My Uncle's old 66 Hertz Shelby Mustang, COOL STORY

[Mr. Chevy]

I was talking to my Uncle (My Mom's Brother) recently about his old car, a 1966 Hertz Shelby Mustang. He acquired the car sometime in 67 or 68 he could not remember exactly when. One of his Uncles, who is deceased now, worked for Hertz Rentals and took him when he was just 17 years old to look at the used Mustangs and pick out which one he wanted. He stated the car was a birthday gift from his Uncle. He stated that he remembered going into the back parking lot area of the Hertz rental car center and observing a whole bunch of these cars all parked together. He stated there was white and black colored ones, which I was told were the only 2 colors these cars came in.

Of course he selected the best looking and least beat on black one with gold striping and lettering. He stated that he remembers how excited he was about the car. You could almost guess what would come next.. He pulled the original 289 motor and "souped it up" more than it already was. He stated that he installed higher compression pistons and a much healthier Isky cam. He said he tried a dual quad set up but the car would not run right. So he kept it to a single Holley. He said this car was so fast that it scared him. He street raced the car quite a bit. He swore it would yank the front tires off the ground when he would dump the clutch.

My Father stated that he remembers driving and riding in this car with my Uncle at the time when he was dating my Mom. He said the car was really something. He said he can remember the heavy lope of the big Isky cam in the motor and said the cam was so big the car almost had trouble idling.

I guess back in the day guys would rent these cars on weekends (hence the name weekend rental racers) and take them to the track or street race them. I heard that the hi po 289 motors would disappear from the engine compartment and guys would repalce them with some low horse 289 and return them back to the rental centers...

I know this is not as cool as a CHEVY or CHEVY STORY but just the same I thought I would share it with you guys..

The below photo is the only photo known to exist of the car and was taken by my Uncle when he was pulling the motor. He said he kept the car for a couple of years and sold it to an attorney in the Akron, Ohio area who had a collection of these cars. He said he sold it to pay for college tuition. He stated that he was almost drafted into Vietnam at the time as well.. He stated the car was the "real deal" and had the correct numbers motor in it.. He is not into cars anymore and when I told him what the value of that car would be today he just shrugs his shoulders like "oh well." FUNNY..... I would love to know if this car is still around today. I'm sure it is somewhere.. I don't know what the VIN was on the car..

Anyhow, enjoy the picture, hope you liked the story..

Rich

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj37/RICHRUTT/Picture1465-1-1.jpg

[csx289]

Rich,

Give me your uncle's name and I'll look it up in the Shelby Registry...then cross-reference it to the vin...then see where the car is today. I'm sure the current owner would love a copy of that picture and to speak to your uncle!

Colin

[L89DRMR]

Rich,

Thanks for the great story-I enjoyed reading about the Shelby.

Dave

[firstgenaddict]

Great Story...

[Pat O'Connell]

Rich, That's a great story about a great car, thanks for sharing it!! Sounds like your uncle had a blast with the Shelby..I've had a ton of fun with mine over the years..Amazing what that little 289 will do!

[Shankin]

cool story!

[x Baldwin Motion]

[ QUOTE ]
cool story!

[/ QUOTE ]


yes, very http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif
thanks for sharing http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flag.gif

[Dog427435]

Way cool story - thanks for sharing!

[lwkitt427]

SUPER COOL READ

[mockingbird812]

Love them 66 Hertz Shelbys. Way cool story. Thanks!

[csx289]

Hi Rich,

Got your PM - and you're in luck!

Your uncle Mike's old 66 is serial SFM6S669. In the Registry it show it as sold by Hertz to Robert Lee Motors in Cleveland on 5/31/67, and your uncle as the first owner (Kent, Ohio at the time?). Next owner Asa Sharp of Akron in '68. Then Roger Hodyka of Livonia Michigan in '70 who installed a roll cage, 4wdb, 4 speed manual trans, 3.5" exhaust, R-Model apron, Detroit Locker, and TWIN Paxton superchargers http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif Sold to Scott Woods of Michigan in '75, Alan Stokfisz of Michigan in '82, then Steve and Cathy White of West Bloomfield Michigan in '84 who put it in the name of their 5 year old daughter Shelby Ann White in 1987. Let's see, that makes her...about 26 years old right now? Hopefully she still owns it and you can track her down. Otherwise, email Howard Pardee of SAAC through their website www.saac.com (http://www.saac.com), maybe he has some more current info on #669.

