I'm doing this as a new post as it is more a profile on a person than a report on a manufacturer.
PROFILE ON KEN MACLEOD - DESIGN DRAUGHTSMAN ON THE NEW
HI-TECH/SUPERFORMANCE GT40 Mk11 PROJECT.
Ken Macleod was born in Johannesburg on February 13, 1947.
Ken and I have a standing joke between us. I say my only claim to fame was that I was born on February 18, same day and month as Enzo Ferrari and that Ken was not so lucky - he was born on the 13th. HeHe!
At age two, Ken's parents packed him up in a cot and took him off to Ndola in the former Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) where they started a chartered accountants practice. Ken finished high school there and then headed back to South Africa where he enrolled at the University of Cape Town to study mechanical engineering. After a year, not his scene, he quit to become an apprentice toolmaker with Plessey.. At the same time he attended the Cape Technical College where he qualified with a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering.
After a stint in Cape Town as a jig and tool designer, the bigger picture of 'overseas' beckoned, a route many young South Africans took to 'seek fame and fortune'. For many it was a pipe dream but worth a try. Others made it to the top, ie Ron Hickman (Lotus Elan and Black & Decker Workmate), Gordon Murray (Brabham, McLaren and Mercedes-Benz 300SLR-McLaren) Rory Byrne (Benetton and Ferrari), farm girl Oona Scheepers (heads up Porsche's upholstery department) and Pierre Terblanche (Ducati Chief Designer). As an eager young man Pierre used to work for Keith Bright who will be making the bodies for the new GT40. By complete coincidence Keith races a yellow 1975 Ducati 750 Sport in classic racing and Pierre has just introduced a new retro version of the same bike. Keith's factory, Brightglass, is right opposite the new GT40 works. Ken took the plunge and headed for the UK where he got a job with JW Automotive in Slough (just down the road from the original GT40 factory) as design draughtsman.
Initially Ken worked on the Porsche 917 programme but not long after the company name was changed to Gulf Research Engineering when the Mirage project kicked off. This is where Ken 'found his feet' and he became involved in doing the drawings for the Mirage cars including the rather complex Weslake V12 engine.
The Weslake V12 only ran once and that was for practice at Le Mans in 1972. The engine did not produce the horses expected and the expensive project was canned then and there by John Wyer and Len Bailey.
GT40 designer, Len Bailey, was retained by John Wyer, head of JW Automotive, on a consultancy basis and Len and Ken started working together on various projects. Ken was eventually seconded to Len and moved from Slough to Woking (famous place in Surrey - McLaren!) to join Len at his office there. Len was asked by Frank Williams to design his first Grand Prix car, code named FX3, (eventually FW01 by Frank) which was sponsored by Politoys. Len headed up the project but Ken did all the drawings. Ken mentioned the importance of a project head and design draughtsman to work together on a telethepatic basis, a working relationship they achieved. Len would do a rough sketch on a scrap of paper, Ken would look and absorb and then do the working drawings.
Ken recalls a photo session where the Politoys car was placed in a large box made of Perspex to resemble a large display box of a model car. Seated on the left front wheel, inside the box, was Frank Williams and on the right hand wheel was Giacomo Agostini, who was due to drive the car. I’m sure that not too many people knew that Ago was interested in moving to F1. Henri Pescarolo (Pepsi Cola) was signed up to drive the car in the 1972 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch and on the first lap totalled it. So it was back to bikes for Ago!
By 1974 Ken had met a South African lass but when she returned home Ken felt a little homesick. Tired of the English weather and traffic he longed for Africa with its wide open spaces and endless sunshine. So back home it was but the romance ended.
Ken then moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe, that troubled land to our north, with an inflation rate of over 600% and headed up by the tyrant Robert Mugabe, also a specialist in rigging elections). Ken joined the Anglo-American Corporation as mechanical engineer in their mining division. He met Cathy from Manchester, they got married and later had two children. A political storm was brewing which affected business and Ken was retrenched. He then became a lecturer at a local technical college.
