We met Gary Welch a few years back while attending some events and shows hosted by the Mustang & Shelby Club of Long Island (MSCLI) – and could tell he’s got far too much passion to be considered just a regular club member. What’s more, his car has far too much pedigree to be considered just a regular Shelby – if there even is such a thing. So we decided to put Gary in this week’s Ford Fan Spotlight and let him tell you about his GT350 in his own words:

“Hi, Ford Performance! It’s Gary Welch from Long Island, New York. As requested, here’s the story behind my 2015 50^th Anniversary Shelby GT350, Chassis #F0043: This is the best-handling and smoothest acceleration up to 8,250 rpm car that I’ve ever driven on the road and on the track. No, my 2015 Shelby GT350 is not a muscle car; it’s a car specifically designed to be a road-course track machine, which can pull 0.98g on the skidpad and 1.10g  braking from 70 mph in 152 feet for the 350 and 146 feet for the R version. The 8,250 rpm rev limit, along with the gearing in the six speed manual transmission, will allow drivers to stay on the power longer, stretching this stallion’s legs longer without the need to upshift between turns.
“In 2015, a limited run of 137 of these vehicles went down the assembly line. The first 37 were R models, and the remaining 100 were street versions. Divided in half by packages, 50 were Track Pack GT350s (with #F0043 being one of them), and the other 50 were Technology Pack GT350s. This resembled what Ford did back in 1965 when they allotted 34 factory competition R models and 3 Shelby Hi-Performance School cars, for 37 total Rs. When you total the prototypes through the full production run, there were 562 GT350s produced in 1965. These production numbers make the 2015 GT350 the most limited run of Shelby GT350s in Ford history.

“The 2015 Shelby GT350s could not be found in showrooms. An invitation to purchase the car was done by either a phone call or letter from Ford to 137 lucky people. I did not make this cut; the original owner was Ed Hockaday, a well-versed road course driver who races for Ford, and was close to Carroll Shelby back in the day. Over the following years, Ford produced a total of 6,169 in 2016 with 526 Rs; 7,115 in 2017 with 942 Rs; 4,378 in 2018 with 633 Rs; 3,595 in 2019 with 806 Rs; and 2,180 in 2020 with 567 Rs.

“The first-year 2015-16 GT350 specs included: The Voodoo 5.2 L Flat Plane Crank V-8 with aluminum block and heads, rated 526 hp at 7,500 rpm, and 429 foot-pounds of torque at 4,750 rpm. Oil capacity: 10 quarts of 5w-50; it has forged pistons with 12/1 compression and forged micro-alloyed rods. The suspension has magnetic dampening, 6-piston Brembos with 15.5-inch rotors in the front and 4-piston calipers with 12.6-inch rotors in the rear. A final drive ratio of 3.73:1 with 5^th gear ratioed at 1.00:1, giving you a 6^th gear overdrive for improved fuel economy on the highway. Many aero features can be found with the front and rear spoilers to keep the car down, as well as underneath the car to keep the air from slowing her down at high speeds.

“The GT350 weighed in at 3,796 pounds and the R at 3,710 pounds. The GT350 and GT 350R’s 0-60 mph times were 4.3 seconds / 3.9 seconds, respectively. Quarter-mile times were 12.5 and 12.2 seconds. This GT350 (#F0043) is signed by Henry Ford III, Edsel Ford II, and Aaron Shelby. Ford Mustang Marketing Manager Jim Owens signed the owner’s manual cover and while signing it said that his first ride in a GT350 had occurred in this car when Ed had owned it, and that Ed gave him a great ride!
“I’ve had so much fun driving this Shelby around town, throughout the Long Island area, to local car shows, and to national events like the Carlisle Ford Nationals and various MCA shows. I entered it into the judging at the MCA show at Road Atlanta in April of 2021, winning Gold in the Occasionally Driven class. The next day was track day, and this car had everything going for it -- amazing handling, braking and the smoothest acceleration needed to prevent too much power coming around the corner that could put you in a spin. The car stayed low and gripped the road like no other, creating confidence to take it past your comfort zone. The Voodoo engine revved like no other and I could build up speed between the turns, never quite hitting the redline, and reducing my need to shift so often.

“Her name? Well, when I got her in September of 2019, I named her ‘Dark Horse.’ So she’s the original, now that Ford has come out with the Dark Horse edition for 2024. I plan on keeping this special vehicle and driving it until I can’t drive anymore; then, I’ll have my daughter take me out for a spin so that we can enjoy it even longer.

“Thank you, Ford, for such an amazing Shelby GT350 Mustang. And thank you Ed for allowing me to be the owner of this very special car.”

Here’s How YOU Can Get In The Spotlight: For more than 15 years now, one of the most popular features on FordPerformance.com and in our weekly Fast News e-newsletter continues to be "Ford Fan Spotlight," where readers can send in their own reasons why they're fans of Ford Motor Company and its vehicles. You know who they are: Ford "superfans;" grassroots Ford racers; unique Ford vehicle owners; loyal Ford enthusiasts; notable Ford club people; special Ford families; and/or any avid supporter of Ford, Ford vehicles, Ford motorsports or Ford Performance who deserves a little bit of special recognition.

All you need to do to get you, your car or candidate considered is to send in a brief description (200-500 words or less) and a few photos (in .jpeg format, preferably around 1 mb in size) with the owner’s full name and hometown, please. Just tell us about the vehicle(s) and why you think Ford Performance should feature it (them) in the "Ford Fan Spotlight" for an upcoming installment of Fast News as well as for posting on FordPerformance.com. Then email it to: ClubHub@Ford.com with your contact info. Your submission allows us the rights to use your words and images (along with any edits) for editorial purposes; we’ll choose one submission in random order to post online. We hope to see YOU and your Ford in our Spotlight soon!