GARDENA, CA – If you’ve ever felt excitement with the idea of “Getting the Band Back Together,” then you’ll understand why I could hardly contain myself when I stopped by Peter Brock’s studio a while back and he shared with me what could be the key to a new project. It all started when I showed him some large-format blueprints that I’d made of the experimental Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) intended for the ’65 Shelby GT350 Mustang. It was an adaptation of the Ford GT-40 suspension, the first suspension designed using a computer. It was designed by Klaus Arning, Ford’s suspension expert. Peter and some of the employees at Shelby’s original Venice shop were thinking of getting back together to build replica GT350 Mustangs “the way we would have built them back in the day if we hadn’t been so short of time, money and a few other things. Of course, we can build better cars than we did back then, but so what,” said Peter. “In order to grab people’s attention, we need something they’ve never seen before.”
After finding who was interested in the project, it was decided that Peter, who was Shelby’s designer; Ted Sutton, the fabricator / mechanic who installed the first 427 engine in the A.C. Cobra chassis; Jim Marietta, who was a “walk-on” high-school kid back then and now an accountant in Irvine, California; Rick Titus, son of Shelby team driver Jerry Titus; and yours truly, who would install the IRS and would spend the winter of 2014 building a prototype car in Peter’s unheated warehouse in Henderson. Nevada.
Other people were attracted to the project, including William Deary, owner of The Carroll Collection in Jackson, Michigan, who wanted an identical car built but without the IRS. Our goal was to test both cars at Willow Springs Raceway on the 50th anniversary of the GT350’s first win at Green Valley Raceway in Dallas, Texas. Ryan Croke with Full Circle Productions would film the whole thing.
Rick Titus and John Morton were our test/development drivers, and both cars proved to be fast and reliable – just like the old days. We decided to take the IRS car (98-I) on a month-long tour of the U.S., where in Oklahoma it won its first vintage race.
We called the team “The Original Venice Crew” (OVC) and it attracted so much attention we realized that we needed an actual shop. The old Shelby engine facility in Gardena, California, had been sitting vacant for years – about 12,000 square feet of dark, greasy yuk. It was just what we needed. When my son, Michael, and I first lifted up the big, creaky overhead door, the place looked to be about the size of Dodger Stadium.
The first order was to pressure-wash everything – the walls, the floor, even us sometimes. Sherwin Williams Industrial was a few blocks away and had a perfect paint match for the walls, and the expertise to turn the very abused floor into a showroom-quality work of art. Along the way we enlarged the restroom, added a shower, installed a kitchen, plus two offices, a change room and a secure storage room. The work took about a year.
When the giant air compressor out back coughed to life one day, it felt like we were almost home. The lighting and plumbing now worked, and banners had begun appearing on the walls. Jim installed two lifts, and friends and potential customers were stopping by to see when we could build them a car, or work on the one they had.
In no time, rumors of a grand opening party were circulating.
Jim and Ted and company have made a success of the project – and I sold Jim the IRS business. For about 10 years I had sold it as a bolt-in kit, but selling a full-on race-car part to a guy working in his driveway turned out to be not such a good idea. The OVC starts with a K-Code 1965 or ’66 Mustang fastback, just like back in the day. After fixing and prepping and painting everything, the IRS is installed (bolts right into existing holes) along with a heavy-duty Ford Top-Loader transmission and a new 331-cubic-inch, 460 horsepower Shelby V8 engine. The front suspension is modified per Klaus’ prints, and everything works well together. The whole package costs well into six figures, and it carries an OVC serial number as well as a Shelby serial number.
The Shelby Corporation eventually sold the building “our” shop was in (bummer) ... but we made some beautiful memories while it lasted. We were there for 7 years, from July 2017 to June of 2024. We also hosted 2 weddings there with drive-thru receptions, 3 Christmas parties and a hell-of-a-lotta good times. Getting the band back together was special, and the cars live on. For further information, as they say, get online and see www.OVCmustangs.com or www.mustangIRS.com.
