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i 24 economist suntribune wheels thursday aug 8 2002 i ik it evolved into a streetsavvy car t ford was e he mustang was never intended to be anything more than a hip new set of wheels for a hip new generation performance wasnt really part of the total equation until one pivotal decision was made going racing and the mustang was coming along for the ride what resulted was a string of gt 350 cars that began as raucous weekend warriors and track champions and ended as streetsensible tributes to the man who created them carroll shelby but it took some time to get there soon after the mustangs april1964 launch ford vicepresident lee lacocca approached exracer and cobra sportscar builder carroll shelby in a quest to put together a racing program for his newest and brightest sales star lacocca thought that trackproven performance was just the ticket to enhance the mustangs reputation in short order shelbys california shop began the process of converting the relatively meek mustang into a fullblown raceready stallion the mustangs optional 289 cubicinch motor was given an aluminum highrise intake manifold complete with a big holley carburetor lowrestriction chrome air cleaner large tubetype exhaust headers and a special flowthrough fgs- aiore a month lease a 2002 focus se wad tsbbrwbha tvrist -sut- gils nil 5starsafety optional power ips 8 years in a row adjustable pedals windstar is the only minivan to earn afsvs star crash test rating eight years ma row for front impact for both driver and front passenger in us government testing fordfseriesis the bestselling truck in the world taurus earned the highest us government crash test bating for front impact- double five star safety ratingtt drive the legend oopct limited time offer r your ontario ford dealers wise buyers bead the legal copy lease most new in stock 2002 ford vehicles for an anniiauease rate of between 14 and 9 9 varies derxfldirefl vehicle model for the term of the 36 or 48 month lease from ford credit to qualified retail lessees on approved credit conditions of a mileage restriction of 6000080000 km over 3648 months apply a charge of 8 cents per km over mileage restriction applies plus applicable taxes no down payment or security deposit required ford motor company of canada will pay the first months payment all lease offers excludes freight licence insurance administration fees and all applicable taxes eg make no lease payment and pay no interest for 30 days and then for the remaining term of the 48 month lease contract lease a new instock 2002 ford focus lxfocus se wagon for 239269 per month based on an annual lease rate of 29 from ford credit to qualified retail lessees on approved credit total lease obligation is 1 147212912 so down payment first months payment waived no security deposit required focus lease offer excludes freight 790 licence insurance administration fees and all applicable taxes 0 purchase financing on most new instock 2002 ford vehicles for 90 days to retail customers on approved credit after the 90 day payment deferral a 0 59 credit offerpurchase financing varies depending on vehicle modef is required on most new instock 2002 ford vehicles for a maximum of 3648 months to retail customers on approved credit mo down payment required ad purchase financing offers exclude freight licence insurance administration fees and all applicable taxes financing not available with any other offer 0 purchase financing on all new in stock 2002 focus taurus windstar explorer sport is available for a maximum of 48 months to retail customers on approved credit eg 20000 financed at 0 annual percentage rate for 90 days monthly payment is 0 cost of borrowing for the first 90 days is 0 and total still owing after the 90 days is 20000 after 90 days 20000 financed at 59 annual percentage rate for 3648 months monthly payment is 606346886 cost of borrowing is 1 8746875250528 and total to be repaid is 21 87468s2250528 all offers exclude lincoln thunderbird and fserics above 8500 gvw focus is the worlds best selling car based on top three global car sates by n3mept3te as of january 2002 taurus has earned the highest front driver and passenger impact ratings in us government national highway traffic safety administration testing www nhtsacom jwndstaf has earned no highest front impact rating for both the driver and front passenger in us grarnmenl national highway traffic safety administration testing wwwnhtsacom t fseries is the worlds bestseeing truck tmscd on auto strategies international mc calendar years 1977 through 2000 dealer may lease for less some conditions rroy apply to the graduate recognition program limited time offers offers may be cancelled at any tme without notice see dealer for details ontario fda po box 2000 oakvsle ontario l6j 5e4 