My meeting With FAV Design Engineer!!

This just goes to show what a small world we live in. This morning I parked the GT40 outside the front of my factory for about 10 minutes right by the main road. I then had an old chap call into my office and asked if he could look at my car. The chap introduced himseld as Mr David Taylor and said that he was very interested to look at my car because he was one of the principal design engineers at Ford Advanced Vehicles in Slough. He said that he worked directly with John Wyer and Eric Broadley on the development of the GT40. He was also resposible for assisting in the design of the Mk 3.

He listed off numerous names of the design team and it was very difficult to take it all in. This chap really knew his stuff and was well versed on the chassis design, bodywork etc.etc.

In addition to this he was heavily involved in the development of the Mirage and in later days the Daren Mk 1. I found on the net a statement about him regarding the Daren Mk 1 as follows:

""The decision to build a GT race car attracted the attention of David Taylor. David had worked for Ford before joining JW Automotive Products (thus becoming involved with the Mirage Ford) and was a potential customer of John’s before he got involved in the design of Daren. John himself worked on chassis design with mechanic Mike Aird. The end result was an exquisite shape that the press billed as being faultless with a sparkling engine.""

I have told David about the UK Club and also the GT40 forum so he will hopefully come on and introduce himself. He lives in Cowes and I found it weird that one of the design engineers has lived most of his life right here on the Isle of Wight!

It was great having a chat with him and I am going to meet him again in the next week or so. He has pictures of the GT40 being produced and others he said I can look at. He was most impressed with my car when I took him for a spin and was happy to have a go in one after all these years.

He was pleased to tell me about how the original chassis layout was done (I was somewhat embarressed about my KVA chassis!!). I did say that I could have done with meeting him a year and a half ago when I started my build. I look forward to hearing some more stories about these cars and seeing some of the pictures. Perhaps I should park my car by the road more often. You never know who might be passing by!!

Regards

Simon

 

[Marcus]

Wow...PHANTASTIC.
Congrats Simon, this I´m sure is a very exciting and inspiring thing to
meet a man like him!
Congrats also for your car, it must have felt super to have your car
being "knighted" by a former FAV design engineer.

Best,

Marcus

 

Thanks Marcus

It was nice to hear him say what a good job I had done of the car (even though I don't have a monocoque chassis!!). I am hoping he will join the forum and help out with questions for others. He is due to move to France in November right next to the Le Mans track. As he is 70 now he said that he wants to spend his last years by the famous race track and enjoy the racing!

 

[Paolo-LoveGT40 Modelworks]

eheh..what a nice story...
probably the old engeneer doesnt knows the replica world..and for him will be impressive to look today at a gt40 (dunno the color u have Simon.
Also Italian 1960s engeneers I know really dunno in UK and around the world is possible to have a y2k clone of that mighty race cars (I know some ex ferrari ones that will die at once looking at RCR production)
And be sure the Kva is stunning also if doesnt has the monocoque...just the looking of the40 makes people stop breathe

If u can post picture when he will gave theme to u

thanks
Paolo

 

You are quite right Paolo, David did not have any real idea of the growing GT40 replica industry. He was quite blown away when I said that the replicas had been around for many years. As he had worked for sometime with John Wyer (who he said was a bit of a miserable so and so!!) he spotted my Gulf replica a mile off. I did take a picture so I could E-mail it to him but it came out bad. Forgetting the fact that mine is not a real one he seemed pleased that a younger generation was taking such an interest in the GT40.

I have done some checking on the Daren Mk1 that he worked on and the similarity betwen that and the Mirage is quite clear. Check out LostNFound and see what you think. When I meet him again I will ask to see if it possible to get some copies of the GT40 pictures and post them on the forum.

Regards

Simon

 

[Mark Clapp]

Simon, great work finding the site with info on the Daren. The period pics really show that "golden age". What a terrific GT car. At 38 inches tall it was really a sleek little runner. You definitly talked to one of the prophets of our GT40 religion. Your car looks fantastic as well.

