Help me identify what I've acquired please

Hello everyone.

When I was an 8th grader (I'm 29 now), my father used to drive around and snap pictures for car classified ads for "Photo Ad" which was a local magazine similar to Autotrader, etc. Anyway I used to go with him when he'd take item descriptions and pictures for the neat cars. In this case, it was a 1968 GT40. I didn't know anything about them back then but I went anyway. When we got there, it was a pretty nice house and a widowed wife was there. She had this GT40 that was "getting in the way" so she wanted it gone. Her husband had told her it would be worth some money one day but had no idea how much. When we got there, my father just bought it instead of listing it (I don't know how much). We trailered the car to my dad's building and it has sat there for roughly 15-16 years untouched. He told me I could have it for a graduation present. I've never had the room or money to tackle this project so i just left it there. (I'm in the military) Last week my dad got deathly sick and he told me to go grab that GT40 out of his building. He said to check it out and if it was worth building up, to do it, but if it looks like too much work, not worth anything, or just don't have the desire, then sell it.

A few days ago my friend and I went to his shop and pulled it out of there and into his garage to take a look at it. Here are the pics:

27699_393797347412_597542412_4613859_2691225_n.jpg


27699_393797372412_597542412_4613861_6259261_n.jpg


27699_393797377412_597542412_4613862_3869732_n.jpg


27699_393797387412_597542412_4613863_613555_n.jpg


27699_393797392412_597542412_4613864_2384126_n.jpg


27699_393797402412_597542412_4613865_7369593_n.jpg


27699_393797407412_597542412_4613866_4780284_n.jpg


27699_393797422412_597542412_4613867_6047591_n.jpg


Sorry the pics are small and crappy, they are all cell phone pics.

Anyway, the help that I need is what is this thing? The title says 1968 gt40 but I pretty positive it's not original. But it's obviously old but I didn't think they made kit of this car back 20-40 years ago. :shrug: The engine in it is some kind of a boxer porsche engine with a VW gearbox. The frame is kind of incorporated into the "bucket" (cockpit area) but it's made of pretty thick tubing that tapers down as it reaches the front and rear of the vehicle. Lots of square bracing in there as well. The bottom is all smooth, either fiberglass or aluminum. The car is mostly fiberglass. The car would need a complete restoration but does anyone recognize this body style as a kit or could it be real?

I've done a little searching on the web and it looks mostly like a Kellison kit. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'll be the first to admit that I don't know much about GT40s and the kits, but I do love cars so I'm open to anything. Thanks guys!

Josh Robinson
 
Looks like an old Kellison GT40 replica - VW engine/trans layout. The original Kellisons used a VW pan, but later models had a tube frame that could potentially support a V8. I am not sure exactly when production started, it could have been in the late 60's, but I suspect the car was titled using a 1968 donor VW.

Ian
 
Thanks guys! I'll check out the links and go from there. I can't see much of the frame as the bottom of the car was covered with either aluminum or fiberglass. The frame is tubular, well, at least for the center section of it. It appears to be 4 inches or so in diameter. Some square braces wrap up the front and rear. Obviously this car would need a full restoration, would it be worth doing? Is it worth anything the way it sits? Thanks guys!
 

Dave Wood

Lifetime Supporter
Thanks guys! I'll check out the links and go from there. I can't see much of the frame as the bottom of the car was covered with either aluminum or fiberglass. The frame is tubular, well, at least for the center section of it. It appears to be 4 inches or so in diameter. Some square braces wrap up the front and rear. Obviously this car would need a full restoration, would it be worth doing? Is it worth anything the way it sits? Thanks guys!

What is it worth.... I think the wheels are the most valuable part. It is done up pretty nicely, I have purchased 2 within the last year. One was probably in similar condition and was drivable, the other has never been finished. Oddly enough they cost about the same. One came from Ca., the unfinished one and the other from Michigan. The shipping was of course more for the Ca. car, but I believe I paid $3500 for each. That was just the vehicle, the shipping from Ca was about twice as much but it came with a bunch of spares. The ducting in the nose was a nice touch. I couldn't tell how the rear was done, but it appeared to be different than the GT40 look that Kellison tried for.
I looked for one many years ago and most people had no clue as to what I was talking about and now they seem to be everywhere.
 

Randy V

Moderator-Admin
Staff member
Admin
Lifetime Supporter
What would your Dad have done - had he the time and money?

It seems that maybe this was pretty important to him or he would not have stored it all these years. But - maybe not..

I liked the Kellisons and I think they looked a TON better than the Fiberfab cars.

I tried to enhance the images using the software built into my Mac computer so you could see a BIT more of those parts that were too dark to see. Of course the lighter parts washed out even more...
Maybe Porsche power? Front suspension does not look to be typical VW..
 

Attachments

  • 27699_393797422412_597542412_4613867_6047591_n.jpg
    27699_393797422412_597542412_4613867_6047591_n.jpg
    44.7 KB · Views: 368
  • 27699_393797387412_597542412_4613863_613555_n.jpg
    27699_393797387412_597542412_4613863_613555_n.jpg
    42.4 KB · Views: 450
  • 27699_393797377412_597542412_4613862_3869732_n.jpg
    27699_393797377412_597542412_4613862_3869732_n.jpg
    51.7 KB · Views: 389
  • 27699_393797372412_597542412_4613861_6259261_n.jpg
    27699_393797372412_597542412_4613861_6259261_n.jpg
    54.6 KB · Views: 364
  • 27699_393797347412_597542412_4613859_2691225_n.jpg
    27699_393797347412_597542412_4613859_2691225_n.jpg
    58.4 KB · Views: 420
My dad is/was a used car dealer. He's done a few things throughout his life but they've all been car related (Ford dealership owner, used car dealer, built conversion vans etc.). We've never known what this car was so we just kind of put it away for a rainy day. Of course we were both hoping it was real but it's just been out of sight, out of mind. Once I grabbed it out of his old building I could quickly see that it wasn't the real deal but it didn't look like a fiero underneath so I started researching some. The more I read about the real ones, the more I knew mine couldn't be. I'm sorry about the pictures, I took them with my iphone. This car is in north eastern Indiana and I am currently stationed in San Diego. My dad and I have always been very close and he trusts my judgement on what to do with things like this. At this point, I think it'd be best to just sell it, although it would be fun to build up. However, if I'm going to spend all the work and money on it, I'd rather it be something a little closer to original.
 
I think you are correct, Joshua. While it was obviously special to your Dad, and has some sentimental value, in the big picture you would be better putting a build effort into a proper replica that you will really enjoy.
 
Well, I wasn't banking on it being something truly special, it would have been cool though. I just don't want to dump $50K in it and end up with something that's "meh". I'd rather do something like an RCR car or something if I was going to do it.
 

Dave Wood

Lifetime Supporter
I live in central Illinois. If you are serious about selling it, PM me with what you feel you need to have and I may buy a 3rd one.
 
I found this
Kellison built the first semi-accurate clone of the Ford GT in the mid-1960s. Called the GT40K, it wasn't exact but looked fairly close. Most were built to go on VW floorpans, but a few came with tube frames mounting V-8s bolted to Corvair transaxles. GT40Ks were built until the early 1970s. Very similar kits were sold at the same time by Sports Racing Equipment (as the Sebring Mk III) and the Scorpion Motor Company. Kellison, SRE, and SMC were all located in California

1gt.jpg


Its interesting to read that it seems to be the first GT40 replica's...
so, it has some historic vallua then I guess.

a build story (but I guess you already know a lot)

BUILD STORY

but your car has a different body, specialy the front bonnet...
 
Back
Top