1966 GT40 Road Car

On Saturday I went over to (deleted) to visit with a friend and help him with the weber carbs on his original car. I have been over several times to help, but this time I remembered to take my camera. For you guys who have been talking about various parts of the originals, you can find some pics here. Some of you will probably be amazed at some of the parts. Like the body fasteners, mirrors and a few more goodies.
This car belonged to one of the presidents of Ford who brought it home with him and did some promotional work with it. It was put into storage in the bowels of the Ford museum for several years. One of the VPs decided to take it out for a spin with one of his buddies and got it hungup on a railroad tradk crossing. With a train comming, they panicked and poped the dlutch in reverse causing one of the wheels to hop so badly, it poped the fiberglass housing so badly that it caused a fire. They suposedly put it out with an ABC extinguisher.(Very bad) It was towed back to Ford, put into its stall and covered with a tarp. There was another high up at Ford who researched the GT40 and found it at the museum. The car was listed in storage as a Galaxie. When He aproached the curator about buying it(a galaxie), he was told he could have it for $1(so the story goes) He totaly restored the car. When it got discovered that he had bought it for only a buck, he was ordered to return it. He didn't and was let go because of it. My friend had been looking for several years for one and was aproached about buying it. He eventually did and has had it since. The car only has a little over 5K miles, and he hasn't fired it up until yeaterday in about a year. We have a few more things to work on that are minor, but we hope to have it on the road in a week or two. Have to change out the oil and make a few adjustments. There is a lot of cleanining up that needs to be done. The paint on the control arms is flaking, things like that, plus a lot of detailing work. There are some fiberglass issues yet to be fixed, but I am trying to get him over his reluctance to leave the front clip at a shop for more than a day. I'm working on him. My painter has done a couple of the originals and does all the fiberglass replacements for the mazda racing team. He is a wizard with fiberglass.
Anyway, here are the pics that I took at his home while we worked on it.

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I tried to get the oil pan manufacturer. Didn't turn out so good. Anyone interested, I will find out next trip.
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Here are some more. For those of you talking about the vents, heere's something to think about.
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Here's the shock/coilover adjuster.
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Here is the safety harness attachment.
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Notice the battery disconnect.
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Couldn't resist just sitting in it with the engine running.
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Fuel selector switch.
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Here is the screen cover for the side vents.
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Half goes to the rear brakes and half to the engine bay.
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Rick Muck- Mark IV

GT40s Sponsor
Supporter
A GT40 AND an MG TC...talk about polar opposites of performance!

A friend of mine who worked at Ford also tried to buy this car....needless to say he was not succesful! This was the car that was alleged to have been used at Kar Kraft as a mail run car and parts chaser /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Cool....

Rick /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
Here are the fasteners everybody is talking about. They run about $2500. I can take some measurements if anyone is interested.
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Here are the webers with their cover plate on.
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Here is the rear "ground effects" piece. If you look back at the shock pic, you can see how far forward the plate goes.

Notice the nostrils con't go all the way to the bottom.
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Notice no cover for the radiator.
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We have the spare wheel, but any regular tire is too wide for the nostril hatch cover. Will probably have to go with one of those space saver tires.
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For those wanting original mirrors.
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Here is a better pic of the harness plate.
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Need a little light while working on the roadside?
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This is supposed to show the cross over bar that opens both the rear hatch pins.
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Her is the door lock mechanism.
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Well that's all for now. Hope you all enjoy these pics.
Bill
 

Ron Earp

Admin
Great pictures!! - I think that is vent hinge design number #4 I've seen on original cars, and undoubtedly I bet there are more.
 
Bill,

Very Cool!

This car has some interesting and unusual details that I never would have expected on a factory car(eg. a single small cooling fan, front mounted oil cooler, grille screens,
a cigarette lighter /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif, ground effects pan, shallow nostrils, split rear ductwork and more).

I noticed that you mentioned, "We have the spare tire?" Are you in this gentleman's will, by any chance, or just hoping to be? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif


Great photos!!!


Bill
 

Gregg

Gregg
Lifetime Supporter
Beautiful pictures Bill. Keep them coming. Did your friend purchase the car from Symbolic Motor Cars?
 

Mark Charlton

GT40s Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
Excellent photos bill. Thanks for posting them. A great reference for those of us who have never seen an original.
 
Rick,
You are verrrry observant. I had to look back to see where you saw the MG. Yes it is. He owns three more cars, a Cobra, a Thunderbird and one other that I can't remember. Unfortunately he doesn't get them out too often.
Bill
 
Hello,

A very nice and original GT40, congratulations.

The original mileage is very impressive !

All the best
 
Hi again,

The GT looks to be 1063, do you know what did it suffer as "damage" in its early days ?

Regards.

All the best
 

Rick Muck- Mark IV

GT40s Sponsor
Supporter
Really kewl....
I think this is the infamous "Kar Kraft" parts chaser and mail car of legend. Around 1975 or so a friend of mine who worked at Ford and myself attempted to purchase this car sight unseen. We bid in the area of 12,000 dollars (nice street cars were going for less than 20 then) but we were ignored (hey, did my wife work at Ford then?). My buddy, who then owned a 427 Cobra and I thought we could restore and drive on an alternating basis, this GT40, without becoming overly attached.......YEAH, SURE!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
Anyhow, we didn't get the car and still have the GT jones going...Small world file..his daughter married a guy whose father later sold CAV GTs! But then I never thought in my youth that I would ever drive a GT or become involved with AC Cars for that matter.
And don't ask how my wife pi$$ed off Carroll Shelby! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
Rick /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
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