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or as long as I can remember,
I’ve been a certified Hertz
Shelby nut. I’ve been collecting maga-
zines, posters and pictures since I was
ten and I plastered my room with
Shelby stuff. Nothing was more cher-
ished than the black and gold GT350H
cars. I was somehow able to talk my
father into purchasing one in the early
‘90s, and later was able to acquire a
Hertz Shelby of my own, a new 2006
Shelby GT-H model, #229.
When I heard the news that
SAAC-41 would be featuring the Hertz
Shelby and celebrating the 50th an-
niversary of this legendary car, my ex-
citement level amped up. As soon as I
learned it was within driving distance
from Minnesota, I decided right then
that I had to be there. It would be my
third-ever SAAC convention. I tried to
recruit as many Hertz Shelby owners
and enthusiasts as I could and that led
to helping to coordinate a black-and-
gold caravan from Chicago to Mid-
Ohio, some 275 miles. Although we
were not able to find a Shelby GT-H
convertible to join the pack, we did
manage to get nice representation of
the 50-year span including a new 2016
Shelby GT-H and an original 1966
Hertz car. As the departure date
neared, everyone was excited to meet
each other and make the group drive
to the convention.
My plan was to get to Chicago on
Wednesday and the trip almost ended
for me before it began. The weather
experts were predicting all kinds of
terror around Chicagoland including
large hail, tornados, strong damaging
winds and rainfall exceeding two-
inches an hour. I delayed my depar-
ture a couple hours as I tried and get
a handle on what the weather might
do. I eventually decided to throw cau-
tion to the wind and head out to
Chicago. I was able to make the seven-
hour trip with nothing more than
some messy road spray.
I had a great time visiting a
Shelby and Cobra friend who invited
me to spend the night. We looked over
his newly acquired FIA Cobra, but
changed our plans to go for a drive
when the storm rolled in. It was a
strong thunderstorm, but no damage
was done to my Shelby which was sit-
ting outside. It turned out there were,
indeed, two tornados spotted in nearby
suburbs, but the potential disaster
passed me by.
The following morning started off
with meeting Rich and Ginny Michiels
(2006 GT-H) along with Doug Protz
and Steve Alford (2016 GT-H). We
picked up Dave and Pam Bradshaw
(2006 GT-H) in Indiana in a Staples
parking lot and then proceeded to do
an on-highway rendezvous of Terry
and Susan Grandt (2006 GT-H and
1966 GT350H) outside of Fort Wayne,
Indiana. We stayed on Highway 30
and maintained a conservative pace,
enjoying the overcast comfort and lack
of traffic. We caught the attention of
many along the way, including another
fellow Chicagoan, John Guinta, with
his incredible ‘65 R-Model clone. He
joined us for a while on the road after
lunch and a gas stop.
We missed out on the prison tour,
but enjoyed a very nice dinner at the
Brown Derby Road House before com-
miserating with the rest of the conven-
tioneers at the mixer. Our caravan
split up as we headed to our respective
The SHELBY AMERICAN
Summer 2016 67
– Troy Kruger
Can you think of a better way to get to the convention
than in a convoy of Hertz cars?
F