in 1999 and the Tour Auto in 2000 and 2001. It finished 18th overall and 2nd in class at the Tour Auto in 2000, and 2nd in class again the following year.

The current owner acquired the car in 2003. It was then imported to Switzerland where it was vintage raced. Recently, the engine was returned to original specifications in 2015. Since then, the car has competed in the Jarama Classic in 2016 and 2017 in addition to the 2016 Dix Mille Tours, the 2017 Spa Classic, and the 2017 Hungaroring Classic.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2019