In 1967, the Mark III represented Fords final fling with the GT 40 as a road-car. Although the Mark III’s title did not include the GT40 epithet, all examples were built on GT40 chassis, so there was no hiding their identity as GT40s. The MKIII differed from the production cars in several ways. The most obvious visual differences were quad headlights in raised fenders, and a lengthened, and more nearly horizontal, tail with revised rear panel. Inside, the MKIII was unique among GT40s in having a central gear change, thus permitting the adoption of left-hand drive. Four were built in this configuration

 

The Mark III had a mid mounted 289 ci engine with a 600 cfm Holley, a 5 speed Transaxle center mounted shifter, a semi-monocoque aluminum with square tube stiffening, and a fiberglass body. Front suspension had independent double wishbones, coil-over shocks, and anti-roll bar. Rear suspension was double trailing arms, a transverse top link and lower wishbones, coil-over shocks, and anti-roll bar. The pedal box was electrically operated fore and aft to give the driver eight inches of movement beca

 

History of the GT40

Here's a video of an original GT-40:

  



In The Beginning…

 

In March 1963 the Ford Motor Company decided the time had come to expand its racing horizons. The field chosen was that of sports car endurance racing, most notably the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Le Mans was probably the most evocative motor racing event on the calendar to the American motoring public.

 

Henry Ford knew it would take years to develop a program capable of winning Le Mans, but he wanted to win now.  The plan was to find a ready made winner that could be bought. For years, Ferrari had been the dominant marquee in sports car racing, so it made logical sense to approach Enzo Ferrari with a proposal that would give Ford an instant winner.

 

At first Enzo Ferrari thought the merger would be good for Ferrari.  It would bring enormous amounts of cash to his racing program, and remove the day-to-day operation of the company from him. The deal would have created two companies – Ferrari-Ford, which would be 90% owned by Ferrari and devoted to racing, and Ford-Ferrari, which would be 90% owned by Ford which would concentrate on the luxury road car program.  As negotiations proceeded, Ferrari became increasingly unhappy with corporate America, and began adding condition after condition to the merger. Finally, on 21 May 1963, Enzo Ferrari called the deal off, leaving Henry Ford without a race program

 

With the failure to buy a ready-made winning race car program, Henry Ford set out to build a car of his own that would teach Ferrari a lesson. To do this, Henry Ford set up a separate division that would operate free from the bureaucratic entanglement of a large corporation such as Ford. The company was give free reins to develop a racing program with its sights set on winning the most prestigious race – Le Mans!

 

The engine chosen to power the car was the Indy version of the 256 cubic inch V-8 Ford Fairlane engine.  The transmission was the Type 37 Colotti 4-speed unit.

 

Ford sent Roy Lund, Ray Geddes, and Carroll Shelby to England via Le Mans to see what they would be up against.  England was very much into endurance sports car racing and had two very respected professionals most capable of producing the desired car – Colin Chapman and Eric Broadley.

 

As discussions progressed with both Chapman of Lotus and Broadley of Lola, it became clear to Ford that Chapman would not be the right choice.  Ford signed Broadley to a one year contract and bought two of his Lola cars as test mules. Also brought into the program was John Wyer, whose job it would be to lead the new Ford racing program to victory at Le Mans. He would also be responsible for building a production road version for Ford.  A new purpose-built Special Vehicle Operations unit was setup in Slough, England to oversee the operation.

 

A full-size clay model was completed in October 1963 in Dearborn. MI.  The model varied slightly from the original design by changing the cockpit access to doors instead of a forward hinging canopy.  There was concern that the driver would not be able to get out in the event of a roll-over accident.  Pop up headlights were changed to faired-in units for improved aerodynamics.

 

In March 1964, Abby Panels of Coventry delivered the first monocoque chassis. Work at a feverish pace took place and on 1 April 1964, the first GT40 was ready for shipment to the USA for its long awaited debut.

 

The Early Days

 

At the Le Mans trials in 1964, it became quickly apparent that the car suffered at high speed on the long Mulsanne straight.  Previous wind tunnel tests in the U.S. failed to disclose this.  Instead of producing more down force on the rear of the car at high speed, the car was actually lifting, reducing the amount of tire adhesion. Two cars crashed as a result, forcing Ford to go back and work the aerodynamic problem before Le Mans in June of that year.  A spoiler was added to the remaining undamaged car, and road tests showed that the car no longer had a problem with lift at speed, and also had reduced drag.  Ironically, the earlier wind tunnel tests did not show any benefit of adding a spoiler.

