You wouldn’t expect to find a rare and incredibly desirable Shelby GT350 parked in a little old lady’s garage, but that’s exactly where this Shelby Mustang was found! Reader Shawn S had the amazing opportunity to help extract this car from the garage and was able to send us a few photos of it as found. If the color scheme hasn’t already given it away, this is actually a GT350H, meaning it’s one of a few cars built for Hertz Car rentals.
Unfortunately, Shawn wasn’t able to give us any more info, but he was able to send a photo of the Shelby ID plate. After closely studying it, it appears to read SFM6S1948, which seems accurate for a ’66 Shelby Hertz Rent-A-Racer. I haven’t been able to find any records on this particular car’s recent whereabouts, but it’s been parked for the past 30 years, so it’s likely that it hasn’t been accounted for in a long time.
While he didn’t say why the car was parked all those years ago, it’s not too hard to guess why. It appears to have been wrecked and someone started the process of fixing it, but never managed to finish. The driver’s door and several other body panels don’t match up with the rest of the car. It looks like they were fairly close to having it finished, but it isn’t the first time we’ve seen someone get this close only to abandon their project.
Shawn hasn’t been responding to my requests for more information, but I’m going to continue to contact him to see if we can learn more of the story and what’s going to happen with it. So stay tuned in case we learn more about it!
If you come across a cool barn find, be sure to let us know about it! You can send the story and your photos to mail@barnfinds.com.
Sorry, but everytime I see one I have to go have one more look at my son’s goalie mask inspired by the Hertz Mustangs. Thank you for indulging my nostalgic ramblings.
Can’t wait for more info…especially about those dual quads sitting on top of that engine…and it also appears to be a stick!!! Find of the year, folks!!!
Were it I, I’d not be answering the phone because I’d be to busy trying to find a way to snag it! Tasty!
I’d send that critter to Shelby in Vegas…and let ’em have their way with it.
Wowsa I would love ❤️ this …
My color scheme too…
soooo jealous ..
I only hope the lil old lady was given 15-20 grand to be a fair share versus stealing it for two grand …
This kicks the bum of grandma and grandpa cruisers and old station wagon cars any day
One of my all-time favorite US cars. Amazing. No other US coupe looks as good as these HERTZ Shelbys.
If the owner went by the redline pointer on the tach I can guess that another reason why it was put away and left in storage for decades might be that the engine could be toast. I don’t think even a Ford/Shelby V8 could stand up to much time at 7500 RPM.
Looks like somebody made the find of a lifetime, even if the engine happens to be toast.
I think hi-po (solid-lifter) 289s could be taken to 6500 rpm without worry, but 7500 would certainly be a stretch.
7500 all day with good valve springs and regular adjustment checks. 289 with factory Ford rockers and solid lifters . The early 289 HiPo heads also have factory pushrod guides cast in the heads.
Forder spent millions on R&D so things were good back then.
Still better than most Chinese made aftermarket crap available online nowadays 😊
Nice trailer too
I may have driven that car.
In 1982-82 I was on the hunt for a used Shelby. Just 3 blocks from where I worked sat a 1966 Shelby GT-350H. The paint was 20 shades of black, meaning it needed a paint job real bad, but it ran. It was purchased overseas. (maybe this could be identified by the VIN).
Just a stretch, but in one picture the neighborhood looks very similar to the neighborhood I first found this car in. This car also looks repainted, which I pointed out the one I found needed paint bad. So far not very compelling. Lastly, this car I tried to buy was a manual. As most of you know, almost all GT-350H cars were automatic, and only around 40 were standard. This car clearly has the cue ball shifter in it.
I offered to buy it, and the seller agreed to my price. We took it for a drive, synchro’s were gone in second gear.
If this car was found in New England, I may have history to share on this particular car, how it got to the states, and who the owner was that brought it over.
When we all think of our barn find fantasy, isn’t this pretty much it?
Looks to me to be a $50,000 to $90,000 car depending upon original block, trans and body, even in this condition. This also assumes that it originally came with a 4 speed, less for auto.
I think almost all the Hertz cars were auto.
According to the registry it is an automatic. Production numbers for 4 speed Hertz cars is very low. Most of them were automatics.
