Club Cobra - Carroll Smith Dies

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Carroll Smith Dies

I have heard that Carroll Smith died. Does anyone know anything about this? He was a GREAT man. I had the pleasure of taking him out to lunch a couple of years back. He had more knowldege than I could believe. One of the nicest men I have ever met. He was a consultant for ARP Bolts and once told me F1 teams used to fly into California to pick up connecting rod bolts from ARP and then turn around and fly home...easier, (and quicker) to get through customs. When they were really under the gun, they would pay someone in California to personally fly the bolts to them to save a day. Talk about an expensive bolt.

For those of you who don't know, Carroll Smith is the author of "Tune to Win", "Engineer to Win", "Prepare to Win", "Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners, and Plumbing" (Originally called "Screw to Win" I have heard), and "Drive to Win."

All of those books...with the possible exception of "Drive to Win" should be mandatory reading for all Cobra owners. Carroll was the head engineer for Ford on the GT-40 projects. He worked extensively with Shelby.

Sincere condolences to his family and to the racing world.

David:( :( :(

I'm an engineering student. One thing I can truly say is unlike a textbook, you can sit and read one of his books like a novel. Can't put it down, and you'll learn a lot. He was able to make complicated matters quite easy to understand.

-steve in nj-

Yes, I heard about it the other day over on Cobratrader. The strange thing is, I had just bought and started reading "Prepare to Win" a few days before I heard the news. David, the "Drive to Win" book is a winner in my opinion as well, and the first of his I bought.

David,

I am not surprised that you would notice and react to Carroll Smith's passing. From his books, and your cars I get the sense that you had a lot in common.

We need more Carroll Smiths!

Toy Collector,

I certainly didn't mean to insinuate "Drive to Win" was not a GREAT book. I just said possibly it wasn't mandatory. All Carroll's books were great. I have read and re-read and re-read ALL of them. I am sure I have read "Tune, Engineer, Prepare, and Bolts" at least 10 times EACH. "Drive to Win" only 3 times, I must admit.

Sad loss for the world. I am sorry to have brought the subject up twice. Again, my condolences to his children, (his wife tragically died a few years back.) I will never forget how kind he was to me and all the questions he answered for me when I was starting Kirkham Motorsports and was so naive. He was a great help. I still use his phrases in the shop all the time.

David:( :( :(

Mr. Smith will live on through his (very good) books. I particularly liked his working title for the "Nuts, Bolts, and Fasteners" book: "Screw to Win".

Not only was he a great engineer and teacher ... but he had a great sense of humor!

David,
You are absolutely correct about Carroll Smiths' contribution to race car building and design.

He was brillant.

Frankly I worry that a lot more people on this forum do not recognize his passing...he knew how to build a car correctly.

scratch:MECOOL: