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For those of you of a certain age, this is quite the trip down memory lane.

Keep your eyes peeled for lots of Ford, Cobra stuff.

The original art this guy has collected is what really blows my mind.

- Phillip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfwuz0NA64k

Those of you who have been around for a while may remember back around 1990, when a SAAC member in, I believe, the Chicago area discovered a huge inventory of unsold 1960's slot car kits stored in a warehouse. He placed ads in the SAAC Snakebite Bulletin newsletters offering them for sale.

I bought one of each Shelby, Cobra and Mustang / Ford example. The boxes were as new, likely coming out of unopened case lots. I still have them.

The sales went on for quite some time until the stash was exhausted. I recall being told that he paid for his secondary education with the proceeds from the sales.

As Alan states, 2176 is quite genuine and a great original car. I purchased it in Western PA early in 2019 from an owner who had it since 1984. It was not far away from where it was sold new at Eger Motors in Pittsburgh.

I attached some photos that I took of it in the seller's garage, plus one taken 3/27/19 when I delivered it to the shipper for transport to the UK - almost exactly six years ago to the day!

I am certain the new owner will thoroughly enjoy it.

I was meandering through YouTube last night and came upon a site called RetroPhotoWorld. It was an eclectic collection of "100 Rare Vintage Photos" depicting a variety of subjects, eras and locations.

Among the pics was the attached, labeled "Los Angeles LAX American Airlines Flight Hostesses 1965". The interesting aspect of it is, they appear to be professionally staged sitting in a Cobra. Examination of the background reveals a 1965 Thunderbird parked in front of a runway blast wall, leading me to suspect this was taken at Shelby American.

I have not seen this photo before and am curious if anyone has more information regarding why it was taken. Was it a shot for an American Airlines promo or airline magazine feature? Or was it done during the June 1965 SA open house? Something else?

Do you have SAAC 13 - Santa Rosa, CA 1988? If so, I'd like to purchase it! See why below.
Bill
bill@bcfords.com
717-648-6600

Dewey did retire and the business is now owned by Mark, who I believe was previously a Dewey employee. Here is the link to their site:
https://www.powerbrakebooster.com/

I sent a Midland booster from a KR to them late last year. Turnaround was a few weeks, very happy with the results.

The company does the rebuilding for Don Rush of West Coast Classic Cougar, a very respected vendor of parts and services. There was a very good YouTube video some time ago of Don visiting with Mark and getting a shop tour but I cannot locate it.

Unfortunately, I have nothing to add about the removed "H" in the stripes, but the SB Chevy with the blower sure was interesting in 6S819! LOL

I think Chisman got a speeding ticket for 150 or something crazy like that.

Brant's post provoked a few memories about 6S819 and Tom Chisman. He and I were close friends at the time, and we are still in touch today. After the Beshores concluded campaigning it at the end of the 1970 season, they returned it to street configuration, although they left the roll cage in it.

They sold it late in '70 or early '71 to a fellow in nearby Hershey, PA. In 1974, my dad mentioned an ad he saw in a local weekly "shopper" paper offering what was described as a "1966 Shelby colt" for $850. Tom had been looking for a car and I told him about it. We drove to Hershey to look at it and I immediately recognized it as the former Beshore race car. He bought it on the spot for about $650.

At the time, I was working for a national real estate appraisal company. Being single and into adventure, I was often selected for TDY assignments around the country. It was not unusual for me to walk into the office on a Friday and have the boss hand me a plane ticket for Sunday night to report to somewhere on Monday morning.

So it happened that right after Tom's purchase of 819, I was sent to North Carolina for a couple of months. When I got back, I discovered to my horror that Tom was well into converting 819 to a small block Chevy powered street machine. I was so angry with him that I didn't speak to him for a month.

I eventually came around from my displeasure. By then, 819 was as seen in Brant's photo, with a Rootes style blower and 2 4bbl Holleys, along with a custom header exhaust system and substantial frame and driveline modifications. It was the most fearsome machine in town.

Interstate 81 was under construction in our area at that time. It spanned the Susquehanna River near where Tom lived. The mile long 81 bridge crossing was completed ahead of the rest of the roadway but not yet opened. For a time, it became the venue of choice for the street racers. Tom took me along for a run there in 819 one evening and it was one of the most terrifying rides of my life. My most vivid recollection from it was the windshield wipers standing out by a few inches from the glass, quivering in the cowl wind pressure. We had to be going 150 mph.

Tom and 819 also had numerous encounters with local law enforcement, but that's a story for another time.

Another thread in this topic veered into a discussion about the absence of the "H" from the rocker stripes on many Hertz cars.

Our local Shelby franchisee, Francis For Fords, acquired a batch of GT350H's out of the Hertz disposition program in 1967. Being as I spent a lot of time hanging around the place back then, I was usually aware of the various Shelbys that were for sale.

