Dear car friends:
We just shipped our first European order. The car had to meet Federation International Automobile (F. I. A.) specifications, which are a little different than we are used to. The Federation International Automobile is the authority that supposedly regulates all automobile racing in the civilized world. I suppose that includes Southern California.
Actually it makes some sense historically. In 1965 Alan Mann Racing out of London raced modified Mustangs coupes before Lee Iacocca asked Shelby to turn the new Mustang fastback into a race car. Ol’ Shel took advantage of some of that groundwork, and of course Holman & Moody built some killer Falcons that won their class in the Monte Carlo Rally (remember Grace Kelly & Prince Rainer ?) before Mustangs even were. The Mustang, of course, was built on the Falcon platform. There’s a gnome in Switzerland with documents and photos that we had to satisfy before our customer could race his car in Europe…took a little doing.
JEREMY HALL -LEFT JIM MARIETTA -RIGHT Signature wall behind
Jim Marietta & I went to dinner with Jeremy Hall his last night in town at the Portofino Inn in Redondo Beach. Jeremy is based out of London, and is the F.I.A. inspector for the U.S. The Portofino was the finish line for the Cannonball Run, a no holds barred race organized a few years back by the late Brock Yates, publisher of Car & Driver magazine. The plan was to see who could get from the Red Ball Garage in N.Y.C. to the Portofino in the shortest time, by any route, driving your choice of vehicle. There were several movies made about it, including one staring Bert Reynolds. Google “Cannonball Run.” Designer and fellow O.V.C. member Peter Brock, ran the first race with a couple of friends all dressed up as priests, while driving a tricked out Mercedes sedan. Bibles and religious statues were strewn on the dash, sort of like ticket repellent.
Brock Yates and co-driver Dan Gurney won that race driving a Ferrari Daytona. Dan said they drove responsibly, “Never went over 170.” Coincidentally, that was as fast as the car would go. I think Brock Yates would approve of the car we built. The motor makes about 455 ponies out of 289 cubic inches. Our “normal” car makes 440 horse power out of 330 cubes. I guess that proves the old saying “Nothing beats cubic inches…except cubic money.
We took the F.I.A. car to Willow Springs race track 3 times to get everything working right. Our test driver Rick Titus (son of original Team Shelby driver Jerry Titus) tested it against the I.R.S. prototype car. He said the I.R.S. car is more nimble and predictable in the corners, but the F.I.A. car could “Run off and hide on the straights.” As you may recall, when we finished the I.R.S. car we took it to the Shelby & Ford Nationals in Tulsa where it won its first race, so it’s no slouch. I’m looking forward to the F.I.A. car setting the tracks in Europe on fire. 455 horses in a 2,800 pound car…like killing flies with a sledge hammer.
It occurred to me that after we get all 36 of the Continuation Competition Models finished, some of us may be joining Mr. Shelby at that sports bar in the sky, or the sports bar in that other place. Either way it’s been a hell of an adventure.
My son Michael taking a farewell shot as our offspring leaves for battle in Europe.
