Post by JSB33 on Apr 10, 2022 9:01:56 GMT -5
The Ford GT program is a very interesting chapter in the history of auto racing. It was the first and only fully funded, win at any cost "war" on championship racing and especially winning at Le Mans. Not satisfied with winning it once, Ford went back and did it again with a clean sheet design.
The story is very long with lots of twists and turns. We really don't have the space or format for the entire history. I will try and just focus on only the cars that i have models of.
To start things off, the original GT40 was to be powered by the Ford Indy V8.
Through many stumbles, it was decided that the 4.7L 289CI Mustang/Cobra engine would be better suited.
Before the car became a world beater, it had a lot of growing pains to endure. It went through many, many changes and revisions.
1964 was a hard lesson and the schooling lasted well into 1965.
We will start at the beginning, the very first GT40
Ford Gt S/N 101. Model by Bizarre
The very first car, the original prototype.
Finished on March 30 of 1964, it was presented to the press near Heathrow Airport and then was immediately flown to New York to be shown to the US motoring press.
Then it was rushed back to England to begin testing.
The car was tested at MIRA in Lindley on the 8th, 12th and 14th of April, on the 16th it went to Silverstone and then finally it went to the 1964 Le Mans test on the 18th where it was crashed and written off by Jo Schlesser.
***********************************************************************
Ford GT 102 Model by Bizarre
Completed April 11 1964 and rushed into service in running tests at various tracks.
Was the first GT to enter a race, The 1964 round at Nurburgring driven by Phil Hill and Bruce McLaren where it qualified 2nd.
The car broke its suspension after only15 laps. It foretold the future which would be tough.
The next race was LeMans, it did a bit better lasting 13 hours with a broken Colotti gearbox.
Cars was destroyed by a stuck throttle accident at Monza with John Whitmore at the wheel
***********************************************************************
Ford GT S/N # 103 Model by Spark
Completed in June 1964, sent to MIRA for a quick run in and then on to LM (#11) where it got a DNF after 5 hours with gearbox trouble.
Next raced at Reims where it met another DNF.
Then it had its 256 "Indy" engine removed and a 289 Cobra engine installed in its preparation for Nassau Speedwwks. Again it was nothing but DNF's. The was enought to get the Ford brass to pull part of the program from FAV to Shelby.
At SAI the car was thoroughly gone thru, repainted, got a fresh Shelby engine, had the back fenders flared and dropped the whre wheels in favor of Halibrand cast wheels.
Its first race under the Shelby banner was Daytona in 1965.
It won, marking the first race ever finished by a GT40 and the first win.
It is the oldest surviving car from the program.
The story is very long with lots of twists and turns. We really don't have the space or format for the entire history. I will try and just focus on only the cars that i have models of.
To start things off, the original GT40 was to be powered by the Ford Indy V8.
Through many stumbles, it was decided that the 4.7L 289CI Mustang/Cobra engine would be better suited.
Before the car became a world beater, it had a lot of growing pains to endure. It went through many, many changes and revisions.
1964 was a hard lesson and the schooling lasted well into 1965.
We will start at the beginning, the very first GT40
Ford Gt S/N 101. Model by Bizarre
The very first car, the original prototype.
Finished on March 30 of 1964, it was presented to the press near Heathrow Airport and then was immediately flown to New York to be shown to the US motoring press.
Then it was rushed back to England to begin testing.
The car was tested at MIRA in Lindley on the 8th, 12th and 14th of April, on the 16th it went to Silverstone and then finally it went to the 1964 Le Mans test on the 18th where it was crashed and written off by Jo Schlesser.
***********************************************************************
Ford GT 102 Model by Bizarre
Completed April 11 1964 and rushed into service in running tests at various tracks.
Was the first GT to enter a race, The 1964 round at Nurburgring driven by Phil Hill and Bruce McLaren where it qualified 2nd.
The car broke its suspension after only15 laps. It foretold the future which would be tough.
The next race was LeMans, it did a bit better lasting 13 hours with a broken Colotti gearbox.
Cars was destroyed by a stuck throttle accident at Monza with John Whitmore at the wheel
***********************************************************************
Ford GT S/N # 103 Model by Spark
Completed in June 1964, sent to MIRA for a quick run in and then on to LM (#11) where it got a DNF after 5 hours with gearbox trouble.
Next raced at Reims where it met another DNF.
Then it had its 256 "Indy" engine removed and a 289 Cobra engine installed in its preparation for Nassau Speedwwks. Again it was nothing but DNF's. The was enought to get the Ford brass to pull part of the program from FAV to Shelby.
At SAI the car was thoroughly gone thru, repainted, got a fresh Shelby engine, had the back fenders flared and dropped the whre wheels in favor of Halibrand cast wheels.
Its first race under the Shelby banner was Daytona in 1965.
It won, marking the first race ever finished by a GT40 and the first win.
It is the oldest surviving car from the program.