SAAC Forum

Based on the other things in the photo that we suspect we know the color of, and how black-and-white film reproduces such photos, my guess is the car is blue.  Red tends to look much more grey in a B&W pix.

However, since there were green cars, as noted by Jim P., there's a possibility it could also be a metallic green.  Similar appearance in B&W as a metallic darkish blue.

What color was the 1963 Michigan license plate?  That might help.

Just my $0.02 as a long-time car photog.

Nice ramp safety.  Was that back when The Duke Boys drove a Shelby? 

Do you know if the Dearborn Inn will survive?  Lots of fascinating and salacious stories, if that old hotel could talk!

And James Scott Bumgarner.

Too bad (as far as we know) the three of them were never on the same track at the same time. That would been one helluva race.

In Garner's autobiography, it does say that he lived near McQueen for a while in Brentwood, CA.  Each had a Mini Cooper and they used to race each other down the neighborhood's twisty streets. 

Agreed!

Well done, Richard.  Clever premise. Good read.
Van

Oh man, that's about as good of an ending as you could've hoped for!  So happy for you!

Ok, just got home from a drive. Saw a pickup hauling a gardener's type of open trailer. One of his very long safety chains had come loose somewhere along the way and was wedged under the front tandem-axle tire on the right side of the trailer. That wheel was locked up, with the wedged chain.

I got next to him and waved, honked, yelled, but no response. He finally turned left into another street and a guy followed him, honking his horn.

The tire was making such a metal and rubber screeching sound on the pavement (plus tire smoke) that you'd THINK he'd notice. But no.

No disrespect to the man, but I have read many personal accounts from people who were on set with him over the years, and most say he was more like 5'8" or 5'9".

rhjanes:  Yep, I do like you and quadruple-check everything, and then do it again at each gas/food/pee stop along the way.

Agreed with seeing someone almost daily with a poorly secured load.  Ever rented a U-Haul trailer?  The amount of hands-on teaching they give you is a slam-bam-get-on-your-way  two-minute tutorial.  Never anything about how to properly tie down a load.  It's probably written on their site, or on the back of the rental form in micro-type, but no one ever reads that stuff. 

I'm amazed I don't see more of those things flipped over or with loads flying.

I think you need to lower Steve's pix by about 4 inches. 

Quote from: NC TRACKRAT on September 06, 2019, 02:45:58 PM
Similar thing happened to a fellow instructor headed down to Roebling Road towing his BMW late at night, he suddenly realized that the car wasn't on the trailer anymore.  Went back a couple of exits and re-traced his route...still no car.  Went back again...finally saw some tire tracks going off the road into a flat, overgrown weeds.  The car had come to rest with only minor scrapes!  Drove it out of the field, put it back on the trailer and cinched it down tight!  True story.

That's the definition of a lucky day!

Another thought on that booking photo:

I've read that, like many other movie/TV celebrities, McQueen was shorter than his bio claimed, and that he often wore lifts in his shoes. 

That makes me wonder what the official scale in the booking photo showed?  Are there any other shots of it, not so tightly cropped, so we can see the measurement?

Jim,
I think you're correct about across Oakwood, at the Styling/Design complex.  The brick wall there is more consistent with the photo.
Good eye,
Van

1. He definitely looks a little drunky in the booking photos.

2. WTF up with his super white ear?

3. If he were alive today he'd be closing in on 90!  What's the saying about don't let your heroes get old? James Dean would be about the same age. Elvis would be 84. Marilyn Monroe would be 93. Think as many people would remember them as legends, if they were still alive?  (Well, probably McQueen for us Mustang guys.)