Vehicle Description
1966 Shelby GT350H For Sale - "Rent a Racer", Fully Doc'd with
Remarkable History LMC is very proud to offer for sale this 1966
Shelby GT350H. When Hertz introduced the GT350H, many people
immediately began renting them for Sunday drag racing events, or
even SCCA weekend events. They would install roll bars, swap
engines with their racers, or make other modifications to meet SCCA
specs, then simply take off the modifications and return the car to
Hertz on Monday. In 1966, the American Road Race of Champions took
place at Riverside, California during Thanksgiving Weekend. Rick
Kopec (now head of the SAAC) and Mel Wentzel were fielding a
original 289 race Cobra for weekend. Failing to obtain a Shelby
American Company GT350 as promised by director Lew Spencer, Wentzel
convinced Spencer to help him rent a Hertz GT350H for the weekend
as he was under 25 at the time. Mel picked the car up from the LAX
Hertz location and took it to the race shop to meet Kopec. Kopec
immediately began drilling holes and installing a trailer hitch as
they were going to use this GT350H to tow the Cobra to the race
track! There were two reasons for this, one; Wentzel's budget did
not include a tow vehicle for the weekend, and two; the engine in
the GT350H was the same one as in their Cobra, so they had all the
spare parts they could ever need! The weekend went off without a
hitch and the hood of the GT350H never needed to be lifted, but the
car still had two holes drilled in car from the trailer hitch when
returned to Hertz. Unfortunately, Kopec and Wentzel never looked at
the serial number of the GT350H and it was a mystery for the next
40 years as to where the Hertz GT350 had ended up. In 2004, the
mystery was solved. A member of the SAAC contacted Rick Kopec, and
explained to him that there are two holes in his GT350H that are
very similar to what is described in the articles and pictures.
When Kopec saw the holes and wiring work, his response was "there
was no doubt that this was the car we used for the 1966 American
Road Race of Champions". After 38 years, the mystery was finally
solved. This Shelby, the same GT350H used during the ARRC at
Riverside in 1966. The Black paint with Gold Hertz stripes shines
and shows very well. It also has a fold down rear seat, Koni
shocks, dash mounted tach, and of course, its trailer hitch. With
the car, comes the vast array of documentation including; a letter
from Rick Kopec confirming Riverside use, several articles about
the story and old photographs of the car at Riverside in 1966, the
owner's manual and Hertz rental cards, a GT350 spec sheet, a 1966
Shelby Parts Manual, and a CD with all photos of the car at the
ARRC at Riverside. This GT350H has a remarkable story behind it,
which makes it stand out from the other 999 Hertz rentals in the
world. It is a rare and unique chance to own not only one of the
desired Hertz GT350s, but a Hertz GT350 with a story that became
folklore and a history that involved Rick Kopec himself. Additional
Details: 1966 FORD MUSTANG SHELBY GT350 H -
