[Brent Mills]

Today I drove the GT to work....Not exactly exciting given the traffic, but more fun than had I been driving the commuter car. Late this afternoon this email made it's way to me after numerous stops and people found me. I thought it was pretty great to hear the raw feelings and how others view things without knowing the words will ever end with the person they are writing of. Pretty cool. The picture is what he or passenger took this morning and the words are his own.

Sent: Friday, July 12, 2013 11:57 AM
To: Redmond Motorcycle Riders
Subject: Morning commute - what's that rumble? ...that smell? Is that really a...

I’m driving into work today, following WDWMKR on his FJR (though he has no idea who I am… ). Enjoying the gentle burble of an FJR from my open window, making sure I don’t crowd him, etc.

I start to become aware there is a rumble nearby. Like someone slipped a big-bolock V8 into a bass boat and decided it’d be ideal for the commute! Next I notice a smell…which seems vaguely familiar…

Unburned fuel – and high test stuff at that, like race gas…

Smells like a NASCAR paddock…or maybe what I imagine the LeMans pit smelled like back in the day. J

Rumble…RUMBLE…BLAAAAAAT…RUMBLE…Rumble…

Where the F is THAT intoxicating sound coming from?!

Then the traffic parts! No wonder I couldn’t see it! Holy Hot Hanah, OMG and WTF?! A GT40???!!!



Now, that is what looks to be a Ford GT40. Naturally, I immediately think replica. Then details start to emerge…

Those are magnesium knock off rims. The tires are old school looking racing Goodyears. The GT40s were spectacular racecars, but on the street, they were rubbish by all accounts. It certainly LOOKS, SOUNDS and SMELLS the part, but could this really be one of the few, in the rivets?!

A couple are known to reside in the PNW, what with their high price tags and people-of-means in this area, it’s a natural combo.

As I siddle up beside the car, I see the driver is on the right-hand side (as original, though kits do this, too), and the guy has hearing protection on – a full noise-isolating, boom-mike equipped setup. The interior looks…well, Spartan would be considered an uplevel option, let’s just say. Devoid of anything resembling anything that might contribute to a human being’s comfort. The seat belts might have been chains.

As we pulled forward from a light, he gave it some gas – well, we probably only pressed the gas pedal down about 1/16”, but in doing so gave the lumpier-than-teenager’s-face engine maybe a full BARREL of gasoline – the revs increased, the sound smoothed to that of ripping canvas, there was a nice cloud of burned and unburned effluvium ejected from the exhaust pipes and he squirted ahead.

Sadly, neither of us had the time to exchange VIN numbers so we could verify each other’s rides were originals (you never know when a sneaky Toyota Tacoma clone will pull up next to you, after all) as traffic opened up on the 520. He opted to stay in the inside lane the entire time, hiding behind such road monsters as a Nissan Sentra, a Civic and an E-Class wagon. Swear to God, he could have driven up inside the bed of an F150 and the truck wouldn’t notice it in the rearview mirror. Damn this could almost park UNDER the Crown Vic it was following!

And that was it – the GT40 was lost to time and the commute. HOLY CRAP it sounded great!

duane