Chris Merkel likely needed a second vehicle to haul awards he won in Bradenton with his heavily modified and well detailed '06 Mustang GT, called Mr. Vader. Chris won three trophies on Saturday, including Best Engine. He won four more on Sunday, including Best of Show. | 
Jim Lowe grabbed us between rows to see if we knew anything about the odd rear quarter-panels on his '65 fastback. The quarters are flattened around the wheel openings, before the flares. |
Jim says he has spotted them on at least three cars he has seen for sale on eBay. We've never seen them before. If anyone recognizes them, let us know at mustangmonthly@sourceinterlink.com. | |
Editor's Choice
We've been attending Florida Mustang shows for the better part of 25 years, so we were surprised to spot a super nice but unfamiliar '66 GT350H with Florida tags in the Laurel Mountain show field. Owner Craig Wells nonchalantly explains why: "I don't take it out very much. Just around town, and maybe to a car show once a year."
That explains why the 32,000-mile car remains so clean and detailed, and why we've never run across Craig and his GT350H. Restored 20 years ago by a previous owner in Ohio, the former Hertz rental car has been in Craig's possession for the last 10 years. He didn't add many miles to the odometer to participate in the NMRA's Laurel Mountain Mustang All-Ford Auto Show-he lives in Parrish, Florida, just a few miles up the road from Bradenton Motorsports Park.
Shelby American produced 1,000 GT350H Mustangs for the Hertz Sports Car Club. Most were painted in the Hertz corporate colors, black and gold, similar to Craig's car, although 200 in batches of 50 each were delivered in white, red, blue, and green. The GT350Hs incorporated all the standard GT350 modifications, including the 289 Cobra engine, sidescoops, and glass rear-quarter windows; Shelby performance suspension, traction bars, and metallic brake pads and linings. That explains the warning sticker on the instrument panel reading: "This vehicle is equipped with competition brakes; Heavier than normal brake pedal pressure may be required." Because the cars were created for rental car clients, most of them came with automatic transmissions. Craig's GT350H is 1 of 85 that came with a four-speed.