Pictures show the car as raced by Dan Bowden in
the 2003 Queensland Historic races
The car as of 2006 rolled from storage in the garage for
race preparation
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The History
of the 1967 Shelby American Mustang car #16:
Of the 22
privately entered Mustangs in 1967 this one was owned by amateur driver Bob
Egan.
He raced it mostly in the SCCA Northern Pacific division and won the
championship.
He raced it in the Crow's Landing and Kent Trans Am events with one DNF and
one 17th. place
Sold to New Zealander Bob Kennet racing it in blue and orange livery in
the West Coast 1970 National Championship and winning it. It was also entered
in a few Trans-Am races.
Kennet
shipped it to New
Zealand end of 1970 in a deal with Dexter Dunlop
(swap for a McRae single seater that
went to the US, while the Mustang was send to NZ)
Dexter Dunlop raced it acc. to T/A specs with a single carb and had little
luck, blowing a number of head gaskets.
Engine changed to a Dawson 302 with 4 IDA Weber.
Sold to NZ/Dunedins Kevin Haig in 1972. (See Kevin Haigs website:
Click
here)
Raced in club events and in the OSCA 1972/1973 Championship.
Stripped, sandblasted and rebuilt, painted orange, stripped again for 1973,
lightened by replacing bonnet, boot , doors and bumper with fibreglass items
and glass replaced by Perspex windows. T10 gearbox replaced by an alloy-cased
one.
Raced in 1973/74 OSCA and winning the title for Kevin Haig. Haig lives in
South America now.
Sold in 1974/75 season to Lawrence Bruce. Bruce winning the class title in it.
Sold to Christie Morris, who ran it in Osca.
Sold to Bob Slade. Racing with big fenders against the famous PDL
Mustang.
>
"Bob Slade bought the car as a roller from
a car sales and fitted it with a Gurney Weslake 302.
He later sold it to Rob Kennard who built a bigger Gurney Weslake, based on
a 351W block.
This engine then went into a Cortina Mk4 race
car.
Ian Stanley in Amberley finished up with the
Mustang as a roller, and was about to put a big block Chev in it, before
Gary Doyle rescued it." (Rodney/2013)
Sold to
Gary
Doyle in the 80ies and restored to Shelby specs, raced in Classic car events
for some years before retiring it until 2002.
1990 driven by Gary Doyle
at Manfeild/NZ
1990 - Same race (both above pics courtesy Ford - A Kiwi Passion/Tim Chadwick)
Sold to the Bowden Family/Australia and raced by Dan Bowden
in sprints and hill climb races.
Sources:
The Bowden Family
Pictures from my own visit at the Bowdens Estate and garage 2006
SAAC registry
Kevin Haigs information on nzmustang.com
NZ Classics September 2003
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