So, the Mustang GT-H. Man, that thing brings back some memories. Not that I ever owned one, wish I had. But you know, you see pictures, you hear the stories. The whole Hertz “Rent-a-Racer” deal back in the day. Black and gold. Just looked mean.
Saw something the other day, maybe it was a picture online, or a clone at a local cars and coffee, I forget. But it got me thinking about the real deal. The originals. Made me kinda nostalgic, you know? For a time when you could supposedly just walk up and rent something that wild. Sounds crazy now.
Okay, Let’s Find One
So I got this idea stuck in my head. I wanted to see one. Not just a picture, but a real, breathing ’66 Shelby GT-H. Figured it couldn’t be that hard, right? They made a thousand of them or something close.
First step, obviously, hit the internet. Typed it in. Found loads of stuff, history, specs, pictures. Lots of auction results too. Prices are just insane. That kinda tells you something right there. These aren’t just sitting in barns anymore, mostly.
Then I started digging into forums. You know, the places where the real hardcore Mustang guys hang out. Asked around.
- Posted on a couple of classic Ford boards.
- Sent messages to guys who seemed to know their Shelbys.
- Checked schedules for big classic car shows nearby.
Got some replies. Mostly stuff like “Yeah, they’re cool” or “Saw one at Barrett-Jackson years ago”. Helpful, right? One guy, older fella, told me he actually rented one back in ’66. Said it was terrifying and awesome. Lucky guy.
Hitting the Pavement (Sort Of)
Okay, online wasn’t giving me a solid lead on one I could actually go see easily. So I thought about local connections. I know a few guys who are into classics. Called up old Dave, he knows everybody.
Dave’s always got a story. He went on about some guy he knew who supposedly bought one from Hertz way back when, painted it red, raced it. But he sold it decades ago. Lost track of it. Story of my life, right? Always one step behind.
Went to a couple of local classic car meets. Saw some amazing cars, really. Beautiful restorations. Lots of Mustangs, even a couple of nice Shelbys. But no GT-H. Asked around there too. Same deal. People knew of them, but hadn’t seen one recently outside of the big, fancy concours events or museums far away.
It’s funny. You think these iconic cars are everywhere because they’re so famous. But they’re not. They’re locked away in collections, or they just don’t come out much. It’s not like finding a ’69 Camaro SS, you know? Those seem to be at every show. The GT-H is just rarer in the wild.
So, did I find one? Nope. Not yet. My big quest to see a real GT-H kinda fizzled out for now. Maybe I’ll stumble across one someday when I least expect it. That’s usually how it works. But the whole process, the digging, talking to people, remembering why that car was cool in the first place… that was kinda the fun part anyway. Still keeping an eye out, though. You never know.
