Dan

Was just rereading the Ford Back with Shelby Again article on Ford's media site:

Here's a caption:

The 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350 was a fastback production model with a functional scoop in its fiberglass hood and 306 horsepower from the 289-cubic-inch V-8 underneath - an increase of 35 horsepower over the stock Ford engine. Suspension upgrades included a larger front stabilizer bar, Koni shocks and rear traction bars and race-ready features, such as competition safety belts, a large oil-pressure gauge, tachometer and a trunk-mounted battery. It sold for $4,000 and was instantly recognizable by its Wimbledon White paint and blue GT350 side stripes along the rocker panels.


Hummm....a slight power increase, stripes, some brake and suspension upgrades. A relatively "minor" SE. Could another one be on the horizon.

What would it take to squeeze a bit more out of the 3-valve, put Brembo brakes and some stripes with 17" or 18" Shelby rims + wider tires? Not too hard IMO.

SEMA is taking too long.

Dr Iven

I'd buy one, definitely.

TomServo92

Tune it for premium gas would be one way.

t69r00p69

One would only hope Dan... :yes:

Dan

Tune it for premium gas would be one way. [/b][/quote]
That's what I was thinking as well. The easiest way IMO. Just bump up the compression.

Andy Haynes

Tune it for premium gas would be one way. [/b][/quote]
Why would you say you couldnt pull more power out of it? Its not like ford is pulling all of the possible power out of the cars from the showroom. heck 03 cobras put down around 380rwhp and yet with a few simple bolt ons are laying down 450 on 93 octane. Your statement makes no sense.

Dan

Why would you say you couldnt pull more power out of it? Its not like ford is pulling all of the possible power out of the cars from the showroom. heck 03 cobras put down around 380rwhp and yet with a few simple bolt ons are laying down 450 on 93 octane. Your statement makes no sense. [/b][/quote]
Who are you talking to? I thought it would be me but you're quoting Tom...

If its me, I'm sure they could get more power out of it even before switching to premium. But it would be hard and expensive to get 40hp without increasing compression. Its a very cheap way to get more power.

I doubt Ford is going to bolt on exhaust, intake etc. on the stock engine for an SE. That's for the aftermarket. What they will do is have the stock engine output more power.

TomServo92

Why would you say you couldnt pull more power out of it? Its not like ford is pulling all of the possible power out of the cars from the showroom. heck 03 cobras put down around 380rwhp and yet with a few simple bolt ons are laying down 450 on 93 octane. Your statement makes no sense. [/b][/quote]
When I say retune for premium, I mean from a computer perspective. By having more aggressive timing, you can generate more power but the tradeoff is requiring premium fuel. Ford could get creative with the programming much like Honda does the 240HP Accord V6. If you put in premium, all is well and the engine makes 240HP. If you put in regular, the aggressive timing causes pinging which the computer detects and then retards the timing to compensate. I believe the Accord V6 makes around 210-220 on regular. Does that explain it for you?

BLAKE

They did it for the Bullitt (Also turned out to be a great way to showcase the intake for part sales to regular GT owners) and alot more than that for the Mach.

There is alot of different heritage to tap into for the Shelbys. The 65 Shelbys were raw and powerful. The 66's were significantly tamed. The 67's got small and big blocks to choose from and were significantly changed cosmetically. Even more cosmetic differences in 68. 69-70 Shelbys were the most different from stock in appearance, but were more luxurious and not nearly as rough-around-the-edges race car as the originals. An 05 SE could go alot of different ways based on this. Tons of performance with the same interior, or a few more ponies and more luxury?

Andy Haynes

Blake exaclty what I was thinking. I am sure that interest in the car will be kinda lost after the first year and a half and they will once again have to find some kinda se car to rise up and help sales again. They will have to come out with something that has more power,better handling,and good apperance. Of course they are not gonna come from the factory with a exhaust,ect but I am sure they can come out with better computer progamming and a better Aluminum intake on a se model.

