I think this is Steve with a later version. California Black tags, Tricked-out Fnt bumper 4 lights, Wider wheels, spotlight and a cowboy hat ??
If i was a bet'n man... Those dents rear upper left are from a broken chain that broke, pulling/pulled out...
Take @lothiandon1940 's signature to heart. You wake up one day and go "Already? WTF?" then it hits you. I can vividly recall **** from 7-8yrs ago like it was last month. A sure sign, just sayin, cool entry brutha.
I’m not sure where this is coming from or where you got that, but everyone I know in racing loved the guy. The Unsers, Paul, Jim Hall, etc… In fact, he raced Porsches quite a bit with John Paul Sr. under the name Harvey Mushman to avoid the insurance kickback. And there isn’t a Le Mans racer in the world that doesn’t love what he did for that race.
There's also the Con-ferr Super jeep... That was Ridiculous.. The Thomas crown affair dune buggy was $ick also... I saw his XK jag at Barrett Jackson...Damn!
Off topic, but this is probably the most successful car Steve campaigned: In 1970, he won at Holtville and Phoenix in the 908…. And got 2nd overall at Sebring - leading most of the race with Peter Revson… Closest factory team came in 4th.
Mine was a 53 “Lighthouse” Dodge. I made the camper in 1967. You can see the 1960 Chrysler hubcaps. I bought a 1960 New Yorker and installed the running gear in the Dodge. That’s our son at 3 yrs old; he’s 57 now.
50 MPH tops! With the engine SCREAMING. I own one so I know. Swapped in a '72 Nova rear with 3.08's and discs for the front. Much better. Andy
McQueen, was also a regular, that hung out at the Santa Paula airport, where he would fly his vintage Stearman bi-plane.
I have always been a big fan of Steve McQueen, to the extent I built a clone 68 Bullitt. I even have the license plate JJZ109 on it. I don't drive it very often, but when I do, it surprises me that so many people recognize it as a Bullitt Mustang.
@Bandit Billy, I wasn't saying that he didn't have a car collection. Just that from all I've read and do***entaries I've seen he was a true enthusiast that drove the heck out of his vehicles and had a talent for doing so.
Steve was a highly respected motorcycle racer, even competing on the USA Six Day Trials Team in 1964; https://masonandsons.com/blogs/the-periodical/steve-mcqueen-and-the-1964-isdt
A Baja do***entary with Steve http://www.bajasunfilms.com/ I could’ve sworn he did another one on Baja as well. Dan
Yeah, I have never heard anything different. You have to figure that any time Steve McQueen rolled up to a race, whether he was there to drive or just stand around and soak it in, the temperature of the place changed. People noticed. Even if they were not star struck, it messes with your head to see a face you have lived with on movie screens suddenly standing ten feet away, breathing the same dust. And of course there is always the other crowd. The ones who feel threatened by that kind of presence, or maybe it is jealousy dressed up as principle. They busted their ***es to get to that track under those conditions and here comes Steve, just walking in like gravity bends for him. Celebrity rubs some people the wrong way no matter the context. So they hang back in the shadows and mutter invented nonsense about a man they have absolutely no experience with. From everything I have ever heard from people who were actually there, McQueen was respected. Maybe not always worshiped as a driver, but absolutely respected as a guy who was genuinely committed to the sport. He was not a tourist. He showed up for the right reasons and that counts for more than most people are willing to admit.
Well stated. I think a lot of us are attracted to famous people not because they are famous, but because of what they are famous for. Dan Steve would be one of those people for me.
Quote from Andrettis book talking about Sebring in 1970: “I was hell-bent on not letting that *******ed Hollywood actor win. Over the last hour or so I clawed my way back into striking distance and, to my surprise, the guy was smooth. I had at least 300 horsepower on him and still had to work like hell to reel him in. When I finally got around him, it felt like a weight came off my chest. Afterward, I shook his hand, braced for the worst. Instead, I fell hard for his charm and we stood there talking racing for a good long while. He was the rich guy, the one with every advantage, yet he rolled out of the track alone in a beat-up old pickup. Meanwhile, I lifted off in a factory-provided helicopter. I saw and raced with him a few times after that, but never had that pressure again.”
Growing up on the East Coast, Paul Newman was as well. Really compe***ive at Lime Rock in the Bob Sharp Datsun’s 510’s and Z’s when I went there. I put McQueen as one of the King’s of Cool and one of the “ Hero’s get remembered but lengends never die”
Both McQueen and Newman were respected very compe***ive racers. Yet, like all of us, put one pant leg on at a time. Good guys from all that I’ve read.
Paul Newman was a race car driver who tolerated acting because it kept the lights on and the transporters rolling. Hollywood was the job, racing was the point. Steve McQueen was an actor possessed by the soul of a racer, loaded with p***ion and nerve, but never quite climbed to the same al***ude. He wanted it badly, lived it honestly, but the ceiling was always there, just out of reach. In a lot of ways, just like everything else, it came down to money… Newman landed that huge “Towering Inferno” contract and didn’t have to worry about his next paycheck for a long, long time… allowing him to focus on racing at a very pivotal time. McQueen made huge money also, but never all at once like that.
It is coming from a long family history going back to the 1930s! Friends involved in all aspects of auto racing/motorsports Look at his stats in sports cars -20 entries form 1958 to 1970 of that 4 DNA Did not attempt did not attempt to qualify 3 DNS Did Not start. 1 DNF Did not finish Did he have some success yes just that some success, but by no means was he a prolific of a great racer. When I get home I will find the interview I have with a very well known and well respected member of the motorsports press who was less than impressed by Steve McQueen It he is much like Dale Earnhardt to hear the modern NASCAR fan you would think he was a fan favorite and everyone loved him. However for those of us who were actually their we remember Dale Earnhardt being booed week in and week out.
Andretti, multiple Unsers, Jim Hall, and Dan Gurney would all disagree. And I mean… dude got 2nd at Sebring with a broken foot and in a borrowed car… and won three or four national races. Better than I ever did.
One of my old coworkers used to tell me about he worked concessions and used to serve Steve McQueen, Lee Marvin and Keenan Wynn at Ascot Raceway. They were quite often. He said they were always a lot of fun.
The Jalopy Journal
