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

[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!