 | Flick01 (71)
04/15/2006 |  The racing success of the 1965 GT 350 gave Ford Motor Company the product identification that they wanted and helped to sell more Mustangs. However the bean counters at Ford were never happy with Shelby and his products because they were manufactured in limited numbers and the company did not see as much profit like they did with "regular" Ford products. To help increase the sales of the 1966 GT 350 some changes were made asthetically although little was changed in the area of performance. Four additional colors were added, a folding rear seat was now an option for the street cars and the C pillar wind vents were replaced with a clear plexiglass window. The bottom side scoops were opened and duct work added so that cool air was fed to the rear brakes. A modified automatic transmission was now available. In 1966 Hertz Rent A Car was promoting their "Hertz Sports Car Club" and Shelby wanted to get in on the action because it would not only give people a chance to drive his car but would also help increase the sale of Ford products in general. Someone at Shelby American did their homework and discovered that Hertz's corporate colors were black and gold so when the time came for the executives at Hertz to view the GT 350 they were presented with a car that was painted black with gold stripes and was designated as the GT 350 H. These cars were generally equipped with the automatic transmission and they had a special master cylinder installed which required less effort to stop the car. Stories (and lies) abound about the the 1966 GT 350 H but there are some current owners who will pull back the carpet and show you where a roll cage had been welded in and then removed as these cars were sometimes rented with the intention of taking them to the track. I cannot verify it's truthfulness but my favorite story is about a guy who rented a GT 350 H to tow his 289 Cobra Roadster to a racing event. During the race he blew the Cobra's 289 and with the help of some friends he removed the engine from the Hertz car, put it in his Cobra, finished the race, and then reinstalled the engine in the Hertz car so that he could drive back home. Beginning in 1967 larger engines would be available in a new Shelby Mustang called the GT 500 but towards the end of the year Shelby would lose the lease on the building where he was putting the cars together and Ford Motor Company would begin taking charge of the changes which turned a Mustang into a Shelby. 1966 would mark the final year for the first generation Mustang and while later cars would be faster because of their larger engines, the 1965 and 1966 Shelby GT 350 set the standard for Ford Motor Company on what a high performance Mustang should be.
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