Shot in the Dark

Hot Gear Friday: The Dream Is Always The Same

A Ford GT40 – one of the dream sports cars of the ’60s and ’70s – found in junk-filled garage:

From the article:

This isn’t just any Ford GT40, either. This is chassis No. 1067, and while it appears to lack the racing pedigree of some other GTs, it is among the rarest. The World Registry of Cobras & GT40s says it is just one of three GT40 MkI cars to come with the MkII’s rear clamshell, and of those three, it is the only survivor. Furthermore, it was the last GT40 to be produced in 1966 and was the last GT40 to use a Ford serial number—all subsequent GT40s wore the serial numbers of J.W. Automotive Engineering.

But that’s not all. 

On the door? Salt Walther – a race car driver from the sixties and seventies renowned for having less success than almost any other driver of some of the best, hottest cars around (including the GT40), and survivor of one of the most spectacular Indy car crashes of all time:

And that goes back far enough to trip the trivia meter on my very, very, very brief infatuation with racing, back in 4th-7th grade.

But enough of that. Let’s check out the car again:

Ah. Much better.

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Mitch Berg

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Comments

10 responses to “Hot Gear Friday: The Dream Is Always The Same”

  1. Joe Avatar
    Joe

    Nostalgia as well as some really good rates have prompted me to re-subscribe to Hot Rod and Motor Trend after an absence of three or four decades, and I’m re-learning to appreciate the cars of my youth. Thanks for the post …

  2. Joe Avatar
    Joe

    Your post sounded familiar, like something I’d read recently in one of the two magazines I mentioned. It was. Here’s Motor Trend’s Feb. 2014 take on the story:

    http://wot.motortrend.com/1402_rare_ford_gt40_found_in_southern_california_garage.html

    Thanks again …

  3. Scott Hughes Avatar
    Scott Hughes

    I can’t stop drooling, wish it was mine…..sigh

  4. Joe Avatar
    Joe

    There’s something alluring about cool old stuff that’s been stashed away for years, seemingly forgotten and waiting for someone/ anyone to find it.

    Cars, guns, guitars, amps, whatever it is you that like. Unfortunately, I’m never the someone who runs across such artifacts in real life …

    Hot Rod Magazine has a monthly feature on such automotive finds.

  5. Scott Hughes Avatar
    Scott Hughes

    The body lines of the car are timeless, to me very similar to that of todays Corvette.

  6. Joe Avatar
    Joe

    Exactly. To an uninformed car admirer such as myself, you could tell me that it’s a new, modern, up to date, just released sports car and I’d believe it. It is totally un-retro. Timeless. Pure function designed in a classy package …

  7. Powhatan Mingo Avatar
    Powhatan Mingo

    If only Lileks did car design.

  8. Joe Doakes Avatar
    Joe Doakes

    OMG No, PH!

    In Lileks’ vision, a family vacation would start by lashing hardboard suitcases to the luggage rack above a 1964 Bel Air station wagon and looping the leftover twine down to the trailer hitch. Dad drives, of course, with one kid as co-pilot but Mom sits in the back seat with the other kids distributed in easy swatting distance to resolve “he’s touching me” disputes.

    Those relegated to the rear-facing vinyl bench seat in the way-back spend the whole day looking at things You Just Missed and always lose the License Plate State Game.

    Only the co-pilot kid can hear the dashboard radio speaker. Pulling the vent knob on the front seat kick panel supplements the “4-60 air conditioning” by raising a superheated dust cloud. Freedom of speech is sharply curtailed — nobody is allowed to ask “Are we there yet?” under any circumstances. And the most welcome sight at the end of the day is the 10-room motel featuring a kidney shaped swimming pool with 8-foot slide and Color TV In Every Room!

    Okay, you’re right, I miss those days. Lileks – please design one for me, too.
    .

  9. Scott Hughes Avatar
    Scott Hughes

    JD, Good Lord you just described our family vacations to visit relatives in FL in the early ’60s to a “T” !!!

  10. bosshoss429 Avatar
    bosshoss429

    In my case, it was a 1962 Olds Dynamic 88 wagon. Even though it was about a block long, it had no rear facing seat. With six kids, at least one of us would be in the back cargo area with at least one piece of luggage. Today, my folks would get tickets for “child endangerment” and/or violating seat belt laws.

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