exhaust system that exited below the doors the much modified engine producing 306 horsepow er 35 more than topdog 289 that was available was con nected to a borgwarner heavyduty fourspeed manual transmission in back the gt 350 used a ford fairlane rear axle along with a detroit locker differential the front and rear suspen sion was significantly beefed up larger front disc arid rear drum brakes added and 15inch wheels replaced the mustangs standard 1 4inch rims the combination of larger wheels and goodyear blue streaks filled the gt 350s fend- erwells almost to the point of overflowing visually the gt 350 was easy to spot with its twin 25- centimetre wide racing stripes running the entire length of the allnew fastback body there were also stripes along the rocker panels with gt 350 spelled out in block type the stock hood was replaced with a fibreglass version held in place using hood pins inside aircraftstyle threeinch wide racing safety belts were fitted and the rear seat was discarded replaced by a fibreglass shelf where the spare tire was perched a cobra- style woodrim steering wheel was also installed which meant relocating the horn to a dashmounted toggle switch two different versions of the gt 350 were originally made an s version for the general public and about two- dozen strictlyforracing r models out of a totalfirstyear production of 562 cars the competition gt 350 featured a blueprinted engine fitted with a special racing cam oil cool er largercapacity radiator and 32galion fuel tank the 340- 360 horsepower that resulted from these modifications turned the gt 350 into a major contender on the track in its first year the new mustang proved its competitive worthiness winning nearly every race it entered in convinc ing fashion it also didnt hurt that some of racings top driv ers including the legendary mark donohue were behind the wheel the streetgoing gt 350 cars were no slouches either and were capable of 65second 0100 kmh times and could run the quartermile in 1 5 seconds at 95 mph 1 50 kmh on the negative side the gt 350 was a handful to drive demanding the drivers full attention the nonpower steering required considerable brute force and the heavyduty brakes demanded an equal amount of leg strength to get the car stopped if that wasnt enough your ears took a beating from the engine racket booming into the stripped interior while your eyes and lungs filled with hightest exhaust fumes as much as the gt 350 was loved for its purity so suf fered the everyday folk who found one parked in their drive way and so began the gt 350s slow metamorphosis to streetfriendly from raceready some might call it compro mise but others would argue it was essential to give the car broader appeal and help stave off its eventual extinction so in 1 966 several modifications were made includ ing rerouting the exhaust system to exit out the rear chang ing the fibreglass hood to steel adding side scoops to assist rear brake cooling and knocking out the fastbacks rearside louvers in favour of tiny plastic windows a new option was a rear seat that could be installed in place of the sparetire shelf for those wanting both passenger room and performance not surprisingly nearly 2400 gt 350s a leap of more than 1800 units were sold of that total 1000 were dubbed the shelby gt 350h and delivered to hertz which added the cars to its rental fleet as a consequence a number of these automatic transmissionequipped cars with their distinctive black paint and gold stripes wound up in the hands of weekend racers and the program was soon dropped professional drivers continued to achieve success with the gt 350 with the car winning its second straight scca sports car club of america championship by 1 967 the street evolution was nearly complete with most of the gt350s destined for civilian use as a result many came with a more streethappy 250horsepower 302 cubicinch v8 and were loaded with air conditioning and other cruiserclass pleasantries to keep adrenaline junkies satisfied a highperformance model the gt 500 was added to the lineup these shelbys originally used either 390- or 428cube powerplants and boasted as much as 400 horse power the last ful year of shelby gt 350 production which had been assumed by ford was 1 969 and with a new body design came a new shelby appearance package complete with wraparound chrome front bumper shelbyonly aero bits tail lights and unique centreexit dual exhaust power consisted of a 290horse 351 windsor v8 leftover shelbys about 350 in all spilled into the new model year to be sold as 1 970 cars at shelbys request production ceased by that time the new mach 1 boss 302 and 429 mustangs could outperform the more expensive shelby counterparts the line ended there but the world remains thankful for the day ford decided to take its little pony to the races