In 1979 he returned to South Africa where he joined Ford of South Africa in Port Elizabeth and became involved with the development of South African hybrids. Ford SA produced several vehicles that were only marketed locally, ie the Ford Cortina pick-ups (also the UK for a while), Cortinas with 3 litre V6 Essex engines, the Escort based Bantam pick-up and the Ford Sierra V8, the XR8. In 1986 another political storm was brewing and Ford pulled out of SA. Second retrenchment for old Ken! However, a deal was done with the giant Anglo-American's auto division to build Fords and Mazdas at Rosslyn, near Pretoria. Imagine moving a factory hundreds of miles away that was established in 1924. Ford is now back in all its glory and is headed up by an Afro-American lady, Deborah S Coleman. She is very popular with all the old hard bitten white male Ford dealers. Boy, do times change!
Ken did the full circle and re-joined Plessey in Cape Town as Senior Product Engineer, involved mainly with electro-mechanical products. He also designed a radar system. A good, secure job, but Ken was missing the exciting world of car building. He heard that CAV was looking for someone with his experience and in January, 2001 Ken joined the company. Back to beloved cars!
At CAV Ken became involved with the design and development of the monocoque but after differences of opinion he resigned towards the end of the year.
In Lee's words, if you don't succeed at first, try, try and try again. In March, 2002 Ken was invited by Robbie to join him on the new GT40 project. Today Ken is a happy chappie (check the smile on his face) working with an equally happy and professional team in a clinical new factory. It comes to those who wait. He deserves it!
Ken's hobbies are breeding Staffordshire Bull Terriers and collecting die-cast models of which he has over 500. He also holds a private pilot's licence - Cessnas and Pipers. He also has a vast library of details and specs on virtually any racing car or specialist car your can think of. Elva Courier, got it. Ginetta G4, got it. Ford F3L, got it. Many more!
You many gather that thanks to Robbie Senekal, Norman Lewis and Ken MacLeod there's a wealth of talent behind Jimmy Price's new GT40. Can't build complex cars without hard earned experience!
Keep trying!
Andre 40
PROFILE ON KEN MACLEOD - DESIGN DRAUGHTSMAN ON THE NEW
HI-TECH/SUPERFORMANCE GT40 Mk11 PROJECT.
Ken Macleod was born in Johannesburg on February 13, 1947.
Ken and I have a standing joke between us. I say my only claim to fame was that I was born on February 18, same day and month as Enzo Ferrari and that Ken was not so lucky - he was born on the 13th. HeHe!
At age two, Ken's parents packed him up in a cot and took him off to Ndola in the former Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) where they started a chartered accountants practice. Ken finished high school there and then headed back to South Africa where he enrolled at the University of Cape Town to study mechanical engineering. After a year, not his scene, he quit to become an apprentice toolmaker with Plessey.. At the same time he attended the Cape Technical College where he qualified with a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering.
After a stint in Cape Town as a jig and tool designer, the bigger picture of 'overseas' beckoned, a route many young South Africans took to 'seek fame and fortune'. For many it was a pipe dream but worth a try. Others made it to the top, ie Ron Hickman (Lotus Elan and Black & Decker Workmate), Gordon Murray (Brabham, McLaren and Mercedes-Benz 300SLR-McLaren) Rory Byrne (Benetton and Ferrari), farm girl Oona Scheepers (heads up Porsche's upholstery department) and Pierre Terblanche (Ducati Chief Designer). As an eager young man Pierre used to work for Keith Bright who will be making the bodies for the new GT40. By complete coincidence Keith races a yellow 1975 Ducati 750 Sport in classic racing and Pierre has just introduced a new retro version of the same bike. Keith's factory, Brightglass, is right opposite the new GT40 works. Ken took the plunge and headed for the UK where he got a job with JW Automotive in Slough (just down the road from the original GT40 factory) as design draughtsman.
Initially Ken worked on the Porsche 917 programme but not long after the company name was changed to Gulf Research Engineering when the Mirage project kicked off. This is where Ken 'found his feet' and he became involved in doing the drawings for the Mirage cars including the rather complex Weslake V12 engine.
