Hi Jim
P1040 has the price reduced here is the e-mail the owner sent me.
History of Ford GT40 #P1040 to August 1978
In late 1965 Georges Filipinetti, Ferrari importer for Switzerland, decided to augment his race team of Ferrari customer cars and ordered two GT40 MkI race cars from Ford Advanced Vehicles (FAV) in England. It has been suggested that Ford had some kind of back door negotiations with Filipinetti, wanting to use his Scuderia as a source of additional entries at Le Mans. Hence, the thinking is that Filipinetti extracted some support from Ford as an independent, but quasi-factory, GT40 entrant. To fill the Filipinetti order, production race chassis P1039 and P1040, painted in the Scuderia's team colors of signal red with a white stripe from nose to tail, were delivered by FAV in March 1966.
P1040 appeared at the Le Mans trials in early April 1966 driven by Willie Mairesse, Herbert
Muller (both Filipinetti team drivers) and Innes Ireland and then raced at Monza in late April, placing second in class and third overall with Muller and Mairesse driving. P1040 was returned to FAV for preparation for Le Mans and had special modifications made that were done only on Ford factory Le Mans GT40s. As one of 14 cars in Ford’s onslaught on the 1966 Le Mans race, P1040 was running an excellent fifth overall (driven by Peter Sutcliffe/Dieter Spoerry) and was the leading small block GT40 until running off the track after 16 hours, suffering damage that forced its retirement.
After being shipped back to FAV and languishing there for some months awaiting repairs to the Le Mans damage, P1040 next race appearance was at the Le Mans trials in April 1967. At that time it was purchased by Filipinetti team drivers Denis Borel and Jean-Daniel Grandjean, who crashed the car during the trials. Repaired again at FAV, P1040 was sent to Monza in late April 1967 for the 1000 km race. Here, Grandjean withdrew from the purchase deal executed a few weeks earlier and was replaced by Claude Ballot-Lena. During the Monza race, P1040 suffered extensive damage due to a fire in the engine bay that spread to the entire car.
The burned remains were shipped to Filipinetti headquarters in Switzerland and eventually were acquired by team mechanic Franco Sbarro, who began a rebuild of the car in the early 1970s. Prior to completion, P1040 was sold in 1976 to Charles Gendroz, also of Switzerland, who finished the restoration. In late 1977, Gendroz sold the car to Grand Touring Cars/Harley Cluxton in Phoenix, Arizona. They in turn sold it to Don Silawsky of Maryland in August 1978.
History of Ford GT40 #P1040 After August 1978
Upon purchase by the current owner in August 1978, P1040 was an operable, running, car. It was not, however, in a condition that was satisfactory and safe, as numerous systems did not function properly as a result of what was a poorly executed "restoration" in the early 1970s. The car was kept intact and used occasionally for street drives, but no racing or track events, until 1983, when the motor was removed. In 1989, the entire car was disassembled down to the bare tub by Tom Milner Racing in Winchester, Virginia (current BMW factory team).
In the early 1990s, the chassis was delivered to Bob Ash (FAV Co., Norcross, Georgia), who specializes in GT40 restorations, for examination and development of a restoration plan. However, no work was done at that time and the tub was eventually returned to Maryland. The tub has recently been bead blasted and primed to stabilize it in preparation for restoration.
Both prior to and after its disassembly, P1040 was closely examined, in some cases more than once, by a number of race car technicians and restorers who had expert, specialized knowledge about GT40s, as well as by Ronnie Spain, the preeminent historian and authority on GT40s. In no case was the originality or identity of the car questioned. References to these experts can be provided upon request.
Restoration
Any prospective purchaser of GT40 #P1040 must assume that a total and comprehensive restoration of the car will be needed. Although it was in operable condition prior to disassembly in 1989, the reconstruction of the car subsequent to the Monza ’67 fire was not of the highest quality. Also, any original part would now be almost 35 years old and in need of thorough examination for structural soundness. Thanks to the passage of time and the value of the cars, there exist today a number of restoration shops that either specialize in GT40s almost exclusively or have done extensive work on them as part of their broader repertoire. There is no part from the original cars that isn’t available today, in some cases from manufacturers of high-quality clones and continuation cars.
The heart and soul of any historic car—it’s unique and original identity—is the chassis, or "tub." In contrast to many other competition GT40s, GT40 #P1040 not only still has its original chassis, but that chassis is in relatively good condition. While there was some surface rust over the entire chassis prior to the recent bead blasting, there were no areas that were rotted out and therefore needed replacement. There are a number of minor irregularities in the tub: (1) a small difference in the dimension of the left and right wheel bases, due to the run off into a sand bank at Le Mans ’66, that can be readily corrected through the use of a chassis jig; (2) the central longitudinal "roof" section was displaced upwards when the car was lifted off the track by a crane at Monza ’67 after the fire; this does not affect the structural integrity of the car and could very well be left as is as a "battle scar" from the car’s glory days in European competition (as the doors have been fiddled to match the increased roof height); however, as part of a comprehensive restoration, correction of the roof height would be a minor element; (3) the battery was at some point relocated from the cabin (standard location for race coupes) to a "box" cut into the left rear of the tub.
Due to the severity of the fire at Monza ’67, the engine and transaxle originally installed in the car by FAV in 1966 were replaced with other GT40 units, as were the fiberglass body sections. All major parts and assemblies on the entire car are believed to be original GT40 parts but are not warranted as such. Note that no windshield is presently with the car, and that the latches for the bodywork are not original.
Although its racing career was brief, P1040 is regarded by Ronnie Spain as a rare and historically significant factory Le Mans car, and it is to this specification that an authentic and rigorous restoration should likely be directed. However, other approaches to the restoration could also be taken, such as a less historically rigorous rebuild that perhaps would utilize elements of later GT40 configurations (larger flares, wider rims, and larger brake disks and calipers), or a very expansive approach using modern engines (Ford SVO, for example), brake systems, and shocks. The end result of any of these approaches will be an exciting racecar with very high levels of performance, and also one of the most aesthetically beautiful.
Terms for Purchase
$285,000 for: * the bare chassis (tub)
* all parts and assemblies that were removed from the tub when the car was disassembled from its running/operable condition; these include all body panels and doors; suspension uprights and components; half shafts; 289 c.i. motor; Weber 48IDA carburetors; ZF5DS25 transaxle; Girling brake calipers and rotors; Halibrand rims; seats; radiator; instruments; pedal box/pedals; steering wheel
Contact Don Silawsky
145 Edgewater Drive
Edgewater, MD 21037 USA
Phone: 410-974-8152 (home)
202-586-1892 (office and voice mail)
E-mail:
[email protected]
wner sent me.