Dedication
This book is dedicated to the fans around the world who have kept Steve McQueen’s memory alive since his passing in 1980. Thank you to the past, present, and future caretakers of his beloved cars, trucks, motorcycles, and aircraft for honoring his memory and allowing future generations to experience the Steve McQueen mystique for themselves.
About the Author
Tyler Greenblatt has been passionate about cars and motorcycles since day one. His parents hooked him on internal combustion when they had a jump seat installed in the back of their 1966 Sting Ray coupe so that a baby seat could be secured back there. The roar of a high-revving, small-block V-8 and the distinctly American smell of vinyl and gasoline had a lasting effect that led to a lifelong passion for cars, motorcycles, and off-road powersports vehicles.
Tyler spent eight years in various editorial positions with American Iron Magazine, during which time he wrote 1001 Harley-Davidson Facts, which was published by CarTech Books in 2017. He followed that in 2018 with The Corvette Hunter: Kevin Mackay’s Greatest Corvette Finds, which was a joint effort with longtime friend and world-class Corvette restorer Kevin Mackay. His latest CarTech project, 1001 Steve McQueen Facts was his biggest undertaking yet, combining his love of both cars and motorcycles and his fascination with the King of Cool himself.
Tyler and his wife, Danielle, live in Madison, Wisconsin, with their labradoodle, Dixie, and tortoise, Rambo. In addition to his daily-rider Harley, he enjoys working on, riding, and showing his 1982 Honda CBX and 1975 Yamaha DT175. He works full-time as a classic car and motorcycle auction specialist with Bring a Trailer Auctions and contributes regularly to Motorcyclist Online, one of the world’s leading motorcycle news sources.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to all the Steve McQueen biographers who laid the groundwork for this collection of trivia facts. My goal with this project was less about breaking new ground and more about honing in on the plethora of information that was already available. Unfortunately, many of the men and women associated with Steve McQueen are no longer with us, so again, I thank previous biographers for recording their testimony for generations to come.
Thank you to my wife, Danielle, who lost me for far too many nights and weekends. I also apologize for the slew of dirt bikes that made their way into the garage; thanks to the desert exploits of Steve McQueen, I’ve become obsessed with off-road motorcycle riding.
Thank you to my family too, for their support and motivation throughout this nearly two-year process and providing me with the will required to finish when I didn’t think I could.
Thank you to Bob and Susan Bishop for allowing me to use their ex-Steve McQueen and Von Dutch Brough Superior SS80 motorcycle for my author portrait and the support with my automotive endeavors over the years.
Thank you to my friend Kevin Mackay. He’s been called the “Mr. October of Corvettes” by Reggie Jackson himself. With the help he’s provided me on this project I have to say that when it comes to Corvettes and 1960s era endurance racing, Kevin truly is the King of Cool.
Thank you to Franz Estreicher, owner of the 1966 Corvette used in Steve McQueen’s Sports Illustrated sports car shootout, which he also owned for some time after. Hearing Franz discuss the research and documentation on the car and his inside knowledge of behind-closed-doors activities in Detroit in that era motivated me even further to do justice to this topic.
Last but not least, thank you to the team at CarTech Books for making this project happen and especially to my editor, Wes Eisenschenk. This was a tough project; thank you for seeing it through to the end with me and for the opportunity to swim around in the world of American icon Steve McQueen.
Introduction
Few people, if any, really knew the man known to the world as Steve McQueen. He lived one of the fullest lives of any man to walk the earth, and yet, he was an enigma to even his closest friends and family. He compartmentalized his worlds and friend groups in such a way that no one person truly saw all sides of him.
Steve McQueen competed for roles and screen time with the best actors of his time including Yul Brynner, Paul Newman, and Frank Sinatra. Meanwhile, he held his own against the legendary Mario Andretti in one of the world’s toughest races, losing by only seconds in a significantly slower car. He rose to the top of Hollywood, and came crashing down with the financial failure of his magnum opus, Le Mans. Over the years, he built up one of the largest and most valuable collections of cars and motorcycles of the time, the contents of which today