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HomePick of the Day20th anniversary 1984 Mustang Shelby GT350 convertible

20th anniversary 1984 Mustang Shelby GT350 convertible

The Pick of the Day was a controversial special edition from Ford

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Yes, it’s true, you can buy a vintage, low-mileage Shelby GT350 for less than $20,000.  Produced by Ford for 1984, it’s a GT350 that commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Mustang-based originals. 

Only thing, it’s really just a graphics package applied to a standard Mustang without any input from Shelby American. 

mustang

Carroll Shelby, who was working with Chrysler at that time, was not amused. Matter of fact, he was plenty ticked that Ford would use the Shelby GT350 nomenclature without his involvement or even his permission.  So ticked that he sued and forced Ford to cease production after just over 1,650 were built. 

Which, of course, makes them fairly rare today.

The Pick of the Day is one of them, a 1984 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 convertible, seemingly in very good condition in Oxford White with the GT350 graphic emblazoned across the rocker panels in red.

mustang

According to the Lakeland, Florida, dealer advertising the Mustang on ClassicCars.com, these latter-day GT350s have been officially recognized by Shelby collectors, somewhat removing the stigma of their origin.

This Fox-body convertible would be a nice Mustang whatever name was plastered across its rocker panels, with a high-output 5.0-liter V8 under its hood backed by a 5-speed manual transmission. The owner would just have to get used to explaining the story of why it exists, and that it’s actually legit and not just some custom poseur. 

There is a small plaque affixed to the glove-box door stating that the car was “Manufactured by Shelby American,” but that’s likely bogus.

The Mustang looks clean and original, and a photo of the dash shows just 64,158 miles on the odometer. There is no information in the ad about its restoration history, although it seems like a well-preserved original car, which the seller describes as being in beautiful condition. 

These ersatz Shelbys were available during their short production run as hatchback coupes or convertibles, powered by either the 5.0-liter V8 or the 2.3-liter turbocharged inline-4.  This one obviously would the best setup for performance and driving enjoyment.

And it would be hard to beat the asking price of just $19,900. 

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.

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Bob Golfen
Bob Golfen
Bob Golfen is a longtime automotive writer and editor, focusing on new vehicles, collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle. He is the former automotive writer and editor for The Arizona Republic and SPEED.com, the website for the SPEED motorsports channel. He has written free-lance articles for a number of publications, including Autoweek, The New York Times and Barrett-Jackson auction catalogs. A collector car enthusiast with a wide range of knowledge about the old cars that we all love and desire, Bob enjoys tinkering with archaic machinery. His current obsession is a 1962 Porsche 356 Super coupe.

5 COMMENTS

  1. I would like to “speak”, by-phone, to somebody about making an offer for this specific subject car – a 1984 Shelby GT350 Convertible = (20th. Anniversary Edition). …”Thanks” for your time, help and consideration of my potential transaction administrative request!

    • Click on the Pick of the Day red link at the end of the article, which will take you to the seller’s ad, with more information including price and location.

    • $19K for this vehicle? And it doesn’t even have the original TRX wheels? I know where one can be had that is in real nice shape with the original TRX wheels and top with 62K miles for less than $10K. Nobody wants these things. They all want the 87 to 93 models.

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