Why were not so many R Models built???

36 was enough to saturate the pure race car market for 2 years. Plus you had 65-66 street cars converted to race cars too. By 67 the trans am series Shelby prepared coupes were the mustang race cars... SCCA competition was a hardcore competition level.

 

Jerry,

The '67s were raced as Mustangs for Ford in the then new Trans-Am series just as the '66 coupes were. I'm sure that if you look around on the net you can find some pictures of Jerry Titus in the No. 17 Terlingua car. I would think that someone on the forum should also be able to supply a link.

 

That is correct. They built only 36 because thats all the market would absorb. And some of those didn't exactly move off the dealer lot too fast.
Shelby built the 65 Fastbacks to compete in SCCA B production classes. 4 seater would be sedans. 40 years later, I still can't figure it out.
The 66 & 67 Coupes were built to compete in the Trans-am circuit. They had to be "Mustangs", and not "Shelbys" so they did not recieve any Shelby vin numbers. By SAAC knows all the Fomoco vins,
No 67 R models: the Mustang got wider, and gained about 300 pounds. Would not have been competetive.

 

Rod, you are right that SAAC has all of the VIN numbers for the 66,67 and 68 Trans Am coupes and they didn't get a special Shelby number. The issue wasn't that they couldn't be Shelby's it was that they couldn't be fastbacks because the SCCA had processed the fastback body style 1965 GT350 car without the back seat and that is how the Mustang fastback was classified. The TA series started with a rule that the car had to have a back seat so the Mustang fastback was still considered a 2 seater from the old classifacation.SCCA ruled that they couldn't have it both ways so the coupe was used in Trans Am racing and found to be every bit as good.In 66 and 67 you had to run with full window glass, back seat and interior .The rules morphed and in 68 you didn't have to have glass, interior or a rear seat installed and then in the next year 1969 the Mustang fastback was allowed in Trans Am competition and the coupe body style not used. Now the Shelby TA coupes as they are refered to are now considered not only every bit a Shelby as the street cars but valued substanially more then a regular street Shelby of the same year in comparable condition.Bob