Ok, but didn’t anyone see the cool old-school Tonka-type car hauler in the box?
Good eye!
Paid 15K for my 66 Hertz back in 2002 in much worse shape but with no missing big ticket items. It’s drivin daily now. Hope he bought it for a good price but not so much top screw the lady and flip it.
why doesn’t it have Shelby tail lights
A 30 year old clone using some real parts from a wrecked or striped real one? Or is this one, too early for Shelby tail lights? Or was this car rear ended, and puddle or spot wedded back together with the wrong part?
1967-70 had different tail lights. This appears correct for 66 with the information that we have at the moment.
66 Shelbys had stock tail lights.67 was the first year for the recognized Shelby lights.
Which are actually 1967 Mercury Cougar taillights, they just use a different bezel than the Cougar.
The buyer should contact me with the Ford serial number of the car and I will check with the factory records and verify, or not, whether it matches the factory records. No charge.
Follow through with Howard. He is the 65 & 66 GT350 registrar and has all of the original documents to verify VIN numbers. He can help with more information about the car. Nice guy and very helpful.
Howard is an awesome guy. Once as a young lad I had 2 Hertz cars and years after they were long gone and I had some original paperwork to add to the registry Howard helped and even passed my contact info the then owners as I just wanted to check up on the babies and see how they were doing. One owner called and the other wasn’t interested. The one that called was a retired Air Force officer and sadly the car had been a bit mistreated after it left me. Nevertheless it was nice to hear about the journey…perhaps it has gone better since.
Why would you not do the man a favor? The VIN is visible on the picture above.
We all are happy to hear what the books say
The ford VIN# under the shelby tag is specific to the shelby 6S1948 only. It’s not told publicly to prevent theft and or making of an “air car”. Howard Pardee is the only man who holds the original ford VIN#s for the early shelby’s to tell you whether it’s actually for real.
You can have a lot of fun in a black and gold Mustang!
And look good doing it!
As you should. 😊
According to the registry it is an automatic. Production numbers for 4 speed Hertz cars is very low. Most of them were automatics.
All Shelbys built in 1965-1970 are in the registry. SAAC has all of the original information from when they were built. Whether if someone has then reported owning the cars after they were first sold is unknown until you read the registry entry. Nothing special about the car being in the registry or not, they all are, it’s just a matter if someone has reported to SAAC in past 50 years if they own it and what condition or modifications they have done.
I guess Hertz had good reasons for their cars coming with Automatics. But at least Ford was smart when they brought back the Mustang GT with only manual sticks. I remember my brothers daughter demanding him to buy her a brand new Mustang GT in 2011 for her 17th birthday (her first car). The Ford dealership couldn’t or wouldn’t get her one with a automatic. Leavening him with an opportunity to give her a used 3 year old Grand Cherokee that was perfect for all her animals. She never did learn to drive a stick like in her 18th birthday plans to still get a GT.
OMG! The stripes on the trunk gave it away…yes acouple of us pooled our pennys and took one to Half Moon Bay Drag Strip one Sunday after noon…they were made to beat that’s for sure…The trouble maker in our group, wanted to swap out the engine before we took it back, majority ruled and we just burnt the tires off it instead…
barn find of the year candidate indeed ! WOW
( ok – I’ll join in and post image )
You know you are old when you remember when a remarkable *Barn Find* is a car that once graced the family driveway. My Dad owned a Corvette at the time, but he brought one of these home from Hertz one weekend to *..see if we can have some fun with it….*. We did………….
First thing I’d do is PROVE it has the correct engine in it. I read that the reason Hertz to quit doing this Shelby Mustang trip is that customers would rent the car and return it with the H.P. engine swapped out. :-) Terry J
I finally heard back from Shawn and this story just keeps on getting better! Stay tuned for an update with the full story and more photos!!!
Just finished a total restoration and clone of the 1966 Shelby GT350H convertible with the Cobra engine. As I understand, there were only 4 convertibles built and none are on the road or around for restoration.
All 4 1966 GT350 convertibles do exist in private collections. They are all in nice condition and come out to shows once in a while. None were Hertz cars.
