Introduced on April 17, 1964, at the New York World’s Fair, the iconic Ford Mustang is turning 60 this year. Ford will mark the event with a 60th-anniversary edition of the pony car, but the Mustang Club of America has already started the celebration on April 5 with a special event at Barber Motorsports Park.
The event included countless Mustangs of all generations and a few special cars you don’t get to see every day. Among them was a 1966 Shelby GT350 Hertz “Rent-a-Racer” that hasn’t been out of the garage since 2009, when it was showcased at the Mustang’s 45th anniversary. But that’s not the only feat that makes this Shelby GT350H special.
This weathered pony car is a fully-fledged survivor. It’s been in the same family since 1967, and it hasn’t been restored since leaving the Jim Skinner Ford dealership in Birmingham, Alabama, that year. Even though it’s dusty and shows quite a few battle scars, this Shelby still runs and drives. Aside from the worn-out paint and a damaged engine hood, this Stang is pretty much a time capsule.
Not only is it still wearing the original black and gold livery, but the interior hasn’t been messed with since the car was new. The upholstery shows signs of wear, but that doesn’t bother the owners, Mary Ann and Andy Vann. And, of course, this GT350 still packs its numbers-matching 289-cubic-inch (4.7-liter) K-code V8 engine and three-speed automatic transmission.
Why did the owners stop driving it regularly, you ask? Well, after she got married to Andy in 1969, Mary Ann turned the Shelby into her daily driver. And as the years went by, the car started getting more and more attention everywhere she went, and Mary Ann got countless offers to sell the car. She stopped driving it after a man followed her home, demanding she sell the car to him. Andy then drove the Mustang for a few more years and locked it in the garage in 1980.
According to our host, the Hertz created quite a sensation at the 45th Mustang Anniversary in 2009. And that’s not surprising because very few unrestored survivors are still out there. The Shelbys are even rarer. Needless to say, this pony attracted large crowds at the 60th anniversary event, too.
If you missed this year’s event, YouTube’s “Junkyard Life” documented the moment Andy and Mary Ann took the GT350H out of storage after 15 years. And if you’re into barn find type of classics, you’ll definitely love this footage.
Oh, and if you’re unfamiliar with the GT350H, these Hertz pony cars are quite rare. To help increase Shelby sales, Ford persuaded Hertz to take delivery of around 1,000 vehicles. Ford built 2,386 GT350s in 1966, so the “Rent-a-Racer” cars accounted for nearly 42% of the total production.
During rental, these ponies were sometimes raced at SCCA events. While some were returned with evidence of roll bars being welded in, others came back to Hertz with missing performance parts. Most cars were refurbished by Ford and sold to the public as GT350H models. While most Hertz cars left the factory in black with gold stripes, some were finished in white with blue stripes.
Just like the regular GT350, the Hertz Mustangs were equipped with a 306-horsepower version of Ford’s K-code 289-cubic-inch V8. All but the first 85 cars were fitted with the automatic gearbox. Today, highly original Shelby GT350H examples are worth up to $300,000.