Building the 1967 Shelby Mustang I couldn't afford! | Driveway Finds

TL;DR

Dustin buys a rusty, non-authentic 1967 'Felby' Mustang from Facebook Marketplace and restores it on a budget to fulfill a childhood Shelby GT350 dream.

Key Points

• 1.The car is a 'Felby,' not a real Shelby, but packed with genuine parts. Built in the 1970s as a tribute/race car, it carries real Shelby GT350 components including an original GT350/GT500 Ford 9-inch rear end confirmed by its tag numbers.
• 2.Dustin drove 14 hours to Salt Lake City, Utah to inspect and buy the car sight-unseen. Despite the seller nearly flaking and Dustin being on the fence about the rust and workload, he bought it after sleeping on it, with no morning regrets.
• 3.Rust repair and cowl replacement were the most grueling early tasks. Dustin used a screwdriver to probe rust, cut out cancer, welded fresh metal patches, removed the cowl, and spent days grinding wheel wells, emerging covered in decades of dirt.
• 4.A straight-axle front suspension swap from the 1960s–70s era was removed and replaced with stock Ford suspension. Dustin despised the modification, and restoring factory suspension geometry took significant effort before the car could become a roller again.
• 5.The engine is a $1,000 Facebook Marketplace 1966 289 with compromised bearings. Rather than replace bearings due to time constraints, Dustin ran a high-volume oil pump and 20W-50 thick oil; it ran well but smoked badly from faulty PCV valve cover baffles.
• 6.A rusty top-loader transmission sourced mid-build was treated with Evaporust and gear oil rather than rebuilt. Dustin acknowledged it wasn't ideal but it shifted and functioned well enough for the first drive.
• 7.Interior work included a self-installed headliner, new carpet, dash pad, gauges, and a Shelby GT350 emblem. The fiberglass hood was repaired using inner structure harvested from a red donor hood, mirroring original Shelby construction methods.
• 8.The 289 fired up successfully after timing issues were corrected — the distributor was 180° out. After fixing the solenoid (bought at a garage sale), the engine made oil pressure, ran at 14° timing, and impressed everyone with a healthy sound on open headers.
• 9.After 6 months of work, Dustin drove the Felby and called it a childhood dream realized. At 29 years old, inspired by Steve McQueen's $3.5M Bullet Mustang he couldn't afford, he proved a budget Shelby-look build is achievable — brakes, bumper, and smoking issues aside.