I was 11 years old in 1963, and my two heros then were AJ fuckin' Foyt, and Carrol Shelby. They both made Enzo Ferrari look like a chimp, and there was nothing Ferrari could do about it. You know what? Those guys are still two of my heros. What a ride this guy had. We should all be as fortunate in life as he was. Carrol Shelby dies at the age of 89.
I remember in 1966, Hans Schmidt Jr., son of the pro wrestler Hans Schmidt (Schmidt Sr. was a drinking buddy of my Dad's, along with wrestler Haystacks Calhoon), tooled into the local hangout in a brand-new, Nassau Blue Cobra 427. I thought that was the baddest fuckin' car I had ever seen, or heard in my life. I can hear that 427 in my head, just like it was yesterday.
hey rich,
ReplyDeleteso i was 10 in 1963 and about the same time you saw your blue cobra, my family was traveling through st. louis when i spotted a white cobra on the showroom floor of a huge ford dealership. i got my dad to stop so we could look at it; i remember the sticker price was $7300 (a fortune of course at the time).
Been sleepin over here in Oz Rich, just read the post and am totally saddened, like you, like so many of us, my boyhood hero, which only grew as I learnt more about him. The A.C's, the mashing Enzo with the G.T 40's so completely, and he was just a humble chook farmer from Texas, actively involved in things his whole life. Toally bummed mate, nice eulogy post, thanks.
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