DSO Observations - October 1966 **Ford's Intervention**
Brian Styles
October 1966 (DSOs 2524-2549)
The October DSOs are considerably different from the August & September DSOs. Beginning with DSO 2524 (dated 10/13/66), we notice the following changes:
- The name on the DSOs changes from G.W. Nuznoff to Ray A. Geddes
- Gerrald “Jerry” A. Nuznoff - Buyer, Experimental and Hi Performance Parts, Special Materials Department
- Ray A. Geddes - Special Vehicle Manager, GT & Sports Car Department
- The Ordering District changed from “71” (Los Angeles) to “84” (Ford Home Office Reserve),
- The item detail was more streamlined and concise.
- A handwritten Item Number (Item No) sequential range begins to be found on page one of the DSOs beginning with DSO 2541 (typed 10/31/1966). Two DSOs that include these handwritten ranges are in error. DSOs 2557 and DSO 2560's ranges equate to one more unit than the actual typed quantity that was specified.
Some DSOs were canceled because Shelby attempted to modify the total quantity of units ordered. All were for G.T. 500 cars.
No DSOs for G.T. 350 cars were ever completely canceled (some were canceled and the cars re-ordered a week later).
Change Notice (order) Received (stamp) on 10/28/1966, referencing DSO 2528 (10/23/1966) and ending with DSO 2540. The ‘Change Notice’ was issued to delete more of the standard Mustang parts that would otherwise be wasted if they were installed to cars on the assembly line. This updated list likely came about after SAI received and converted car #0176, a complete Mustang GTA fastback. This should have affected cars built after 10/28/1966. The additional Mustang items added to the “parts delete list” include:
C7ZB-13099, 13101 & 13A133 - Headlamp Housing Assemblies, RH & LH and Seal
C7ZB-17A939 - Front Valance
C7ZB-8242 & 8243 - Grill Mouldings, RH & LH.
C7ZB-8A317 & 8A318 - Grill Opening Panel Moulding
C7ZB-8B367 - Cover Assembly - Grille Opening Panel Moulding Jt.
C7ZB-17779, 17890, 17790 & 177797 - Front Stone Deflector & Brackets
C7ZB-17A869-A - Fender to Front Bumper Bracket RH
C7ZB-13404-0, 13A495-A & 13A575-A - Rear Lamp Assembly, Seal, and Bezel
and to include the still-required parking lamp parts “loose” (i.e. packaged and placed in the rear seat): C7ZB-13200-B, 13220-A, 13221-A, 13236-A & 13237-A - Parking Lamps, Retainers RH & LH and Bezels RH & LH.
All cars with parchment interiors (trim) were ordered between 10/17/66 (DSO 2529) and 11/1/66 (DSO 2569) by Ray Geddes.
Many of these orders were 413F and 411F package codes (GT500 with Air/Con) and were canceled.
Looking beyond the black, white & red...
It's evident that as soon as production started on the first cars, Shelby American realized that all the fiberglass they had purchased didn’t actually fit the cars being delivered by San Jose. Ford would later refer to this as “launch problems,” and this unfortunate chain of events was clearly the catalyst for FoMoCo's prompt intervention. The October DSOs indicate a change took place; Dr. Ray A. Geddes (see Bio below) assumed responsibility over the purchasing process (and possibly operations as a whole). As part of Ford's intervention, Geddes "summoned" Fred Goodell from Dearborn to come out to Los Angeles to help. Goodell was likely 'consulting' at first.
As Goodell stated in a 1988 interview: " There was some unpleasantness that preceded my arrival out there." ... "Ford became a little concerned and decided that they better have some Ford Motor Company people on the scene. The fellow [john Liefeld] who had preceded me [as Engineering Manager] was apparently an aircraft guy. When I took over [on December 2, 1966] I tried to hire him because I figured it would be nice to have his background and to know something about what had gone on before I got there. But he wouldn't even come and talk to me. He's the one who created some of the problems that had to be solved when I got there." The Goodell interview can be downloaded here: http://www.1967shelbyconvertible.com/research/interviews/fred-goodell.asp
FoMoCo intervened and Goodell was inserted into engineering (Goodell officially replaced John Liefeld as Engineering Manager on December 2, 1966). Sometime after, A.O. Smith Plastics was tapped to help solve the fiberglass problems. We're not sure which month A.O. Smith was specifically brought in (perhaps this equates to the time when the temporary 2-piece fiberglass front-end was introduced?). A.O. Smith later referred to this involvement in the 1967 Shelby Program as an “emergency fashion,” per a December 1967 letter from A.O. Smith to FoMoCo’s Senior Purchasing Agent, Ken VanAkin. http://www.1967shelbyconvertible.com/documentation/original-documents/1967-12-08-letter-to-ken-vanakin.asp
Bio: RAY A. GEDDES held a Bachelor of Arts, a Master of Business Administration and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Michigan. Dr. Geddes served as a Research Assistant to the Michigan Supreme Court from 1956 to 1958. He was a co-founder and General Manager of a recreational equipment division of King-Seely-Thermos Company from 1958 to 1960. In 1961, Dr. Geddes joined Ford Motor Company and served in a variety of financial, marketing and operating management positions. As Ford’s GT and Sports Car Manager, Dr. Geddes worked closely with Lee Iacocca and had program responsibility for several product, marketing, and track competition programs, including the Shelby Cobra, Shelby GT, and the Ford GT. Later, Dr. Geddes also became the Executive Vice President of Ford’s Italian product development group, which included the Ghia Studios, Carrozzeria Vignale and DeTomaso Automobili, manufacturer of the mid-engine Pantera sports car. His tenure at Ford ended around 1973.