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50MileSmile · 09-16-2019, 06:02 PM

Having owned both, I can say I agree with most of what the OP says, with these further points:

1. The paint and assembly quality of my ‘16 GT350 was abysmal. In fact, I turned down the first one I ordered because of the runs in the paint, thin spots where you could see the primer and thumbprints in the putty around the back window where the workers tried to hide the fact that the rear window didn’t fit properly. This was the car that invented the term “paint boogers” - dozens paint drips on many edges, including over the headlights, along the hood, the bottoms of the doors, etc. - that broke off if you even touched them lightly, exposing bare metal. After Ford sent two engineers to look at it, they gave the dealer the choice of returning the car to Dearborn, where it would be repainted and used in the press pool, or keeping it. The dealer kept it and ended up repainting more than half the body before selling it (with full disclosure to the buyer). The replacement GT350 was much better, although small areas of paint on the passenger door came off the first time I washed it. I only got to drive it for 4 or 5 months, because it was subject to the loose oil cooler line recall. Then I had to park the car for 5 months until the parts arrived, and I got it fixed and traded it for an M2 the next day. The GT350 was an amazing vehicle to drive in anger (that sound!), but I feel badly for Carrol Shelby’s reputation because this is the last vehicle he had anything to do with.

2. The quality of my ‘18 1SS 1LE is head-and-shoulders above the GT350, but the rear vision is as unacceptably bad as everyone says it is, and the interior is a little tighter than the Mustang’s. I can’t, for example recline the driver’s seat as far as I want to, because Chevrolet has pinned the seat back to keep it from hitting the rear seat - which in all reality is just an upholstered package shelf. I like the mode controls better in the Camaro and can feel a significant difference between them; the shocks feel a little more compliant and in-control than the ones in the GT350 to my butt dyno. The 1LE is a little easier and more comfortable to drive in anger - it won’t surprise you once the line is set, like the Mustang can - so the 1LE is a better (and for me, a slightly faster) track car. However, the 6.2 sounds like every other Chevy small block in heat, and it doesn’t provide nearly the aural orgasm the GT350 delivers.

3. At local Cars and Coffee events and other, larger car shows, the 1LE always draws more attention than the GT350 ever did. One reason may be that for $15,000 less the Camaro is viewed as being more attainable for the average enthusiast. I was surprised by this, because I thought the Shelby name would be magic.

4. Given the choice, I would buy the 1LE again, mostly because the quality lapses in the GT350 scared me. I can drive 150 in anything, go hot-air ballooning and hang out of the basket or even vote in a presidential election, but I’ll never drive a new Mustang again because they scare the crap out of me. YMMV.

09-16-2019, 06:02 PM	#13
50MileSmile Drives: 2023 2SS, 2018 1SS 1LE, 1993 Z/28 Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Midwest Posts: 819	Having owned both, I can say I agree with most of what the OP says, with these further points: 1. The paint and assembly quality of my ‘16 GT350 was abysmal. In fact, I turned down the first one I ordered because of the runs in the paint, thin spots where you could see the primer and thumbprints in the putty around the back window where the workers tried to hide the fact that the rear window didn’t fit properly. This was the car that invented the term “paint boogers” - dozens paint drips on many edges, including over the headlights, along the hood, the bottoms of the doors, etc. - that broke off if you even touched them lightly, exposing bare metal. After Ford sent two engineers to look at it, they gave the dealer the choice of returning the car to Dearborn, where it would be repainted and used in the press pool, or keeping it. The dealer kept it and ended up repainting more than half the body before selling it (with full disclosure to the buyer). The replacement GT350 was much better, although small areas of paint on the passenger door came off the first time I washed it. I only got to drive it for 4 or 5 months, because it was subject to the loose oil cooler line recall. Then I had to park the car for 5 months until the parts arrived, and I got it fixed and traded it for an M2 the next day. The GT350 was an amazing vehicle to drive in anger (that sound!), but I feel badly for Carrol Shelby’s reputation because this is the last vehicle he had anything to do with. 2. The quality of my ‘18 1SS 1LE is head-and-shoulders above the GT350, but the rear vision is as unacceptably bad as everyone says it is, and the interior is a little tighter than the Mustang’s. I can’t, for example recline the driver’s seat as far as I want to, because Chevrolet has pinned the seat back to keep it from hitting the rear seat - which in all reality is just an upholstered package shelf. I like the mode controls better in the Camaro and can feel a significant difference between them; the shocks feel a little more compliant and in-control than the ones in the GT350 to my butt dyno. The 1LE is a little easier and more comfortable to drive in anger - it won’t surprise you once the line is set, like the Mustang can - so the 1LE is a better (and for me, a slightly faster) track car. However, the 6.2 sounds like every other Chevy small block in heat, and it doesn’t provide nearly the aural orgasm the GT350 delivers. 3. At local Cars and Coffee events and other, larger car shows, the 1LE always draws more attention than the GT350 ever did. One reason may be that for $15,000 less the Camaro is viewed as being more attainable for the average enthusiast. I was surprised by this, because I thought the Shelby name would be magic. 4. Given the choice, I would buy the 1LE again, mostly because the quality lapses in the GT350 scared me. I can drive 150 in anything, go hot-air ballooning and hang out of the basket or even vote in a presidential election, but I’ll never drive a new Mustang again because they scare the crap out of me. YMMV.