Over the holidays, I was in Charlotte NC for a few days and decided to stop by the Holman Moody shop. Lee Holman is a very gregarious guy and always willing to spend some time reminiscing about the hay days at Holman Moody.
He has all the original Mark II tooling and had about 15 cars' worth of parts produced, which he has scattered around the shop in various locations. He said the cars have about 2700 individual pieces, and they also have all the original Ford schematics for the parts. He had 7-8 cars in various states of "production" as well as 3-4 X1 variants. He enjoys showing how beefy the original Mark II components are compared to the kit car components being sold today. He has just completed a T44 transmission and 427 for a customer in Norway.
He talked about spending time in Europe getting to know the ropes and preparing cars for the Le Mans effort. He had a great story about being 21 years old at Le Mans and being asked to show the 18 year-old Edsel Ford II around the circuit while he was there. I didnt want to pry too much but imagine those two had some good times. I cant imagine being that age and having that level of stature.
I asked about the 3rd place Le Mans car (chassis number P/1016) as it was recently sold at auction. He thought it was basically seized by the Turkish government from it's long time private owner.
Lee's father sold most of the Mark IIs (including P/1016) for $10,000 each after the racing program evaporated. Lee wanted to buy one but his dad wouldnt lend him the money.:facepalm:
If you are ever in Charlotte, it is definitely worth a visit. I imagine a lot of that history will fade away in the not too distant future.
He has all the original Mark II tooling and had about 15 cars' worth of parts produced, which he has scattered around the shop in various locations. He said the cars have about 2700 individual pieces, and they also have all the original Ford schematics for the parts. He had 7-8 cars in various states of "production" as well as 3-4 X1 variants. He enjoys showing how beefy the original Mark II components are compared to the kit car components being sold today. He has just completed a T44 transmission and 427 for a customer in Norway.
He talked about spending time in Europe getting to know the ropes and preparing cars for the Le Mans effort. He had a great story about being 21 years old at Le Mans and being asked to show the 18 year-old Edsel Ford II around the circuit while he was there. I didnt want to pry too much but imagine those two had some good times. I cant imagine being that age and having that level of stature.
I asked about the 3rd place Le Mans car (chassis number P/1016) as it was recently sold at auction. He thought it was basically seized by the Turkish government from it's long time private owner.
Lee's father sold most of the Mark IIs (including P/1016) for $10,000 each after the racing program evaporated. Lee wanted to buy one but his dad wouldnt lend him the money.:facepalm:
If you are ever in Charlotte, it is definitely worth a visit. I imagine a lot of that history will fade away in the not too distant future.
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