gt40p/chassis #1029

[ken visser]

I met a gentleman here at work who's dad had a racing team in the 60's called Scuderia Bear. He raced some Ferrari's (the prototype 250 GTO purchased after Stirling Moss drove it at Sebring is one example) He also raced a Cobra, a GT40, the Genie Cobra and several other cars.

He raced his gt40 at Le Mans in 66 but unfortunately crashed it in practise. As the story goes, the car was so badly damaged, that his dad hired a farmer with a back hoe to bury it. Has that chassis number (1029) ever resurfaced?

with great interest,
ken visser

ps: I scanned in all the photos that Peter had from his dad. I have the original receipt for the gt40 as created by Ford Advanced Vehicles Limited in England as well as a host of other photos.

[RobBeddington]

Great story Ken. I would be very interested in seeing the photos (and I'm sure others would be as well).

Cheers!

Rob

[Adam C.]

According to Ronnie Spain this car was scrapped by FAV. I hope it wasn't burried, there will be collectors tearing up crops all over the place! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Steve Toner]

From Trevor Legate's book: [ QUOTE ]
It is claimed that many remaining parts were shipped to the USA for an eventual rebuild into 1029, and Robert Ash is currently re-creating such a car around these pieces

[/ QUOTE ]

[Mark Clapp]

Confirmed! Scroll down and see a pic of P1029 on this web page Also click on the pic of GT40 MKIIb P1031/1047 for a neat history write-up on that car.

[ken visser]

I tried to attach some photos on my first attempt. I apologize for being a rookie at this. Do the images need to be hosted or can I attache

[ken visser]

The following is a story from my friend's brother:

I stumbled across your site today and thought I'd send along this image. Scuderia Bear was the name of my fathers racing team in the late fifties to late sixties. They raced Ferraris and Fords at Sebring and LaMans. The logo came about as a result of my mother's nickname for my father. (Scuderia means team in Italian).

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My mother gave my father a small bear (3" high) which sat on the dashboard of the race cars. The bear had a red drivers suit which my mother made, and a cut up ping pong ball as a helmet.

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In 1966 during practice for the 24 hours of La Mans, the Gt40 my father was driving left the track at 150 MPH. The car was totaled but my father escaped uninjured. Unfortunately they never found the bear. Two years later while visiting Paris, my father was in a bar with a friend of his. The friend went to the rest room and returned with a gentleman he had bumped into. Amazingly, sticking out of the man's coat pocket was the bear who had logged so many miles on the dash board of my father's cars.

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I thought you might enjoy an image of the teams logo.

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Sincerely,

Bill McKelvy

Oxford, Maryland

[josvdp]

Nice story - in view of recent stories of what can be used to justify a cars history & provenance would I be correct in assuming that the successor in title to the French gentleman of the bear mascot will shortly appear on the Historic Racing circuit with 1029 rebuilt with full FIA papers !

[sraybee]

after 1029 was destroyed at lemans all of the remaining parts were purchased by Gene Hamlin and William Schweiger, and used to construct a homebuilt tube framed Formula 5000 car called the Marnita which was completed in 1970.The Marnita competed in scca f/a and F/5000 races for several years and then went into storage in Schweigers garage.The Marnita and the other parts were sold to Bob Ash around 1989. Strange but true and I was there Gene and Bill were racing buddies of my father.

just for fun i also remember the story about the chassis being burried in a farm field in indiana

[sraybee]

after 1029 was destroyed at lemans all of the remaining parts were purchased by Gene Hamlin and William Schweiger, and used to construct a homebuilt tube framed Formula 5000 car called the Marnita which was completed in 1970.The Marnita competed in scca f/a and F/5000 races for several years and then went into storage in Schweigers garage.The Marnita and the other parts were sold to Bob Ash around 1989. Strange but true and I was there Gene and Bill were racing buddies of my father.

just for fun i also remember the story about the chassis being burried in a farm field in indiana

[ken visser]

As I mentioned in my original post, the original owner, Mr McKelvy (name and signature on the Ford Advanced Vehicles receipt for chassis 1029 as shown above), specifically remembers crashing the car in 66 and then paying a local farmer to bury it in a field. The thought was, the car is utterly destroyed, why pay to have it shipped back to the states?
To me the question is, how and when was the car exhumed from that field somewhere in the neighborhood of Le Mans? When did Gene Hamlin and William Schweiger purchase the remaining parts and from whom? Or does the remaining parts refer to items that were not on the car at the time of the crash?
Just curious.

Thanks

ken

[Rex]

We all appreciate seeing the original GT40 pics! Any chance you might have
some of my car, GT40 (AMGT40/1)? It was red with gold stripes, roundel #16
at '66 LeMans test days. Any help would be appreciated!

FYI: Ronnie Spain's original GT40 (1986) reference book (page 80) shows
#1029 sitting at the factory AFTER its '66 LeMans crash. Therefore, its
impossible the car was "buried in a field" at the track as Mr. McKelvy
remembers. Some of your other questions are answered by the SAAC registry
(1997 edition, page 328): Post 1966 LeMans, #1029's salveable parts/remains
were shipped back to RRR Motors USA and then purchased by Hamlin/Schwiger.

[ken visser]

I hope to meet Peter's dad some day and I will ask him about the burial. I don't know.

I am also hoping that Peter's dad might have some other slides that he may have taken during the 66 Le mans. Obviously, his GT40 was not running in the race. I will let you know if any pictures come up. I do have a scan of that famous picture from the running start of the 66 race. Stamped on the back was the French photographer from Le Mans that took it.

As it stands, I have some wonderful images from 1962. Peter gave me a box of beautiful kodak slides which hadn't seen the light of day in many a year. Those slides are mostly of the Ferraris and some other European cars.

[Keith Hardy]

Wow!! Fantastic quality! More, pretty please!!!!! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[DON S.]

[ QUOTE ]
I am also hoping that Peter's dad might have some other slides that he may have taken during the 66 Le mans.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would appreciate anything you might turn up on my GT40 #P1040, which ran as car #14 at '66 Le Mans as the Filipinetti entry. It lasted around 16 hours so might show up in random photos. Thanx!

[ken visser]

Here is a layout I did on a 1966 GT40. One of the few built for the road. I don't have the chassis number but am trying to find out. I thought you might enjoy seeing this one.

[Keith Hardy]

Hey Ken! That's a very interesting shot of the engine bay with rear clip raised. Have you a higher res shot of that one please? If you PM me, I'll forward you my email. Thanks in hope,

Keith

[Keith Hardy]

Email address now in profile..... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[jimbo]

This is 1072, the Marriott car...

[ken visser]

[ QUOTE ]
This is 1072, the Marriott car...

[/ QUOTE ]

You guys are good.

Attached to this post is a larger version of the engine shot.