 

Le Mans 1964

 

Ford entered three cars. The drivers who would attempt to halt Ferrari’s four year winning streak were Phill Hill/Bruce McLaren, Richie Ginther/Masten Gregory, and Richard Attwood/Jo Schlesser. However, thoughts of beating Ferrari were dashed when the Attwood/Schlesser and Ginther/Gregory cars dropped out. An engine bay fire was the cause of Attwood/Schlesser dropping out, and the Colotti transmission exploded on the Ginther/Gregory car. The remaining car driven by Hill/McClaren finally quit when it was discovered that the harshness of racing was causing the rear suspension welds to come apart.

 

Ferrari finished 1 – 2 – 3.

 

Transmission problems and overheating brakes continued to plague the Ford team throughout the 1964 season.  To be competitive, Ford had to find an answer. And for the debut year, Ford had a 100% failure record to show for the GT40.

 

Enter Carroll Shelby

 

After the disastrous 1964 season, Roy Lund turned to Carroll Shelby to handle the racing effort for 1965. John Wyer would continue to build the cars at the Ford Advanced Vehicles plant (as it was now known) in Slough, England.  And Eric Broadley left the Ford team after his one year contract had expired to concentrate his efforts on his own Lola cars.

 

Also at this time, Ford established a new division known as Kar Kraft in Dearborn, MI.  It would be free from the bureaucratic entanglements of the main company as its English counterpart.

 

Carroll Shelby and his crew made numerous changes to the cars.  The Colotti transmission, constantly a sore spot, had 21 changes made internally.  The suspension was modified, the ducting, which wasn’t working as designed, was corrected, and Halibrand wheels replaced the weak Borrani wire wheels.  By race day at Daytona, the GT40 was much improved from the cars entered in 1964.

 

At the 2000 Km race at Daytona, the GT40s ran hard and fast.  Shelby had entered two GT40s and four Daytona Coupes. The lead changed hands several times between the Ferraris and the GT40s.  But as the day progressed, the Ferraris soon began dropping out due to mechanical problems.  At the finish, the GT40s placed 1st and 3rd, with the Daytona Coupes finishing 2nd and 4th, making Carroll Shelby the happiest man at the track – all fours of these cars were in his colors.

 

Le Mans 1965

 

All six GT40s entered for the race in 1965 were brand new.  The two prototypes used by FAV and then by SAI were retired. Two of the new cars were fitted with 325 cubic inch motors and prepped by SAI. A third SAI car and a FAV car were fitted with the race proven 289 Cobra engine. The final two GT40s (known as Mark IIs) were fitted with a 427 NASCAR big block engine and matted to a special 4-speed transaxle developed by Kar Kraft. The logic of using a bigger engine was there - if the 289 could go fast, then the 427 could go faster, and with less stress. At the same time, the nose on the cars was changed to the design that became the standard on all subsequent GT40s. Rounding out the Ford camp were five Shelby Daytona Coupes fitted with the 289 engine.

 

Competing against the Fords were 12 Ferraris – two 4.0 liter 330P2s, a rebodied 275P2, two 365P2s, two 275GTBs, and five 250LM cars.

 

The GT40 MkII cars led the race initially, in close pursuit by the Ferrari 330P2s. But after 3 hours of racing, problems began taking their toll on the Ford cars. One by one, the cars dropped out.  One car suffered transmission failure, and then the two 325 cubic inch engine cars quit due to blown head gaskets. After just four hours racing, the first of the big block MkIIs quit due to transmission failure. By the fifth hour, the last of the small block MkI cars quit with the same head gasket problem.  And after just 6 hours and 45 minutes, the last of the GT40 MkIIs blew its engine.  For the GT40s, the day was over. The only Ford to reach the checkered flag was an SAI Daytona Coupe which finished 8th.

 

At the end of the 1965 season, Ford debated whether to continue its racing program or fold. Many hours of debate ensued, but in the end, it was decided to give it one more season.