Hope this helps - good luck!
http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

Regards,
Colin

[Mr. Chevy]

Colin, thank you very much for the info...

Rich

[hvychev]

Wow, Colin this is some amazing info. How do they get such detailed info? Do they do this for every car? I know a guy that bought a 67 Shelby brand new and has vintage photo's of it that I have seen. Colin if I gave you his name could you look him up?

Frank

[Pat O'Connell]

The SAAC does an outstanding job when it comes to tracking history of Shelbys and Cobras. Collecting and compiling info on each car has been a both a priority and a labor of love for many years, thanks to club leadership.

[PeteLeathersac]

[ QUOTE ]
The SAAC does an outstanding job when it comes to tracking history of Shelbys and Cobras. Collecting and compiling info on each car has been a both a priority and a labor of love for many years, thanks to club leadership.

[/ QUOTE ]

Cool story also great to see these results happen so quickly..
Sure makes a fella ponder Shelby's recent statements about the club?.

~ Pete
http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/burnout.gif

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

[ QUOTE ]
The SAAC does an outstanding job when it comes to tracking history of Shelbys and Cobras. Collecting and compiling info on each car has been a both a priority and a labor of love for many years, thanks to club leadership.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sort of like the Yenko Deuce Registry! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif

[Bill Pritchard]

Not to be a wet blanket here, but didn't all the Hertz Shelbys have automatic transmissions? http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

[Mr. Chevy]

Bill, I was told a very small percentage had 4 speeds but most were HD automatics. My Uncle said that when he was looking at the cars some were 4 speeds & he wanted an automatic. I stand corrected on the story here a bit after talking to my Uncle again.. The car was an automatic car.

Rich

[csx289]

Yep, #669 was an auto. About 75 Hertz cars were 4 speeds, the rest were autos.

[Xplantdad]

Dammit...you guys always force me to learn something new on this site...

Quit it! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Bill Pritchard]

[ QUOTE ]
you guys always force me to learn something new on this site...

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah.....dontcha just love it http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/youguysrock.gif

Thanks, Rich and Colin, for the enlightenment http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/worship.gif Great story, Rich, thanks for sharing!

[Pat O'Connell]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The SAAC does an outstanding job when it comes to tracking history of Shelbys and Cobras. Collecting and compiling info on each car has been a both a priority and a labor of love for many years, thanks to club leadership.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sort of like the Yenko Deuce Registry! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Absolutely, Marlin !! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif

[Mr. Chevy]

Glad you guys enjoyed the story. With many thanks again to Colin for his help, I am going to attempt to track this car down and see where exactly it is and who owns it.. I also sent an e-mail to Howard Pardee requesting further assistance. Maybe I could work a deal and buy the car. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif Wouldn't that be something. My Wife always wanted an old Mustang and has been asking me about finding one for her... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Probably will be some "heafty coin" wanted for the car..... It will be cool to just talk to the current owner, send a copy of the old picture and put them in touch with my Uncle.. I think he would get a "kick out of it".

Rich

[mockingbird812]

Hey Colin, what is the current market for one of these?

[Pat O'Connell]

[ QUOTE ]
Glad you guys enjoyed the story. With many thanks again to Colin for his help, I am going to attempt to track this car down and see where exactly it is and who owns it.. I also sent an e-mail to Howard Pardee requesting further assistance. Maybe I could work a deal and buy the car. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif Wouldn't that be something. My Wife always wanted an old Mustang and has been asking me about finding one for her... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Probably will be some "heafty coin" wanted for the car..... It will be cool to just talk to the current owner, send a copy of the old picture and put them in touch with my Uncle.. I think he would get a "kick out of it".

Rich

[/ QUOTE ]

Rich..Howard should be able to put you in touch with the last owner of record that the SAAC has on file. He's contacted me with inquiries from previous owners of my car, and left it up to me to contact them. We've had some great conversations about the history of the car as a result! Let me know if I can help you with this, as well.

Pat

[Jeff H]

Wow, great story and really cool to find out all that information about the car. I love the look of those black Hertz cars.

[njsteve]

Colin, just out of curiosity how many Shelby cars were made in total, from the first Cobras to the last Mustangs in 1970?

[TimG]

The Hertz cars seem to be a bit more valuable than an non-Hertz cars. This is a fairly early car(#669), it should have the override traction bars. You'll need to pull out your wallet. My neighbor has a very nice '66 Shelby that he's owned since 1972. He paid $2,500 for it back then and I've offered to double his money...

