Meet Rick Marks, he’s one of the nicest guys you’ll meet & the very proud owner of this super rare & amazing American muscle car, the 1965 Shelby GT350 Mustang. We’ve had the pleasure of knowing Rick through our Machines & Macchiatos events & we wanted to share his story.

Rick's had a life enriched with highly desirable classics & muscle cars. To understand the real significance this Shelby has to Rick, we have to rewind to 1976 when he was invited to the Shelby American Automobile Club convention.

How does Rick go from racing a Sunbeam Tiger, around the local tracks in the early 70’s to standing in front of the man of the moment, Carroll Shelby at the convention? Easy, he was invited because he owned a Sunbeam Tiger, which he still owns today. Rick was in the USA at the time of the convention & was invited to attend by some of his American Sunbeam Tiger friends. Rick was the only international attendee so they made a bit of a fuss about him.

Once at the convention, Rick found himself rubbing shoulders & having conversations with the famous racing car drivers of the day, but it's his meeting with Carroll Shelby that had a life changing impact on Rick. If that wasn't enough, as part of the convention was a huge display of Shelby cars, once Rick discovered this display, he was left gobsmacked. Row after row of Shelby creations, Mustangs, AC Cobras, Sunbeam Tigers, GT40s, Daytona coupes & the list went on. All these iconic machines right there at his fingertips. He could touch them, feel their beauty & hear their iconic engines roar. What a moment!

It was this precise moment, standing there in the presence of such iconic American Muscle cars, Rick made a promise to himself, he must return to Australia & start the process of one day owning his very own Shelby Mustang.

Rick has always been into classic muscle cars. He's calculated 245 cars have come through his garage door over the past 50 years. Rick explains, “I’ve been very lucky, I've found classic muscle cars at the right time, this has played an important part in acquiring the '65 Shelby GT350”.

On his return to Australia in 1976 after the Shelby convention, Rick's commitment was set. He knew he had a massive mountain to climb in order to reach that goal of Shelby ownership, as they were big money items, even back then. Rick worked hard, saved hard, with the belief that one day he would have enough money to make his dream come true. In 1982, 6 long years after the seed was sown, when the stars all aligned, Rick purchased his first Shelby Mustang, but it wasn’t the ideal start.

“I caught the bus from Sydney to Grafton, a slow 9 hour ricketty ride” Rick jokingly recalls. On arrival it was evident this Shelby Mustang wasn't up to Rick's expectations so he left empty handed. Soon after his Grafton experience, Rick had the good fortune of another Shelby Mustang becoming available, a 1968 Shelby GT500 Big Block 428 with four side draft webers - boy what a cracker it was, Rick purchased it on the spot.

Once Rick acquired his first Shelby Mustang he soon discovered, the ultimate Shelby Mustang & the one who  had collectors all around the world chasing, was the first of the breed, the 1965 GT350. Rick reset his new goal & aimed for the stars - ownership of a 1965 GT350.

Many years later in 1993, Rick finally had the chance to buy a 1965 GT350. To get the deal across the line, Rick had to sell a number of cars in his collection, including a red 1966 Shelby GT350. “It was a tough call to let the '66 Shelby go, but I knew I had to in order to acquire the ultimate Shelby, the ‘65 best of the breed” Rick said.

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Rick loaded up the cash & drove the red '66 Shelby to Hay NSW, where he swapped cars & the deal was done. I asked Rick how it felt after all those years of yearning for the ultimate Shelby, to finally own one & be driving it home. “Nervous” was his honest reply. “I was more worried about what would be the first thing to go wrong with it & how costly it was going to be to fix” Rick laughs. The Shelby made its maiden voyage under Rick’s guidance without a problem. In fact Rick joyfully relaid “This Shelby GT350 Mustang has never had any serious issues since I took ownership”.

Meet Rick Marks, he’s one of the nicest guys you’ll meet & the very proud owner of this super rare & amazing American muscle car, the 1965 Shelby GT350 Mustang. We’ve had the pleasure of knowing Rick through our Machines & Macchiatos events & we wanted to share his story.

Rick's had a life enriched with highly desirable classics & muscle cars. To understand the real significance this Shelby has to Rick, we have to rewind to 1976 when he was invited to the Shelby American Automobile Club convention.

How does Rick go from racing a Sunbeam Tiger, around the local tracks in the early 70’s to standing in front of the man of the moment, Carroll Shelby at the convention? Easy, he was invited because he owned a Sunbeam Tiger, which he still owns today. Rick was in the USA at the time of the convention & was invited to attend by some of his American Sunbeam Tiger friends. Rick was the only international attendee so they made a bit of a fuss about him.

