I had a friend approach me in regards to researching these and I about feel out of my chair. Yep they are the real deal. As story goes they were found in a box at Pomona well over 30 years ago. It seems that a friend of the owner who was a retired Ford Design Engineer offered to help him clean his garage and these were in the pile. They have remained hidden and out of site all these years....fast forward to 2008 as the years past and the owner has aged to the point he has been plassed in a home. I have been tasked at the request of the family to please assist in determining the value of these two design proto types...Please help folks as I have absolutly no idea where to turn other than the HAMB multitude, which is a great place to be. Please enjoy the pictures and should someone be able to provide any additional information or details as to exactly what they are and how they are used in the design concept and Value....Where should I turn that would benifit the family the most? We know they are Rare, but just how Rare?
Wow! How do you put a price on something you have never seen before? How big are they and what are they made of?
I think they are made of clay, and are one off's! would make VERY EXPENSIVE skeet targets! just kiding, I would say from $150. to $1500. but you never know, they could go for crazy $$$$ on Evilbay!........Roach.
antiques roadshow: well, if you hadn't taken the wheels off of them, they would be worth at auction $4 trillion dollars, but as they are, they are still worth....dramatic pause....probably a crap load to big wallet Ford racing fanatics regardless, ebay would be a quick way to figure it out if they are into actually letting them go. Or list them with a totally unrealistic reserve and see how high it goes. Do that a couple of times and you probably will get a pretty good idea how much they are worth at the moment.
The bottom plate scews in to create the seal to be able to pour or inject the material through the holes in the base plate. Both appear to be some sort of cast material. Not a clay of metal. They are both 7 inches in length. There are some sort of control numbers etched in written form on the bottom. They could have been originally produced by Shelby as a design concept presented to Ford Engineering. Thanks Dave
Wind tunnel models,probably made in the UK when lola were developing the body shape for Ford .Value ? around $10,000. Consider the value of real GT40 .....
The first one looks alot like a Porsche 904 GTS. I'm thinkin they are bucks for vacuform slot car bodies. Stying and wind tunnel models are usually much larger. Kurt O.
Just need a vacuum forming machine, and you're in business! Maybe make a female mold and do some carbon fiber slot car bodies
i dunno... thats an AWEFULL lot of surface detail to be a vac form buck, especially when you condsider all that detail would be on the INSIDE of the body shell. not to mention how much of a pain in the ass it'd be to pull the "bucks" from the formed parts when you take into consideration the shape of the wheel openings... these are interesting as hell, but i dont think we have found the real solution yet
I would think that the value would be determined with the proof that he worked for Ford and in what department and that would probably prove what they were used for. If well documented some way, I think they should bring some decent money. I would contact Ron Pratt the millionaire that buys all the Carroll Shelby stuff.
I would try to contact Carroll Shelby. After all he is a normal guy. Probably knows exactly what they are. [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Please feel free to call or fax us about engines, engine parts, general questions, or comments![/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]CARROLL SHELBY ENTERPRISES, INC. 19021 S. Figueroa St. Gardena, CA 90248-4510 Tel : 310-538-2914 Fax : 310-538-1815[/FONT]
Definitely not wind-tunnel molds. Too many undercuts, not enough draft angle and no holes for the vac former running thru the body.
Thanks to everyone. The porsche 904 was my first thoughts when I was able to hold it up close. The detail right down to the rivits are just bitchin. This really makes sense now that you guys have brought this forward.I truly appreciate everyone chimming in. Is there a market for this stuff? How could we match these up to determine the manufacture Aurora (sp)...etc. What really cracks me up now is that would be just like a Ford Executive to have his car toys stashed in a desk drawer to take out and dream about during his silent time in the office!
I've seen wooden models like those from my Hotwheels collecting days. Larry Woods could probably tell you all about them. I think he has many of his original studies in wood from the redline years. There were lots of diecast companies in the early to mid 60's. Matchbox, Aurora, etc...
Contact these guys... http://www.electricdreams.com/ They will know if they are slot car body bucks and probably who made them. Vintage slot car stuff can go for serious dollars. Kurt O.
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