Classic Mustangs List Archive

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Mail From: Scott Dickson (email redacted)

>
>------------------------------
>
>Date: Tue, 02 Nov 1999 02:44:13 -0500
>From: John Dettori <(email redacted)>
>To: (email redacted)
>Subject: Mustang Monopoly & quality control
>Message-ID: <(email redacted)>
>
>Mark E. Johnson wrote:
>
>> Another one to check out ... Architectural Digest has a new magazine
out,
>> AD Motoring. The cover has Kevin Costner leaning up against (ahem) a
>> "1966 Shelby GT350H" convertible.
>>
>> Oddly, it looks an awful lot like a `67 or `68 convertible to me ...
>
>It is a Dark Green 68 GT350 convertible, the same one that Kevin Costner
>drove in "Bull Durham" (1988). For those that don't know, Costner, Susan
>Sarandon, and Tim Robbins were featured in a hysterical comedy about a
>minor league baseball team called the Durham Bulls, hence the title. Only
>during the last 10 minutes of the movie does Costner drive his car, a
beat-up
>68 GT350 and it's a 5 second shot. Costner fell in love with the car and
>bought it after the movie. Costner claims it's a Hertz car. I only know
some-
>
>one put the GT350H stripes on it (it could be; but they're somewhat rare).
>
>The author of the article, a Miss Susan Cheever, does not sport any
automotive
>journalist's credentials that I can find, so I assume that she's just the
one
>that
>got lucky enough to land the Costner assignment - whether she was upto it
or
>not. She obviously is not a Shelby or Mustang enthusiast, and was
thoroughly
>confused, whether she knew it or not. This is evident when she refers to
the
>car
>(on page 70 of AD Motoring) as a "1966 Mustang Cobra G.T. 350H". The
>article will irritate most Mustang & Shelby enthusiasts by it's inaccuracy.
>Perhaps
>Costner himself added to the confusion by referring to the car as the
Cobra.
>
>What troubles me is Harry Benson, a respected journalists for many years,
got
>the
>photo credits, so I assume he had something to do with the project. It's
>troubling
>to see people not check their work.
>
>I let AD know my concerns by sending an email when I first saw this article
in
>late August. I also suggested that Bob Perkins, Bill Elliot, Jay Leno, or
>Reggie
>Jackson (noted Ford Collectors) may have had more interesting cars to
>chronical.


Couple of things....In 1968 there were approximately 225 G.T.350 Hertz cars,
although they were no different from other G.T.350s. No special markings,
etc. My guess is that Miss Cheever went to the "research department", as
she should do, and somebody there messed up. After all, a cursory glance at
the literature could easily lead one to believe that the only Hertz cars
were the '66s. They've gotten a lot of press over the years. Hence it
would be simple to assume that a Hertz car must be a '66, and also must be a
G.T.350H. I don't know the serial number of Costner's car, but it could be
a '68 Hertz car. But if the tape stripes say "G.T.350H", that's incorrect
for 1968.

Also, the 1968s were referred to and badged as "Cobra"s. Steering wheel,
hub caps, and (non-GT500KR) gas caps were labeled as such. Ads and
literature referred to the cars as the "1968 Shelby Cobra G.T.XXX", etc.,
you get the idea.

Speaking of Reggie Jackson, I heard that his car collection burned to the
ground a few (5?) years ago. Has he rebuilt it or started over? This is
the kind of information that's hard to come by in conventional
sources.......

Scott Dickson
GT500KR #2499
SAAC MkI #16



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