Anyone driven or owned a Shelby GT350?
07-30-2018, 11:31 PM
#61
Team Owner
I do get out in both of them often. Mustang6g has a good GT350 sub forum. I haven’t looked at any others.
08-01-2018, 12:41 AM
#62
Good question. Initially 2018 was supposed to be the final year of the GT350 if I recall correctly. I suspect with the announcement Ford is moving out of the car/sedan business with the exception of Mustangs to focus on SUV' and trucks, perhaps something changed as they have announced a 2019 and I've not heard as that being the last.
It might make sense for them to expand the Mustang line up and have something for every price range, particularly with the GT500 release right around the corner--it wont be cheap. I like to think of it similar to the release of the C8 not meaning the demise of the C7 or a front engine variant as GM is hinting they may produce them both. The GT500 slots in where the ZR1 does for GM, GT350 the Z06, and so on. Before anyone yaps, I'm NOT comparing the Corvette to the Mustang in any way--that is Camaro territory. I'm simply speaking to how they roll out their product offerings. I expect them to dig deeper into the Mustang brand--the release of the Bullit is a good example. Perhaps another Boss 302 or 429 version, maybe a Mach 1 etc.. All good stuff and fun to be a fan of American muscle these days.
Lastly after driving a 2013 Boss 302 for 5 years with a 7500 redline it was amazing around town and highway. Totally different experience than a Vette, but equally satisfying for entirely different reasons. Vette is hands down the better car, and nearly 2.5x the cost, but those high revving engines are blast when you know how to drive them.
It might make sense for them to expand the Mustang line up and have something for every price range, particularly with the GT500 release right around the corner--it wont be cheap. I like to think of it similar to the release of the C8 not meaning the demise of the C7 or a front engine variant as GM is hinting they may produce them both. The GT500 slots in where the ZR1 does for GM, GT350 the Z06, and so on. Before anyone yaps, I'm NOT comparing the Corvette to the Mustang in any way--that is Camaro territory. I'm simply speaking to how they roll out their product offerings. I expect them to dig deeper into the Mustang brand--the release of the Bullit is a good example. Perhaps another Boss 302 or 429 version, maybe a Mach 1 etc.. All good stuff and fun to be a fan of American muscle these days.
Lastly after driving a 2013 Boss 302 for 5 years with a 7500 redline it was amazing around town and highway. Totally different experience than a Vette, but equally satisfying for entirely different reasons. Vette is hands down the better car, and nearly 2.5x the cost, but those high revving engines are blast when you know how to drive them.
I was in the hunt for a new C7. I knew the Corvette. I owned a new one in 1977. I've read up on forum here about em for years. The C7 was a slam dunk. Not until later I learned of all the Grand Sport and 1LT wackos. LOL!
years.
Last edited by Skid Row Joe; 08-01-2018 at 12:49 AM.
08-01-2018, 08:58 PM
#63
Instructor
it was too new and murky trying to ascertain anything on the gt350 shelby. I got a brochure in fall 2015 at a ford dealer up in fort smith, arkansas at the ford dealer that was working on my e450 7.3 liter powerstroke, turbo diesel rv. When i saw the multiple performance options, and that nobody had any fs ie ford dealers - there was no information base. It looked to me as if the history of the 350 non-existent. Certainly no stock, and no discounts on this product. I passed.
I was in the hunt for a new c7. I knew the corvette. I owned a new one in 1977. I've read up on forum here about em for years. The c7 was a slam dunk. Not until later i learned of all the grand sport and 1lt wackos. Lol!
Years.
I was in the hunt for a new c7. I knew the corvette. I owned a new one in 1977. I've read up on forum here about em for years. The c7 was a slam dunk. Not until later i learned of all the grand sport and 1lt wackos. Lol!
Years.
Last edited by lupicon; 08-01-2018 at 08:59 PM.
08-03-2018, 09:25 PM
#64
Burning Brakes
GT350 - Good - Bad-Ugly
I have one - regular GT350 with the available options. The good: You don't see yourself coming and going, incredible exhaust sound, great manual tranny, handling and brakes. The bad: built on a $23k mustang platform and body quality, panel gap fitment, interior design and quality are crappy for a $61k car. You would think that being a Shelby, Ford could have spent a bit more towards upgrading those items. The ugly: blown engine count is now about 50 based from information from the Mustang 6G forum, FB, and one or two other Mustang forums (probably out of a sample of 700-800 owners out of 20k or so cars sold. No one knows how many engines have really failed, but certainly a lot more than that. People are checking their cars oil at every fuel fill-up. A lot of cases of very high oil usage and no one (except Ford) will say where the oil is going or why engines are blowing. Kind of reminds me of the LS7 valve drop issues...