The Weslake V12 only ran once and that was for practice at Le Mans in 1972. The engine did not produce the horses expected and the expensive project was canned then and there by John Wyer and Len Bailey.
GT40 designer, Len Bailey, was retained by John Wyer, head of JW Automotive, on a consultancy basis and Len and Ken started working together on various projects. Ken was eventually seconded to Len and moved from Slough to Woking (famous place in Surrey - McLaren!) to join Len at his office there. Len was asked by Frank Williams to design his first Grand Prix car, code named FX3, (eventually FW01 by Frank) which was sponsored by Politoys. Len headed up the project but Ken did all the drawings. Ken mentioned the importance of a project head and design draughtsman to work together on a telethepatic basis, a working relationship they achieved. Len would do a rough sketch on a scrap of paper, Ken would look and absorb and then do the working drawings.
Ken recalls a photo session where the Politoys car was placed in a large box made of Perspex to resemble a large display box of a model car. Seated on the left front wheel, inside the box, was Frank Williams and on the right hand wheel was Giacomo Agostini, who was due to drive the car. I’m sure that not too many people knew that Ago was interested in moving to F1. Henri Pescarolo (Pepsi Cola) was signed up to drive the car in the 1972 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch and on the first lap totalled it. So it was back to bikes for Ago!
By 1974 Ken had met a South African lass but when she returned home Ken felt a little homesick. Tired of the English weather and traffic he longed for Africa with its wide open spaces and endless sunshine. So back home it was but the romance ended.
Ken then moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe, that troubled land to our north, with an inflation rate of over 600% and headed up by the tyrant Robert Mugabe, also a specialist in rigging elections). Ken joined the Anglo-American Corporation as mechanical engineer in their mining division. He met Cathy from Manchester, they got married and later had two children. A political storm was brewing which affected business and Ken was retrenched. He then became a lecturer at a local technical college.
In 1979 he returned to South Africa where he joined Ford of South Africa in Port Elizabeth and became involved with the development of South African hybrids. Ford SA produced several vehicles that were only marketed locally, ie the Ford Cortina pick-ups (also the UK for a while), Cortinas with 3 litre V6 Essex engines, the Escort based Bantam pick-up and the Ford Sierra V8, the XR8. In 1986 another political storm was brewing and Ford pulled out of SA. Second retrenchment for old Ken! However, a deal was done with the giant Anglo-American's auto division to build Fords and Mazdas at Rosslyn, near Pretoria. Imagine moving a factory hundreds of miles away that was established in 1924. Ford is now back in all its glory and is headed up by an Afro-American lady, Deborah S Coleman. She is very popular with all the old hard bitten white male Ford dealers. Boy, do times change!
Ken did the full circle and re-joined Plessey in Cape Town as Senior Product Engineer, involved mainly with electro-mechanical products. He also designed a radar system. A good, secure job, but Ken was missing the exciting world of car building. He heard that CAV was looking for someone with his experience and in January, 2001 Ken joined the company. Back to beloved cars!
At CAV Ken became involved with the design and development of the monocoque but after differences of opinion he resigned towards the end of the year.
In Lee's words, if you don't succeed at first, try, try and try again. In March, 2002 Ken was invited by Robbie to join him on the new GT40 project. Today Ken is a happy chappie (check the smile on his face) working with an equally happy and professional team in a clinical new factory. It comes to those who wait. He deserves it!
Ken's hobbies are breeding Staffordshire Bull Terriers and collecting die-cast models of which he has over 500. He also holds a private pilot's licence - Cessnas and Pipers. He also has a vast library of details and specs on virtually any racing car or specialist car your can think of. Elva Courier, got it. Ginetta G4, got it. Ford F3L, got it. Many more!
You many gather that thanks to Robbie Senekal, Norman Lewis and Ken MacLeod there's a wealth of talent behind Jimmy Price's new GT40. Can't build complex cars without hard earned experience!
Keep trying!
Andre 40