 

1966 Is The Year

 

The first race of 1966 was at Daytona, where the GT40s had done well a year earlier.  For 1966 the Daytona race was upgraded from 2000 Km to a full 24-hour event.  Ford entered five Mark II cars.  Three were entered by SAI and the last two by the respected team of Holman-Moody.  They had been brought into the program because of their vast racing experience.

 

Additional GT40s were entered – Essex Wire entered two, FAV entered a Mark I, and Bill Wonder, the owner of the car that won this race a year earlier, drove his along with fellow New Yorker Herb Wetanson.

 

Factory Ferraris were notably absent from this race, but the marquee was well represented by private owners. Also new for 1966 was a team by Porsche running five 904s in the prototype class. And finally, Jim Hall brought in a new Chaparral 2D.  This was a closed, streamlined version of the previous model. The Chaparral was very fast and could pose a major thorn to Ford’s chances of a repeat win.

 

After five hours of racing, the Chaparral was in the pits with a broken exhaust manifold, leaving the race to the Fords and the Ferraris.  But the Ferraris began to drop out with gearbox troubles. Soon after, Bill Wonder’s GT40 retired.

 

During the night, two more Ferraris dropped out as did one of the Mark IIs with transmission failure. By daybreak, one of the Essex Wire Mark I cars was in the pits.  Its transmission had given out.

 

From this point on, it was all Ford GT40 Mark IIs.  Ford GT40s finished 1 – 2 – 3 – 5.  A most spectacular finish for the Ford GT40 program…so far.

 

 

Next on the race calendar was the 12 hours of Sebring.  Ford entered four Mark II cars – two each for SAI and Holman-Moody. Two unusual GT40s were entered by Alan Mann.  They were lightweight aluminum bodied Mark Is numbered AM GT-1 and AM GT-2.  They would run in the experimental class. Finally, seven other GT40s were entered by various companies and privateers.

 

Against the mighty Ford steamroller were five Ferraris, two Chaparrals, and ten Porsches.

 

Early in the race, the AM GT-2 led, chased by several Fords, Ferraris and the Chaparrals. After two hours, the Chaparrals had dropped out after unimpressive performances.  Soon, a FAV GT40 Mark I blew a rod and was out of the race.

 

About three hours later another accident occurred with terrible consequences. Bob McLean was driving one of the Canadian Comstock Racing GT40 Mark Is when a rear brake seized.  The car careened out of control and crashed after tumbling end over end.  It smashed into a telegraph pole and caught fire.  It eventually came to rest near where the abandoned FAV GT40 was.  Bob McLean was killed instantly.  The Canadian team withdrew its remaining car from the race.

 

Soon, two more GT40 Mark Is were out of the race.  For the next several hours, the leading positions remained unchanged.  Then after nine hours, the Ferrari challenge began to crumble, but with a very sad consequence.  Mario Andretti, driving a Ferrari, momentarily lost control of his car.  While regaining control, he side swiped a Porsche Carrera 6, sending it careening down the track and into some spectators who were in the “off limits” zone, killing four of them. As he was repairing damage to his car in the pits, the car caught fire and was destroyed.

 

Two Ford GT40 MkIIs now led the race with no opposition to their winning.  However, with the checkered flag in sight, the GT40 of Dan Gurney ran out of gas.  The GT40 of Miles/Ruby streaked past and won the race.  Gurney’s car was disqualified when he got out and pushed his car across the finish line, a violation of the rules.  This gave 2nd place to the Mark II of Hangsen/Donahue, which covered 11 laps less than the Gurney/Grant car.

 

Ford finished the race 1 – 2 – 3, and this time Ferrari had been there to challenge.

 

Le Mans 1966

 

At the Le Mans trials, Ford unveiled a radically new GT40 – the ‘J’ car.  The ‘J’ car was proposed by Roy Lund a year earlier.  It was a radical departure from the current GT40 design.  It was a completely new design that conformed to Appendix ‘J’ of the racing car construction regulations, hence the ‘J’ designation.

 

The car was more streamlined, had a narrower roof line, and had a frame incorporating honeycombed sandwiched thin sheet metal which would provide significant weight savings (approximately 300 pounds).  It was fitted with the same 427 NASCAR engine as the Mark II cars. Combined with the lower drag coefficient, Ford estimated lap times would be improved by 10 seconds while reducing the stress to the brakes.

