John Morton was a featured guest at a recent Shelby Club meeting here in San Diego last week, and he has a very lengthy career in Sports car racing, beginning way back in the early 60's. He had many great stories to tell, everything from winning Daytona, racing at LeMans, driving a Daytona Coupe and winning at the Monterey Historics, and even what it was like working for Shelby American beginning back in the fall of 1962.
Morton began working for Shelby as a janitor, sweeping floors and cleaning work benches. He wasn't a skilled mechanic, but he was willing to learn, and all he wanted to do was learn how to race. He had raced his own Lotus 7 in several SCCA races prior to working for Shelby, but a couple of chances to race for Shelby came and went with no real promise. Then, in March of 1964, Shelby called for Morton to drive down to Sebring from California to be a nightwatchman and a tire changer for the Shelby team. He drove down from California with two other employees and $75 in their pockets in a VW Karman-Ghia.
Phil Hill was to be Ken Miles team mate in the newly built 427 Cobra stuffed into CSX 2196, but Hill was having second thoughts and withdrew after watching Miles centerpunch a tree during practice and decided to race a 289 instead. Morton found an old motorcycle helmet and an old driving suit that was way too big for him. Miles needed a team mate, and Morton was the only one left. Shelby called him into the trailer and asked him if he knew the course well enough to race. Morton said he did, (He'd never turned a wheel on the track before, but had only seen a map of the track, and had only been a spectator in just a few turns!), so he got the nod. Morton didn't even have an FIA licence yet, but Miles took care of that situation and signed for his licence.
Miles was never really competitive in the new 427, (known to Shelby mechanics and drivers as the Turd) but it was good testing ground for a future 427 race car, so they continued to run the car anyway. Miles came in, and turned over the car to Morton. His legs were shaking so badly from nervousness that he could hardly push in the clutch. He finally took off to "discover" the Sebring course in an overpowered racecar that he'd never even driven before! Morton ended up spining the car twice on the first lap, but eventually learned the track well enough to stay out of everyone's way during the race.
To Morton's dismay, the brakes quit working going into a 90 degree turn at the end of a 140mph straight. He brought the car into the pits to have it checked out, and the crew found nothing wrong and that they worked just fine. He again went back out to again have the brakes fail. The crew was angry at Morton and they sent Miles out in the car only to come back in and proclaim that indeed the brakes were not working. They fixed the problems, (brake pedal pins working themselves in and out of their slots) and Morton again went back out in the overheating, ill-handling car only to have the motor blow up just before dusk. That was the end of his Sebring debut.
Fortunately, his next ride was in Sept. of '64 with Miles, and Skip Scott at Road America in a 289 Cobra where they won the GT class and got second overall. His third and final race for Shelby was at Bridgehampton in '65 in a 289.
Morton has since gone on to race and win in just about everything with four wheels, including a Championship with Pete Brock in Trans Am in Datsun's.
At the young age of 60, he has raced in five different decades and was told by Phil Remington that he will never amount to any kind of a driver. (Probably the only time Phil Remington was ever wrong) John also enjoys riding motorcycles and flying his own airplane. He now resides in the L.A. area with his wife.
John Morton
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