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Even if I did not get to drive it...

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Brooklands

Brooklands

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Yesterday I got to sit and be photographed in the 1967 McLaren M1C at America On Wheels. I had spoken to the owner a few weeks back and Mr. Thompson gave me permission to have my photo taken in his beautifully restored racer. It was a slow day yesterday as my tour group failed to show up, so I got another volunteer to use my camera, and I carefully opened the "door" and climbed in. Just to think what it would be like to drive such a machine was a great thrill. Thank you Mr. Thompson.
 

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Dave - what a treat! Looks like it was made for you!

Don't you hate it when a tour group doesn't show up? No notice, no explanation - just a big silence and an empty hour. A few days later you learn they took a sidetrip to "a basket factory" or something. Argh.

Tom
 
Nice!

I was fortunate enough to see Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme at various Can-Am events (in M6s and M8s).

I was actually at ~This Event~ (but it's not my video). Donahue won.

Also got to see the Chaparral and 917K back then. Those were the days!

Does that car have any racing history?
 
I have no knowledge of who drove it in the past. It was a customer car, but I do not have the chassis number to try and find out. It was wrecked once, and later campaigned with a rebuilt nose that was about double the weight with extra repair glass. That is all I know right now...

Tom, My tour group was a "group home" and they failed to complete the paperwork to bring them, but never called us to let us know.

At least Fagin got to spend the day on the front walk of the museum parked next to the flagpole trying to attract more weekday patrons to the collection.

I also helped bring in a new item to the museum yesterday: a 1912 Indian board track racer, still with one Goodyear Bluestreak boardtrack tire. It is a white canvas looking tire with a blue streak around the circumference. It is a very rare tire. Earlier in the week we added a 1935 Chevy Suburban, chassis #1, the first prototype for the Suburban. A very nice restoration too.
 

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Dave, you look good behind the wheel. Loved these cars. They were called "group 7" cars. I think the formula required having a door that opened and the car had to have a passenger seat. Unfortunately their (the McLarens) dominance hurt the series (CanAm).

Nial, I was there (Bridgehamptonin '68) too. Jim Hall came in 2nd. Here's my program which still was calling it the U.S.R.R.C. and inside it boasts that the total purse was $17,000. Note that program cost was a $1. It was my only trip ever to Long Island, and my buddy I drove there in my '61 TR3. Great memories.

IMGP1592.jpg
 
Jay:

That's hilarious. I went to that event in the world's worst, '58 TR3

I can't find any stuff from that event, but here's a ticket I bought at the '69 Can-Am event.

bridgehampton_tix.jpg


We went a lot to Bridghampton back then.
In fact I drove my first race there in the early 70s (in a Sprite).
Mostly I'd go to races with my friends from Trenton State College plus friends from my home town in central NJ.
One time I was part of group of friends that went up to The Glen with six British sports cars and a Volvo 122S.

When we first started going to Bridgehampton, Ford would set up a "Mustang Corral".
We decided to out-do them and have our own "Sports Car Corral" (no Mustangs allowed!).
A lot of other fans would bring their sports cars to our Corral and we'd shout rude things at the Mustang crowd. :jester:
Here's a picture of me at Bridgehampton around '69 or '70 with the "Corral" sign (and my dreadful TR3).
The guy in the Sprite was my college roomate who went on to work all over the world for the Castrol F1 support team.
We're still pals, in fact we talked this week.
Great memories!

bridge_70.jpg
 
I think most Group 7 seasons in the US had a dominant make, starting with the Lolas, then the McLarens, then the Porsche, and finally Shadow. It was the noise and the unlimited nature of these beasts that made it so special, as well as the list of drivers that participated...
 
Brooklands said:
It was the noise and the unlimited nature of these beasts that made it so special, as well as the list of drivers that participated...
Click to expand...
Dave, that comment nails how it was.

