Owen Gibson was flying low over a ranch off Arivaca Road back in 1999 when he spotted it among the rusted automobile hulks: the fiberglass shell of a sports car.
"It was as fragile as a potato chip," says Gibson, 62, a racer and vintage-car builder who immediately bought the car and hauled it to his shop in Arivaca. Six months later, someone told him it was the Purple People Eater, aka a Townsend Typhoon.
Gibson went to Frank Townsend's shop and told him he'd found his car on a ranch. "He said it made sense, since he'd sold it to some drunken cowboys."
Before long, the car was in Townsend's shop, undergoing a reluctant overhaul by its creator. "It was a lot of work," says Townsend, who along with Larry Randall did the engine work. Gibson did everything else.
Totally restored, the car has since run in 30 or so races, including one in 2006 that brought together its original crew, including Townsend - who started it all with a doodle.