Once at the convention, Rick found himself rubbing shoulders & having conversations with the famous racing car drivers of the day, but it's his meeting with Carroll Shelby that had a life changing impact on Rick. If that wasn't enough, as part of the convention was a huge display of Shelby cars, once Rick discovered this display, he was left gobsmacked. Row after row of Shelby creations, Mustangs, AC Cobras, Sunbeam Tigers, GT40s, Daytona coupes & the list went on. All these iconic machines right there at his fingertips. He could touch them, feel their beauty & hear their iconic engines roar. What a moment!

It was this precise moment, standing there in the presence of such iconic American Muscle cars, Rick made a promise to himself, he must return to Australia & start the process of one day owning his very own Shelby Mustang.

Rick has always been into classic muscle cars. He's calculated 245 cars have come through his garage door over the past 50 years. Rick explains, “I’ve been very lucky, I've found classic muscle cars at the right time, this has played an important part in acquiring the '65 Shelby GT350”.

On his return to Australia in 1976 after the Shelby convention, Rick's commitment was set. He knew he had a massive mountain to climb in order to reach that goal of Shelby ownership, as they were big money items, even back then. Rick worked hard, saved hard, with the belief that one day he would have enough money to make his dream come true. In 1982, 6 long years after the seed was sown, when the stars all aligned, Rick purchased his first Shelby Mustang, but it wasn’t the ideal start.

“I caught the bus from Sydney to Grafton, a slow 9 hour ricketty ride” Rick jokingly recalls. On arrival it was evident this Shelby Mustang wasn't up to Rick's expectations so he left empty handed. Soon after his Grafton experience, Rick had the good fortune of another Shelby Mustang becoming available, a 1968 Shelby GT500 Big Block 428 with four side draft webers - boy what a cracker it was, Rick purchased it on the spot.

Once Rick acquired his first Shelby Mustang he soon discovered, the ultimate Shelby Mustang & the one who  had collectors all around the world chasing, was the first of the breed, the 1965 GT350. Rick reset his new goal & aimed for the stars - ownership of a 1965 GT350.

Many years later in 1993, Rick finally had the chance to buy a 1965 GT350. To get the deal across the line, Rick had to sell a number of cars in his collection, including a red 1966 Shelby GT350. “It was a tough call to let the '66 Shelby go, but I knew I had to in order to acquire the ultimate Shelby, the ‘65 best of the breed” Rick said.

‍

Rick loaded up the cash & drove the red '66 Shelby to Hay NSW, where he swapped cars & the deal was done. I asked Rick how it felt after all those years of yearning for the ultimate Shelby, to finally own one & be driving it home. “Nervous” was his honest reply. “I was more worried about what would be the first thing to go wrong with it & how costly it was going to be to fix” Rick laughs. The Shelby made its maiden voyage under Rick’s guidance without a problem. In fact Rick joyfully relaid “This Shelby GT350 Mustang has never had any serious issues since I took ownership”.

Meet Rick Marks, he’s one of the nicest guys you’ll meet & the very proud owner of this super rare & amazing American muscle car, the 1965 Shelby GT350 Mustang. We’ve had the pleasure of knowing Rick through our Machines & Macchiatos events & we wanted to share his story.

Rick's had a life enriched with highly desirable classics & muscle cars. To understand the real significance this Shelby has to Rick, we have to rewind to 1976 when he was invited to the Shelby American Automobile Club convention.

How does Rick go from racing a Sunbeam Tiger, around the local tracks in the early 70’s to standing in front of the man of the moment, Carroll Shelby at the convention? Easy, he was invited because he owned a Sunbeam Tiger, which he still owns today. Rick was in the USA at the time of the convention & was invited to attend by some of his American Sunbeam Tiger friends. Rick was the only international attendee so they made a bit of a fuss about him.

Once at the convention, Rick found himself rubbing shoulders & having conversations with the famous racing car drivers of the day, but it's his meeting with Carroll Shelby that had a life changing impact on Rick. If that wasn't enough, as part of the convention was a huge display of Shelby cars, once Rick discovered this display, he was left gobsmacked. Row after row of Shelby creations, Mustangs, AC Cobras, Sunbeam Tigers, GT40s, Daytona coupes & the list went on. All these iconic machines right there at his fingertips. He could touch them, feel their beauty & hear their iconic engines roar. What a moment!

