1966 Shelby Mustang Hertz GT350 Fastback

The Ford Mustang Sports Coupe was introduced partway through the 1964 season and was the brainchild of Lee Iacocca. Texan racing driver Carroll Shelby's team had been campaigning Ford's with considerable success in North America, winning the SCCA's B-Production title three years running in the mid-1960s. Shelby later began manufacturing a Shelby GT based on the Mustang, which were officially sanctioned and sold through selected Ford dealerships. The first Shelby Mustang was the GT350 which arrived in 1965 and came powered by a modified version of Ford's 289 cubic-inch high-performance small-block V8 offering 306 horsepower. Buyers could select options that brought the horsepower to 340-360 bhp in competition trim or 400 bhp supercharged. A 4-speed Borg-Warner manual gearbox was standard on the early Shelby Mustangs, though a heavy-duty, 3-speed automatic soon became available as an option.

In 1966, Carroll Shelby entered a deal with Hertz to offer a high-performance rental car to the public for the first time. The cost to rent the Hertz Mustang was just $17 a day and 17 cents per mile. One thousand GT350s, with the majority finished in Hertz's colors of black and gold, were delivered to the company for use around the country in 1966.

This particular example was shipped to Milo Brook Inc. in May of 1966 or preparation prior to its delivery to Hertz in Chicago. It was painted black with gold stripes and given an automatic transmission. The car remained in the rental fleet until September of 1967. The car was then shipped to Courtesy Motors, Inc. in Littleton, Co.

John Beddone Sr., of Phoenix Az. was the next recorded owner. It was later owned by Philip Brown, of Portland, OR., who had the car restored and painted it in red with gold stripes. It was given a Gurney/Eagle 302 with a top loader 4 speed. The car then passed through a few others before being purchased by Rick Warnick, of Brooks OR. Mr. Warnick installed a correct date-coded 289 Hi-Po engine, with 4 speed top loader transmission.

The car passed through other owners before being purchased by the current caretaker in 2007. The new owner brought the car back to its original color scheme of black with gold striping. A five-speed transmission was also fitted, along with a higher speed rear end.

By Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2018