Australian Muscle Car – July 01, 2019

Whatis it?

“It’sa 1966GT350Hertz.It’soneof 75original

manualcars.Thecarwasneverrentedout,but

wastheHertzdealerprincipal’spersonalcar.”

Whendidyoubuyit?

“Itwaspurchasedfroma friendandI’veknown

thepreviousownerandthecarforover 20

years.”

Whydidyoubuyit?

“Foritsoriginalityandrarity.Andforbeinga

classicwithworldwideappeal.It’sgota great

storyandis a greatcarto driveandenjoy.”

Whatdoyouknowaboutitshistory?

“Allcoveredin theSAACregistry(thereis even

a pictureof thecarin theregistry).Theprevious

Australianownerhadit for 22 years.Before

then,a seriesof ownersin theUSAafterthe

originalownerfromHertz.It’sdoneanoriginal

56,000milesandis allmatchingnumbers.Car

wasoriginallyblackandgoldbutwaspainted

redin the1980s.”

Howdoesit go?

“Matchingnumbersengineproduces226kW

and446Nm,matchedto anoriginalall-alloy

4-speedBorgWarnerT10.It’sreasonably

lightandit handleswell.It’sa reallyrawand

rewardingdrivingexperience.Reliableanda lot

of fun.”

Anythingyou’dliketoadd?

“Eventhoughtherewerearound 10001966

HertzGT350smade,whatmakesthiscar

sorareis thatit wasoneof therst 75 made

whichwereoriginal4-speedmanuals.Hertz

changedtheirorderto

automaticcarsafterthe

rstshipmentasthe

manualcarswerebeing

rentedandracedand

gettingreturneddamaged,

soasa measureto

discourageracingof the

rentalcars,theyordered

theremaining 925

carswithanautomatic

gearbox.Thisis theonlyoriginalmanual 1966

Hertzcarin Australia,andprobablyoneof

onlya handfulleftworldwide.Theyrarelycome

upforsalein theUS,butwhentheydothey

fetchover$USD100Kmorethantheirautoor

manualconvertedcounterparts.Alsobeingan

early 1966 carbuiltanddeliveredin late1965,it

retainsmanyof thepartsof thehyperexpense

1965 GT350,includingtheoverridetraction

barsandhollowShelbyletteringontheengine

block,thesamefeaturesasthe 1966 ‘carryover’

GT350s.Oneof whichjustsoldfor$USD440K

at auctionin theUS.”

Tohavea closerlookat Andrew’smagnicent

Mustang,hefrequentsAutobrunch– withCars

andCoffeeprovidedbythelocalLionsClub–

heldbytheNorthShoreSportingCarClubin

SydneyontherstSundayof eachmonthat St

IvesShowground.

Andrew Stedwell
Car:FordMustangGT350
Hometown:Sydney,NSW