Original MK1 GT40 for sale; Bill&Bob Thread
- Thread starter djs
- Start date
PS its minus 10F right now in my hometown of Nederland
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I never did go.If you're from Telluride,I hope like hell you Knew my half brother.He was 3 years older than me and my lifelong hero.He invented snow skis.Before you laugh,let me explain.Up until the early 70,s,all snow ski,s had been a long straight piece of wood or glass.He changed the shape of the ski to parabolic.wider in the middle.The performance was so enhanced that the old style of ski was obsolete overnight.His name was Frank Meatto.He was originally from Paramus,NJ.Him,his dad and I used to restore Auburn Boat tail speedsters.We had a couple of Cord,s and one Duesenberg.In high school he drove a Black Ferrari Daytona conv.He traded me for a Pantera he had.When he left college he had a white 911.He moved to Tahoe,invented the digital thermometer you all have at home.He got screwed by Becton Dickson on the patent.Work product.He went to work for Olin,invented the ski,moved to Tell. permanently but kept the house in Tahoe.He died at his desk at Gordon Composites in Montrose at age 59.When he died I aasked his mom if she wanted to stay in Co. OOr come live with me.She wanted to stay where Frank was.I put her in the best nursing home in Aspen,where she lived to 101,a pain in somebody,s ass every day.
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Kind of an inside joke. My GT40 has a Mark I chassis, built by David Brown. It was completed by Safir in Ohio and got its chassis number from them- it has Safir GT40 uprights and some other Safir items in it as well. I'd forgotten I put that in the profile. I probably ought to change it. Interestingly, because David used original drawings to build the chassis, it has the old-style suspension dimensions, not the later ones worked out by, I think, Alan Mann Racing.
Then again, it's "one of one".....Maybe I'll just leave things as is....
Gurney Eagle 302.Made from pure Unobtainium.Used in Indy cars and gt,s.Gurney-Westlake also made some heads and orher stuff.Alan Mann used most of them.Available as a COPO performance upgrade for $895.00 from dealers as an upgrade for mustangs,Cougars,etc.The Westlake,not the Eagle.
You guys were making me think my mind had thrown a rod.
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That's a hell of a story, Bill!!! A very interesting and intriguing read. Actually, I was surfing the web and wanted to know more about original GT40s, but found more! I couldn't resist to praise you! I'm young and american 60s feel like the time when the racing was more of the people with strong charisma being passionate and willing to beat the hell out of the car. A little like Group B in Europe. Too bad for the accident! That's horrible! That's partly why I envy cars and mechanics, as they can be ultimately fixed, yet people are designed to be pretty much unrepairable. But don't underestimate yourself! You lived through it! The things are not ideal, but you have a crispy sense of life, don't lose it. Even Stephen Hawking was said to die soon and lived twice as much after that. Not as cool as being racing driver for Ferrari, but damn, you know life! It's the state of mind that makes people disable. There is stuff to love in your life, I bet there'll be more to come, so keep up!
What was so special about the GT40 handling compared to Ferraris?
A replica might be better in some cases, but an original car is the king. You can build a car better than original only in you raced the original one.
p.s. Few days ago I thought about the same thing, a near-fatal accident, what if it could happened. Oh, it's a pain (felt like sorry to those of the family, as they always want you to come from racing without a scratch), but as Niki Lauda said,"If you'd think deeply about racing, all racing activities should be prohibited for being too dangerous. You shouldn't think about it." Btw, did the RSA have a rollcage?
Alex.
What was so special about the GT40 handling compared to Ferraris?
A replica might be better in some cases, but an original car is the king. You can build a car better than original only in you raced the original one.
p.s. Few days ago I thought about the same thing, a near-fatal accident, what if it could happened. Oh, it's a pain (felt like sorry to those of the family, as they always want you to come from racing without a scratch), but as Niki Lauda said,"If you'd think deeply about racing, all racing activities should be prohibited for being too dangerous. You shouldn't think about it." Btw, did the RSA have a rollcage?
Alex.
Charlie Farley
Supporter
Whatever happened to this ' character ' ?
I hope he is OK!!!
Regards Allan
Regards Allan
