This only JUST connected for me today, that Con Ferr, did two vehicles for Steve McQueen, and got me wondering, what WAS Con Ferr? Did they have a name for making customs? Or just working for the very rich?
So, here's what I found out:
Con-Ferr was a company known for manufacturing off-road accessories and equipment, particularly for Jeeps and other 4x4 vehicles. founded in 1961 by Pete Condos & Frank Ferro though eventually Pete bought out Frank to become sole owner.
Pete Condos was an innovator in accessories for Land Cruisers, he coined the term Off-Road
Pete had a background in Scouts, while Frank had a background in Jeeps. Their goal was to provide specialty off-road products for both types of vehicles. To that end, not only did they run their parts shop in Burbank, California, they also built custom jeeps like the Super Jeep.
Pete’s driver, Bill Haddad, drove Condo’s race jeeps to 18 victories in the 21 races in which he entered.
Pete would go on to co-found the National Off-Road Racing Association (NORRA) in 1966, which produced races like the Baja 1000 and Mint 500. During that time, Condos also produced racing vehicles for other folks, such as off-road racers for Steve McQueen and James Garner.
In 1970, Con-Ferr billed itself as America’s largest Off-Road vehicle accessory provider and had more than 44,000 square feet of storage, work, and retail space. It was an authorized dealer of Kaiser Jeep, Toyota Land Cruiser, and Manx.
I translate "by Solar Plastics" as meaning this is the Steve McQueen patented seat I posted about
This is the Scout, that Pete Condos owned
Con-Ferr stuff was available at IH dealers. Many accessory parts were 'tied in' by corporate and made available for direct order by dealerships. Offerings were commonly noticed to dealers using the Parts Mike bulletins, and included specialized dealership tools. A lot of the accessories were also issued as addenda to the MT-87 Necessaries catalog.
Wow, imagine being at that Hall Of Fame ceremony... Garner, McQueen, Hickey, Stroppe? That's the Who's Who of celebs in off roading
Born on May 8th, 1925, Condos grew up in the suburbs to the north of Chicago. He spent many hours of his young years at a local speed shop learning the skills needed to customize cars making them into hot rods. He helped to hop up Model A’s and B’s, but his time spent at the garage came to a quick end with the beginning of World War II.
In 1942 he joined the United States Navy. He served on the U.S.S. Nevada as a seaman. After the war he returned to Chicago and completed his high school education and resumed his interest in hot rods.
He began building and racing roadsters and coupes. His first Roadster was a 1934 Ford that he completed in 1948, and he became a charter member of Andy Granatelli's Hurricane Hot Rod Racing Association.
In 1948 he moved to So Cal and joined the Throttler Car Club, (dry lakes racing).
In 1950 Earl “Madman” Muntz hired him to assist with the fabrication of the Muntz Road Jet car. Condos worked for Muntz building the high-end custom cars which were purchased by Hollywood’s elite.
In 1961 he purchased his first I.H. Scout so that his hunting trips to Nevada, Montana, and Idaho would be easier, while on the trips, he realized the need for different accessories for the Scout and he began making accessories for the Scout. He worked with Frank Ferro and the two would discuss accessories that would be useful for both Jeeps and Scouts. The two men started their own company, Con-Ferr in 1961.
How crazy of a coincidence is that, I just posted on the Dec 7th Pearl Harbor attack yesterday and Pete was crew on the USS Nevada, the only ship that got underway that morning.
Amazing... he was in WW2, in the Throttlers CC, worked for Muntz, co founded NORRA, pioneered Baja racing, coined the term Off Roading, made the Manx for Steve McQueen in the Thomas Crown Affair, and made cars for James Garner... which I'll guess was the Olds or the SC/Rambler Baja racers... I'll see if I can verify that
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