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| We need a Movie about Larry Shinoda! (Page 1/1) |
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cvxjet
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NOV 13, 05:05 PM
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OK- I know that Larry was not in any way involved with the Fiero.....But seeing that they have made a movie about the Ford GT40 Le Mans program, there is a guy who designed some of the most Iconic American performance cars.....Not only that; Most designers are suit wearing pencil pushers, but Larry enjoyed actually getting greasy- He built a number of hot rods and the original BOSS Mustang.
Larry- who was of Japanese ancestry, was interned at Manzanar during WW2, then in the fifties he was hot rodding around southern CA- His "Chopstick Special IV" actually won in its class at the first(1955) NHRA Nationals. Then he went to Art school- But was kicked out for being too Rowdy!
He started working at Ford, then briefly at Packard, and then General Motors, where he designed the 1963 Corvette, the 1965 Corvair, and the 1968 Corvette.
In 1968 Ford hired Larry's boss, Bunkie Knudsen, away from GM, and Larry followed him to Ford. He first built his own hot Mustang- a 1969 fastback that he modified to be a road racer- this was the first "Boss 302"...Then Larry redesigned the 69 styling into the 1970 Mustang, after which he started to work on design of the 1971 Mustang- but before he was finished, Bunkie was fired by Lee Iacocca, so Larry left Ford to create his own design firm.
By the way, When Larry started working at Ford, he borrowed a Mid-engine concept car- The Mach 2- and drove over to GM and burned rubber, as a one-fingered salute to GM management....
I think that this story would blow a lot of minds- Larry was a real hot rodder, and one of the best American Designers, ever.[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 11-13-2019).]
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Gall757
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NOV 13, 05:37 PM
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I was in the design center in 1970, watching Larry and Bunkie trying to cope with the Ford family. It was quite a show. After you get a movie about Larry, the next guy should be Herb Grasse. Both were legends of creativity that were left alone as long as the company was making money and no laws were broken....but that did not last long. 
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hyperv6
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NOV 13, 07:01 PM
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I am not sure about a movie but a good book would do well.
The movie I want to see. Well it would need to be a TV series. The life of Eddie Rickenbacker.
He was a WW1 Ace, motor cycle racer. Automotive pioneer, racer car driver with 4 Indy 500 starts, then owner of the speedway, survived a crash at sea in WW2 and was adrift for 3 weeks. Was a spy on Germany and Russia, started a car company, founded Eastern Airlines, survived another airliner crash. And there is so much more. The Autobiography is truly amazing.
One note on Larry. He designed the yellow and blue paint scheme on the Goodyear blimps. It was modified some on the new Zeppelins but it is still much like Larry originally drew up.
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cvxjet
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NOV 13, 10:00 PM
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Thanks for the info on Rickenbacker...I'll have to read up on him.....and the fact that Larry did the scheme on the blimps- I learned something new- thanks for that also!
Larry also designed the GMC RVs- The ones with FWD and an Olds engine and low floor...considered by many to be the best RV ever made.
The other story I'd like to see a movie about is Steve Hinton/ RB-51; WW2 P-51 modified with Griffon engine and contra-rotating dual props, clipped wings, etc won numerous races, then set world speed record at 499 MPH in bad weather...Racing at Reno (1979), the props went to FLAT pitch! Fell out of the sky- big ball of fire (Last words "Tell Karen (Fiancee) I love her"...His team drove off the end of the runway to clear the fence (Destroyed the car) and found him alive! The engine had dragged the cockpit clear of the wings-fuel tanks-fire, but the cockpit had disintegrated after so he was just laying strapped to the seat.(And the cockpit had been strengthened the year before!)
A few years later, he came back and won Reno with the Super Corsair (Gull-wing WW2 fighter with a Corncob 4360 engine installed)
Perfect story/script right out of the gate!
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wftb
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NOV 15, 09:53 PM
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cvxjet
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NOV 15, 11:04 PM
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Wow! I'll be dangified! I did not know that about Larry- Thanks for the info.....Wftb.....
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