- Rare white and gold stripe edition; believed to be 1 of only 8 examples
- Just one private owner from 1967 to present
- Signed by the late Carroll Shelby
- Well-presented including original Shelby 289 Hi-Po V-8 engine
LOT 623
Selling on Saturday Evening
1966 Shelby GT350-H Fastback
OFFERED WITHOUT RESERVE
Shortly after Ford's very successful launch of the Mustang in April 1964, one account claims that Carroll Shelby approached his friend Lee Iacocca and said, "So, Lee, you want me to make a racehorse out of a mule?" Thus, was born the impetus of the Shelby GT350. Starting with special prepared 2+2 fastbacks partially assembled at Ford's San Jose, California, assembly plant, they were shipped to Shelby's facilities on the grounds of Los Angeles International Airport to be converted into legends. In the fall of 1965, Peyton Cramer, the general manager of Shelby American came up with a crazy idea, put these high-performance automobiles into the hands of rental car customers. Cramer approached the Hertz Corporation with this idea, and they bought it. There would be a few modifications from those Shelby models sold to the general public with most all Hertz cars being delivered with an automatic transmission. A total of 1,001 GT350-H fastback coupes were produced with the vast majority of those cars finished in Raven Black with unique gold GT stripes. Unlike Henry Ford's alleged "any color they want as long as it's black," there were several color choices that ended up at the Shelby shops at Los Angeles International Airport. Reportedly a total of 50 Hertz Mustangs were delivered to Shelby in Corinthian White, all with the 271-HP high-performance V-8 and automatic transmissions. These cars were fitted out alongside those powerful ponies in other colors. Engine modifications took the Shelby editions up to 306 horsepower. The special hood and other Shelby touches were added and then the cars were shipped off to select Ford dealers where they were given a standard dealer preparation prior to delivering to a local Hertz Rent-A-Car location. Most of the Hertz cars were taken to a local dealership, Hi-Performance Motors of El Segundo, California, an authorized Shelby dealership that was owned by none other than Carroll Shelby, where they were fitted with the basic Ford AM radios at about $45 each. Hertz widely advertised their "Rent-A-Racer" program and there are many tales of customers stepping up and paying premium rental rates so they could experience the thrill of a real high-performance automobile. Accordingly, it is known that some less than honest folks rented those cars and swapped the engines out with their own less powerful Mustangs which led to an end of the program as many of the Hertz cars were returned with non-Shelby power plants. To find a Hertz car with it's original engine is of great value today.
This rare Corithian White GT350, 6S1207, was shipped to Shelby American from the San Jose assembly plant in February 1966. After the basic Shelby touches had been applied, the car was sent to Hi-Performance Motors to have the AM radio installed on March 5, 1966. From there, the car was shipped to Brondes Motor Sales, Inc. of Toledo, Ohio, where it was received a few days later. It was given a quick dealer prep and then delivered to the Hertz facility at the Toledo Express Airport in nearby Swanton, Ohio. The invoice to Hertz was $3,514 plus $104.56 for the special Magnum chrome wheels plus another $45.45 for the installation of the AM radio. The local dealer also added another $20 for the delivery fee and $75.25 freight costs for a total of $3,759.26. According to our seller, the wife of the first and only private owner of this car, accounts match that of the Shelby Registry; our consignor was the first and only owner of this Shelby after it was retired from rental car duties. Today the white fastback shows just 35,783 miles on the odometer and was the pride and joy of our consingor for over 50 years. He would choose to do a cosmetic restoration with a new coat of Corinthian White and a new application of the gold GT stripes some years ago. At the same time as the repaint, the front fascia was replaced with a competition-type fiberglass unit that gives the car a look similar to the "GT350-R" series cars built for racing. It is fitted with a set of Shelby alloy wheels with the signature "CS" center caps. After removing the hood's hold-down pins you will notice the Autolite script battery as it watches over the finned Cobra valve covers and chromed air-filter housing. On the left fender apron, is the original Shelby serial number tag with a proper patina of age. As you sit in the driver's seat, the dash-mounted Cobra emblazoned 9,000-RPM tach grabs your attention with a full complement of factory gauges, plus an added oil pressure gauge mounted below the dashboard. The original AM radio as installed by Hi-Performance Motors remains in its original location. Sadly, the owner recently passed away and the family has decided to let another caretaker take on the responsibilities to cherish and preserve this very unique car. What is interesting is that during our research on this Mustang, we found that it was one of eight identical GT350-H models that were ordered in Corinthian White and issued consecutive unit numbers. The owner believed it was these eight cars that were not only Corinthian White, but also adorned with gold stripes. Also included in the sale of the car are various memorabilia items including a matching model car, as well as Carroll Shelby autographed calendars and poster. Shelby Hertz ownership is an exclusive club but the opportunity to become just the second owner of an original engine car from 1966 is seldom seen. Imagine owning this exhilarating piece of automotive history and not having to worry about getting back before the rental agreement expires.
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