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1967 GT350's & GT500's stamped with the "Z"

Discussion in '1965-1970 Shelby Mustang GT350 & GT500' started by Snakepit, Aug 1, 2007.

  1. patty.dilabio

    patty.dilabio Well-Known Member

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    Hi folks! First a little thanks to snakepit for starting this thread..you are a mind reader.Secondly I did not say much prior to this because i did not think there would be much interest..now that we see such a response,I will share with you what is known.The rarest plate is the hand lettered type,and none to date have a Z stamping.My theory is simple.The Z means Zone.Daves comment "The 67 Z cars are still a mystery." the total back in 1996 was 390 cars reported by members.324 cars sold new outside california.66 cars sold in california..the list grows longer constantly,yet the bias still shows most Z cars were originally destined to be sold outside the golden state.The build sheet connection is mainly by date(s) so far the Z stamp appears to have been put to use after January 67 .As per normal procedure in Shelby land there are always exceptions...so far Z cars seem to be confusing to most people because the letter is not the same size as the shelby vin and many cars in the 97 registry may have the Z yet the owner did not list it,or think it was important.What we need to track is the paper work showing where the car was to be sold new, several were dealer traded and many sat in impound waiting to be shipped,some for several months...the Z as a final inspection stamp also makes sense,how can we prove it?A final comment from Dave he thinks most cars have a Z code.
     
  2. Snakepit

    Snakepit Well-Known Member

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    As far as the "meaning": I think we have a couple of things working againist us.

    1- the number of reproduction tags on the cars - some likely have had the "Z" added based on something in a magazine or something they heard at the time of restoration.

    2- Or when the repo tags were produced the "Z" was left off since it might appear to have been added at some point.

    So far the evidence (though small) seems to indicate its a running change at Shelby. Something they didn't do on the early cars and did on the later. Likely discounting the

    Where they were sent
    Outboards or inboards

    theory. And it the pattern continues, about half of the car may have received the "Z". In any case the search continues.... ah the power of the internet and forums such as this one ;)
     
  3. Texas Swede

    Texas Swede Well-Known Member

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    Hi again,
    Something just hit me. My car has the little Z shaped battery
    hold down bracket. Could it be that simple? How about yours,
    with the Z? Bracket still there or the little mounting hole still there?
    /Texas Swede
     
  4. roddster

    roddster Well-Known Member

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    #0036 - NO "Z", one piece grill, inboards.
     
  5. cobreen

    cobreen Well-Known Member

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    #0187,NO Z,two piece(slanted)grill,inboards.Shipped to J D Ball Ford,Florida dec. 22 1966.
     
  6. Fast Fords

    Fast Fords Well-Known Member

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    #910,No Z,has inboards and originally shipped to California.

    I also looked at car #2148 at a show about a month ago.This was a factory Paxton car,it had the Z and it also had inboards.
     
  7. Snakepit

    Snakepit Well-Known Member

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    (Will not let me edit the original post so here is an update)

    This subject started during another thread and rather than continue the off thread trend I'm starting this one.

    When through the pictures I have of 67 Shelby VIN tags (ones stamped at Shelby mounted to the drivers side inner fender panel) and found the following results shown below. Unfortunately I have more pictures of cars than VIN tags.

    From these few cars it appears that this was a thing that was not done at the beginning of production but a running change but time will tell but I'm sure there is a better list out there. *Try and stay with reporting original - not repo - tags ;)

    With No Stamped Z

    0008
    0013
    0029 - Early67 reported (w/ hand lettered tag)
    0036 - roddster reported (one piece grill, inboards)
    0059
    0062 - msu88 reported
    0100 - ELJ1st500 reported
    0165
    0187 - cobreen reported (two piece-slanted-grill,inboards.Shipped to J D Ball Ford,Florida dec. 22 1966)
    0304
    0341
    0486 - XL428 reported (w/ inboards)
    0504 - tigersnakegt reported (w/ inboards and 2 piece grill)
    0510
    0645 - repo
    0697
    0740
    0910 - Fast Fords reported (inboards and originally shipped to California)
    0923 - repo
    1067
    1165
    1198
    1406
    1446 - shelby6t5 reported (w/ inboards)
    1495
    1709
    1875

    With Stamped Z

    1317 - Texas Swede reported
    1736
    1823
    1878
    2023
    2030 - tommyleea reported (w/inboards)
    2091
    2100 - 67GT500#2100 reported (4 speed & inboards, non functional brake scoops wo/a.c. & thermactor)-Completed 5-13-67, received 5-31-67, sold 6-16-67
    2148 - Fast Ford reported (Paxton w/inboards)
    2325 - 1175 reported
    2397
    2468 - repo
    2506
    2532 - mherman2 reported (Auto/AC with outboards)
    2751
    2800
    2839
    2891 - John76 reported (w/ inboards)
    3014 - AJD350 reported (w/ outboards - Completed 7/21/67, shipped 7/25)
    3040 - rsimkins reported (w/ outboards)
    3084
    3113

    Will try and up date the list as info comes in (8/4/07 last update 51 Total)
     
    Last edited: Aug 5, 2007
  8. Snakepit

    Snakepit Well-Known Member

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    Would not think that a small bracket would be the reason for this effort.