It was this precise moment, standing there in the presence of such iconic American Muscle cars, Rick made a promise to himself, he must return to Australia & start the process of one day owning his very own Shelby Mustang.

Rick has always been into classic muscle cars. He's calculated 245 cars have come through his garage door over the past 50 years. Rick explains, “I’ve been very lucky, I've found classic muscle cars at the right time, this has played an important part in acquiring the '65 Shelby GT350”.

On his return to Australia in 1976 after the Shelby convention, Rick's commitment was set. He knew he had a massive mountain to climb in order to reach that goal of Shelby ownership, as they were big money items, even back then. Rick worked hard, saved hard, with the belief that one day he would have enough money to make his dream come true. In 1982, 6 long years after the seed was sown, when the stars all aligned, Rick purchased his first Shelby Mustang, but it wasn’t the ideal start.

“I caught the bus from Sydney to Grafton, a slow 9 hour ricketty ride” Rick jokingly recalls. On arrival it was evident this Shelby Mustang wasn't up to Rick's expectations so he left empty handed. Soon after his Grafton experience, Rick had the good fortune of another Shelby Mustang becoming available, a 1968 Shelby GT500 Big Block 428 with four side draft webers - boy what a cracker it was, Rick purchased it on the spot.

Once Rick acquired his first Shelby Mustang he soon discovered, the ultimate Shelby Mustang & the one who  had collectors all around the world chasing, was the first of the breed, the 1965 GT350. Rick reset his new goal & aimed for the stars - ownership of a 1965 GT350.

Many years later in 1993, Rick finally had the chance to buy a 1965 GT350. To get the deal across the line, Rick had to sell a number of cars in his collection, including a red 1966 Shelby GT350. “It was a tough call to let the '66 Shelby go, but I knew I had to in order to acquire the ultimate Shelby, the ‘65 best of the breed” Rick said.

‍

Rick loaded up the cash & drove the red '66 Shelby to Hay NSW, where he swapped cars & the deal was done. I asked Rick how it felt after all those years of yearning for the ultimate Shelby, to finally own one & be driving it home. “Nervous” was his honest reply. “I was more worried about what would be the first thing to go wrong with it & how costly it was going to be to fix” Rick laughs. The Shelby made its maiden voyage under Rick’s guidance without a problem. In fact Rick joyfully relaid “This Shelby GT350 Mustang has never had any serious issues since I took ownership”.

562 Shelby GT350s were produced in 1965, they featured a 306hp courtesy of its modified K-code 289ci V8 engine. 35 horses more than the standard 289ci K-code engine. The GT350 also featured a Holley carby, Cobra valve covers and a special Cobra hi-rise intake manifold.  Borg Warner T10 aluminium cased 4 speed transmission and side-exhaust. Most notably, the 1965 GT350 had no rear seat. This was because SCCA B Production requirements only permitted two-seater cars. In its place was a fiberglass shelf, with a spare tire mounted beneath the rear glass.

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Another unusual feature of the GT350 was the rear battery setup on the first 300 or so units produced, which were located in the trunk. Unfortunately, owners complained that fumes from the battery were making their way into the car. This resulted in the creation of Cobra Battery Caps which used hoses, and holes in the trunk floor, to vent the fumes. Shortly thereafter, the remainder of the Shelby Mustangs in 1965 were equipped with a battery in the engine compartment. As such, 1965 Shelby GT350s with batteries in the rear are even more sought after by collectors.

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I asked Rick if he was impressed by the product Shelby was able to produce back in 1965. Rick laughs & answers. “The Shelby GT350’s are very agricultural. Big lumpy cam, loud side pipes, Detroit locker & heavy suspension. It's a real experience to drive the car, it has a very big presence, it's a beast, you always have to be on guard & 100% committed when you are driving her, otherwise it will hurt you”.

I was curious to know if all these years later, the Shelby GT350 still held a significant place in Rick's heart. “The car means more to me now than when I first purchased it some 27 years ago. It's such an icon of a car & I have a massive emotional connection to the GT350. Having met Carroll Shelby & being involved in the mark for so many years, it’s really a part of my DNA.  I’ve always said I’ll be the only old bloke in the nursing home with a ‘65 Shelby GT350 Mustang”. Rick lets out a great laugh.

My sincere thanks to Rick for sharing his journey with his Shelby GT350. Over the coming months we’ll be sharing Ricks' story about his Sunbeam Tigers & E type Jaguars.