Nial, For us in central Pa., Watkins Glen was the much easier destination. While that Bridgehampton experience was wonderful, the drive took forever. I started with the USGP and USRRC in 1965, and kept going til they pulled the plug. And for me, the correct and only way to get there was in a sports car.
IMGP1589.jpg
 
Jay, what part of NC PA? I was based in Bradford, Pa. back in them days and we campaigned a couple of Formula cars back then (FC & FB)! The Glen was our home track and I was fortunate to go to many of those old Sports Car races such as the Can Am!
 

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Mike, That's some Glen memorabilia you've got. I'm not from northcentral Pa.(home of the Zippo and Pa.'s coldest temps), I'm from central Pa., the Harrisburg/Hershey (hillclimb, AACA, and chocolate area).
Starting to have those "it's a small world" thoughts (attending the same venues at the same time 40-some years ago).
 
I'll chime in as well, Jay. We'd travel to th' Glen in MGBs, Alfas and/or Lotus cars. Nelson's Ledges, Mid-Ohio, the lot. Missed the very LAST Glen F-1 when some old guy in a Buick took the nose off my GTV a block from home. We were packed and on our way... argh.

Sewickley, BTW. North of dah 'burgh by a few minutes.
 
Nice! How fun is THAT?!!! :smile:
 
3798j said:
.....Starting to have those "it's a small world" thoughts (attending the same venues at the same time 40-some years ago).
Click to expand...



A few years ago Linda and I were at The Glen for a club race.
As is our custom, in the evening we went to the famous Seneca Lodge for some pints.

Our friends Judy and Bill (and a bunch of other folks) came with us. Judy and Bill are married but they met later on in life and it's the second time around for both of them.

While we're there, I mention to Bill that my first time to a Glen F1 race was '68.
He tells me that his first time to see a Glen F1 race was '69.

I laugh and say: <span style="font-style: italic">"Hey, I was here that year too!"</span>

Then Judy starts laughing and says: <span style="font-style: italic">"Hey, I was here in '69 too!"</span>

Then I say to Judy: <span style="font-style: italic">"Hey, you didn't happen to meet up with any crazy guys from Trenton, NJ in a VW microbus, did you?"</span>

To my great relief, she had not (I don't know what I would have said otherwise). :devilgrin:


Back on topic, ~The Watkins Glen Racing Museum~is a nice place too. They also have a Can-Am car there right now.
 
And I wasn't even thought of yet...

Southern Alberta has a rather poor history of auto racing, even Edmonton (to the north of us) got Can-Am racing back in the day while Calgary was shutout of that action... These days most of the auto racing on the Canadian prairies is either dirt track racing or drag strip racing... There are only two road course tracks that I'm aware of here in western Canada (not including Vancouver), so it doesn't help to foster much of a racing scene, and one of those two tracks is a poor excuse for a track (that's the one here in Calgary) and is slated for closure by the city in the near future.

I know there is nothing I can do, but I do wish more real racing would happen around here, if there were more road courses I think some people who don't currently own vintage sports car racers might be more inclined to own one as it might be worth bothering.
 
'k Sherlock, you gotta decide... either continue there where you are or MOVE.

Up to you.
 
3798j said:
Mike, That's some Glen memorabilia you've got. I'm not from northcentral Pa.(home of the Zippo and Pa.'s coldest temps), I'm from central Pa., the Harrisburg/Hershey (hillclimb, AACA, and chocolate area).
Starting to have those "it's a small world" thoughts (attending the same venues at the same time 40-some years ago).
Click to expand...
That's just a bit of the kit I've got handy (drawers near my computer)...now if I start digging...!! And by the way, the distances we are talking about here between the above posts were all considered "in the 'hood" for me back then! Spent much time in your corner of the state (dated a girl from Hershey for a while!) "Longer" trips were out to Bridgehampton and Vineland to the east, Road Atlanta to the south and the furthest west I ever went back then was to Warbonnet, OK!! (in a Bugeye!!!)
 
My wife and I went to Mosport in 1972 in our Pantera to watch Mark Donohue dominate the Can-Am with his Penske 1100 horsepower Porsche 917 or whatever they called it. It was a wonderful weekend -- we camped out at the track. Try camping in a Pantera, we did it a number of times.
 
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