Here's what Paul was referring to. He was my photographer on this
occasion. I had made arrangements to road test one for my monthly
column. A rare beastie, it was the 400 model which was the late
production version. Had a 271 hi-po brought up to 305 Shelby specs. The
owner is a surgeon with a major Ford addiction who also has a 427 Cobra
SC (real), a 427 cobra ERA Replica, an ERA Daytona replica, and a GT-40
ERA replica. He even has a Cammer sitting on an engine stand in his
cellar. Would have tested the GT-40, but couldn't get in---too old and
at 6'3", too tall. No Gurney bump in the roof. Can't tell much about
Griffith performance because just as we were starting out, the Griffith
electronics failed---Lucas, of course. Then we had to hotwire it to run,
the wire started smoking, and the owner got nervous and backed out. He
had $12,000 into the glasurit-painted fiberglas body. The chassis looks
like thinwall electrical conduit. I ended up pushing the damned thing
2-3 blocks.
I did get a humourous column out of it, and Paul ended up with some
good photos. As to their performance, when sorted out they go like
stink! according to the British magazines, they are consistent class
winners in some current British events. Makes little sense as a road
car.
And didn't Lou Anderson win a SCCA national championship autocross
title with one a few years back? I think that's what convinced me to buy
his 1 1/4" hollow front sway bar for my Tiger.
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