Some of my old cars and the McLaren I got to drive

Several pictures I found of my old altereds, Carty's F1 and me on the old M/X bike for Kawasaki back at the Lake Whitney 250 National in 1973. I told you I was ancient.......


For those that know M/X, that is Tony Distefano (future national champion) when he rode a CZ that I am passing......
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i envy you! you got to drive a mac f1? how was it?

 

TIff Needell: "few will ever drive one, even fewer will ever own one"

Maybe one day I'll be able to see one.

 

It's the thought that counts, right? You and me both, brother.

 

Somewhere back in the archives is a thread about the experience. I will see if I can find it and link to it. It was totally awesome..............Three days and the keys to an F1. How else could it be???????

 

Ahhhhhhh, I remember reading throught that!! Awesome!!!

 

Ah the McLaren F1...saw one here at Lime Rock Park (owner of BMW Turner Motorsports I understand), just pulled into the paddock area. Close enough to peer in the cockpit and engine bay...one of those moments you'll never forget...

 

Ah, I see the name change went in to effect. I rode in that same car (F1) when he was at FoD...But 3 days. Wow.

 

You got to ride with Tony, Steve, Mike and Danny??? I understand that Kevin wanted to sway the F50 for the McLaren but Carty was not interested.......

Does anyone know how to pull a thread out of the archives? I found an old thread "Changed profile pic, now McLaren F1". It has the story of how I got to drive the car plus a few more stories..........

 

No, Carty took me out for a shot down the block. "God Is Awesome"

Just how did you get to drive it for three days?

 

Carty is a friend that I have known for about 20 years now. I have sold him BMW's for himself, his wife and his kids. It was through that association that I developed our friendship. That was while I managing Broncho BMW in Odessa, Texas.

In 1996 we moved to Arlington, where I took a position with Moritz BMW. I sold a 540i for him that he owned while at Moritz. We kept in touch and one day I got a call from him saying that he was coming to Bell Helicopter to do some refresher training after clipping the end off a rotor while taking off from his hangar in Midland. He told me that he wanted me to see his new toy. He told me he had taken delivery of a new V12. I asked if he had bought another 750iL. He told me no he had not. Then I asked if it was a 850Ci. He said no, that he had sold the other one that he had bought from me. I said, "then it is not a BMW". He replied, "well, sort of a BMW". It was then that I remember the article in Road and Track and that the owner of the car being tested was "a gentleman from west Texas who prefers to remain annonymous". I asked him if he had gotten a McLaren F1 and he finally told me he had, laughing as only he can after telling me....

He drove the car the 300 miles from Midland to Hurst. He drove up to the dealership with a parade of cars following him onto the parking lot. He came into the dealership and he sat with me in my office and talked while watching people admire the car, which he had left unlocked with the doors, engine cover and cargo covers open for inspection. I told him that he needed to go out and lock the car as someone may take the pop-off steering wheel or cause some other type of damage. He said "James, it is just a car and it will be okay.". I responded, "yes, but it is a million dollar car". I really admired the next statement he made. "If you added the net worth of all the people looking at the car together, they could probably not come up with enough to cover the down payment on a car like that. God blessed me in a big way when he made it possible for me to pay cash for it. If I do not let others touch, feel, smell, admire and enjoy it, then I am treating it like a god and there is only one God. The McLaren is a wonderful machine but it is not to be worshipped, but enjoyed".

He told me he would be in town for three days for his refresher training and asked if I would like to keep the car at the dealership since it has a BMW engine as a draw. I told him I certainly would. He told me that if I just had a demo for him to drive while in town he would leave it. I offered him a 740iL or a 540i Sport. He took my 328i sedan. He told me not to make him cry as the car was self insured. He also cautioned me that if I was going to let someone else drive the car I should accompany them on the drive. I would never have thought he would let me drive it, much less someone he did not know.

He also told me to take it home at night and enjoy it myself and with my wife and son. Man did we enjoy it. I also let probably 20 other people drive the car over the three day period. I did not even set foot on the salesfloor those three days as I stayed at the car answering questions and allowing pictures.

There are many other stories to be told about those three days but that take up too much space here. I hope this answers your question.

 

Carty is a friend that I have known for about 20 years now. I have sold him BMW's for himself, his wife and his kids. It was through that association that I developed our friendship. That was while I managing Broncho BMW in Odessa, Texas.

In 1996 we moved to Arlington, where I took a position with Moritz BMW. I sold a 540i for him that he owned while at Moritz. We kept in touch and one day I got a call from him saying that he was coming to Bell Helicopter to do some refresher training after clipping the end off a rotor while taking off from his hangar in Midland. He told me that he wanted me to see his new toy. He told me he had taken delivery of a new V12. I asked if he had bought another 750iL. He told me no he had not. Then I asked if it was a 850Ci. He said no, that he had sold the other one that he had bought from me. I said, "then it is not a BMW". He replied, "well, sort of a BMW". It was then that I remember the article in Road and Track and that the owner of the car being tested was "a gentleman from west Texas who prefers to remain annonymous". I asked him if he had gotten a McLaren F1 and he finally told me he had, laughing as only he can after telling me....

