High School Highlight - For me, one of the highlights of high school was getting to visit the John Mecom racing team facilities at the Houston Airport in 1963/1964. My dad had a part time job with Mecom working on his 727. I asked dad to find about the race team which he did and we got an invite to go visit. I know this was in the fall of 1963 because the entire Lotus Formula One team was at the facilities doing total overhauls on their Lotus 24s. They had just finished US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen and were on their way to the Mexican Grand Prix in Mexico City. I was in heaven walking around vehicles with drivers names written on them, Innes Ireland, Jim Clark, Trevor Taylor and Coventry Climax V8 engines in various stages of dis-assembly scattered across the floor of the facility. My wildest dreams of actually seeing an F-1 car in person were more than realized. I was totally mesmerized. The garage manager led me over to another garage, opened the door and there sat a Ferrari GTO, blue with white racing stripes, Americas colors. It was the class winning car from LeMans and was just a beauty! He opened the door and told me to get in. WOW! the seat was spartan, snug and perfect! I was really impressed with the gated shift lever which seemed to jut a foot above the center hump. the interior was spartan and ALL business. Looking out the front of the windscreen you gazed right down a line of Weber Twin Choke Carbs, 6 in all, one bore for each of the 12 cylinders of the 3 liter engine. There is nothing I can say to get across my feelings at sitting in this amazing device and engineering mastery. I wanted to drive it. No way of course but just to sit in a Ferrari and a winning race Ferrari was a dream that never could have happened. I know we saw many for vehicles including Lolas and some older open cockpit vehicles but the Ferrari GTO and the Lotus F1 cars are still burned into my brain, never to be erased. I have always been a car guy but not just any car would do. Many years later I got my first and only exotic car, a Morgan. It wasnt a Ferrari but it was a one off for Texas cars!
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 22:17:42 +0000
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