Thunderbird at 1957 Italian Mille Miglia

[Sierra977]

The Mille Miglia was a 1,000 mile auto race held in Italy. Run on a course of public roads on a loop of the country spanning Brescia-Rome-Brescia, it was run twenty-four times between 1927-1957. The last Mille Miglia was run in 1957. Competing that day was a 1955 Thunderbird driven by Italians Francois Smadsa and Anna Rafelli. Competing against a formidable field of Ferrari and Maserati race cars, Thunderbird #434 finished well back but did complete the course, no small feat considering roads of the time. In the video, the Thunderbird can be seen on the streets of Brescia at 1:12 and 15:25. Really wish I could have been there. Enjoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3xnT4z_ERI&t=630s

[merlot4]

That's quite something to have finished at all, that was a seriously tough course. Just to add a bit, here are some, if not most of the cars -and there's the TBird! This was a major big deal event, thanks for sharing this, Newman.

http://www.racingsportscars.com/phot...957-05-12.html

[Brad]

Funny seeing people racing convertibles

[007Cruiser]

The race did not stop in 1957. It is still held today.

https://stevemckelvie.wordpress.com/...lia-announced/

[Sierra977]

The race did not stop in 1957. It is still held today.

https://stevemckelvie.wordpress.com/...lia-announced/

Yes I'm aware of that effort. Will be nice if it comes to fruition. Got a friend in Dallas, an insurance magnate kinda guy, that owns an LS-powered 1957 Austin-Healey that has some authentic A-H Le Mans parts from back in the day. Recently he had the car shipped to Europe for a couple Historic Rally events and is thinking about the Mille Miglia 2019. He's a wealthy guy and enjoys provoking locals when he shows up with a car that looks absolutely vintage but is professionally prepared and VERY fast. There's an upscale car show in University Park in May and he will be there. I'll ask when I see him.

ETA: I'm NOT a rally guy. Most I ever did was Timing & Scoring for the SCCA Big Bend Bash Pro-Rally at Arriba Terlingua Ranch in the early 1980's when Carroll Shelby would fly his Lear into Alpine, Texas and cook chili for all the workers and drivers. Mr. Shelby scared the hell out of me one afternoon when he "buzzed" Gene Henderson's factory Jeep transporter that I had the nose of a rental Pontiac Grand Prix tucked up tight to the trailer. We were running somewhere over 100mph when Shelby zoomed low over us and it sounded like one of the Jeeps had come off the 18-wheel trailer. Caught a glimpse of the Lear as he banked low across the desert and disappeared over the Glass Mountains. He laughed when I saw him Saturday night at dinner.

[007Cruiser]

That’s quite a story!

[Sierra977]

Carroll Shelby at the wheel of an Aston-Martin DBR1 like the car he and Englishman Roy Salvadori drove to victory in the 1959 Le Mans 24-Hour race. The building in the background is his dealership where the Cobra was born.

That’s quite a story!

I met Mr. Shelby when I did auto air-conditioning work at his Dallas dealership Carroll Shelby Sports Cars. I actually worked for Delmo Johnson's older brother Tom Johnson bolting together Vetta Ventura cars at his shop Precision Motors/Performance Incorporated that were two blocks apart in north Dallas and got farmed-out when business was slow or they needed a hand at CSSC. The Katy railroad ran between Tom Johnson's shop and Carroll Shelby's dealership. I was fourteen and rode M-K-T (Katy) freights in from Rockwall and got off at the Greenville Avenue bridge.



What Carroll Shelby Sports Cars looks like today - a burger joint. Address is 5611 Yale Blvd (now SMU Blvd). Tom Johnson's shop was at 5608 E. Mockingbird Lane. It's long gone - now a parking lot for Campisi's Italian restaurant where I'm joining the Shelby Club folks for lunch on Saturday the twenty-third. Oh the stories... Beautiful women used to hang with those guys. One left us to move to London to be gf of the conductor of the London Symphony, Andre Previn, but missed us and moved back to marry the owner of the building supply company across the street from CSSC. Most beautiful girl I ever dated. She had pure class. Last date was to see the Lipizzaner stallions.

[Sierra977]

Funny seeing people racing convertibles

Convertible racing was a big deal in the 1950's and early 1960's. NASCAR even ran them in their own races. Convertibles were usually heavier but carried their weight lower and handled better.

Darlington 1962

[007Cruiser]

No pictures of the girl?

[Sierra977]

No pictures of the girl?

LOL No. Maybe go to one of those high school annual sites but it's been a long time.