Ever wonder what the story was behind the cool dune buggy Steve McQueen drove in "The Thomas Crown Affair?"
Jon Harting reveals the details of how this car was created. Jon writes:
"I helped build the dune buggy that Steve drove in the Thomas Crown Affair. I worked as a mechanic at Con-Ferr Mfg. Co. from 1967 to 1968. It is gone now, but was at 300 N. Victory Boulevard in Burbank, CA. We manufactured 4 wheel drive accessories and sold new Toyota Land Cruisers with new Chevrolet engines. Somehow we were tasked by Pete Condos, the owner, to build this dune buggy. "
"I bought the Corvair engine from a wrecking yard and brought it back to the shop and steam cleaned it. We attached it to a VW transaxle that was in a VW chassis. The body was all hand laid fiberglass and custom built in our shop. I remember Steve coming by to look at its progress on two occasions. Both times he drove a red Maserati roadster. He was real nice to all of us there. After the movie came out, we built similar dune buggies for Connie Stevens and Dick Smothers. Dick even came every day and watched us build his."
(thanks to Jon Harting for sending this in)