What did Ken Miles drive on the road?

PDHse · #1 (**permalink**) 02-19-2003, 03:10 PM

I bet someone knows, what did Ken Miles drive on the road? was it Shelby connected?

Excaliber · #2 (**permalink**) 02-19-2003, 08:23 PM

THATS a good question! Remeber Smokey Yunick? "Best Dam Garage in Town", was his slogan in Florida. Awesome mechanic, legendary for his inovations with the Chevy small block. Built some great Nascar race cars.

He drove little 4 cyl cars! One of his better known was a Ford Fiesta he was experimanting with it to get maximum efficiency and gas mileage out of it! Always researching something!

And here I thought he would be driving some awesome 600 horse power race car. You just never know!

So what DID Ken Miles drive?

Ernie

Cal Metal · #3 (**permalink**) 02-20-2003, 07:29 AM

Whatever Shelby received from Ford as company cars. In most cases, they were stock Mustangs and that is what Miles drove. Later in the Shelby Mustang program, they would simply take a car off the line and use it. The little Falcon Ranchero that you see in the background of photos of Pete Brock was his own personal car, however.

PDHse · #4 (**permalink**) 02-20-2003, 02:08 PM

I,ve just dug out an issue of car and driver september 1966 . It has a feature of Ken Miles testing some cars and it mentions Ken Miles personal transport at that time as a Ford Thunderbird modified to suit his taste. Must be the last feature he appeared in.

Art Hughes · #5 (**permalink**) 05-25-2003, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cal Metal

Whatever Shelby received from Ford as company cars. In most cases, they were stock Mustangs and that is what Miles drove. Later in the Shelby Mustang program, they would simply take a car off the line and use it. The little Falcon Ranchero that you see in the background of photos of Pete Brock was his own personal car, however.

Cal
Was not Ken Miles also a test driver for the first Sunbeam Tigers?
Ran in the NW, and trashed one that was totaled out?

Tinker51 · #6 (**permalink**) 05-26-2003, 07:51 PM

Ken Miles did produce the first "Tiger". If I remember correctly he did it over a weekend and the car had a 260 and a 2 speed automatic. I have seen the "Miles Prototype" and it is a very interesting car. Lots of very strange things. Exhaust ran forward around the front cross member then aft. Fan hung down below the front vailence (spelling?) and could catch your feet if you stuck them under the car when it was running. After Miles built his then Shelby had George Boskoff (spelling?) produce the protoype that was presented to Lord Rootes who approved the production of the Tiger. I have heard that Miles drove his car for a while but I have also heard he did not.

Art Hughes · #7 (**permalink**) 05-26-2003, 09:25 PM

Guess about 1964 or 65, I went back to visit at Sports Car Forum, where I worked as a tech, here in Colummbus, Ohio. Beside the building I saw a Yellow or Mustard Yellow Sunbeam, heavily damaged and stripped. While I was inside, I was told it was a Tiger, and my memory says I was told it came from up in the NW states, and had a connection to a famous race driver. I don't know if I made this up in my mind, but am fairly sure it was a English driver. For years I have associated it with Ken Miles. The car had disc rear brakes, am sure of that, and the car was bought to strip and make a race Tiger for Don Sessler, whose pics are at the Cumberland site, in the Forum's Sunbeam Alpine.

Above is partly correct. Sports Car Forum bought the ex Ken Miles Tiger complete and running. Don Sessler took it to Nassau Speed weeks and collected a Lotus that spun in front of him. The Tiger was supposedly bulit by Hollywood Sports Cars.
5/30/2003