G.T. 500 cars with Air Conditioning
Brian Styles
The more we dig into the rare G.T. 500 cars with Air Conditioning, the more interesting it gets!
Shelby American ordered the first three (3) G.T. 500 cars more than a week prior to production commencing at Ford’s San Jose assembly plant. All were identically ordered with all available options, including an automatic gearbox, Air Conditioning (Air/Con), Exhaust Emissions Control System (EECS), AM Radio, and Deluxe Wheels. Based on their options and paint color, we believe these three cars were originally slated for public relations use. Each was the only unit on their own respective DSO, as would have been required, due to each being a different package code (i.e. body style: Fastback, Coupe, and Convertible). Of course, the overheating problem would not have been known at the time the first orders were placed. Because of the delayed build schedule for the G.T. 500 model, only the Fastback would get used for PR while the delayed coupe and the convertible were get reassigned to Engineering use.
The Fourth GT500 Air/Con to get built, #0463, is a 4-speed, ordered in October 1966. At the time the order was placed, it was part of a typical multi-unit retail order that was placed before the first three GT500 Air/Con cars were even delivered to SAI -- and therefore before the overheating problem would have been known.
[#0463 is the earliest known car where “H.O.R.” is written on the Production Order. We believe this acronym stands for Home Office Reserve, meaning that the car was originally requisitioned or repurposed upon arrival for a special purpose dictated by Ford. It’s possible that HOR is an indication that Shelby American didn’t pay Ford for the car.
Because #0463 is a 4-speed Air/Con car, it is our belief that #0463 would have been the first item on DSO 2529, however, that order, along with the other orders for GT500 Air/Con cars up to that point, were canceled. The car’s Marti report (Ford record) indicates #0463 is on DSO 2528, though we think this was a bit of fudging on Ford’s part -- It’s our suspicion that they forced #0463 onto DSO 2528 which bumped a car off of DSO 2528 to make room. This would explain one of our outstanding DSO paint discrepancies (one extra lime and one less white on DSO 2528). Of course, this is just a theory, but it’s the best one we have at this point.
The first four GT500 Air/Con cars built were considered Shelby American, Inc. ‘company cars.’ #0100 was assigned to Public Relations as originally intended and the others were reassigned to the Engineering Department.
[You would think that a company focused on racing would have been a bit more concerned with cooling. By my math, dual 6” high-beams, each sporting a 1⁄2” trim ring, blocked a total of about 77 square inches of air-flow -- to the radiator -- who’s air-flow was already reduced with an air conditioning condenser. Once the high-beams were relocated to the outboard location, they blocked zero sq.in. of air-flow to the cooling system. Also, without louvers in the hood, all that hot-air trapped in the engine bay was just getting sucked into the carbs and must have really degraded overall performance.]
The Fifth and subsequent GT500 Air/Con cars (for simplicity, we’ll refer to these as ‘retail’ units) were all ordered at once; all bear the EXACT same order dates. The DSOs were typed on 2/22/67, accepted 2/28/67 and stamped ‘received’ on 3/2/67. The Ford record ‘Order Received’ date is likely to be 3/10/67 for all 122 cars. Basically, all were built by San Jose during a one week period (between 5/10/1967 and 5/17/1967), with a lone straggler, #2745, built on 5/24/1967. DSOs include:
2593 [401F] 33 units
2595 [411F] 67 units
2600 [403F] 9 units
2602 [413F] 13 units
First ten (10) G.T. 500 cars with Air Conditioning (a/k/a ‘Air/Con’ cars)
* [#0131 never received an actual SAI VIN plate riveted to the inner apron. The full VIN is obtained from the car’s Production Order. Had #0131 received a VIN plate, it is probable that “ENG” would have been stamped as a prefix or suffix, just like #0100 and #0139.]
General Notes
Every GT500 Air/Con car was ordered with (and received) an AM radio at the San Jose assembly plant.
All Air/Con cars that were built had black interiors, including both GT350 and GT500. All GT500 Air/Con (that were built) were ordered as 5A ‘knitted,’ however, because the 5A material was not being available yet at the very beginning of San Jose production, the first three (#0100, #0131, #0139) GT500 cars received a substitution of the 6A ‘smooth’ vinyl for the seating surfaces. [Note: This materials availability issue at launch affected all cars ordered on DSOs 2501-2528.]
All of the 122 retail GT500 Air/Con cars were built late enough during the production cycle that a large “Z” was stamped to the VIN plate.
Relevant Timeline:
Related research:
Louvered Hoods - according to Dave Mathews, he recalls seeing a Purchase Order that requisitioned six (6) louvered hoods. Equipped with the research into the GT500 Air/Con cars cooling issue, we suspect that four (4) of the hoods would have went to the first four GT500 Air/Con engineering cars (#0100, #0131, #0139, #0463). We also know that the second 427-equipped #0544 (a/ka/ the “Super Snake”) sported the “67-½ style front end (‘outboard’ high-beams), Air/Con (louvered) hood and probably an oil cooler, by the time it was at the test track in late March 1967. Could #0289, the first 427-equipped GT500 built, be one of the six cars to receive a louvered hood? #0289 was completed by SAI on 2/14/67 and #0544 was completed by SAI 2/9/67, just five days earlier.
Related SRG topics:
"Z" VINs, non-franchised Shelby dealers and "Continuation" invoices
How many 1967 Shelby G.T. cars received a factory-installed AM radio?
How rare is the 6A Black ‘Smooth’ Vinyl Trim in a 1967 Shelby G.T.?
2019-09-23 Manufacturer (Harris->Harrison) of aviation oil cooler that was on car #0100 for PR tests.2019-10-01 Addition of Product Letter 67-4 (confidential) to timeline.
2019-12-08 Updates to Louvered hoods section
2020-04-09 Added 6/15/1967 letter to dealers regarding GT500 Air/Con car availability.
2020-05-05 Minor edits to clarify how engineering cars were originally ordered as compared to how they were repurposed to engineering.
Eric Johnson
Brian Styles
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- An overheating problem must have existed before it could be addressed. At the time the memo was drafted, only three GT500 Air/Con cars would have existed and been subject to the overheating issue: #0100, #0131 & #0139. They would have had to have inboard high-beams, un-louvered hoods, and no oil coolers or they wouldn't have overheated...
- If solving the GT500 Air/Con overheating issue was engineering "Priority #1" in late January and into February, I think it's safe to assume that the '68 front-end and hood hadn't even been designed yet -- In February, Shelby was focused on what would become the 67-1/2 front-end ("outboard" high-beam location), and Ford hadn't even started on the redesign for the '68 models at this point...
Eric Johnson
Brian Styles
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Brian Styles
We're hoping to scrutinize the original SAI invoices to dealers, and if we're lucky, an original window sticker for a GT-500 Air/Con car to see if the extra cost, but required, oil cooler was itemized. The second page of the above letter included a revised price schedule (6/17/67) that specified the cost for the oil cooler at $60.45 retail ($57.20 wholesale) and Tinted Glass $30.25 ($28.63 wholesale). This would, of course, be in addition to the $356.09 retail ($336.99 wholesale) Selectiar Air Conditioner.
The original post on this topic has been updated with the information found in this letter.
Brian Styles
- Invoice #1 (car) is dated June 7, 1967
- Invoice #2 (oil cooler supplement) is dated June 13, 1967
- SAI Letter advising dealer of the added charge for the oil cooler is dated June 15, 1967.
