Mike,
An interesting scenario, which might fit some of the facts. But I do not
believe the story on the Shelby site is really correct, anyway.
First, we have the letter to read of Ian's proposal for a development
contract for a V-8 powered Sunbeam written to the US Managing Director.
Second, although Ken Miles DROVE for Shelby for some time before this,
as even documented on that web page history, he also raced Sunbeam
Alpines at the same time. I believe that the racing was as a Shelby
pay-per-ride driver arrangement, rather than as an employee. The
sponsor of the Sunbeam Alpine racing was an acquaintance Lew Spencer,
who was a Sunbeam distributor in Westwood, CA. You may recall he won a
number of Tiger racing events, as well. This arrangement could also have
been as a paid driver per race, rather than as an full time employee. It
is written, and now reason to doubt it, that Ken went back to Ian for
permission to try a quick prototype, as Shelby was taking longer than
anticipated. He was supplied an Alpine through, I believe, Hollywood
Sport Cars. I do not know what the financial arrangements were, beyond
the initial supply of the car.
Just thought that the statement was interesting, in any event.
I knew Ken Miles since the early '50's when he was Service Manager of
International Motors, and Phil Hill was my mechanic. I was his guest at
some of the SCCA events (free pit passes), and dealt with him at his
subsequent job at the MG distributor, Gough Industries. All this was
long before the Sunbeam Alpine was released (as opposed to the modified
"Proper Alpine" Talbot based car. So I have no special knowledge of the
Shelby years. I was fortunate enough to see him putting his first
"Special" together, as well as the famed "Flying Shingle". This was some
driver, as later years proved in the larger cars. Lew Spencer's agency
was right down the street from me, in Los Angeles terms, as was Shelby's
factory at the LAX airport. I knew Lew from working with a friend who
raced Morgans bought and prepped at Lew's agency. Things were done on
handshakes in those days, so you could very well be correct on the Miles
efforts. Shelby, however, did have a real contract that had his royalty
provisions written in. Been into this stuff for a long time, but started
as a college freshman with a TD. Seems like only a few years ago {9->
Steve
MWood24020@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 04/14/2001 11:57:09 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
> SLaifman@SoCal.RR.com writes:
>
> << Ken Miles is first hired to build a
> prototype "Tiger," a job that is handed over to Shelby-American."
>
> This is on http://www.carrollshelby.com/timeline.htm
>
> Now isn't that a different twist? The original contract was with Ken
> Miles? If he "handed over" the job, is that like a subcontract? Can it
> be, then, that the Ken Miles prototype is, after all, the very first
> "Tiger" produced by the ORIGINAL contracted designer? >>
>
> Steve-
> I'm not sure if we will ever know exactly how the first prototypes came to
> be...there are so many conflicting "stories" around.
> For example, some believe Miles was actually an employee of Shelby American
> when the red car and the white car were being built. If this is the case, and
> given Miles relationship with Garrad (SCCA Alpines etc.), maybe Miles was the
> "go between" in the whole deal, putting Garrad together with Shelby. In this
> instance, it would make sense that the "contract" would be initiated through
> Miles, but name Shelby American as the contractor.
> I think one of the indisputable facts is that Shelby received a royalty on
> Tigers produced, which leads me to believe that the timeline is just worded
> in a misleading fashion and that the whole deal went down in pretty much the
> way described in Taylor's book, with the red car being the result of Garrad's
> impatience with Shelby's speed in delivering a "feasibility study" of a V8
> Alpine.
> I would imagine (as I wasn't even alive when this whole deal went down, much
> less present!) that the whole deal was pretty loose...money taken from
> advertising budgets, tours of auto dealerships with tape measure in hand to
> see what might fit...and that, initially, there probably wasn't so much a
> contract as a promise to deliver a single piece of work, the prototype, on
> Miles behalf.
> Just guessing, Mike
--
Steve Laifman < Find out what is most >
B9472289 < important in your life >
< and don't let it get away!>
<SLaifman@SoCal.RR.com>
<http://www.TigersUnited.com/gallery/SteveLaifman.asp>
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