27 The LeMans Coupe Story Story and Photos From Bill Quirk Collection I was living at home at the time, and one night I got home a little late and my mother, who was born in 1900 and raised in the south, was standing on the back porch steps in her robe with her hands on her hips, obviously upset, and in a raised voice said, "Have you been out with Alton again!?” We exchanged words and I moved out the next day. Alton shared with me many stories about growing up in the south. One in particular stuck with me: He and a friend went on a two day road trip and in route stopped at a drive-in for lunch. They pulled in and waited and waited for service. Finally, a voice came over a loudspeaker: "We don't serve blacks here!! The really humiliating part was an outburst of laughter from patrons. Sadly, they moved on. One evening when Alton was returning from Malibu with a fellow employee and friend, Eddie Matta, his brakes failed to work on a turn. Malibu Canyon Road was very mountainous with steep embankments. Alton lost control of the car and went through a chain-link fence; the car being ripped in half. Fortunately, Alton and Eddie were dragged out of the car by the fence as the bulk of the vehicle went careening down the mountainside over 100 feet. Alton's and Eddie's lives were spared, but not the car; it had been totaled. I went back with Alton the next day to view the remains in the bottom of the canyon from the road above. We agreed that he and Eddie were lucky to be alive. Thus began the process of building LeMans Coupe 2.0. Unfortunately, Victress closed its doors soon after this and Alton and I went our separate ways. I did a short stint at Bruno's Corvette Repair in Studio City. Roger Brunelli (Bruno) moved to a larger facility about two miles away, still on Ventura Boulevard I heard that Alton was working there and stopped by to say hi. I told him I had been married since we last saw each other and invited him out to our new apartment in Covina. He accepted and Linda made a nice big Italian dinner, but our guests never showed up. That was my last encounter with Alton Johnson. That was in 1965. My career in fiberglass had ended and I was in construction as a superintendent. Bill Quirk: June 18, 2022
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