All of the ones I remember from this group were black/gold (no "color" examples) and had no "H" in the rocker stripe. I asked someone about this and was told that the cars came in that way; the dealership had not removed the letter. It was left to speculation as to why this was done. The prevailing opinion was that since these cars were out of Hertz's hands, they no longer wanted them to be identified with the company. So, they removed the "H" during reconditioning. As an aside, we know that Hertz cancelled the 1967 GT350H program after about 30 black automatics had been built at Shelby American but not yet delivered.

One of the '66 Francis For Ford cars, 6S819,was purchased by close friends the Beshore brothers and built into an SCCA hill climb / autocross car. They ran it from '67 to '70 and in 1971 sold it to buy a Cobra. I would often assist them at the various events they entered.

Attached are two period photos of 819, notably missing the "H" in the stripes. I also found a Francis For Fords display ad that appeared in the August 10, 1967 Harrisburg Patriot News that includes a black/gold GT350 for $3495 with no mention of Hertz. It is unknown if this was 6S819, but it is a strong candidate.

We are now also aware of Hertz cars lacking the "H" that were sold in other locales. It would be interesting to know if this was company wide policy or limited to certain Hertz sales offices.

 

This may be a red herring, I have in my file a digital copy of an October 28,1966 date stamped Denver Post press photo of a '66 Hertz car.

According to the newspaper article clip attached to the back, this GT350H was the focus of a promotional contest at the Mountain Sales Business Exhibit And Industrial Conference, which offered free use of the car for a weekend. The contest was apparently sponsored by Hertz, as  their Denver sales representative Priscilla Berry is pictured with the car.

The poster does not mention when the National Ski Patrol convention took place, but being as the Denver Hertz office did this promotion with the Mountain Sales Conference, perhaps this car may have been part of the Ski Patrol promotion as well.

It is also noteworthy that this event occurred late in 1966, at the time the Hertz disposition program was either pending or underway. That may be part of why Hertz was still promoting the '66 GT350H.

My recent experience is more like 15-20% but the other factor is that the "investment" buyers won't want it at all and having the extra date coded engine won't mean anything to them.

The car will likely sell to a traditional enthusiast who likes it for the color and being a 4 speed and will drive it. But these people seldom pay the longest dollar.

If anyone may find it helpful, I have a new in the box aluminum York compressor that I will sell. It would not be concours correct, as it has a York ID tag. But I compared it to aluminum examples in '68 GT500's and it is very similar, so may work for a driver.

It is USA manufactured (York in Decatur, IL) and set up for R12. Borg Warner acquired York in 1956 and in the late 1960's moved A/C compressor production from York, PA to Decatur. Thus, this unit was likely produced during the late '60's - early '70"s. I understand that many of the current examples being offered are called York but actually have offshore sourced components.

Years ago, I sold cores to Classic Auto Air, and I recall that they did not favor rebuilding aluminum units as the piston bores were often excessively worn, as opposed to iron ones that had a longer service life. And as we have read here, they now no longer rebuild them at all.

R12 is still being used in some commercial / industrial applications and if you are connected with a friendly large HVAC business you may be able to acquire some from their bulk supply.

I will sell this compressor for $500. if anyone has interest. I attached some photos.

Bill Collins
717-648-6600
bill@bcfords.com

I have a very good used original, PM or email me for details.
Bill Collins
717-648-6600
bill@bcfords.com

Hi Vern, Wow, it was a Francis For Fords car, sold new here in Harrisburg. The address in the manual is only about a mile from me, a modest 1950's rancher with no garage.

The Beachley family is long gone, but there is an Eldon E Beachley shown as presently residing in Lebanon, PA which is about 20 miles away. His age indicates that he would have been 24 when #2096 was sold new, so he may be its original owner.

If you locate 2096's current owner, they may find this information interesting.

A Zippo lighter with the '68 style snake / Shelby block letter logo is presently being offered in a Mecum On Time auction of vintage automotive advertising, ending on January 13th. Here is a link to the item:
https://ontime.mecum.com/auction/412/item/rare-shelby-cobra-zippo-nester-motor-co-dingeradvertising-lighters-68834/

I have not seen this version before and am curious as to its provenance. For comparison, I attached a scan of the "Shelby girl" factory accessory catalog from circa 1969. The lighter shown there is slimmer with a circular Cobra logo and has a gold color case.

Thoughts?

I recalled seeing this procedure some years ago on a web site and I saved it:

If you are talking about the clutch assist spring, there is a simple trick to attach it.

Loosen and.or remove the pedal stop.
disengage the clutch equalizer rod from the bar.
swing the pedal back towards the driver
attach the spring and mounting bracket to the dash.
push the pedal to the floor
secure the pedal stop
adjust tension at the front bracket

Keep in mind that when the pedal assembly is correctly installed, there is much tension on the spring. That is why you swing the pedal towards the driver which yields zero tension so you can attach the bracket. You may or may not have to remove the pedal stop but it has to be at least loosened and slightly rotated to allow the pedal to swing backwards.

Sent you a PM
Bill