Club Cobra - We lost a piece of history last week

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We lost a piece of history last week

Carroll Smith, the Shelby Team manager for the LeMans-winning 1967 effort passed away last week.

An ex-racer himself, Carroll spent his retirement years writing books on race car engineering. His "Nuts and Bolts and Fasteners" book is a classic handbook.

His claim to Shelby history came when...
" Ferrari was on a winning streak. With Ford's blessing and a radical car called the GT40 the sights were firmly set on winning the classic 24 hour race.

Shelby called up Smith one day, mostly out of the blue. When Carroll Smith confirmed that indeed, "I really did quit driving", Shelby released John Wyer and hired Carroll Smith as his Team Manager.

It took them a year to get the car sorted. They got trounced everywhere they went the first year. But at Daytona, 1967, they knew they had a winning car. The gearboxes broke on all of the cars, and the team was livid. After a little engineering magic, they won every other race in 1967, including the coveted 24 Hours of Le Mans."

(...from Smith's website.)

Carroll Smith's website...

(thanks to Paul, PDHse, for input on this)

that is truley sad- I never met the man but Thomas suggested the books to read and I have enjoyed every min. of them.

What a shock. Since I left publishing and move east, I've been out of touch with Carroll. He was a friend first, then a neat, no-nonsense guy that shed light on many engineering subjects for the DIY guys through his books. And the book "Nuts and Bolts and Fasteners" was a book I envsioned and asked Carroll to write for me while I was publisher at HPBooks. Although it didn't happen at HP because of a corporate sellout/buyout, Carroll took the idea to another publisher where the book was published and proved to be a success along with his other books. We will miss him.:CRY:

I never met Carroll Smith, I didn't even know that he was involved with the GT40 ... until I read his books. After reading his books I became a friend of his, even though he never met me or even knew me. THAT is how good his books are!

Rest safely Mr. Smith, you live on though your books and you have many, many friends that you never met.

If you want, I will call Remington tonight and ask for his thoughts on Carroll Smith. They were good friends.

I remember meeting him at the run-offs in 86. He was paddocked just around the corner from us. It was impressive to watch him work. I think I have read every word he has published at least twice. His books are still on the top of my bathroom reading lists!

RIP Carroll Smith. Thanks for all the help.

Rick

where was he from?

Hey, does anyone know where this Carroll was from, or where he grew up?

We were coming back from a drive at an English car show in Dixon CA, driving the Cobras... eating lunch at a diner. The waitress kept saying that Carroll died, and he was from her town. She kept thinking it was Carroll Shelby, or had it confused. Maybe it was this chap?

decooney:

If memory serves, I thought that he was originally from the east coast. He attended the University of Rochester (NY).

He was born in Oswego N.Y. in 1932.
Rick