 

The ‘J’ car progressed smoothly. The frame of the ‘J’ car weighed a mere 85 pounds without brackets. The frame was shipped to Kar Kraft where assembly of the whole car began.  It was completed by March 1966.

 

Ford was hoping to see how their new ‘J’ car would do against the factory Ferraris.  But at the last minute Ferrari pulled his cars and decided to test them at Monza. This left Ford with only comparing the Mark II cars against the new ‘J’ cars. But the ‘J’ cars lived up to expectations by recording the fastest lap times among the GT40s.

 

Continued improvements with the Mark II cars now brought into question whether the ‘J’ cars should go forth. The Mark IIs were now as fast as the ‘J’ cars and more reliable with two years worth of racing and testing.  So for now, the Mark II cars would lead Fords assault at Le Mans and the ‘J’ cars would continue development.

 

On race day, June 1966, Ford rolled into Le Mans with eight Mark II GT40s.  Supplementing their attack were six privately entered GT40s. There were an equal number of Ferraris entered, but only two were factory sponsored.  Rounding out the competition was one Chaparral 2D and six Porsche Carrera 6s.

 

The start of the 1966 Le Mans. At this race three of the eight cars survived to take the first three places at the end of the 24 hours.  In the foreground No.3 (chassis No 1047) was driven by Gurney/Grant.

 

After one hour into the race, 4 GT40s led, followed by the Ferraris. During the next hour, all three of the Ferrari 206 Dinos dropped out with varying troubles and one GT40 Mark I succumbed to a blown engine.

 

As night approached, the Fords of Miles/Hume and Gurney/Grant led the Ferraris of Rodriquez/Ginther and Scarfiotti/Parkes, with the McClaren/Amon Ford 5th.  But by 2 AM, the two Ferraris had dropped out - one with transmission failure and the other due to an accident.  Ford now had positions 1 through 4 with their Mark II GT40s – three SAI cars and the lone surviving Holman-Moody car. Within an hour, the last of the Ferraris dropped out with transmission problems. Baring any unforeseen problems, Le Mans belonged to Ford.

 

Around 9 AM, the Gurney/Grant car came into the pits with an overheating problem.  The radiator was topped off and the car sent back out.  It was soon in again, but the rules required 25 laps between top offs and his car had to be retired.

 

The remaining trio of Mark IIs encountered no further problems.  Ford executives told the drivers of the three cars to stage a close grouping 1 – 2 – 3 finish.  So after 3000 miles of racing, the three GT40 Mark IIs came out of the rain, lights ablaze, to take the checkered flag. The Mark IIs had won the most prestigious of the endurance races, and the world championship.

 

Ford GT-40s finish 1-2-3 at LeMans - 1966

 

 

Within a month of their success, Ford announced that they would campaign again in 1967. But this time, they would campaign the Mark IV car.

 

1967: Year of the Honeycomb

 

Ford began 1967 with John Wyer taking over the FAV facility.  It now became known as J. W. Automotive Engineering. John would continue to build GT40s and supply all the established services.

 

John and Ford knew that the ‘J’ car would need substantial development if it were to be the next generation of GT40s to leave its mark on Le Mans.  Many changes to the honeycomb chassis were made to improve strength after Ken Miles’ tragic death in 1966 at Riverside testing an early ‘J’ car. Improvements to the chassis and the addition of a roll cage added considerable weight to the car.  A new, more powerful 427 engine with iron heads added another 80 pounds to the car.  But the new engine made 530HP, 45 more then the single 4-bbl aluminum head 1966 Le Mans 427 engine.  It was hoped that the additional power would offset the added weight.

 

For the upcoming Daytona 24 hour endurance race, data from testing still did not conclusively show the ‘J’ car to be better than the Mark IIs. Hence, only the Mark II cars were fielded for the race at Daytona.

 

SAI and Holman-Moody each fielded three cars.  There cars differed greatly, since each was free to make their own improvements. JWA fielded one car owned by Grady Davis, the vice-president of Gulf Oil.  JWA did not have a car ready yet, and was offered Davis’ car.

 

Up against the GT40s were two new factory Ferrari 330P4s.  They had a brand new 4.0L V-12 making 475 HP at 8000 RPM.  Although less powerful than the Mark II GT40s, they were 25% lighter with a weight of 2160 pounds wet. In addition to the new P4s, two 330P3/4 cars, a shabby P2/3 car and an older 250LM car were also pinned to do battle with the Ford contingent.

