Hi Bill
Sorry for the delayed reply. Busy weekend. Either Gary or Gazza is OK. I am called many other things by my 'friends' but we wont go into that!
The original X-1 car was stripped of all parts after sitting at SAI after its Sebring 66 win. The final skeletal remains of the tub had no use to anyone so they were cut up into quarters then loaded into a truck and tipped into a local landfill site before having a housing construction built over it. Mr Spain has already correctly stated the full situation and the SAI person who did the bad/sad deed (we have also re-veried directly with him).
Our research has confirme that those chassis remains were riddled with stress fractures which seem to have been due to poor process controls by Abbey panels who supplied McLaren with the part built lower tub in the first place, together with Abbey's wrong choice of alloy material in certain critical structural areas. The engineer who was sent over from Mclaren UK to the US with the car in 65 was explaining how he had to drill dozens of small holes at the ends of the stress fractures priort to Sebring 66 race to try and stop the cracks spreading.
So, even if you were a tunneling expert with hi-tech metal detectors, still nothing would be left from those remains after 45 years+ of underground corrosion, so any remains of any excavated panels would be totally unusable.
Yes, we are constructing a perfect recreation of X-1 but are incorprating original authentic 1964/65 GT40 parts from the original car itself wherever possible and/or from other specific GT40 MkII's, using the exact original construction methods even down to the same rivetting patterns on the alloy panels and the same but improved rivetting/welding tricks for the steel to alloy sections. We are incorprating origiinal 1960's aviation grade alloy panels/rivets wherever structural safety permits us to do so and correct grade/gauge of modern steel panels where appropriate.
BUT we will be using the correct annealing methods for these aviation grade alloys as well as improved production & bonding processes as well as strengthening in the critical load areas, all of which which will be fully sanctioned by the original build team to ensure the original Abbey Panels flaws are not repeated. Plus we have had additional recent supporting advice direct from Mr Eric Broadley himself.
Once the rest of the project physically arrives in NZ we have a local race car & aviation construction expert lined up (already known personally by some of the ex-McLaren engineers) who will be overseeing the manufacturing processes to ensure structural integrity is maintained.
I hope you can see and apreciate that this is an extremely complex project compared to a 'standard GT40', so everything to do with the tub construction will need to be taken very slowly and carefully.
We have only recently emailed detailed information on the project to Mr Ronnie Spain so it will naturally take him a while to decipher and verify it all. This is on the assumption that he wishes to get involved in this project in the first place, but if so then he may well need to do fresh direct research to verify some of our more in-depth information by speaking to the various McLaren people again first hand. I would imagine that he will respond at some point further down the line if & when he is comfortable about getting involved, and once he has the time but we do not wish to pressurise the poor man as he must have enough on his plate with the launch of his new book and I definitely dont want to be the blame for any delays otherwise I can see there will be a few dozen Contracts out on my head!
Hi Ian
I hope the above has also answereed some of your own questions. As far as FAV/JWA were concerned This car was know as 'GT110' as Mr Ronnie Spain has alreadycorrectly reported, but from McLaren's perspective the X-1 car was actually a direct contract job between Ford US and McLaren whereby McLaren were commissioned to build a lightweight GT40 roadster 'Can Am' car for this up & coming race series, but no VIN number was actually applied to the car by FAV or McLaren other than the adopted project name of 'X-1'. Please refer to all the US race magazine literature at the time. Then SAI re-fit then took place in early 66 to take the car to 'X1- GT Mk11' spec as per the winning red 'No.1' car.
Are you saying you live only 2 miles from the old Bruce McLaren Racing Ltd's premises itself? If that is the case than it would be fascinating if you can find out the current situation there and post photos of the site as it looks today.
I will dig out another couple of original pics for you in a moment.
G.
Sorry for the delayed reply. Busy weekend. Either Gary or Gazza is OK. I am called many other things by my 'friends' but we wont go into that!
The original X-1 car was stripped of all parts after sitting at SAI after its Sebring 66 win. The final skeletal remains of the tub had no use to anyone so they were cut up into quarters then loaded into a truck and tipped into a local landfill site before having a housing construction built over it. Mr Spain has already correctly stated the full situation and the SAI person who did the bad/sad deed (we have also re-veried directly with him).
Our research has confirme that those chassis remains were riddled with stress fractures which seem to have been due to poor process controls by Abbey panels who supplied McLaren with the part built lower tub in the first place, together with Abbey's wrong choice of alloy material in certain critical structural areas. The engineer who was sent over from Mclaren UK to the US with the car in 65 was explaining how he had to drill dozens of small holes at the ends of the stress fractures priort to Sebring 66 race to try and stop the cracks spreading.
So, even if you were a tunneling expert with hi-tech metal detectors, still nothing would be left from those remains after 45 years+ of underground corrosion, so any remains of any excavated panels would be totally unusable.
Yes, we are constructing a perfect recreation of X-1 but are incorprating original authentic 1964/65 GT40 parts from the original car itself wherever possible and/or from other specific GT40 MkII's, using the exact original construction methods even down to the same rivetting patterns on the alloy panels and the same but improved rivetting/welding tricks for the steel to alloy sections. We are incorprating origiinal 1960's aviation grade alloy panels/rivets wherever structural safety permits us to do so and correct grade/gauge of modern steel panels where appropriate.
BUT we will be using the correct annealing methods for these aviation grade alloys as well as improved production & bonding processes as well as strengthening in the critical load areas, all of which which will be fully sanctioned by the original build team to ensure the original Abbey Panels flaws are not repeated. Plus we have had additional recent supporting advice direct from Mr Eric Broadley himself.
Once the rest of the project physically arrives in NZ we have a local race car & aviation construction expert lined up (already known personally by some of the ex-McLaren engineers) who will be overseeing the manufacturing processes to ensure structural integrity is maintained.
I hope you can see and apreciate that this is an extremely complex project compared to a 'standard GT40', so everything to do with the tub construction will need to be taken very slowly and carefully.
We have only recently emailed detailed information on the project to Mr Ronnie Spain so it will naturally take him a while to decipher and verify it all. This is on the assumption that he wishes to get involved in this project in the first place, but if so then he may well need to do fresh direct research to verify some of our more in-depth information by speaking to the various McLaren people again first hand. I would imagine that he will respond at some point further down the line if & when he is comfortable about getting involved, and once he has the time but we do not wish to pressurise the poor man as he must have enough on his plate with the launch of his new book and I definitely dont want to be the blame for any delays otherwise I can see there will be a few dozen Contracts out on my head!
Hi Ian
I hope the above has also answereed some of your own questions. As far as FAV/JWA were concerned This car was know as 'GT110' as Mr Ronnie Spain has alreadycorrectly reported, but from McLaren's perspective the X-1 car was actually a direct contract job between Ford US and McLaren whereby McLaren were commissioned to build a lightweight GT40 roadster 'Can Am' car for this up & coming race series, but no VIN number was actually applied to the car by FAV or McLaren other than the adopted project name of 'X-1'. Please refer to all the US race magazine literature at the time. Then SAI re-fit then took place in early 66 to take the car to 'X1- GT Mk11' spec as per the winning red 'No.1' car.
Are you saying you live only 2 miles from the old Bruce McLaren Racing Ltd's premises itself? If that is the case than it would be fascinating if you can find out the current situation there and post photos of the site as it looks today.
I will dig out another couple of original pics for you in a moment.
G.