Either four or six convertibles were built in ’66, depending on who you believe. Later, Shelby built a “continuation series” of 12 early convertibles. Not sure about your statements, if you choose to believe these write ups.
https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1966-SHELBY-GT350-CONVERTIBLE-181494
http://www.mustangandfords.com/featured-vehicles/mump-1202-1966-shelby-gt-350-convertible-the-ultimate-drop-top/
While in a junkyard in South San Francisco, twenty years ago looking for parts for my 1949 M-16 “Stupidbaker” two and a half ton truck I asked the young man if he ever fell into any great deals ? He said come here. He took me through the building and pulled back a canvas tarp covering an opening and there sat one of those Shelby Mustangs in perfect condition. He told me a woman called him and wanted it removed from her garage. She lived in Daily City, he asked her why she was giving it away and she said it was her sons and he just died in a motorcycle accident.
Nice find, dream car of many. At least it’s not Craig Jackson loading it up or Richard Rawlings. Best of luck to the new owner. I’m jealous!
What do you think a nearly original ’67 Mustang coupe with the 200ci six is worth? All original except paint. Engine froze due to not being started. 67k miles hasn’t moved under its own power since 1980. Traded a friend my ’71 T-Bird to tow it to his shop, strip and paint it. He brought it back and it still sits in the garage. Only thing not original is the paint and the am/fm/8 track I put in it when I was a teenager. Original am radio still in it. 3 speed auto, 4 lug spindles/axles.
“…meaning it’s one of a few cars built for Hertz Car rentals.”. I was always under the impression the 1,000 cars ordered by Hertz greatly contributed to the success of Shelby’s Mustangs. Only 550 1965 GT-350s were made, the exposure Hertz gave Shelby had to be priceless, as ’66 output grew to 2,375. According to Wallace Wyss’ book, the first 85 H’s had four speeds “…with most of the rest being automatics.”.
I Could have bought one in Groton Massachusetts back in ’74 for $1,800 . I was just a poor highschool kid .
The fish that got away…In 1982 when I was in my early 20’s, I was on the hunt for a Shelby. I would drive through towns, back roads, whatever, looking. Only 3 blocks behind the grocery store I worked at in Manchester, NH, I spotted a 1966 GT-350H with badly faded paint parked in front of a fire station. The owner was a fireman, who bought the car while he was stationed in Germany in the Army. I offered to buy the car for $2500, and he accepted, saying he now had a family to think about even though the car was his baby. We went for a ride, synchros were gone in 2nd. He told me to snap it into 2nd, and unfortunately I ground the gears before it slipped in. He winced, and I thought he may change his mind. The next day I went back with cash…and he decided after talking with his wife he’d keep it. Darn.
2nd fish that got away, this time, my fault…In 1979 I saw an ad in the Boston Globe for a 1967 Shelby GT-500, Guardsman Blue with white stripes, 4 speed, 428 with dual quads (straight from Shelby’s factory). Car was perfect except with slightly faded paint, 17,000 original miles for $4500! But there was a glitch. This was during the Arab Oil Embargo of 1979. It was a Saturday, and I drove my 67 Mustang everywhere trying to buy gas. Signs at every gas station said “Sorry, no gas”. I borrowed my dad’s VW Beetle to drive to Quincy Mass to see the car. It was beautiful. Drove it, loved it. Went back home looking for my father’s blessing since I needed money to finance the car. He asked me how many miles to the gallon did the car get…I was dead now, I told him 10 to 12 miles. He said, “Are you crazy, your’e not buying that car!”. That car is worth between $150,000 to $200,000 today.
Is the car for sale?
Pretty sure that car was found in Plainfield, Indiana on the corner of Dan Jones & US 40……created quite a bidding frenzy….pretty sure her son passed away….but that is only hearsay
The car in Plainfield was a red ’68. Rumors were “Killer” Tony Stewart and Jay Leno were competing for the car, never heard who won the car or if it was restored. Interior of the car was covered in mold.
Oh, ok….I never saw the car….but I do know the bidding quickly got too salty for Skillman!!!
If the owners were retired USAF and stationed in Texas in 1986/87 then that is the car I tried to buy back then but they didn’t want to sell after making numerous offers.
Toss it, and buy a Fiat 500e electric.