Seeing the mighty Daytona Coupe in her bare aluminum bodywork in these Shelby American publicity photos from 1964 makes me sympathize with these engineers and mechanics. They must have been filled with trepidation for the coming season. This being Shelby American, I’m sure they didn’t show it. But although their heads must have been dancing with the possibility, they couldn’t have known that this intoxicating machine they were assembling were about to become a legend.
Presumably this is CSX2287—the prototype—being gingerly pieced together at Shelby’s Venice workshop. If I’m right, it wouldn’t be long before this machine would the piloted by Phil Hill, by Dave MacDonald, by Bob Holbert, by Innes Ireland…. and the list goes on.
If this is indeed the prototype, Wikipedia says that this gorgeous piece of American muscle exited her career with a little vacation that earned her 25 USAC/FIA world records on the Bonneville Salt Flats. That, my friends, is a proper retirement party for a racing car; particularly an American racing car.
Regardless, it’s marvelous to see things humming inside the Shelby Workshops.
via Nigel Smuckatelli’s brilliant Flickr Stream.
0 replies on “Factories at Work: Assembling the Shelby Daytona”
This building is still there and intact (I haven’t dropped by in about a year though) but you’d never guess what rolled out of there by looking at it.
Still, it’s very cool to just be able to cruise down the street on my bike and think about another time. Will have to do it again soon.
The prototype is now at the Simeone Foundation in Philly. We worth the visit!
Takes me back to when I built mine. Of course I was using Testors glue.