Flordian, Kerry Kufner loves to look around for Mustangs. His wish was to find some piece from which he`ll make a Shelby replica, or a tribute as the saying goes. Since all his life he`s been working on hot rods, he wanted to try something new and to twist it in order to make a clone. So, he chose to make a coupe, after giving up the idea of making a convertible 1967 Shelby GT350 tribute vehicle.
His dream was to make a tribute to the 1967 Shelby GT350 since the factory-made one wasn`t an option. At the beginning, while he was searching for the suitable Shelby, he encountered many problems cuz all the coupes he found were trash.
The original plan was to cut the roof off of this `67 coupe you are currently looking at , since Kerry couldn`t find a suitable convertible. As Kerry said, after some time spent surfing the net, this baby was one of the most amazing things that Kerry came across. Since the owner was about to leave Arizona for Orlando, he was prepared to deliver the car.
So, the guys made a deal and Kerry finally got the car in his hands, the transformation was ready to commence. As you are all aware, a car-remake is not something that solely one man can do. So Kerry`s two sons Clay and Kyle decided to help their father. So it wasn`t much till the car was completely tore down, and by having that done, the state of the car as a whole was much more obvious.
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Having the vehicle completely disassembled, the project was making its way to a new path, this time a more roofed one. Kerry had plenty of buddies that he can rely on when he needed a helping hand, so he phoned Sean Crockett in order to provide a hot assembly space in Florida at the Crockett Auto Body.
When the Stang took its place in the shop, Kerry began the transformation by scavenging all the items required. The exterior was equipped with the coolest parts from Reproduction Shelby. Tony Branda was the guy that ordered them. When the exterior was completely finished, Sean took care of the paint job. Kerry opted for the Secret blue shade with white stripes on top of it. We think it`s a cool combination, what about you?
Tom McFadden, a friend of Kerry`s, took care of the interior and redid the upholstering, and TC was in charge of replacing the glass. The interior needed new leather seats to be installed as well as snake-skin-like inserts with Cobra emblems. Auto Meter took care of the steering wheel done in a typical Ford style as well as of all the instruments needed.
The 1967 Shelby GT350 engine needed increasing as well. New cubes were needed once the factory made 289 mill was placed. 351 punched out of 408 cubes were built for that reason. And then the restoration started to happen.
Kerry, his two sons and a bunch of friends continued the work on the `Stang. Nevertheless, as curious life`s paths may be, sometimes we find ourselves in front of difficult situations, when we need to show courage and reconsider the value of things, like a car. Kerry was faced with many challenges. While the restoration was on- going, Kerry had to endure the death of his son Clay. At that time he wanted to leave everything and give up.
Kerry was the one that built the massive 351 stroker. It was a monstrosity of a machine that one could not simply drive it down the streets. Kerry was planning to fit a tamer mill, so he got rid of the monstrosity of a motor. So, his base for the new motor was small 302 block with 349ci with forged connecting rods and crank from Scat and compression pistons from SRP. This work was in the very capable hands of Express Engine. The rest of the restoration was performed by Woodruff Woody- a friend`s of Kerry and Kerry himself. The two guys equipped the car with a carburetor from Demon, heads from Pro Comp and RPM aluminum intake from Edelbrock. Having all these items incorporated, the car started to behave much more balanced and smooth. It was definitely the right blend of components.
The rebuilt of this 1967 Shelby GT350 may have started as a tribute to Shelby, but finished as a tribute to Kerry`s two sons. The death of Kyle, made the whole process even more valuable. For him the car was not just a simple material thing. It was a beautiful reminder of the time spent with his sons.
The beauty has a small Ford 302 block, decked, bored to 349ci. There are also Scat forged connecting 5.4 inches rods from Scat, valves from Milodon, roller rocker arms from Liberty, intake of 2.05 inches, MSD distributor, exhaust of 1.60 inches, 4340 Scat forged steel crankshaft, SRP forged pistons, pushrods and dual coil valvespring from Comp Cams, RPM Air-Gap intake manifold from Edelbrock, etc.
Express Engine did the work on the engine. When it comes to the 1967 Shelby GT350 exhaust, the car has primary tubes, Hooker headers3-inch collectors and a 3-inch custom made 3 inches exhaust made of stainless steel, mufflers from MagnaFlow. The transmission is a C4 with Boss Hog Street Bandit 10-inch torque converter and a B&M Transpak Shift Kit.
The fron and the rear wheels are from Coys Wheel, size 17×8 at the front and 18×10 at the rear end, both with aluminum finish. The tires are from Hankook Ventus HRII, both at the fron and rear end. Sean Crockett painted the hood in Secret Blue shade. TC were in charge of the work on the glass.
Finally, check out Eleanor, from gone in 60 seconds!
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