Hanging Out with some Ford Racing Legends

A few months ago, I was invited by a friend to visit his garage. Unfortunately, I was busy with this and that. Car shows, car shows, it seemed I always had a packed schedule for my weekend and I just couldn’t make it to his garage.

Recently though, I managed to make some time to visit and hangout with some legends. I attended Cars & Coffee in the morning, then spent some time at a local exotic dealer before finally heading off to his garage.

When I arrived he was rather busy and had to take off with a client. He left his son and I with the keys to the place and instructions that we couldn’t drive the cars, but if I wanted to move the cars around to shoot them that would be alright.



So what cars were in the shop? Oh just a Lamborghini Miura, Ferrari 275 GTC, Ferrari 330GT, 3 Lotus Elite, 2 early 911***8242;s, a Dino 246 GTS, Ferrari 275 MM, Ferrari 250GT LWB Berlinetta “TdF”, MG-A, Shelby 427 Cobra Competition, and a MK1 Ford GT40. Plus there are spares upon spares as well as old Indy cars and various other sorts of race cars in the rafters



But I was here to shoot two of the cars in particular; The Ford GT40 and the 427 Competition.





Time came to move the cars so I could take some shots of them. I get into the GT40…and….and…I realize that I can’t even drive it! My head sticks above the roof line. I get out and just push the car out with the help of his son. I have the chance to drive one of my all time favorite cars, the car that I spent dozens of hours watching race in old racing footage on Speedvision, and I can’t do it. Then I try the 427 Competition and my legs have nowhere to go. It is a very painful proposition to sit in. I had to also just give up and push that car around too. Talk about a major disappointment! Being tall, and being a car guy, has many downfalls.







However, even with that disappointment I still managed to get some great shots of two of my favorite machines!







I have to admit I am a bit jaded by frequently being surrounded by such great machinery thanks to all the events I attend. But this time, I was able to have some private time with the cars outside of the bustle of a car show. As I walked around the cars shooting with nobody else around, it hit me. I realized how lucky I am to be in the position that I was in. How few people will ever get to see either of these racing legends, much less seeing them together. I am very thankful for the opportunity I was given.







Oh and if any of you want to and have the means to live the dream, the GT40 will be going to auction in Scottsdale this January at the RM tent:http://www.rmauctions.com/FeatureCar...Z13&CarID=r168

To view the full gallery go to: http://www.cncpics.com/Featured/FCS/...6709144_HpSrSL

http://hooniverse.com/

Thanks,

-Leo