 

Another brand new car making its debut was the Chaparral 2F from Jim Hall.  This was an open cockpit cat with a huge wing that was mounted three feet above the car.  It was equipped with a 427 Chevrolet engine mated to a two-speed automatic transmission.

 

Rounding out the competition was Porsche with a couple of Carrera 6s and anew car, the 910.

 

At the beginning of the race, it was the Chaparral 2F driven by Phil Hill in the lead, followed by Andretti in a Mark II.

 

After the first hour, two of the Mark II cars were having problems, but the remaining four were running second through fifth behind the Chaparral.  By the second hour the Chaparral had a comfortable lead. One of the Mark II cars was experiencing overheating problems with a leaky head gasket and another one suffered a broken shock.  After three hours, the Chaparral had a run-in with a wall, causing damage to one of the rear wishbones.  It was retired after leading the race for three hours.

 

The Ferrari P4s now took the lead followed by the Mark II GT40 of Andretti/Ginther.  However, at the 79th lap, the Andretti/Ginther car came in with a broken transmission.  Ford soon realized they may have a problem on their hands with transmissions. The failure was the same as on another Mark II that retired earlier in the race, and all the spares were from the same batch of transmissions.  By 11 PM that night, Ford had used up all the spare transmissions.

 

By dawn, the Mark II GT40s were dropping out one by one.  There were only two Mark IIs still running and their transmissions had not been part of the suspect batch.

 

As the race approached its final stages, the Ferrari contingent closed ranks for a 1 – 2 – 3 finish, similar to the one staged by Ford at Le Mans in 1966.  The sole remaining GT40 Mark II placed a lowly 7th. 

 

Ford’s first race in defense of the 1966 World Championship was over.  All they had to show for months of testing and development was a 7th place finish from a six-car-strong entry.  Daytona had been a nightmare Ford would want to soon forget.

 

About this time, development on the ‘J’ car picked up steam.  The nose was redesigned, as well as several other parts of the body.  These changes showed a significant improvement in the car’s aerodynamics.

 

On March 1st, 1967, SAI took the first of the new ‘J’ cars, now called the mark IV, to Kingman.  It was matched up to a Holman-Moody Mark II for comparison testing.

 

On March 1st, 1967, SAI took the first of the new ‘J’ cars, now called the Mark IV, to Kingman.  It was matched up to a Holman-Moody Mark II for comparison testing. The new Mark IV car was 4 mph faster than the Mark II, attaining a speed of 215.8 mph.  Feeling confident, chassis J-4 was selected to race at the forthcoming Sebring 12 Hours race.

 

Sebring 12 Hours

 

Along with J-4, Mark II 1031 from Holman-Moody was entered to give Ford a backup in case the new Mark IV failed.  Both cars were entered by Ford as factory entrants.

 

At the start of the race, the Mark IV of McLaren/Andretti held the pole position, followed by a Chaparral 2F and the Mark II GT40 of Foyt/Ruby. After three laps, the Mark IV led, followed by the Mark II – and it remained that way for most of the race. In the end, the two GT40’s finished 1-2.  Two privately-owned GT40’s clinched Group 4 honors by finishing 5th and 8th overall.

 

The J-4 in it’s revised configuration had proven itself a winner and worthy of taking on Ferrari. 

 

LeMans Trials

 

Four factory GT40’s were entered in the 1967 LeMans Trials.  Two were Mark IV cars (J-3 and J-4) entered by Carol Shelby and two were Mark IIb cars (1016 and 1031) by Holman-Moody. Also in attendance were two GT40’s in Group 4 and two of the new Len Bailey-designed Mirages.  These were lightweight variations of the GT40 with a much narrower roof line, no side scoops, restyled tail, and aluminum body panels.

 

Ferrari showed up with their two Daytona winning P4’s, which set the fastest lap times at the LeMans trials.  Even so, the big Fords were easily the fastest on the Mulsanne straight with speeds of 205 mph for the Mark IV and 203 mph for the Mark II.

 

Ford decided to concentrate its resources on winning LeMans for a second time instead of going for the manufacturer’s championship. It was left to the Mirages and Group 4 GT-40’s to represent Ford in the intervening championship events at Monza, Spa, Targa Florio and Nurburgring.

 

Continued in Part 2...