I was tracking this rare 1984 Ford Mustang GT350 a few days ago when the ad disappeared; somewhat unexpectedly, it reappeared this week. This is a limited-production muscle car that has been nicely updated, so I wasn’t surprised to see the listing yanked down soon after being posted. Now, I get that this is a “fake” GT350 in some respect because Ford didn’t change the recipe under the hood, but you’ll likely never pass yourself going down the road. This GT350 is listed here on craigslist with a V8, manual gearbox, and updated wheels for $16,800 in Lexington, Massachusetts.
There is one of these limited-production Fox bodies sitting near my uncle’s house in north Georgia. It’s in the tall grass and the owner hasn’t touched in the five years I’ve been driving past it. They are not car people – it was left there by a relative – and they believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it is a real-deal Shelby car. As such, they want crazy money for it, and it’s an entirely pointless exercise to attempt to explain what’s really going on behind the badge. Regardless, it’s a shame to see it rotting. This example sports a few other updates beyond the wheels, as it appears to also have smoked headlights with LED inserts of some kind. Cheesy, but surprisingly common to see these days.
Mileage is listed as being 96,000, which indicates it has clearly been used but the interior suggests it hasn’t been a daily driver – it still looks far too clean for that. The carpets are also clean, and the same goes for the dashboard and door panels. The familiar three-spoke Fox-body steering wheel doesn’t reveal any excessive wear, but the pedals show wear that is consistent with the odometer reading. The Mustang obviously lives in New England but the seller promises in the description that it is 99 percent rust-free.
5,200 units of this fake Shelby tribute car were made, and the general chatter on the internet is that it was a marketing failure. Everyone knew what Ford was attempting to do, which was to cash in on the Shelby name despite not making any attempt to improve the performance. The GT350 quickly faded into obscurity and today it’s more of a curiosity than a car Mustang collectors are actively searching for, but a nicely preserved example still looks good and makes all the right sounds. Still, the price of this GT350 may be a little strong for some enthusiasts. What do you think – is $16,800 a fair ask?
Yes, there isn’t anything particularly special about the GT350. That said, at its core it is a Four-Eye Fox Body GT, with an attractive white/red theme, which isn’t a bad thing. This one looks decent, but the asking price would be more in line with lower-mileage unmodified examples.
I can’t believe I have to say this but this is a hatchback, not a coupe.
Thank you. Not every two door is a coupe.
Watch the struggle with the concept of a “hardtop”.
Had one this is missing the dask plaque….mine was I think 19xx of 5000..
More like 6800
Wasnt this part of the law suit that sent Shelby over to Chyrsler for the next decade??
“5,200 units of this fake Shelby tribute car were made”. That’s 10 times as many as the original GT350. This looks like a decent enough car for someone looking for a fox body era Mustang, but I wouldn’t pay extra for it because of the GT350 association.
The Mustang’s history is littered with special editions that were nothing more than appearance items, dating back to the 1968 California Special/High Country Special. While I don’t think many are actively seeking out anniversary editions like the ’84 GT-350 or the ’99 35th Anniversary models, we Mustang folks recognize that Mustangs are common in the collector car world, and anything that sets a particular Mustang apart is a plus in our books. This GT-350 would be noticed at Cars & Coffee, and isn’t that the reason we go? My ’11 GT has the glass roof option, which was available from 2009 through 2014. You’d be amazed how many people have forgotten about the option or never knew it existed.
Too much fiddling with this car to be asking $16K. If it were original, even though the Anniversary kit is present, it might be worth the ask.
I always liked these when they were of the T-5 variety. I’d take one any day and, tastefully upgrade to the ’86-up exhaust and differential…maybe the throttle body/MAFS/good heads from a later Fox.
While these are a limited car, there isn’t really a wide market for them. Most people are more interested in coupes which weren’t available in this trim package. This particular example is missing the correct pony emblems and appears to have the incorrect front seats. While it is a clean car, based on the photos it could also have rolled over the odometer. As an anniversary car owner myself I wouldn’t be comfortable spending that kind of money on this car.
If I remember right all of the Shelby mustangs that was built only 5 to 10 percent of them are actually built by Shelby American. All the rest was built in a Ford factory and had the Shelby name and everything put on them in a regular Ford factory.