Customer Profile – Robert Karlen

FFR 5120RD, La Quinta, CA

forum handle:    artdoesmatter

email:    artdoesmatter@aol.com

A native of Southern California, Bob Karlen, grew up during the years Duke Kahanamoku introduced surfing to the mainland.  Along with surfing, the Beach Boys, girls, sand and going barefoot, came his love of cars.  More specifically, fast cars.  Reeeeeally fast cars.  He locked in on the snappiest, sexiest and fastest of them all:  the ’65 Roadster.

“I remember when the Shelby was designed to compete with Ferrari in races,” says Bob.  “I was delighted to see an American-made car go to Europe and be able to compete and win most of the races.  Italian cars were dominant at that time and (the Roadsters) came out of nowhere.”

That, he says, is when his love affair began.

Bob is also a pilot and particularly fond of WWII aircraft, primarily because of their guttural, menacing sound.  The roadster, Bob feels, is the natural complement to a vintage P51 Mustang, as the rumble one hears and feels from the car is “the closest you can get to airplane noise and still be on the ground.” 

Jeff Miller and his legendary “Bat Cave” in Temecula, CA  provided the black, red and yellow paint.  The paint scheme was met with a bit of consternation……both Jeff and Chuck felt that the  proposed color scheme was straying too far off the standard course. Says Bob, “We finally convinced them (after some Photoshop experiments), and the end result is the car I’ve wanted since I was 16. I couldn’t be happier!”

more specifics

Radiator – aluminum Griffin)

Engine – 351W (the Engine Factory)

Transmission – AOD (California Performance Transmission)

Rear Axle – 3:5:5 gear ratio (Currie Racing)

Tires – 245 front; 275 rear (Discount Tire)

Brakes – four-wheel disc (Baer Racing)

Chassis – Mark II, number 5120

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