It was the best worst idea anybody ever had. Take about a thousand Shelby Mustangs…you know, one of those really hopped-up ones some Texas chicken farmer whipped up and set loose on racetracks across America…paint it black and gold, add the letter “H” to the model name to signify it’s tie to the Hertz Corporation, and package up the car as a special deal that only card-carrying members of Hertz’s special club could rent, for $17 a day plus 17 cents per mile. Any guesses on how many of those Shelbys had the original, numbers-matching engines still in-between the shock towers when they were dropped off? Few and far between…the GT350H’s pumped-up 289 was a small-cube rocker and would be the perfect swap for the more modicum 289 in a standard Mustang, and while it’s not morally right, you know damn well that some guys rented the car, had fun, and got an idea. That being said, the idea of renting a hot ride was a neat and novel one, and Hertz did themselves a favor by picking a stripe combination in a beautiful bronze-on-black setup…whenever you see one, you always think of Hertz and the rent-a-racers.
In 68-’69 (?) an upper classmen at my college in central Ohio had a list on Hertz letterhead of Shelbys for sale. His father was an exec. for Hertz and his central Jersey office had about 15 (?) for disposal. The prices were around 3g’s (?) each and all were autos. Called my dad ” could I buy one ?” His non- negotiable response ” Not on your life !” End of story. 🙂