Ford District Demonstrators

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Brian S

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Aug 23, 2020, 12:34:15 PM8/23/20

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In 1967, Ford Motor Company (Ford Division) had 37 Districts located throughout seven Regions in the United States.

While researching Ford’s takeover of SAI, including our theory on why certain cars received a “Z” added to their VIN plates, we noticed that according to the registry, more than 30 units were shipped out to various Ford Districts around the country in April 1967.

After further scrutiny, we identified, by VIN, exactly which ‘67 Shelby G.T. units were sent to each of the 37 Ford domestic sales districts as “District Demonstrators.”

The following table is sorted by Shelby Sequence Number:

D#	Ford District Name	Shelby Seq	Pkg	Model	Trans	Paint	Trim	Shipped
74	Seattle, WA	0438	410F	GT500	Auto	8	U	4/10/1967
16	Philadelphia, PA	0444	412F	GT500	Auto	5	U	4/10/1967
33	Detroit, MI	0446	412F	GT500	Auto	5	U	4/6/1967
71	Los Angeles, CA	0601	412F	GT500	Auto	5	A	4/13/1967
45	Davenport, IA	0678	400F	GT500	4spd	5	U	4/6/1967
38	Pittsburg, PA	0688	400F	GT500	4spd	5	U	4/6/1967
53	Kansas City	0695	400F	GT500	4spd	8	U	4/6/1967
44	Twin Cities (MN)	0697	400F	GT500	4spd	8	U	4/11/1967
34	Indianapolis, IN	0699	400F	GT500	4spd	8	U	4/6/1967
25	Richmond, VA	0700	400F	GT500	4spd	8	U	4/6/1967
62	Houston, TX	0701	400F	GT500	4spd	8	U	4/14/1967
15	Newark, NJ	0703	400F	GT500	4spd	8	U	4/6/1967
43	Milwaukee, WI	0739	400F	GT500	4spd	7	U	4/6/1967
32	Cleveland, OH	0784	410F	GT500	Auto	7	A	4/6/1967
61	Dallas, TX	0834	410F	GT500	Auto	7	A	4/14/1967
21	Atlanta, GA	0840	410F	GT500	Auto	2	A	4/6/1967
54	Omaha, NE	0843	400F	GT500	4spd	7	U	4/11/1967
41	Chicago, IL	0854	410F	GT500	Auto	4	A	4/18/1967
17	Washington, DC	0856	410F	GT500	Auto	2	A	4/10/1967
13	New York, NY	0859	410F	GT500	Auto	4	A	4/6/1967
51	Denver, CO	0862	410F	GT500	Auto	4	A	4/10/1967
72	San Jose, CA	0966	412F	GT500	Auto	8	A	4/10/1967
24	Jacksonville, FL	1003	400F	GT500	4spd	2	A	4/6/1967
55	St. Louis, MO	1014	400F	GT500	4spd	2	A	4/6/1967
64	New Orleans, LA	1017	400F	GT500	4spd	2	A	4/6/1967
27	Cincinnati, OH	1023	400F	GT500	4spd	2	A	4/6/1967
11	Boston, MA	1024	400F	GT500	4spd	2	A	4/6/1967
65	Oklahoma City, OK	1029	400F	GT500	4spd	4	A	4/6/1967
63	Memphis, TN	1042	400F	GT500	4spd	2	A	4/6/1967
35	Lansing, MI	1052	400F	GT500	4spd	2	A	4/6/1967
73	Salt Lake City, UT	1053	400F	GT500	4spd	4	A	4/10/1967
22	Charlotte, NC	1077	400F	GT500	4spd	4	A	4/3/1967
37	Buffalo, NY	1089	400F	GT500	4spd	4	A	4/6/1967
42	Fargo, ND	1090	400F	GT500	4spd	4	A	4/20/1967
28	Louisville, KY	1092	400F	GT500	4spd	4	A	4/6/1967
52	Des Moines, IA	1184	400F	GT500	4spd	7	U	4/6/1967
75	Phoenix, AZ	1318	400F	GT500	4spd	7	U	4/10/1967

You may have noticed that, while transmissions, paint, and trim were variables, each and every one of the District Demonstrator units was a G.T. 500 Fastback model (4xxF package) with optional wheels (a mixture of Shelby 10-spoke and KH Mag Star), and of course air-conditioning was still not available on the G.T. 500 model in April 1967.

Given that all demonstrators shipped with upgraded wheels, it is probable that all demonstrator units also would have been equipped with an AM Radio. Until we gather more paperwork (Production Orders or Invoices), we won't know for sure.

Note: Paint colors of the demonstrator units included: Nightmist, White, Dark Green, Lime and Brittany.

There were no Bronze, Black, Gray, Red, or Acapulco Blue units shipped as demonstrators.

It is our understanding that these 37 demonstrator units were positioned around the country so that they could be driven to the district’s Ford dealers to introduce them to the Shelby G.T. -- now that they’d be allowed (encouraged) to sell them. The official news was announced via press release on April 26, 1967:

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Shelby GT350 and GT500 -- two of America’s bona fide production sports cars -- will appear in hundreds of Ford dealer showrooms across the country during the next few months.

Normally the Mustang-based Shelby cars are sold only through 90 specially-franchised Ford dealerships. This new promotion will introduce the GT350 and GT500 into l,000 additional Ford dealerships.

"While these 1,000 sports cars eventually will be sold, they will be used primarily to highlight the regular lineup of high performance cars available at Ford dealers," said William P. Benton, manager of Ford Division's merchandising office. "The franchised dealers will continue to be the normal source for Shelby cars.”

4/26/67

Order and Invoice Numbers

At the present time, we only know of one unit’s order and invoice numbers. Car #1077’s order number is F007 and the corresponding invoice is F029. Despite only knowing one car’s info, the completion and shipping dates of all 37 units allow us to hypothesize that these 37 District Demonstrators might have been the first units to receive F-prefixed order numbers and corresponding ‘Continuation’ type invoices. As we gather more data, we might even find that all order and invoice numbers are sequential among the 37 District Demonstrator units.