Not much changed for Mustang in 1966. The grille
design changed a bit--the 1966 models had the running pony inside the
corral free-floating on horizontal grille bars. The side trim was slightly
revised and a restyled gas cap completed the exterior changes. On the
interior, the instrument panel was redesigned with five round gauges,
replacing the panel borrowed from the Ford Falcon for previous model
years. Ford broke the 1,000,000 Mustang mark in 1966--18 months after its
introduction. To celebrate, Ford released the Sprint 200 Mustang. They
were mechanically identical to other six-cylinder Mustangs, but had a
chrome air cleaner and a special engine decal which read "Mustang powered
Sprint 200."
The rear seat returned and more
colors were offered on 1966 Shelby Mustangs, making them more
consumer-friendly. The vents behind the windows were replaced with quarter
windows on 1966 Shelbys to allow for more visibility. The fuel door wore a
Cobra logo rather than the pony & tribar from '65. The first roughly 300
1966 Shelby G.T. 350s didn't get the "G.T. 350" decklid badge, but the
rest did.
Hertz corporation
ordered 1,001 of the G.T. 350s to offer as rentals. The side
stripes read "G.T. 350H", but the cars became know as "Rent-a-Racers."
Some cunning Mustang owners would rent the Shelbys, swap the motor with
the motor in their Mustangs, and return them to Hertz. At $17 per day and
17 cents per mile, it was a good bargain for a Shelby engine. It was "uncool"
to own a former rental car, so many of the cars were debadged after they
were decommissioned. Thanks to the Shelby American Automobile Association,
however, many of these cars have been found. More than 800 were made in
black, and the other 200 or so were divided between red, green, blue, and
white. Only the black models and a few white ones had stripes on the hood, but many owners
added them to the other cars during restoration.
Only six Shelby G.T. 350
Convertibles were produced in 1966, all different colors, making them the rarest of Mustang
convertibles. Shelby also produced 11 supercharged 1966 G.T.350S
In 1966 there were 333 High Country Specials produced.
Only 35 of the 333 were convertibles. The High Country Special was a
promotion that Ford ran from 1966-68. The Mustangs came in three special
colors: Timberline Green, Columbine Blue, and Aspen Gold. All came with
special emblems that dealers were free to mount where they wanted. They
were only sold in Colorado, Wyoming, and parts of Nebraska. For more
information on High Country Specials visit
CaliforniaSpecial.com.
