1966 A.J. Foyt Signed Original Sheraton Thompson Coyote Cowling IndyCar Panel
Fantastic original cowling panel from A.J. Foyt's 1966 Sheraton Thompson Coyote IndyCar.
After Jim Clark and Lotus's historic win at the 1965 Indianapolis 500, the rear engine revolution was in full force at Indianapolis a year later. Anthony Joseph Foyt planned to race one of the two Ford powered rear engine Coyotes he built for the 1966 Indy 500. The second car was for teammate George Snider.
On the first day of time trials Foyt unfortunately brushed the outside wall coming off the first turn, slid several hundred feet and slammed into the concrete wall again at turn 2. The Coyote was damaged beyond repair and Foyt had to rely on his backup Lotus-Ford which he used to qualify for the race the next day. The car was eventually repaired and competed in three other USAC Champ Car Series races that year.
A news report on the crash can be seen here https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/82848316/
This aluminium panel was attached to the car just in front of the windshield and just behind the nose of the car, and had a circle cut into it in order to be able to fill oil/hydraulic fluid. It was painted in a pearl/metallic finish by famed American custom car designer, fabricator and painter Dean Jeffries. The renowned pin striper worked on many famous cars of the day, including TV's Batmobile and Monkeemobile. Foyt wanted his first attempt at building his own chassis to stand out and thus used the best paints and painter available.
The panel was picked up by a 13 year old boy named Mike Boone in Foyt's Indy garage. Boone's father was a friend of Foyt and so AJ said he could keep it. Amazingly Boone kept the piece for over 50 years and recently visited Foyt's Indianapolis garage to visit Foyt and have him personally sign the piece.
The panel comes with a Certificate Of Authenticity documenting Boone's story.
This very rare piece of Foyt/Indy 500 memorabilia is one to add to your collection today.
After Jim Clark and Lotus's historic win at the 1965 Indianapolis 500, the rear engine revolution was in full force at Indianapolis a year later. Anthony Joseph Foyt planned to race one of the two Ford powered rear engine Coyotes he built for the 1966 Indy 500. The second car was for teammate George Snider.
On the first day of time trials Foyt unfortunately brushed the outside wall coming off the first turn, slid several hundred feet and slammed into the concrete wall again at turn 2. The Coyote was damaged beyond repair and Foyt had to rely on his backup Lotus-Ford which he used to qualify for the race the next day. The car was eventually repaired and competed in three other USAC Champ Car Series races that year.
A news report on the crash can be seen here https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/82848316/
This aluminium panel was attached to the car just in front of the windshield and just behind the nose of the car, and had a circle cut into it in order to be able to fill oil/hydraulic fluid. It was painted in a pearl/metallic finish by famed American custom car designer, fabricator and painter Dean Jeffries. The renowned pin striper worked on many famous cars of the day, including TV's Batmobile and Monkeemobile. Foyt wanted his first attempt at building his own chassis to stand out and thus used the best paints and painter available.
The panel was picked up by a 13 year old boy named Mike Boone in Foyt's Indy garage. Boone's father was a friend of Foyt and so AJ said he could keep it. Amazingly Boone kept the piece for over 50 years and recently visited Foyt's Indianapolis garage to visit Foyt and have him personally sign the piece.
The panel comes with a Certificate Of Authenticity documenting Boone's story.
This very rare piece of Foyt/Indy 500 memorabilia is one to add to your collection today.