08-04-2018, 09:48 AM
#65
Melting Slicks
I drove one before getting my 18 ZL-1. The interior in places is more refined than the ZL1, the Exhaust sound is fantastic and the motor has a more exotic sound and feel vs the LT4 (except for the blower whine). An overall great car. It was a tough choice. The LT$ is more muffled in the ZL1 than my C7Z06 also.
Last edited by KissArmy2001; 08-04-2018 at 11:15 AM.
08-14-2018, 09:19 AM
#66
Drifting
Member Since: Nov 2011
Location: Chesterfield (St. Louis) MO
Posts: 1,377
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I have one - regular GT350 with the available options. The good: You don't see yourself coming and going, incredible exhaust sound, great manual tranny, handling and brakes. The bad: built on a $23k mustang platform and body quality, panel gap fitment, interior design and quality are crappy for a $61k car. You would think that being a Shelby, Ford could have spent a bit more towards upgrading those items. The ugly: blown engine count is now about 50 based from information from the Mustang 6G forum, FB, and one or two other Mustang forums (probably out of a sample of 700-800 owners out of 20k or so cars sold. No one knows how many engines have really failed, but certainly a lot more than that. People are checking their cars oil at every fuel fill-up. A lot of cases of very high oil usage and no one (except Ford) will say where the oil is going or why engines are blowing. Kind of reminds me of the LS7 valve drop issues...
08-14-2018, 10:48 AM
#67
Team Owner
I have an '18 GT350 as well, and I share pretty much the same sentiments. The interior design isn't as bad as the quality of the interior materials; very very cheap. The placement of the oil temp / oil pressure gauges is asinine, however. The gauges are pointed straight ahead so you cannot even see them accurately while driving unless you move your head closer to the passenger side.
08-14-2018, 11:48 AM
#68
I’ll give you my experience, no opinions. I’ve owned both Mustangs and Corvettes. When the GT350 came out in 2015 I had to have one. All the good reviews and an exotic motor to boot! So I ordered a 2016 with a “tech pack”. As I waited for delivery the tech cars began to have heat issues. Trans and differential. So when the car came in I decided to pass until they resolved the issues. In the meantime I came across a used M4 and bought it to hold me over. Drove the M for two years and decided it was time to get the mustang. Test drove one and thought this is nice but...just not sure. So test drove another and liked it but... just not sure. As many have said the torque at low rpm made the car seem, not quick. And I also noticed some quality issues when looking at the cars. Interior was on the plain side also. Sooo, I test drove a third gt350 and still could not pull-up the trigger for some reason. Just didn’t speak to me.
In the meantime I came across a 2017 Grand Sport with 60 miles on it. It was new at the dealership. I stopped to look and thought, man, that’s sharp. Sales guy asked me if I wanted to drive it. I did and bought it the next day.
Not saying one car is better or worse than the other. It’s just what you like/want. Oh, and in the process I also drove a ZL1 Camaro but was not impressed with the auto trans. And some other things.
In the meantime I came across a 2017 Grand Sport with 60 miles on it. It was new at the dealership. I stopped to look and thought, man, that’s sharp. Sales guy asked me if I wanted to drive it. I did and bought it the next day.
Not saying one car is better or worse than the other. It’s just what you like/want. Oh, and in the process I also drove a ZL1 Camaro but was not impressed with the auto trans. And some other things.
08-14-2018, 12:57 PM
#69
Team Owner
I’ll give you my experience, no opinions. I’ve owned both Mustangs and Corvettes. When the GT350 came out in 2015 I had to have one. All the good reviews and an exotic motor to boot! So I ordered a 2016 with a “tech pack”. As I waited for delivery the tech cars began to have heat issues. Trans and differential. So when the car came in I decided to pass until they resolved the issues. In the meantime I came across a used M4 and bought it to hold me over. Drove the M for two years and decided it was time to get the mustang. Test drove one and thought this is nice but...just not sure. So test drove another and liked it but... just not sure. As many have said the torque at low rpm made the car seem, not quick. And I also noticed some quality issues when looking at the cars. Interior was on the plain side also. Sooo, I test drove a third gt350 and still could not pull-up the trigger for some reason. Just didn’t speak to me.
In the meantime I came across a 2017 Grand Sport with 60 miles on it. It was new at the dealership. I stopped to look and thought, man, that’s sharp. Sales guy asked me if I wanted to drive it. I did and bought it the next day.
Not saying one car is better or worse than the other. It’s just what you like/want. Oh, and in the process I also drove a ZL1 Camaro but was not impressed with the auto trans. And some other things.