Dan

They did it for the Bullitt (Also turned out to be a great way to showcase the intake for part sales to regular GT owners) and alot more than that for the Mach.

There is alot of different heritage to tap into for the Shelbys. The 65 Shelbys were raw and powerful. The 66's were significantly tamed. The 67's got small and big blocks to choose from and were significantly changed cosmetically. Even more cosmetic differences in 68. 69-70 Shelbys were the most different from stock in appearance, but were more luxurious and not nearly as rough-around-the-edges race car as the originals. An 05 SE could go alot of different ways based on this. Tons of performance with the same interior, or a few more ponies and more luxury? [/b][/quote]
I agree. But my point is still most of the performance gain was from engine modifications and not bolt-ons (intake, exhaust) was it not? ie. Mach - went to the 4 -valve and premium, shaker did little powerwise. Bullitt had a bigger thottle body did it not?

TomServo92

I believe the Bullitt had a different intake manifold from the standard GT.

Andy Haynes

The bullits intake was aluminum and had a twin blade throttlebody. Dan in the late 60's they had to go into the internals of the motors they had no other place to gain performance from. Nowdays they can do so much more with the computers/efi on the cars.

BLAKE

Yeah, bigger throttle body as part of the new intake:


Read: intake = intake manifold, not intake tube and/or air filter

PaperTarget

Funny you should mention this Dan. I was actually thinking something similar about a possible Shelby GT 350 would could see next year. I see it having higher compression with higher octane and a better engine tune. I also see upgraded exhaust. I figure it'll be around 350 hp (not just because it'll be a GT 350 which has nothing to do with the power of the motor). Other options will be 18" wheels, Brembo brakes, stripes and possible decals. A SE, but a cheap one to make and one to charge a premium for.

kevinb120

Who are you talking to? I thought it would be me but you're quoting Tom...

If its me, I'm sure they could get more power out of it even before switching to premium. But it would be hard and expensive to get 40hp without increasing compression. Its a very cheap way to get more power.

I doubt Ford is going to bolt on exhaust, intake etc. on the stock engine for an SE. That's for the aftermarket. What they will do is have the stock engine output more power. [/b][/quote]
What about the Bullitt

Galaxie

There is also the supercharged 4.6 V8 from the '03 Cobra that has had a lot of R&D for only 2 model years.... although that would be an extreme case.

FrankBullitt05

I agree... the Shelby is probably the "March SE"... just some stripes, a minor power increase, and some nice emblems... a really cool SE ala the Bullitt.

Greywolf

Yea I love green

Dan

Nah, I'm really starting to doubt we will see the 4-valve return Steve.

I predict most SE's will be variations off the 3-valve engine in the 05. Either bumped up compression with higher octane and/or supercharged.


Papertarget, that's what I'm thinking. I mean the original Shelby GT350 wasn't any great stretch of an upgrade. The Bullitt was quite a success as well. Like I said, history might just repeat itself.

Topnotch also reposted a quote from TheCarConnection.com where it said that a Shelby Mustang would be one of the first things to be released out of the Ford/Shelby partnership. The Shelby expedition is already set to come out at SEMA and obviously with the new Shelby Concept, Ford and Shelby have probably worked many of the legal/financial aspects out. What's to stop the mustang?

As well, reps have been saying there is a Shelby coming out in the spring for quite a while (guy at the T.O. show said the same thing). Most of us assumed that it was the Cobra they were talking about (during the period we believed that the new Cobra would wear a Shelby nameplate). But what if it isn't?

Shelby also said he wanted to build a car for the regular guy and make it accessible monetarily. That isn't a Shelby Cobra at $40k IMO.

Anyways, I'm sure Ford will want to ride the Shelby wave now rather than later while the whole Shelby Marquee is fresh and in people's faces.

And last, I don't really see the point of adding a stripe package on a regular GT. I'm not talking anniversary stripes here, but pin stripes. You have to have a bit more brawn to back that up.

Just my $1.00 worth.