We recently featured a very original 1965 Shelby GT350 here on Barn Finds that is part of the Jim Taylor collection. 120 of his beautiful cars will be offered at the Broad Arrow auction on October 14th and 15th. Here is another one of his amazing Shelby’s. This one is an ultra-rare 1966 GT350 Hertz 4-speed. That’s right, in the mid-sixties, you could rent this car from Hertz and slam gears through the streets of Philadelphia! According to the ad, this is one of only 85 cars delivered to Hertz with a manual transmission. It is super-original except for some interior work and is estimated to bring $250,000 to $300,000. Thanks to Larry D. for the tip on this amazing sale. Let’s take a closer look at this Rent-a-Racer!
Despite the many urban legends of people renting these cars and swapping out the high performance 289, this car still retains its original V8. The intake manifold, headers, carburetor, “K-Code” fan, and heads are all original as well.
As mentioned before, the interior has been restored except for a few pieces like the back seat upholstery. A roll bar has been added but the car retains its original shifter. The ad says “…the driver looks out though the original windshield.” which is amazing.
Along with original parts under the hood and inside, the outside is remarkably original as well. The sheet metal is solid and rust-free including the all-steel hood that was fitted to many of the Hertz cars. Overall, this car is an amazing survivor, especially considering its East Coast rental history. What do you think of these Hertz cars? Do you know anyone who rented one back in the day?
Here is the real scoop. Seventeen dollars a day, seventeen cents per mile.
$17 a day in 1965 money had the buying power of about $160 a day in today’s money. Calculation based on inflation.
Probably true in 1966 as well, since 1965 Shelby’s were never a rental car with Hertz.
race on sunday, sell on monday. What a country!!!!
Cheers
GPC
These were a good source for hot rodders… rent it for a couple days, yank the engine and replace the block and heads with stock ones, and return the car to Hertz
Urban legend? I am guessing the mechanics at Hertz could figure that out pretty easily and prosecute the offenders. I do bet the engines did get used for weekend track racing in another car, but then put back b4 the car was returned.
It’s now 2022 and Shelby and Hertz are at it again. This time, you can rent a 900+ horsepower monster Mustang:
https://www.shelby.com/Vehicles/Shelby-GT500H
Probably the funnest way to spend $399 with your pants on.
No ,But I owned one since 1976,Doesn’t have the Amico Master Cylinder on it there were complaints about to high a brake pressure with the competition brake pads so they got a forklift master cylinder that’s almost like having power brakes
@steve mehl sail much ?.
Urban legend about using the car for racing perhaps comes from the fact that in the 1950’s some stock car racers would buy a set of Sears tires with their great guarantee and race with them and at a later date return the tires to Sears for a refund because of all that wear on the tires. I can hardly believe that Sears allowed a refund, but that is the story I read about. But I don’t believe that engines were switched out on the Hertz Mustangs.
$250K-$300K seems very high, considering the ‘65’s are in the $250-$375K range