I grew up in Long Beach, CA and the surrounding area. One day, around the time of the 1976 U.S. GP West, my father came home with an open trailer hitched to his dually Ford pickup. On the trailer sat an orangish-red and white McLaren Formula One car in full Marlboro/James Hunt livery. The car stayed with us for a day or so, and then he delivered it to wherever it was supposed to go. A few days later, it was back at our home for another day or so, and then gone again forever. Being not quite six years-old at the time, I really had no idea what was going on, only that my father had been charged with transporting this race car. Somewhere buried among our family photographs, there is one of me sitting in the car.
As an adult with a passion for all things automotive, and a particular interest in older cars, I'm curious to figure out exactly what car this was and why my father was hauling it around on an open trailer. Unfortunately, my parents are both gone and so I have no one to ask. My guess (based mostly on memory because I cannot find that old photograph) is that it was an M23. The actual car driven by Hunt in '76 would not have been hauled around on an open trailer by a local mechanic/amateur race car builder, so I assume that it was only being used for display purposes.
Does anyone here have an idea of what this could have been? Would one of you happen to have a photograph of a McLaren car on display at the 1976 U.S. GP West? How about 1977? (I'm considering the possibility that my memory of the exact year could be wrong.) Any thoughts or ideas are much appreciated. Thanks!
LWA