1966 Shelby GT350 Hertz (all origninal survivor car) detail by Immaculate Reflections

white gecko

New member
Recently I got the opportunity to do an extensive correction on this classic car. The owner contributed the info on the car, quoted below:





"In 1966 Shelby America and the Hertz Rental Company struck a deal that had Shelby preparing 1,000 1966 fastback mustangs with the highly desirable “K” code motor into a special Hertz car for their “rent a racer” program. These cars got the typical GT 350 treatment (aluminum intake manifold, headers, special Holly carburetor, traction bars) that Shelby performed on normal GT 350's plus a special black and gold stripe paint scheme. The Shelby American Auto Club (SAAC) has a history of all the Shelby VIN#’s including the 1,000 cars that when to Hertz. The records indicate that one car actually did not make it to Hertz as it was pulled out of the fleet and was driven by Payton Cramer and Jim Camp who were Shelby America executives. This car is the one!! After the demo period was completed the car was shipped to McCollum Ford in Dishman, Washington and sold to the first registered owner. The car sold to the second owner in 1977 and they had it until I bought the car in 2002. The widow that I bought it from told me that she had it in a conditioned storage facility for 17 years after her husband passed away in 1985. The car is an unrestored original survivor car with all numbers matching motor, transmission, differential, etc."








The Shelby was originally scheduled for a full correction, but after taking readings on the paint thickness and finding some shockingly low numbers I had to change it up a little. Additionally there was a severely burned edge on the passenger door, down to bare metal. Sometime in the car's past, some serious hack detailing had been performed. I did my best to safely correct without compromising the original paint.





A total of 28 hours went into restoring this classic.









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The Business!



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Pre-wash rinse. Water beading heavily with the car wearing multiple coats of Zaino



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Foaming with Dawn



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After 2 Dawn washes enough of the Zaino had been stripped to see some more underlying swirls



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The severe burn mark on the passenger door



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The scary paint readings on that door...



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Various readings around the car, some healthy, some not....



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Drivers door had much healthier readings than the passenger door, with the edges intact.



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Correction completed



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LED pics tell it like it is



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Tires looking a bit dried out from old tire dressings, needed tidying up



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Tires looking proper again



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At about 11pm DAY 3, the Blackfire Wet Diamond came off and this is what was left



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Superior gloss achieved!



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The following morning I was back to do a 2-day correction on the owner's daughter's M3. I used the opportunity to take some sun pics of the Shelby





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The "real deal signature" by the man himself. No printed signature on this classic.



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Sun pics con't...



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Thanks for looking!
 
That is one incredible machine! Excellent work as always, Jeff, especially in light of the challenges you were presented with due to the car's deterioration. I know first-hand how tough it can be to find a balance between correction, safety, and preservation of originality, and you found it perfectly!
 
Saw this on Luxury4Play.com and was stunned at the results achieved with so little paint to work with. Great work.
 
Awesome! That's amazing work on such a rare car. Kudos also for finding a balance between perfect and safe. That's the sign of a true pro. :bow
 
Totally cool car brought up to an appropriate standard !!



Do you know how many miles on that one?
 
Something about this post seems.............................familiar. Great job! I would have been weary about PTG readings that low. Well done sir.
 
pmnewton said:
Something about this post seems.............................familiar. Great job! I would have been weary about PTG readings that low. Well done sir.



Familiar? In what way? Thanks btw.



Auto Concierge said:
With readings like that...............this is making "Straw into Gold" big balls Jeff.



Thanks Bob



tdekany said:
Stunning work!!!!



Thanks Thomas!
 
Truly beautiful car with some very fine work going in to make her look her best. Cool story for the owner to have, and amazing to see such a rare vehicle. Bravo Jeff!
 
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