Ford began development of the "J"-Car early in 1966???

[John Shiels]

What is the J car? Thanks! I got this off the Exoto web site

It had the same basic drivetrain and suspension, but the chassis and body were a massive departure from the Mk II. Built using the latest aircraft construction techniques embodying epoxy-bonded aluminum honeycomb sandwich, it was as stiff as the Mk II, but the complete J was some 400 lbs lighter. Aerodynamically, the J-Car was a failure, and the construction left room for improvement.

After Ferrari stuck it to Ford with a 1-2-3 formation finish at the 1967 Daytona 24 Hours, Ford officials made the decision to develop the J-Car and turn it into a race winner. Having made the commitment, a team was assembled from the very best people that Shelby American and Holman-Moody employed. Only 10 days later, a prototype was in the windtunnel and the results were encouraging... very encouraging!

It looked as though Ford had a new car to go racing with. Having been advanced from experimental status, the J-Car was now designated the Mk IV. Mario Andretti and Bruce McLaren, who handled the J-Car in so many frustrating test sessions, would drive the much-refined Mk IV to Sebring for its maiden race. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif[/img]

[allanfeldman]

John
You could of got more info by posting this on the Historic thread of the forum .
The sadest thing is that this Ford GT project cost the life Ken Miles while testing J2
Basically the J Car was started because the Ford GT MKII could no longer be made competitive. They were basically too heavy. The J car was not a GT40 but a completely different car that was part of the Ford GT program. As Shelby says it was only the English press that call the Ford GT the Ford GT40. The J car design evolved into the MKIV which won Lemans in 1967 with an all American design crew AJ Foyt and Dan Gurney and Team J5 the MKIV and J car was only 38.5 in height.
Regards Allan

[Mike Dozier]

Some nice photos and good info on the J car in John Allens
re-released book..."The Ford that Beat Ferrari".
Every GT40 fan really should own a copy.

MikeD