October 2020 • By Tony Thacker & Nestor Cabrera • Presented by USAutomotive.co.uk

According to TerlinguaRacingTeam.com racing legend, Carroll Shelby and Dallas attorney Dave Witts, found themselves owning a small ghost town called Terlingua in Southwest Texas.  The population stood at seven – not including nine goats and two Mexican burros. As legit owners of a bonafied town, they wasted no time forming a city council and handing out choice political positions to their drinking buddies with Witts as mayor and Shelby Social Director. It was 1965.

One of the gang, artist Bill Neale came up with the proverbial logo on a napkin and the rabbit with the sun and three feathers was born along with the Terlingua Racing Team when Shelby suggested “it would be kinda neat to use this as a racing team logo.”

Shelby brought the first GT350-R to Green Valley Raceway near Dallas on Valentines Day 1965. Ken Miles drove the car, designated 5R002 that had the new Terlingua Racing Team logo on it and Miles went on to win the race. 

As we all know, a genuine Mustang GT350-R fetches mucho bucks; Miles’ 5R002 just crossed the Mecum block for $3.85 million and regular ones top the million. That’s out of the reach of most fans including Michael Bontempo of Oregon, however, it did not stop him building his own.

Michael found his ’64-1/2 D code (289 4-barrel 210 hp) coupe rotting in a field where the Oregon weather was having its way. According to Michael, the car had sat for some time and had last been registered in 1979. “I bought it in 2018,” said Michael, “and paid $2,500. Originally registered on July 15, 1964, it was Guardsman Blue and the DSO was Fargo, ND.” 

“It did have some rust issues from sitting for so long,” continued Michael. “Initially I was going to make a rally car out of it. I threw on some glasspack mufflers and that’s where the project started. Somewhere along the line, however, I got the ‘Shelby bug’ and decided to replicate what Shelby gave you in 1965.”

Luckily, Michael’s Mustang came with a 289 so he had Dieter Priss of Tillamook rebuild it. Dieter famously raced a small-block Chevy-powered Porsche 914 at Bonneville. “I initially had a big, .494-lift cam in it,” said Michael, “but I over revved it and mushroomed three lifters and scorched the cam. I think I saw the tach go to 6200 rpm. I went groveling back to Dieter and he was chuckling. ‘Boy, you over revved it.’ That’s when we decided on a more docile cam.”

On the underside, in keeping with Shelby’s original offerings, Michael installed a Shelby 1-inch control arm drop, a 1-inch front sway bar, an export brace, a Monte Carlo bar and Shelby underride traction bars.

Externally, Michael added the Shelby Cobra R fiberglass front valence complete with turn signals. He also installed the mesh grille insert and a pair of orange-tinted Hella driving lights. The hood is stock but has been fitted with a bond-on Shelby-style hood scoop and hood pins. Inside, Michael installed a tachometer pod, Shelby steering wheel and 3-inch lap belts. He also self-deleted the back seat.

For paint Michael chose Wimbledon White with gold rather than the more common blue stripes. Final touches include GT350 side stripes and Terlingua stickers on the fenders.

We caught up with Michael at the Bonneville World Finals. He had driven 800 miles from the Oregon coast to Bonneville. “It was the first long road trip and the car performed flawlessly,” said Michael, “I had no problems at all and the car got a lot of attention. Sure, it’s not a fastback but I’m not trying to fool anybody. It’s a home built tribute and it didn’t cost me anywhere near $1 million dollars. In fact, I don’t have $15K in it and that includes buying the car. There are a few things I’d like to do such as add a roll cage, harnesses and a Hurst shifter. I would also like to add wider tires with more grip and maybe American Racing Torque Thrust wheels, but the black steelies give it that race car look, I’m torn.”

Vehicle: 1964-1/2  Mustang D code (289 4-barrel 210 hp)
First registered: July 15, 1964, DSO Fargo, ND
Owner: Michael Bontempo
Engine: Original 289
Builder: Dieter Priss, DP Automotive, Tillamook, OR
Bore: .030 over
Crank: 302
Cam: Comp Cams, .456 lift, 219-duration intake/exhaust
Rods & Pistons: EnginePro.com
Rockers: Engine Pro with screw-in rocker studs
Intake: Weiand
Carb: Edelbrock 600
Headers: Patriot Tri-y
Exhaust: 25-inch glasspack mufflers with 2-1/2-inch exhaust pipes
Trans: Toploader 4-speed
Rear end: 3:00-1

Suspension:
• Front end rebuild kit: RockAuto.com
• Front disc conversion: By Michael using mid-70s Granada parts
• Sway-bar: CJPonyParts.com
• Export brace: CJPonyParts.com
• Underride bars: Cobranda.com

Exterior:
• Paint: Wimbledon White
• Painter: Peter Kleeman Auto Body, Tillamook, OR
• Driving lights: Hella 6-inch, 55 Watts

Wheels: Ford steel wheels
Tires: Caldera Confidence 215/65R-15