J9, formerly J7A

Hello

Often presented as the picture of the car with which Ken Miles had his fatal accident, this image raises several questions:
-Why J7 on the side View attachment 102512?
-It's the only picture of a J with an air intake of this shape on the roof.
-The cutout of the door is special.
-the three people do not seem to be known, they are not a priori people from Shelby.

So who can identify this car and put a good legend to this photo?
Good question about the J7
Hello

Often presented as the picture of the car with which Ken Miles had his fatal accident, this image raises several questions:
-Why J7 on the side View attachment 102512?
-It's the only picture of a J with an air intake of this shape on the roof.
-The cutout of the door is special.
-the three people do not seem to be known, they are not a priori people from Shelby.

So who can identify this car and put a good legend to this photo?

Ive asked the same question about the J7 & one that I have yet to be given an answer with some substance. I think the guy with his back to camera & has taken his shoes off to stand on sponson might be Steele Therkelson ( spl?. This pic is in the 'Shelby GT40 book by Dave Friedman' and there is a comment alongside this pic from Bill Eaton, he had been sent back to LA to pick up a 'new' Tail/Rear Clip?' but it was not fitted. In the photo you see what I presume to be a rear clip- was /is it the old or new item, was it not fitted correctly or if the new one did it have an issue and depart the car at speed_ too many what if's, but would not be first time that rear bodywork having been a factor in a high speed crash, McLarens fatal accident being one. To add further mystery the pic of J2 in Ronnie Spains book shows oblong openings above cyl head position, were these to allow individual exh stacks or to get air into IDA webers.
 
To add further mystery the pic of J2 in Ronnie Spains book shows oblong openings above cyl head position, were these to allow individual exh stacks or to get air into IDA webers.

They were testing a 427/T44 or was it an Automatic (Kar Kraft T45, cant remember wat it was numbered?), that had 4 side draft Webers on a crossover intake manifold weren't they?
 

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think the crossover intake version can be seen behind the cobras rear corner

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Hi Jim
I was not getting at the fact that J-9 and J-10 were going to be rebodied as MKIVs.
As for Fords Total Performance Program sure the J-car/MKIV was part of the program. But it was not a GT40 It started a a parrallel design concept when the MKII became too heavy and uncompedititive. The last GT40 being the 1967 MKIIB running at the same time as the MKIV at Le Mans
Sure the name of the MKIV was sequential. But that does not mean the MKIV is a GT40! In fact it was to be called the MKIII but the road car got there first. And I forgot there is no such thing as a MKI as I have been told but I use it in retrospect. But not all racing car type numbers follow that rule what about Lola T70 endurance racer, T90 Indy etc.
Whatever the press releases said never mentioned that the original J car had proved a failure and that the MKIV was never designed as a MKIV from scratch! But used the J car as the basis for its existence.
Sure Ford wanted an all American car and crew to win Le Mans . Henry Ford II regarded the 1966 win as Anglo American car with New Zealand drivers. The fact that the winning GT40P/1046 was painted in New Zealand colour scheme did not help either.
Also if Ford never had the rights to the name GT40 who did they paid when the GT40 production run started in 1965? And how could they have homolagated it with the authorities for Group 4 racing in 1965 without the use of the name? I have copy of the original GT40 brochure from 1966 and its not the MKIII on the cover but them MKI why did no one sue them if they were using the GT40 name without authority? And although Ford had officially pulled out after the rule changes and succeeding in there aim of winning at Le Mans with all American car and drivers. It must of unoffically backed the JWAE assault on 1968/69 Le Mans with the Gulf sponsored much modified GT40's why was not the cars renamed MKV's or MKIB's???
I think you will have to discuss the type of car J-2 was with Ronnie Spain it was not the Breadvan as it had a different shape. And I know the claws on J-1 were detachable.
But I quote from Ronnies book, "J-2 was built to CanAm configuration to make use of the late season CanAm Challenge Championship as extra race evaulation mileage. Unfortunately J-2 never made it as far as the opening round, as after its initial shakedown at Kingman, Arizona, it was totally destroyed at Riverside on 17 August in the testing accident which claimed the life of the inimitable California-based Englishman Ken Miles".
So while the overall push was for Le Mans things that resulting in more testing would have been considered and explored as in J-2 case.
Regards Allan
Allan, the reason nobody made a big deal about using the “GT40” name back in the day is because at the time there wasn’t a 3rd party squatting on the name trying to extract a fee for use of the name....as there is now.
 
Hello

Often presented as the picture of the car with which Ken Miles had his fatal accident, this image raises several questions:
-Why J7 on the side View attachment 102512?
-It's the only picture of a J with an air intake of this shape on the roof.
-The cutout of the door is special.
-the three people do not seem to be known, they are not a priori people from Shelby.

So who can identify this car and put a good legend to this photo?


Could this car could be J7, before emberglo paint and people from H&M ?
 
J-2 was the car that Ken Miles had his fatal accident it was going to be used in Can Am. It was being developed that's why the picture shows differences. I do know what dates Ronnie Spains photo J-2 had or the J7 picture. J-9 was later on in the program as the Can Am spyder. Just a theory on the sidewinder on your picture of the J car. 7 could of meant Group 7 Just like J-9 designation was G7A Group 7. But J-9 was a much latter chassis and not a J car of which there were only two.
Regards Allan
 
I mean J-9 the G7A car or J-7 the Le Mans car Ronnie says the car in the original picture testing at Daytona was J-2 The sidewinder says J-7
 
Maybe it is more simple... Could it be H&M team testing J7 before the emberglo paint prior to Le Mans ?
The scoop it perhaps trying to have an unfair advantage on Shelby J5 and J7 ?
Question is : when H&M received J7 and J8 ? Cars was delivered by Kar Kraft in white ?
 

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The story of the Shelby Museum say :

Painted bronze with white stripes, J-7 was delivered from Kar Kraft to the Holman-Moody shops at the Charlotte airport in April. Among the body modifications were vertical ventilation louvers in the doors, side window vents and caps over the brake ducts in the nose.

Are we sure about the color in april ?
 
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