GT40 big block roadster I saw at Monterey and in LaJolla

[HistoryBuff]

Sorry if i bring up old stories but isn't that what this website is all about--old cars>  A few years ago at the LaJolla concours, a magnificent shoe by the ocean, i saw a red GT40 roadster. Then later I saw it at Laguna Seca at a vintage race. i told the owner that I was told by Steele Therkelson, a Shelby mechanic, that Ford ordered the car destroyed. Carroll Smith told me the same thing--it was coming apart and unsafe to drive. Steele saw a hole dug and the car rolled in and dirt put in top.  But I never read of the re-discovery of the car. I have nothing against tribute cars but would like things properly labeled as such. I wrote the LaJolla concours but they said they can't check out every car.

[98SVT - was 06GT]

Many cars that were ordered destroyed after they had left the control of the manufacturer never actually got scrapped. Of course the story will always be we destroyed it - you wouldn't want to say we screwed Ford and kept the car.
I know the guy who personally took a King Cobra to a San Fernando land fill - purchased from SA for the drivetrain. That car has reappeared 100% fake.
Christopher Cross sued Gulstrand and GM when he crashed a Camaro that Chevy had given Gulstrand for the Showroom Stock series. Chevy ordered it destroyed and Gulstrand sent in the paperwork that it had been destroyed - but here it was being rented to Christopher Cross. You can be sure you will come up against some heavy hitting attorneys when a guy who makes his living playing a piano breaks his hand in a car that was not supposed to exist.  http://www.racinghistoryproject.com/84willowarticleontrack.pdf
Ford finally came up with hard rules. It came when some cars were reappearing out of junk yards where they had been sent. Ford had a rep go with the car remove the VIN tag and photograph the car post crushing. These weren't special cars just flood and lemon cars that Ford had loaned out for movies.

[TA Coupe]

Not sure if you were trying to say that the picture above was taken at Laguna Seca but it was taken at Sears Point.

          Roy

[6R07mi]

Many cars that were ordered destroyed after they had left the control of the manufacturer never actually got scrapped. Of course the story will always be we destroyed it - you wouldn't want to say we screwed Ford and kept the car.

I know very well a SAAC member on here that during their tenure at Ford Truck engineering back in the late 70's may have liberated components from a batch of cars including Pantera & Capri's that all had spray painted on the hoods "Scrap", that were parked in the infield of the Dearborn test track !

That provided a leather covered reclining seat for my $300 "daily driver" back when reclining seats were rare.

At this point in time to the best of my recollection I can neither confirm or deny the prior statements.

jim p

[Side-Oilers]

I think that Mr. Cross should've considered his profession before risking his hands in ANY race car at any time.

Sh!t happens out there, in the best of cars, to the best of drivers.

To sue Guldstrand and GM for what I'm assuming was Cross's own driving error on a notorious part of that track, is not the thing to do IMHO. 

Disclaimer:  I wasn't at Willow that day. I have never met Cross. I did know Guldstrand. He usually had several Camaros and Vettes in his Culver City race shop whenever I visited.
   
There could, of course, have been un-mentioned extenuating circumstances surrounding that particular Camaro race car. Therefore, my comments are merely my inflation-weakened $0.02 that I'm presenting simply as my own opinion. 

Apologies for the brief thread-jacking.  Now, back to the main topic...