Thread: Carroll Shelby GT350 Details | AOWheels Paint Corrections Preformed

REST IN PEACE “CARROLL SHELBY” JANUARY 11th 1923 – May 10th 2012

Two GT350’s where presented to me to detail at a very unusual time. The late Carroll Shelby had just passed. And to make it even more meaningful, the signed white 2011 45th anniversary edition Shelby GT350 was delivered on May 10th 2012 at 4:00pm in the afternoon to its new owner.

Carroll Shelby’s Team produced 157 GT350’s in 2011
Less than 100 GT350’s were produced by Shelby in 2012. Which is where the Red GT we have here falls into place. It’s a 2012 Race Red Convertible GT350 with full White Painted racing stripes and a very low CSM#



Specs on the 2011 45th Anniversary Edition Shelby GT 350!

CSM # 113500067

624 horse power polished ford whipple
Caster camber plate
shelby rear rotor upgrade with Baer 6 piston brake upgrade
shelby front rotor upgrade with Baer 6 piston front brake upgrade
Shelby front and rear brake duct and cooling package
Shelby Borla Unique Exaust
Shelby/ Cragar 19" Wheels
Good year performance tires

Front Fascia grille and badging
Rear Fascia with center exhaust and badging
Taillight trim
Rear deck lid trim panel
side rockers with functional scoops
Shelby specific hood with functional scoop
GT 350 Guardsman Blue over the top and side stripes fully painted on
fender mounted badging
engine plate and engine cap set 45th anniversary cap set
dash plate with CSM # serial #
A-pillar mounted gauge package
fuel pressure gauge
oil pressure gauge
boost guage for supercharger
GT 350 Logo center console cover
embroidered headrests and floor mats
Shelby high performance cooling package
Watts link rear suspension
Ford racing suspension
Shelby Kicker premium sound system
custom interior upgrade
museum delivery

Specs on the 2012 GT 350 Race Red Convertible!

CSM # 123500005

This car has EVERYTHING that the 2011 has PLUS the following editions

Brakes on the 2012 are Wildwood both front and rear were upgraded
624 HP Polished Ford Whipple supercharger
Eibach Suspension
Convertible light bar
One piece drive shaft
Barton Shifter
3.73 rear gear upgrade
Navigation system
Ford comfort package





Here is a bit of history from the Carroll Shelby Foundation at The Carroll Shelby Foundation

Quote from the About Page:
“A passion for performance. A champion with an unquenchable desire to win. An American success story. These are among the descriptions earned by the legendary Carroll Shelby. He is an icon that embodies the ingenuity, tenacity and grit needed to win in business, competition and philanthropy.
The Shelby name is synonymous with performance. It’s a part of the man’s DNA, which was molded and shaped during years of competition. His vision of the automobile changed the rules for automotive performance forever. Today, Carroll Shelby and the companies he founded are a driving force for products and industries worldwide.”
If you get a chance please check out the sites they have! A miracle man from the time of birth as I have researched and we are blessed to have had him with us for so many years!
Carroll Shelby…. This one is for you!

Getting to the details I had started with the red one first!
Both cars were treated with a dealership type of sealant protection that left the customer un-happy…. Loss of luster, micro scratches and bad buffing was the reason for the call I got. I had mentioned to the customer that the prep work will play the biggest part of how well the details come out! Some paint correction will be needed!!!!
The treatment took some time to break down and strip off the cars… about 3 hours “each” to fully wash and decontaminate. I used dawn dish soap, heavily concentrated P21s auto wash, Iron Cut… You name it! But mostly what did the trick were the Nano Skin pads I had picked up from Phil @ detailersdomain! Excellent for stripping!!!
With the Red GT350 I wanted to fully bring out the luster and the brilliance of such a bright color!!! So the car was completely Swissvax Corrected and waxed with one of their new developmental waxes at SwissvaxUSA!!! “Be on the look out for”!!!
With this car once stripped down and the true paint at hand, I could see some of the reasons the car was not at its best…. Scratches, DA rids etc. Seeing the DA rids on a Mustang was to be honest….. Pretty Cool!!! I appreciated the build of this car and the extra amount of time Shelby and his Team put into these! Defiantly puts it into the bracket of exotic cars where this is very common! Checking out the cars paint kind of tells a story in my eyes thus making these two details very special to me. I gained even more respect for Shelby’s and I am looking forward to seeing what they do next! I think, because? “As we all know”…. are greatest achievements come after life!!!

It was pretty ridded around the letters….

The White GT 350 deemed to be a bit more difficult…. But still and absolute pleasure!!!

Things where going pretty smooth until I got to the rockers and lower section of this one.



Heavy D/A Rids



Between the 2 blue tape lines is wet sand D/A rids, not tape.



Above the thick tape line protecting the decal… heavy rids!



Picture below…. This is pretty cool… as you can see it looks to be a 50/50 right……?



From another angle… still heavily scratched…….



Going at this area with M105 and some 3” cutting disc…



You can see a few hair lines popping up still…. But this is as good as it will get without removing the decal or messing it up. As my Grandfather would say! “Close enough for government work”!



Then working around to the back side of this car and the end of the correction process!!





This White GT 350 was Aquartz Sealed

GT350 by aowheels, on Flickr


Untitled by aowheels, on Flickr

THANKS FOR VIEWING!!!

2012 Shelby GT350 by aowheels, on Flickr


Two GT350's by aowheels, on Flickr

What an honor! Great job.

Thank You Aimee!