Some would say youth is wasted on the young; that young people can't really appreciate what they have because they are, well, too young. We don't think this applies to Ashley Weiss of Melbourne, Florida. Ashley has a deep appreciation for the creation she drives to school every day. That's right, every day. This appreciation stems from having a dad deep into the hobby, so deep that Ashley couldn't help but have it rub off on her. From the time she was 8 years old, she wanted a GT350H. Boy, we don't think even in her wildest dreams she'd have guessed where that wish would take her.
First off let's get one thing straight, the car is not a real Shelby. It's a clone Ashley and her dad, Bruce, built from a well-worn '66 fastback that was her 15th birthday present. That present was to culminate in three years of hard work and fun for the father/daughter duo. Obviously, there were several things farmed out, but Ashley and her dad both put in time on the car and had their share of struggles. Ashley wanted a dead nuts clone, and dad wanted a wild Restomod ride. Dad won . . . sort of. Ashley got her GT350H, and dad got his wild Restomod.
The first time we saw the car was at the Fun Ford Weekend in Orlando. At the time, the Raven Black with black interior GT350H clone had a '96 Cobra engine made possible by a Mustang II front suspension and transmission, as well as a '01 Cobra independent rear suspension. this required Bruce to have the floor section of the '01 welded onto the '66. yeow. That netted them an independent rear and 3.27:1 locking rear axles. Braking is handled by four-wheel discs that employ Cobra binders on all four corners. Rolling stock is stock '01 Bullitt wheels mounting factory-size rubber (for an '01 Bullitt) on all four corners.
Inside the black interior, the duo pitched the stock column and installed a '69 Mustang tilt unit. The purpose was two-fold: it gave a safety margin via the collapse feature, and it also gave her a tilt wheel. Since Ashley is a child of the modern age, a sound system had to be in the offing. so Bruce tapped a clapped-out '01 Mustang with the Mach 460 sound system for this bit of ear-searing coolness. Of course, there also had to be power windows and air conditioning.
But even with all that, it just wasn't enough. After stuffing the 4.6 four-valve with some power adders to bring it to 332 horses, Bruce still wasn't happy. So, our hero-being the over-the-top kinda guy he is-decided the car really needed a bit more go via an '03 Cobra engine. Out came the '96 and in swung the '03. Incredibly, it all fit with no need to bulge the Shelby hood.
We know what you're thinking, and, no, Bruce doesn't have any desire to inherit more kids . . . we asked.