In the meantime I came across a 2017 Grand Sport with 60 miles on it. It was new at the dealership. I stopped to look and thought, man, that’s sharp. Sales guy asked me if I wanted to drive it. I did and bought it the next day.
Not saying one car is better or worse than the other. It’s just what you like/want. Oh, and in the process I also drove a ZL1 Camaro but was not impressed with the auto trans. And some other things.
09-05-2018, 09:57 PM
#70
I’m in the same predicament.....thinking of trading/selling my 17 GS for a 350 or ZL1 possibly ZL1LE.
please post up what you end up with not sure I can get rid of my GS!
Last edited by brettmess24; 09-05-2018 at 09:58 PM.
09-05-2018, 10:17 PM
#71
Burning Brakes
My Shelby Experience
Then I learned that a significant number of these cars burn oil. Ford even calls using a quart of oil every 500 miles is "acceptable." I call BS on that. I had to check oil levels every time I did a fill-up. Check Mustang6G forum "blown motor thread and see the spreadsheet listing over 5 dozen blown motors from people reporting in from a few Shelby forums - maybe with a total of 900-1000 members. I wanted to track this car, but two of my friends (out of 6) who were tracking the car, blew their engines. Personally, I think that making a flat plane crank motor that is 5.2 liters (315 Cubic inches) may have been pushing the envelope too hard. No there flat plane crank motors are nearly this size and these motors have a lot of vibration by their nature. I just think Ford had a great idea but did not develop it enough, which is why they quickly abandoned it in their GT4 race cars. And it will not be used in any other Ford product.
Just got tired of the poor quality and the drama of constantly worrying about if my car was going to start gulping oil. Ford is mum about it all and doe not let their dealers touch the blown engines, they just replace them. I have seen reports from a few guys who have blown TWO engines.
Sorry I ever bought it looking forward to getting the Z sometime next week
09-05-2018, 11:12 PM
#72
My Shelby left today on PlyCar, to be replaced by a '19 2LX Manual Z06. I was excited by my '17 Shelby, always remembered the SHelby originals of my childhood. But, my experience with this car was not up to my expectations, especially for a $60k car. Quality was lousy with exterior panel fitment and interior materials far below the quality of my wife's $24k Mazda CX3. The rear bumper gaps kept getting worse and worse (common to almost all Shelby's) so bad, it was almost embarrassing. The two Ford dealerships were HORRIBLE.
Then I learned that a significant number of these cars burn oil. Ford even calls using a quart of oil every 500 miles is "acceptable." I call BS on that. I had to check oil levels every time I did a fill-up. Check Mustang6G forum "blown motor thread and see the spreadsheet listing over 5 dozen blown motors from people reporting in from a few Shelby forums - maybe with a total of 900-1000 members. I wanted to track this car, but two of my friends (out of 6) who were tracking the car, blew their engines. Personally, I think that making a flat plane crank motor that is 5.2 liters (315 Cubic inches) may have been pushing the envelope too hard. No there flat plane crank motors are nearly this size and these motors have a lot of vibration by their nature. I just think Ford had a great idea but did not develop it enough, which is why they quickly abandoned it in their GT4 race cars. And it will not be used in any other Ford product.
Just got tired of the poor quality and the drama of constantly worrying about if my car was going to start gulping oil. Ford is mum about it all and doe not let their dealers touch the blown engines, they just replace them. I have seen reports from a few guys who have blown TWO engines.
Sorry I ever bought it looking forward to getting the Z sometime next week
Then I learned that a significant number of these cars burn oil. Ford even calls using a quart of oil every 500 miles is "acceptable." I call BS on that. I had to check oil levels every time I did a fill-up. Check Mustang6G forum "blown motor thread and see the spreadsheet listing over 5 dozen blown motors from people reporting in from a few Shelby forums - maybe with a total of 900-1000 members. I wanted to track this car, but two of my friends (out of 6) who were tracking the car, blew their engines. Personally, I think that making a flat plane crank motor that is 5.2 liters (315 Cubic inches) may have been pushing the envelope too hard. No there flat plane crank motors are nearly this size and these motors have a lot of vibration by their nature. I just think Ford had a great idea but did not develop it enough, which is why they quickly abandoned it in their GT4 race cars. And it will not be used in any other Ford product.
Just got tired of the poor quality and the drama of constantly worrying about if my car was going to start gulping oil. Ford is mum about it all and doe not let their dealers touch the blown engines, they just replace them. I have seen reports from a few guys who have blown TWO engines.
Sorry I ever bought it looking forward to getting the Z sometime next week
good to know and your not not the first to tell me this and this has me researching the ZL1 heavily and dare I say a 10 speed.....I’m only 39 damnet lol