68 GT/CS Hertz car

We have a 68 California Special that is a J code in average condition and we recently found out that it was a Hertz car complete with documentation and that only 50 or so were ever made. Can you give me an idea what the value might be and any history or information? Contact me by email please. :icon_pani
Thanks,
John
MP132@aol.com

Welcome to the site John, that is an awesome find! Please post some pics and Marti report.

John

That is new to me. We are excited about your find and would like to know more about your car. As Rhonda stated, please post some pictures and the Marti Report, if you can.

Paul

John,

Welcome to the site! You have an interesting CS there. I wouldn't really know how much more the value of your car would be, however, I can suggest to compare '67 and '68 Shelby values - meaning a Hertz Selby vs a non-Hertz Shelby. Of course I'm assuming that there's nothing physically/visually different between the Hertz and non-Hertz CS (that's why I suggested the '67 and '68 Shelby comparison). You're best bet is a hardcore collector who could appreciate the history of this and place a value on it.
Just my $.02 ...

Interesting, I never heard of a California Special rental car before.

Wow, very nice - can't wait to see pictures of the car.. Welcome to the site.

Marie

We are working on it but we have little information so far on the car's production history. If you come across anything let me know.
John

Is it for sale?

Possibly, but I would take a trade too if it was a good one.

John

67gt390 said:

Possibly, but I would take a trade too if it was a good one.

John

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check your email.

New information to me too, amazing.. Can't wait to see the pictures

Welcome John!

You sure dropped a bomb here with this information. Nobody here has heard of a Hertz "68 GT/CS" and believe me, Paul N. and the other members here are the last word on these, and this is a surprise to everyone. What color were these cars? Any information or history available on it, where these 50 models went, what equipment they came with, and what equipment they came with?

I doubt Hertz would help, because I called Hertz car control once about a Buick Skylark I was seeking information on, and they said (quote) "We have that information, but we will not give it to you"

I am sure Paul N. would appreciate any documentation you could share about this, as he is writing a second edition of his book on the California Special, and this is worthy of mention. Do let us know more here, thanks, and again, welcome!!!

Jim B

Mustang68Mx said:

New information to me too, amazing.. Can't wait to see the pictures

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Ummm, speaking of pictures, do you have pictures for us of the recent show in Guadalajara? You said you had some to show....

Thanks,

Jim

Hi Jim:
The car originally was red exertior and red interior with white GT/CS stripes. It is a J code with automatic transmission. From what I have been told only fifty of these were ever produced. My friend owns the car and if you follow the Barrett Jackson auto auctions you may recall him. He was the one who restored (but did not own) the black 68.5 cobra jet mustang that sold for $513,000 this year. He owned the GT/CS for many years and was getting ready to sell the car to a guy who was really hot for the car for some reason after seeing it one day. Well it turns out that the man trying to buy the car had found a significant amount of the Hertz documentation (all of it in fact and it was like brand new) under the trunk matt in a plastic bag in prestine condition but did not mention it to the owner. The owner called me and was debaiting on if he should sell the car or not for $6,000 and I told him not to that the prices were going up daily. He decided to get a Marti report on the car just for the heck of it and found out that it was a GT/CS Hertz Special. He then went out to take a closer look at the car and found the entire documentation packet under the trunk matt in like new condition. Another friend of his recalled an old issue from 1992 out of Mustang Monthly which after reading it states that only fifty of these rare 68 GT/CS Hertz Specials were ever produced. I did not see the article myself but it mentions these cars as being specially ordered. It is a very solid car with original floors and body panels, engine, trans, heads, intake etc. The interior is shot and he is thinking of changing it back to black but keeping the car's exterior red. The car is currently a gross cheap white. And that is the reason that I signed up for this web site as we are hoping to get some information from you Cali experts. So any other information that any of you might be able to shed would be great. I have a pretty good pile of books and that was one of the things I was going to do today, a little research. But I do not have a great deal of info about California Specials.
John

Also, I should mention that I am just trying to gather some additional infomation about the car that is why I am postiong here in the first place. You are the experts on GT/CS's! Some have already written me to tell me the car is worthless, yet they want to purchase the car on the QT for a song???
But I do like the discussion and welcome your comments! Any information would be great!
John

Mustanger said:

John,

Welcome to the site! You have an interesting CS there. I wouldn't really know how much more the value of your car would be, however, I can suggest to compare '67 and '68 Shelby values - meaning a Hertz Selby vs a non-Hertz Shelby. Of course I'm assuming that there's nothing physically/visually different between the Hertz and non-Hertz CS (that's why I suggested the '67 and '68 Shelby comparison). You're best bet is a hardcore collector who could appreciate the history of this and place a value on it.
Just my $.02 ...

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John, I agree that unless there is something different about the car, other than who purchased it (Hertz), the car is just like any other GT/CS and must stand on its own EXCEPT TO A SERIOUS COLLECTOR, as Mustanger states in his post.

The question then becomes whether there are enough serious GT/CS collectors out there who absolutely must have a Hertz GT/CS in their collection to bid against each other and increase the value of the cars.

I don't know the answer to that but my gut tells me that there are not.

Come to think of it, the car woman Bill and I were talking to about the Lime Gold GT/CS in Houston kept saying that it was a Hertz car. We ignored her and thought she didn't know what she was talking about. Maybe she was right after all.

In my opinion, I think you should return it to original.
It is definitely worth more being a Hertz car, but the question is "How much more?" Is it a GT?

I would like to own it. I would pay more than a song for it.

contact me

Arlie:
I am going to disagree with you respectfully based on the fact that these were a special series order Hertz vehicle and one of only fifty cars ever produced for Hertz in the GT/CS Hertz Special series.

Rhonda:
When I spoke to the owner today he now says that he is leaning toward going back to red on red since this is a very rare car and bringing it back to the original status. So your words have been heard! He also is thinking of this car as a possible Barrett Jackson candidate in the future (2008 or 09) once more information is gained. Everyone keeps mentioning Paul N as the go to guy? Since I am new, how do I contact him?
John

Well, I was going to suggest Barrett-Jackson. The owner is right on track, but he should auction it late this summer or fall, when the hype about the new 2007 GT/CS is at its peak. With the hype right now about the new Shelby`s, Mustang GT`s and such, I think it would sell for a higher price. Here is a page you will find Paul Newitt`s address. Anybody got his email address?
http://www.californiaspecial.com/resources.htm