    Seeing that your car is the only one so far that does not fit a clean cut off I ask the following

    1- Is your tag original or a repo?

    2- When (if you know) was your car's completion date and shipping date? (Wondering if your car sat at Shelby longer then others to be included in the "Z" thing)

    Just trying to understand what we are see so far.
     
  9. mherman2

    mherman2 Well-Known Member

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    #2532 Has A Z

    Auto/Factory AC with outboards.

    Mike

    P.S. The exhaust under the drivers side came unattached last night one a little 2 mile cruise. The security guard in my neighborhood said he heard a mile a away and knew how it was. Wife has really happy when I rolled in and woke up the kids at 11pm with straight exhaust. Easy fix this AM.
     
  10. Texas Swede

    Texas Swede Well-Known Member

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    Hi Jeff,
    My car #1317 has the original tag. Have owned the car for 30 years.
    SAAC sent me the Production Order which says that the car was
    completed on 5/25, order received 10/13 and shipped 10/14.
    Under other it says: PICO RIVERA INVENTORY.

    As regards the battery hold down bracket, I have only seen it on a
    few cars. How many 67's have this bracket from the factory?
    /Texas Swede
     
  11. 67GT500#2100

    67GT500#2100 Shelby Forums Pit Crew

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    Maybe we should be looking at completion and received dates. Mine #2100 was completed 5-13-67, recieved at Richardson Ford in Albuquerque, New Mexico on 5-31-67 and sold on 6-16-67. GT500 4 speed no a.c. no thermactor pump, inboards, non functional brake scoops.
     
  12. daltondavid

    daltondavid Well-Known Member

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    my car is #2264 and it is a Z with outboards. first sold in Washington State. should be a picture of the tag in the Car of the Month section. I also am with John and TLEA on the concensus of a Quality issue etc.:thumbsup:
     
  13. r.dilabio

    r.dilabio Member

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    Hi shelby fans! reading all this makes me wonder,could it be that a Z car was going to be shipped out of california by rail,as most cars were sent this way in groups.Maybe we should look at that info as well.Why else would so much of a puzzle still be with us after all these years?Once we find/solve this it will be amazing to see how it helps piece together the history of the only year shelby that has a vin tag that includes paint color as part of it.keep it real!
     
  14. Snakepit

    Snakepit Well-Known Member

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    "Hi shelby fans! reading all this makes me wonder,could it be that a Z car was going to be shipped out of california by rail,as most cars were sent this way in groups."

    Never seen any pictures of rail transportation being used for Calif built Shelbys. Any idea where this came from. In any case we have Calif delivered cars in the survey with the "Z" so that doesn't seem to be the answer.

    "I also am with John and TLEA on the concensus of a Quality issue etc"

    Looks to be a pretty specific cut off point (associated with time of year or change in practice) except for a couple of cars that may have been retained for one reason or another. Likely something mundane or simple since, so far, it appears to have happened to every car after a certain point.

    Just some thoughts
     
    Last edited: Aug 5, 2007
  15. John76

    John76 Well-Known Member

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    Snakepit - I am going with the explanation my friend, Dave Mathews, told me when i asked about the Z stamp. He told me they were having a problem of employees taking parts off of completed cars to finish cars on the assembly line. Then when these cars went to be shipped it was found they were missing parts. To fix the problem they began putting the Z stamp on completed cars signifying they were finished/ready for shipping and could not be pillaged for needed parts. If an employee was caught taking parts off a car stamped with a Z they were fired. If we found all the build dates and shipping dates of the Z stamped cars we could find out when the practice was put into place. Thanks.
     
  16. 67GT500#2100

    67GT500#2100 Shelby Forums Pit Crew

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    This is why I think this list should be done completion date and received dated. So we could determine the date they started using the Z, for whatever reason it turns up to be. Car #1317 (Texas Swede) seems to be too early a number to have a Z by the vin number, but when you go by the completion date, it was actually completed after my car #2100 which is why #1317, a relatively early car, has a Z. I am just curious if we could nail down the exact day they started using the Z. Larry
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2007
  17. Snakepit

    Snakepit Well-Known Member

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    Fully understand what Dave told you..... only provided the start for this thread in an effort to keep it from highjacking another thread where it began. I've got nothing that shows that Dave is not correct at this point. That is mush easier to accept considering the data than the inboard/outboard belief published in older magazines

    It has provided an example of how we can share and collect data to this point ;)
     
  18. TLEA

    TLEA Well-Known Member

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    If you read any of the warranty records of the 67s there were a lot of dealer complaints of quality control issues, especially fiberglass fit on early cars (and they never really got that one fixed even into 69:laf: ). I suspect they took some measures to correct this (not saying this is the Z but lends to reasonable deduction)
    Tim
     
  19. markboss

    markboss Well-Known Member

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    I own #130...does not have the "Z",,,slanted one piece grill, inboards, running lights...factory black, extra roll bar brace, etc...
     
  20. John76

    John76 Well-Known Member

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    Tim i agree with you...the fiberglass hood on my 67 still doesnt fit and it is 40 years old. I can only imagine the complaints that were made when these cars were new and the things didnt fit and parts were found to be missing.
     

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