(FoxNews) – Sean Kiernan may get as much as $4 million for a piece of 
Hollywood history that his father, Bob, acquired for just $3,500 and
refused to sell to Steve McQueen, the actor who drove it in the 1968
action film "Bullitt."

When the classic-car insurer Hagerty sent car expert Kevin Marti to
authenticate the vehicle, he couldn’t believe his eyes, according to a 
New York Times report: “Ninety-eight percent of the original car is
there,” Marti told Hagerty. “It’s an incredible artifact.”

Since ‘Bullitt’s’ release, the 1968 Highland Green Mustang has become
one of the best-known vehicles shown on the big screen. McQueen
himself even tracked down Bob Kiernan in 1977 and wrote him a letter
asking to buy the muscle car back, according to the Times.

“I would like very much to keep it in the family, in its original condition
as it was used in the film, rather than have it restored, which is simply
personal with me," McQueen wrote in the missive detailed by the Times
which reported that Bob Kiernan never wrote McQueen back.

Sean Kiernan of Nashville stands next to the Ford Mustang GT 390
driven by Steve McQueen in the cult classic film "Bullitt."

Steve McQueen, starring in the title role of "Bullitt," steps out of his
car after a pursuit through the hilly streets of San Francisco.

No Tags

DAVID MELENDY

On this day in 1970, Apollo 13 returned to Earth safely after an on-
board accident with an oxygen tank.

The Apollo 13 crew following recovery.

No Tags

(Fox News) – A World War II veteran’s musty old Bentley that was left sitting
in a garage for three decades sold for $600,000 this week, much more than
was expected. But the amount paid may have been more of a tribute to the
owner than the car.

To be sure, the 1936 Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Vanden Plas Tourer is rare. It’s just
1 of 6 like it made, and the only one left with its original body. No one really
cared much about that when retired Royal Air Force navigator and pilot
Charles Blackham purchased it from its original owner in 1952, fixed it up
and turned it into his daily driver.

Blackham had been a member of the squadron that bombed Hitler’s “Eagles
Nest” retreat in April 1945, and he later made food drops in Europe after the
fall of the Nazi regime.

He used the Bentley until 1988 when it became too much trouble to keep it
running, and parked it in the garage at his home near Manchester, where
it sat rotting away until his death in January at age 96.

Blackham, center, and members of his squadron in WWII.
(H&H Classics)

No Tags

The first Edsel made by the Ford Motor Company rolled of the
assembly line at the Somerville, Massachusetts Assembly Plant
on this day in 1957. More than 2/3 of all Edsel’s were assembled
at the Louisville plant, which is still in operation by the Ford
Motor Company today. The Edsel was first introduced to the
the public amid considerable publicity on "E Day"—September
4, 1957.

No Tags

In the 1950s, cars were often equipped with curb feelers. They acted as "whiskers"
to alert drivers when they are at the right distance from the curb while parking to
avoid damaging the wheels or hubcaps. Curb feelers are still used today on some
hot rods when a 1950s look is wanted.

No Tags