[Mr. Chevy]

Pat, thanks for offering your help.. It seems that the car is in Michigan somewhere as of now so I may ask for your help locally with contacting its owner..

Mr. Pardee has responded to my e-mail and has contacted the last known owner of the car. Just waiting to hear back from this person or Mr. Pardee.

Tim, my Uncle said he sold the car for somewhere around $2,000 in 1968. He said he needed the money for college tuition at Kent State University. As far as the traction bars are concerned, my Uncle said that there was a local guy who owned a speed shop on Miles Ave. in Cleveland, Oh. and at the time was really into building dragsters and other race cars. He said that this guy made homemade traction bars for the car and the torque was so strong that the car kept breaking the traction bars. He said this was a real problem. My Uncle also stated that he remembered getting a Paxton Supercharger and putting it on the car for a short while. He said this came off an old Studabaker. He said the car made a high pitched whine noise which "scared the crap" out of other guys that wanted to race him. I talked to my Uncle again last night and he told me this. His memory is pretty good but everytime I talk to him he seems to remember something else about the car. He said that he thinks he removed the supercharger before selling the car and gave it to the second owner of the car. He stated that this might explain why it showed up in the registry that the third owner put the supercharger back on. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/3gears.gif

Rich

[Mr70]

Kent State?
Was he there 2 years later when IT happened..god forbid,gulp.

[Mr. Chevy]

No, a friend of mine was though.. He was in the library when the shooting started.. My Uncle never finished college there. He played football for Kent with Jack Lambert (former Pittsburg Steelers player) he said Jack was a "crazy man".

My friend that was in the library when the shooting started said he hung out/was friends with Joe Walsh (Eagles band member) who went to college there. He said Joe was something else in college. He said he never saw Joe in any classes just "hanging out" around campus. He said he was one hell of a guitar player though and very talented musician. Joe's band the James Gang used to play the college bars down there all the time back in the late sixties, early seventies. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/headbang.gif

Rich

[Supercar_Kid]

Did your uncle remove the H letter after the GT 350 on the side graphics? I suspect it wasn't cool to advertise it as an ex-rental back in the day...just curious if that was something the owner did or the selling dealership.

[Mr. Chevy]

That I am not sure of.. He probably did because I know he liked to street race quite a bit!!

Rich

[Pat O'Connell]

Rich..... Glad to help you with the search, just give me a shout when you're ready! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif

[Mr. Chevy]

Thanks Pat..

I heard back from Mr. Pardee. He said the car was raced at the SAAC high speed events at Lime Rock Park and Michigan International Speedway... How COOL is that!!

Rich

[Chateau Slate 66]

This story keeps getting better!

Hopefully the car is still in one piece. It would be great to see it back in your family's hands again.

[Mr. Chevy]

I just picked up this cool Hertz Mustang rental brochure from 1966.... ENJOY....

Rich

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj37/RICHRUTT/Picture1504.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj37/RICHRUTT/Picture1505.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj37/RICHRUTT/Picture1506.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj37/RICHRUTT/Picture1507.jpg

[427TJ]

[ QUOTE ]
Did your uncle remove the H letter after the GT 350 on the side graphics? I suspect it wasn't cool to advertise it as an ex-rental back in the day...just curious if that was something the owner did or the selling dealership.

[/ QUOTE ]

Could also be that the Hertz Corporation removed the H prior to sale so as to avoid liability once the car(s) went into private ownership? Just a thought.

[Mr. Chevy]

Yeah your probably right. I thought the "H" stood for HiPo but I guess it might have been for the Hertz Corp. (I'm not a Ford Mustang guy) but that makes sense.. However, the other Hertz emblems were not removed from the car. My Uncle said there was one on the rear of the car near the gas cap.. He said that one was definately on the car... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

Rich

[JoeG]

Here's a http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif ad I came across... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif car...http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii145/PICCARY/116578-Hertz.jpg

[Mr. Chevy]

Cool Ad.. Never saw that one before... Thanks...

Rich

[70LS6454]

Rich,
Thats a cool story. Goodluck on your search,would be neat if you could get the car or atleast see it at some point.

Ray

[Mr. Chevy]

I have been talking to the current owner. The car is in Michigan. The current owner is not going to sell it. He stated the car is willed to his daughter.. He stated that he has raced the car, road course/oval track. He stated the car has held up very well over the years despite being driven very hard. He stated that he pulled the motor apart some time ago when he got the car and the same Isky camshaft was still in the block, same one my Uncle installed.. We plan on exchanging pictures of the car soon, hopefully...

Rich