I heard two stories on how he gotthe GT4 roadster. 1.)he was walking through the Ford garage with AJ Foyt and Foyt said "If you want one of these, tell them you will put it in amovie" 2.) The other is that Jacques Passino, an executive, offered it to him. I guess they both could be true.Anyboy hear different?
Dean had done some work for Ford and had customized a Falcon coupe for their Cavalcade of Cars so he knew some of the Ford executives. He told me that he was in their garages when they were shutting down after beating Ferrari and asked the Ford executive (Passino?) if he could buy one of the roadsters. The Ford guy said "hell you can have it - plus whatever spares you need". I know Dean had a complete spare gearbox because he pointed it out to me on the shelves in his shop. Dean said AJ gave him two of the four-cam Indy V-8 engines - one was in the roadster and the other one was on an engine stand in the corner of his shop. That's the story I heard directly from Dean back in 2008.
Thats what he told me. He said he got several Ford engines that day as well. The right place at the right time.
The Jalopy Journal