He drove the car the 300 miles from Midland to Hurst. He drove up to the dealership with a parade of cars following him onto the parking lot. He came into the dealership and he sat with me in my office and talked while watching people admire the car, which he had left unlocked with the doors, engine cover and cargo covers open for inspection. I told him that he needed to go out and lock the car as someone may take the pop-off steering wheel or cause some other type of damage. He said "James, it is just a car and it will be okay.". I responded, "yes, but it is a million dollar car". I really admired the next statement he made. "If you added the net worth of all the people looking at the car together, they could probably not come up with enough to cover the down payment on a car like that. God blessed me in a big way when he made it possible for me to pay cash for it. If I do not let others touch, feel, smell, admire and enjoy it, then I am treating it like a god and there is only one God. The McLaren is a wonderful machine but it is not to be worshipped, but enjoyed".

He told me he would be in town for three days for his refresher training and asked if I would like to keep the car at the dealership since it has a BMW engine as a draw. I told him I certainly would. He told me that if I just had a demo for him to drive while in town he would leave it. I offered him a 740iL or a 540i Sport. He took my 328i sedan. He told me not to make him cry as the car was self insured. He also cautioned me that if I was going to let someone else drive the car I should accompany them on the drive. I would never have thought he would let me drive it, much less someone he did not know.

He also told me to take it home at night and enjoy it myself and with my wife and son. Man did we enjoy it. I also let probably 20 other people drive the car over the three day period. I did not even set foot on the salesfloor those three days as I stayed at the car answering questions and allowing pictures.

There are many other stories to be told about those three days but that take up too much space here. I hope this answers your question.

 

James,
Great old pics. Especially liked the altered pics. Posted a few more scans in the Green Valley Raceway thread with some cars you probably know.

 

i certainly kow my MX/SX and that is too cool!

awesome shot!

 

I forgot to say it but Tony passed me back a few corners later.. Kent Howerton won the event that day. I think Tony finished 3rd with Pierre Karsmakers second.

 

I will go take another look. Do you have any photos of Jim Butler from Morton, Texas in his maroon Falcon Ranchero? I loved the way he would lift the right front tire and carry it for about the first 100 yards............

Did you catch the second thread "And a Few More" that contained several more of my old cars??? I have not been actively involved since the early 90's and really miss it. The man married to my brothers sister-in-law built the engines for Eddie Hill for a lot of years and I was a friend of Fuzzy Carter, Eddies crew chief until Fuzzy died of a brain aneurism(sp??). Lots of fun times back then. I took a bunch of old 8mm home movies from the races of the 60's and 70's and had them put on DVD with some racing sound. Dick Harrell, Gene Snow, Hayden Proffit, Al Vanderwoude, Garlits, Bobby Langley, the Little Red Wagon, the Ramchargers, the Snake Prudhomme. I captured them all on film. The color quality has deteriorated over the years but I certainly remember all of them.

One I really like is being over the right front fender of Dick Landy's Dodge funny car in the late 60's while he is adjusting the valves on the hemi. He looked straight up at me with the cigar hanging out of his left cheek, smiled at me and went back to work. We lost him to cancer a couple of months back. In the last year Ronnie Sox and now Dick Landy. All the old pioneers of todays Funny Car racing are getting on up there in years. I guess all of us will get there someday. Who knows, maybe God has a dragstrip paved with gold up there and all our cars will run in the 4's and never break or crash on us........

 

Wow I haven't heard CZ in a long time (radial fins!)..I too am telling my age!.. I rode a 250 cc Husqvara & Greeves, but remember the Bultaco's, Maico (how about that 501 cc single?), Ossa...they were all great bikes & handled like a dream..

 

audiguy?

 

Yes,

I left the Audi dealership over two years ago after discovering that the owner knew nothing about running highline dealership and I almost went bankrupt. I thought it was time for a username change............

 

Never got to ride an Ossa. Always wanted to. I thought they looked cool.
Heiki Mikkola rode the open class Husky, Decoster the open class Suzuki, Joel Robert the 250cc Suzuki. Jim Pomeroy was the first US rider to win a World Championship event when he won the Spanish GP on a 250cc Bultaco.

Remember when Bengt Aberg won the world championship on a Husky? How about Adolf Weil on the Maico??

1.Adolf Weil on track 2. Weil in pits working on his own bike. 3. CZ on track. 4 Decoster at Belgian GP 5. Decoster and Heiki Mikkola, can't remember which race, sorry......
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awesome history right there

i just sold this...miss it already

I have always used #167. Ricky Carmichael ran it on his KX80 in the mid 90s, so when i got my new KX80 in '96 seemed a good way to go!
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After teaching the M/X schools I keep thinking that I could still do it but my body screams at me...NOOOO!!!!!!!!! I am sure the body is right.......

Here is a picture of your old bike. I know I found a picture somewhere of Ricky on the KX80 with the 167 number plate. I will see if I can locate it....

Also my old riding buddy Wyman Priddy doing the crash thing than I may be better at than he was. And Wyman coming out of the ravine at the Lake Whitney Motorcycle Ranch during a 250 national event, probably about '74 or '75.
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Try this one.
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Just read the reply. Thanks for the story, James.

 

Hannah,

Some more........