1978, John Morton Racing

Ferrari 365 GTB/4 S/N16407

February 5, 1978

8th

Otto Zipper put a crew of three drivers together in S/N 16407 at the 1978 Daytona 24 Hours. Actor David Carradine entered S/N 16407 with racing business partner Dan Ward for his son, Bobby Carradine, Tony Adamowicz, and John Morton. They finished third in their GTO class and eighth overall, sponsored by Dan Ward Racing. Carradine eventually sold the Ferrari to Bill Nichols and Jim McRoberts who would continue to race the car.

Left to right: Otto Zipper, David Carradine, Peter Ivrilli (Hollywood Sports Cars), Bobby Carradine, John Morton, Bruno Borri and Luciano Fabbio (Hollywood Sports Cars).

Morton collection – Bert Reavley photo

Morton collection

Laguna Seca IMSA 100 Miles

BMW CSL

April 30, 1978

1st in GTO class

“Vasek Polak asked me to drive his BMW CSL in the IMSA race at Laguna in 1978. We won GTO, finished ninth overall and set a lap record. Vasek was one of racing’s biggest characters and a good friend to me. Once after he read where I lost a wheel nut at a race, he sent me a check in a Christmas card and told me to go buy another wheel nut. It was a lot more money than a wheel nut cost.”

Morton collection

Results:

Road Atlanta Can Am

Lola T333CS HU8/Chevrolet

May 14, 1978

“As soon as I got on the track at Atlanta in 1978, I crashed hard, straight in when the left front tire blew. Mashed my feet. Corner worker broke his arm running to my car. Found out my mechanic — me — had left the bolts loose in the brake pad retaining plate which cut the wheel in half.”

Morton collection – Dennis Gray photo

Portland Trans Am

G.I. Joe’s Rose Cup

Appliance Wheels Pontiac Trans-Am Firebird

June 11, 1978

DNF (transmission)

The 1978 Trans Am series had two classes – Category I and II. The Category II cars were purpose-built for competition. The class was for FIA Group 4 and 5 cars. Category II rules were quite liberal allowing builders to create tube frame chassis cars and almost any modification was allowed as long as the vehicle retained the original block and heads.

Pontiac specialist Herb Adams entered a Firebird in Category II powered by a 366-cubic inch engine. The car was sponsored by the Appliance Wheel Company. The car was called the Silverbird. The body was five inches wider and 6 inches longer than the production car. The body shape was designed by Bill Davis. It made its first appearance in 1978 at Portland with John Morton behind the wheel.