Parnelli Jones will be signing copies of his new book about the Vel/Parnelli cars on Saturday, November 9 at Autobooks Aerobooks in Burbank. I am trying to get some of the Cougar, BOSS 302, and Early Rodder guys to join me at “Early Rodders,” an every-Saturday cruise in La Canada Flintridge and then head over to Burbank to see Parnelli. If there is interest, we could then drive up Angeles Crest Highway to Newcomb’s Ranch for lunch. I know it is short notice, but it is a rare opportunity to visit with such a legend as Parnelli, and a good excuse to stretch the kitty’s legs.
Early Rodders starts around 7:00am. I usually roll in around 7:30. We’ll head to Burbank around 9.
UA Theater, 1919 Verdugo Blvd, La Canada CA 91011
Parnelli Jones is a great guy and really friendly. I had the opportunity to meet him in 2007 at a Saleen event in Orange County. Saleen had just introduced their version of the Boss 302 in a special Parnelli Jones commemorative edition. I was working for Rockford Fosgate at the time, and we had developed an optional upgraded sound system for the Saleen Mustang, and in the process my 2005 Mustang GT was converted to a 2006 Saleen S281SC. anyway, the conversation was going great and were chatting about the Trans Am wars and the Cougars versus the Mustangs in 1967. (Parnelli told me the Cougars handled better). We talked about the lousy year they had in '68 with the tunnel port 302 fiasco, and the birth of the Boss 302. It was really amazing that I was getting to talk to these two legends (on knees, not worthy) and then I had to ask: who’s fastest in the new Boss 302? They answered in unison: “I am”. Now these are two extremely competitive guys, so it didn’t stop there. Thankfully there were a bunch of guys in line for autographs, so I was able to change the subject and slink away more or less unnoticed. I came back a half hour later and they were still arguing about it.
If you get a chance to meet Parnelli I really recommend that you do it. He is a no BS legend.
Ops! sorry, it was Steve Saleen. They were sitting at the autograph table, I was sitting in a chair just behind them. Steve is an interesting guy in his own right. We were at the Saleen factory in SoCal. My car was on display with a fairly large sound system in it, A fellow Cougar enthusiast, Dan Gire, now owns the car. The car will be an enigma in its own right as it is a factory conversion, but it doesn’t have the bumper number and was never registered as anything but a 2005 Mustang GT. Imagine that some one bought a 67 Mustang, and then took it to the Shelby plant and had them convert it into a GT350, but never put the Shelby badge on it. Same sort of deal. It is all well documented though, so any one that cared could access the complete story.