In the 32 years that Woody Woodruff of Charlotte, North Carolina, has owned this GT350, the car has seen an incredible 34 states in our country. That is a lot of ground to cover, but it has a lot to do with Woody liking to drive. "I put 1,500 miles on the car the week after I bought it going through the New England states," said our intrepid traveler. It seems that back in the summer of '67 Woody wanted a Mustang, but not just any Mustang. Woody wanted a Shelby. He was shortly to enter the service of his country and do a tour of Vietnam, so the young future soldier went to Dockery Ford in Morristown, New Jersey, looking to buy a '66 GT350 that was still there at the beginning of the '67 model year. Before he could plop the money on the table, someone snagged it. It was then that he began to eye this special paint car. Woody eyed it more than once, too. It seems that the dealership was wondering if Woody was trying to get the mileage up so he could get a better deal on the charcoal gray '67 demo model. "I went in three different times and testdrove the car; finally I decided that this was the one."
Woody's new Shelby had all the makings of a future collectible, though at the time the young man didn't realize that his GT350 was somewhat unusual. The charcoal gray paint is one item that sets it apart from the crowd, as does the GT gas cap. Woody told us that he never even noticed that the cap was incorrect until several years after the car had left the dealership. Another strange thing about the car was the fact that it was supposed to be equipped with a Paxton supercharger but was not delivered with it.
The GT350 has all the goodies that make a Shelby of this era a classic. The 289 Hi-Po is there, albeit with a rebuild consummate with the 136,000 miles that this car has covered under Woody's ownership. Behind that is the rugged and beefy Top Loader four-speed and steep 3.89 gearing. Bringing things to a halt are the factory four piston disc brakes up front and drum out back mounting Shelby Ten Spokes. The interior is Shelby "standard" Deluxe with the sexy woodgrain wheel, macho rollbar, shoulder harnesses, and fold-down rear seat. Outside the car is a "base Shelby" with few of the offered options other than the Ten Spokes and the running lights on the upper scoops. Of course, that still puts it way out in front of a base Mustang in terms of flash.
When asked about the fit and finish of the GT350 when it was new, Woody told us, "It was pretty bad. The color of the fiberglass parts didn't match the rest of the paint. The parts didn't fit real well either." Even so, that has never stopped Woody from enjoying the car. Since returning from his tour of duty, he has logged the aforementioned 136,000 miles on the car and shows no signs of stopping for anything-not even a state line.