Hello All,
Recently I have thought of a couple of threads that I think would be of interest to some of the forum members. Actually, one of the threads was a request of a forum member. Unfortunately, I was working with a computer that was very unreliable and would constantly turn itself off mid-post so I never tried to complete that thread. I will post that thread at the end of this paragraph. Also, for those interested, I will be posting a series of pictures in the tech section of the Ford GT gearbox completely torn down. Something that was very "normal" for us to see over the past couple of years during the 3.90 gear changes but most people will never get to see themselves.
Moving on to the original purpose for this thread. Every Ford GT owner knows the history of the car and the victories at Le Mans. Many Ford GT owner's even know the driver's of the cars who won those races. Most people don't know that one of those driver's (Chris Amon) is a dear friend of Steve Millen's. When the second rally was held in Newport Beach we actually worked on a surprise for all of the Ford GT owner's. We were going to fly Mr. Amon up from his home in New Zealand so everyone could meet one of the men who made this car legendary. Unfortunately, Chris's health is not the best and his doctor's encouraged him to stay home.
In the late 70's Steve was racing an open wheeler in New Zealand and was really struggling. He was driving a B42 Chevron at the time and was having a hard time getting good results. Steve had sold his old B34 in order to get the B42 but for some reason, he just wasn't as fast in the new car. Looking back now Steve says he should have cut his losses and bailed out but he kept the B42 because it should have been competitive since it was the newest car. Prior to the 78-79 season Steve was visited by Chris Amon.
Chris went to Pukekohe raceway with Steve to test out the B42. They broke down the track into different segments and timed the car. With Chris' help Steve and his team were able to find out that although the car handled well on the corners, it was an aerodynamic brick on the straightaways. Steve (and his team) had begun to wonder if the problem was the driver, not the car. Thanks to Chris Amon's guidance Steve regained his confidence and pushed ahead. Not only had Steve's confidence risen, so did Chris'. Mr. Amon offered to put some of his own money into helping the team buy a competitive Ralt RT1. Steve still had a final race before the end of the season though. He took the B42 to Pukekohe for the last Gold Star national championship race. Steve did not win pole, but he took the lead early and never looked back, winning the race with deceptive ease. The performance caught the attention of another driver who felt the victory was due to the car, not the driver. Before the race weekend was over the car was sold to the other driver and Steve started shopping for a new car. Steve found a Ralt RT1 in pretty rough shape and was able to get a great deal on it. Such a good deal that he ended up not having to take Chris up on his offer of additional financial support. Steve and Chris have remained good friends ever since and continue to stay in touch.
Chris Amon is actually a big fan of the Ford GT and has even driven one. A couple of years ago Steve let Chris take our bright orange Ford GT around a New Zealand race track for a few parade laps. Chris jumped in with no hesitation and actually pushed the car pretty well and had an absolute blast! He got out of the car with a big grin and you could almost see him traveling down memory lane. Chris Amon was one of the men who won the 1966 Le Mans 24 hour races in the original GT40.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Amon
I am trying to find a picture of Chris with our Ford GT at the track.
Recently I have thought of a couple of threads that I think would be of interest to some of the forum members. Actually, one of the threads was a request of a forum member. Unfortunately, I was working with a computer that was very unreliable and would constantly turn itself off mid-post so I never tried to complete that thread. I will post that thread at the end of this paragraph. Also, for those interested, I will be posting a series of pictures in the tech section of the Ford GT gearbox completely torn down. Something that was very "normal" for us to see over the past couple of years during the 3.90 gear changes but most people will never get to see themselves.
Moving on to the original purpose for this thread. Every Ford GT owner knows the history of the car and the victories at Le Mans. Many Ford GT owner's even know the driver's of the cars who won those races. Most people don't know that one of those driver's (Chris Amon) is a dear friend of Steve Millen's. When the second rally was held in Newport Beach we actually worked on a surprise for all of the Ford GT owner's. We were going to fly Mr. Amon up from his home in New Zealand so everyone could meet one of the men who made this car legendary. Unfortunately, Chris's health is not the best and his doctor's encouraged him to stay home.
In the late 70's Steve was racing an open wheeler in New Zealand and was really struggling. He was driving a B42 Chevron at the time and was having a hard time getting good results. Steve had sold his old B34 in order to get the B42 but for some reason, he just wasn't as fast in the new car. Looking back now Steve says he should have cut his losses and bailed out but he kept the B42 because it should have been competitive since it was the newest car. Prior to the 78-79 season Steve was visited by Chris Amon.
Chris went to Pukekohe raceway with Steve to test out the B42. They broke down the track into different segments and timed the car. With Chris' help Steve and his team were able to find out that although the car handled well on the corners, it was an aerodynamic brick on the straightaways. Steve (and his team) had begun to wonder if the problem was the driver, not the car. Thanks to Chris Amon's guidance Steve regained his confidence and pushed ahead. Not only had Steve's confidence risen, so did Chris'. Mr. Amon offered to put some of his own money into helping the team buy a competitive Ralt RT1. Steve still had a final race before the end of the season though. He took the B42 to Pukekohe for the last Gold Star national championship race. Steve did not win pole, but he took the lead early and never looked back, winning the race with deceptive ease. The performance caught the attention of another driver who felt the victory was due to the car, not the driver. Before the race weekend was over the car was sold to the other driver and Steve started shopping for a new car. Steve found a Ralt RT1 in pretty rough shape and was able to get a great deal on it. Such a good deal that he ended up not having to take Chris up on his offer of additional financial support. Steve and Chris have remained good friends ever since and continue to stay in touch.
Chris Amon is actually a big fan of the Ford GT and has even driven one. A couple of years ago Steve let Chris take our bright orange Ford GT around a New Zealand race track for a few parade laps. Chris jumped in with no hesitation and actually pushed the car pretty well and had an absolute blast! He got out of the car with a big grin and you could almost see him traveling down memory lane. Chris Amon was one of the men who won the 1966 Le Mans 24 hour races in the original GT40.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Amon
I am trying to find a picture of Chris with our Ford GT at the track.