 

[Marcus]

Simon,
your car really looks super.

Having a look at the Daren MK1 its rear really does remind you of the
F3L, doesn`t it? Just wondering as to who got inspired by whom...

Marcus

 

Thanks for the replies Guys,

I sent an E-mail to David yesterday thanking him for taking the time to have a chat with me. He really was a genuinely nice chap and was pleased see a GT40 down here on the Isle of Wight. I had an E-mail back last night. This is just some of that message:

Simon,
It is I who should be thanking you, you have no idea of the pleasure it gave me today to talk to you and see your GT40 and ride in it.
On reflection, the last driver to take me for a spin in a GT40 was Denny Hulme in the prototype Mk 3. I used to think I was pretty quick, but we joined the M4 at slough west,which if you know it is a full hairpin which just goes on and on. I thought he'd lost his marbles as we went into it at a ridiculous speed and he was accelerating through it. I was pressed up against the door with the g force. Only a few seconds later I was able to relax as I realised I was watching a "Master" at work and I'm sure he could have gone even quicker!


I still find it hard to believe that I have just finished my GT40 and could have got sage advice on its construction from a pro. The amount of work and time I put into that car I am sure I could have had a go at building a monocoque chassis. I would happily have spent more time and effort for the end result.

It was great to hear his stories of working along side John Wyer. He said that he was a bit of a miserable bloke who was as tight as a ducks rear end. However he went on to say that he was unrivalled when it came to race cars. The very tiniest details were focused on and that he would stand there (cigar in hand!) debating little things like if a split pin being used were strong enough. On meetings in office he said that the cigar smoke literally clouded the room as Wyer mulled over the design details and idea proposals.

David worked also with Eric Broadley and I would like to hear what he was like and about Lola Cars. I will hopefully meet with David again soon and let you know any other interesting stories he has.

Regards

Simon

 

[Paolo-LoveGT40 Modelworks]

I dunno how old is him...he anyway can join one of the 2 wonderful uk gt40 club and maybe buy a car (not so expensive....he surely remebers the 40 as only endurance Ford prototype).
I am sure if he will take a look at RCRs, Cav or Era cars he probably will have a shoot..so be really careful
Spins in the gt40 are something too special....
He also can become a referring point for all our comunities....with all the knowledge he has.


Paolo

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

There is a great book about John Wyer (and by John Wyer, I think) called "That Certain Sound", if I have it right. It is no longer in print- I borrowed a copy of it from Don S here in MD. It is an autobiography and account of his years in motor racing.

From all accounts, including his own, Wyer was not an easy man to work with. He was demanding, had a short temper, and describes his own occasional outbursts at folks who may not have deserved it. However, he is acknowledged as a race team managing genius, who won many times with cars that were not as fast as others or outdated. It may have been Wyer who coined the phrase that auto races are often won by obsolete (but reliable) race cars.

 

[Dalton Veitch]

Great to hear your story, Simon.
BTW, don't be apologetic about your space frame chassis. Monocoques have advantages and disadvantages, like all aspects of car design. A space frame for a replica, which has modern tyres and extremely high cornering forces, is quite sensible. I know CAV and some others go for the authenticity of a monocoque, but space frame replicas are legitimate in their own right. The original GT40 was tried as a roadster, but found to be not satisfactory. The suspension simulation program used in the design was based on a very stiff monocoque which the roadster wasn't. However, I bet the space frame replicas would be OK as roadsters. Nobody does roadsters (I think Ken Attwell had removable roof sections on his original car's doors) because the doors are such a distinctive part of the car. But nobody ducts air into the ventilated seats either, or has an engine that has to be rebuilt every few hundred miles, or has high profile tyres, or old type brakes, etc.

Anyway, your car looks great Simon, and you have the advantage of talking first hand to an engineer from the original development. Well done.

Dalton