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It's not a movie car, but one that most anyone who watched TV in 1968-69 will remember...Mannix's Dart GTS 340 convertible, with subtle "kustom" work by Barris.

I loved it then, and it's in my garage now. Tracked it down ten years ago and bought it.

Then I got in touch with Mannix star Mike Connors and reunited him with the car for a magazine article and TV segment I did. 

That day, the inner kid in me had a lifelong dream come true.  Pretty cool feeling.

Nice one Van!

It looks like a car Dodge could have made. Barris didn't go overboard on that one.
Neat story that you hunted and found it.
The signed photo of the reunion is a fantastic memento from that day!

Thanks, Rich and JD!  Here's a YouTube link to the TV segment I did:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBOAJSF1ypA

It's not a movie car, but one that most anyone who watched TV in 1968-69 will remember...Mannix's Dart GTS 340 convertible, with subtle "kustom" work by Barris.

I loved it then, and it's in my garage now. Tracked it down ten years ago and bought it.

Then I got in touch with Mannix star Mike Connors and reunited him with the car for a magazine article and TV segment I did. 

That day, the inner kid in me had a lifelong dream come true.  Pretty cool feeling.

Was the engine builder a shop that you or a car buddy has used before? 

I think the script on the front fender reads Thunderbird.

1961 Thunderbird proposal...which was the first destination for that styling theme.  But Lincoln got it instead.

Happens to me almost every time.  Usually it's a giant 4x4 pickup with wide-swinging doors and five people inside.  I drove my Kirkham two days ago and that's exactly what happened. I could see it from inside the restaurant and ran out to protect my baby.  The people in the truck were oblivious.

That's funny, Richard, but the Old Man is likely to come back from the grave and kick your ass.

Don't forget his banjo from the porch scene in Deliverance.

True story:

When I worked for CS, as PR Manager, at the Shelby Autos facility in 1987-89, I got to know Leno a little bit.  He hung around a couple of times, met Shelby, talked cars, etc.

So, one day, Carroll instructs me:  "Get me booked on the Carson show when Leno is hosting." 

OK, I'll give it a shot.

I call Jay and ask. He thinks it would be fun, but warned that he didn't have a lot of pull as to who the guests were, as it was still Johnny's show, and Johnny would definitely be watching the broadcast, or reviewing the tapes, to see how Jay did. 

But, Jay did give me the number of his agent/manager, Helen Kushnick, who apparently did have the pull to book guests.  (She later became the show's Executive Producer, when Johnny retired and Jay got the full-time gig.)

She was regarded by many in the business as tough to deal with, and I knew I'd only have about 30 seconds of her attention to make the pitch---and it'd better be a good one.

I wrote out a bunch of suggested talking points for Jay and Carroll, and read them off when I finally got her on the phone.  I emphasized to her that Carroll is an icon and hero to an entire generation or two of Americans, as well as a household name to millions of men (and Tonight Show viewers.) 

When I got done with my pitch, there was silence on the other end of the receiver.

Finally..."Never heard of her."   CLICK.

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-09-23-ca-1114-story.html

As additional commentary to this lawyer, I contend that he was in his heyday during the 1960s.  The 1960s was a period of time when auto racing, street racing and muscle cars/ sports cars of all kinds patrolled the streets.  You weren't anyone as a guy unless you had some modicum of interest in said subject matter (or at least was aware of it).  I further add that the number one hit, Hey Little Cobra was number one for a week, so unless this guy was exclusively into Baroque music, how could he not know about that song.  I play classical and romantic era music on the piano but you can be damned sure I know who Led Zeppelin is, Pantera, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Guns n Roses, Metallica, Soundgarden, Audioslave and so on.  Was there not a minimal amount of inquiry merited to ask, "Hey, what's this hey little Cobra song all about?"  Apparently not.  I'm just a dumb Canadian having grown up in Canada, somewhat insular from U.S. culture and even I knew what a Cobra was when I started high school in 1977!  And one more thing, anyone that ever tells me "Oh that was way before my time." My response is "So were dinosaurs.  Are you going to tell me you don't know what a dinosaur is?"  That is usually met with silence.  Whatever the Supreme Court did and who they are and were is not part of the national conscious.  Shelby brought a hell of a lot more joy to people's lives (Enzo Ferrari excepted of course) than the members of the Supreme Court.  All they bring is pain and more restrictions and curtailments on what we can and cannot do.  Lawyers and judges kinda suck in a way.  Carroll Shelby should be better known in my opinion.  Living back in  the 60s in your heyday as a youth and not knowing such things is like swimming in the ocean and being totally unaware of sharks.  That's my two cents for what it's worth which, in this case, is apparently two cents.

Richard E.

Richard,

You have summed it up very well.  I bet if you followed that lawyer out into the parking lot, he'd be driving a Prius or some other lame azz "save the planet" appliance.

I hear you, Richard, and I agree with what you've said. 

Better to have what looks like a pretty decent car movie about Shelby, et al, than to either have no movie at all, or have it suck like virtually every car movie in recent memory.

You're right also that this feels like an old style man's movie. We need more of those.  Something to put the Prius owners' panties in a wad.

As a fan of CS and his exploits, I'll take this as a 90% victory and enjoy it. 
Van

PS: I'm going to see the original feature-length "Grand Prix" at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood next weekend, on the giant 86-foot curved screen.  I saw it there, back in the day, when I was a little kid and it helped forged my love of racing.  Come out and I'll treat you to a ticket.
https://www.arclightcinemas.com/learn-more/dome-21

Thanks for the invite, Van. I need to get out to California again sometime. It's tough to get away from the practice though when things get scheduled for court. I have to plan weeks if not months in advance just to get away.

Come out anytime...we'll have some fun blasting around in fast cars.

I hear you, Richard, and I agree with what you've said. 

Better to have what looks like a pretty decent car movie about Shelby, et al, than to either have no movie at all, or have it suck like virtually every car movie in recent memory.

You're right also that this feels like an old style man's movie. We need more of those.  Something to put the Prius owners' panties in a wad.

As a fan of CS and his exploits, I'll take this as a 90% victory and enjoy it. 
Van

PS: I'm going to see the original feature-length "Grand Prix" at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood next weekend, on the giant 86-foot curved screen.  I saw it there, back in the day, when I was a little kid and it helped forged my love of racing.  Come out and I'll treat you to a ticket.
https://www.arclightcinemas.com/learn-more/dome-21

Looking better, but Damon's accent still bugs me.

And how many of us think that Miles really punched CS in the face?   

Oh no.  Very sad.  Life is precious and fragile.

Great photos. When/where was that?