GT40 Mirage : 1004

Showing posts with label 1004. Show all posts

Sunday, April 19, 2015

GT40 P1004 /1084

FORD GT40 MK1 Chassis P 1004 / 1084

1004 was prepared for the 24 hours of Le Mans 1965 by SAI (Shelby) and was entered by Rob Walker. After retiring at the race it was sent back to the US where it was used as one of the exhibits of Carol Shelby's Cobra Caravan along a 350 GT Mustang, a 427 Cobra and a Daytona Cobra Coupé. They toured America till the end of 1965. It was then shipped back to FAV in England where it was stored for a couple of years. In 1968 JWA was short of a car for the 1000 Km of Spa (1076 was sent back to the factory to be prepared for Le Mans) They took 1004 from the storage and rebuilt it to the latest Gulf Racing specifications and sprayed in the Gulf colors was sent to Spa along with 1075. For the occasion it was renumbered 1084 although the Spa paperwork still mentioned it as 1004. But this older chassis although modified showed its age - it was too heavy - and was never used in race again.
Later it was sold to a private collector, changed hands several times, and it's now restored to its Spa livery.

The Models:

Ford GT40 Mk 1 - Chassis # 1004 - Quit 3rd Hour Le Mans 1965 -

(BIZARRE)

The same

Ford GT40 Mk1 - Chassis 1004/1084 - 4th Spa 1968

(Kit MARSH MODELS)

The same

P 1004 before Le Mans in 1965

P 1004/1084 at Spa In 1968

P 1004/1084 in the rain at Spa In 1968

P 1004/1084 at Spa In 1968

Sunday, November 9, 2014

The 1968 season

The Gulf GT40

1967 saw the beginning of the Gulf / JWA partnership. Started at Daytona and Sebring with the GT40 Mk1 1049 while JWA was working on the Mirage M1 . After some success (1st at Spa , Monthlery and Kyalami) they had to abandon the project because the FIA decided to change the regulations. The prototype category was limited to 3 liter engine and the sport prototype to 5 liter with a 25 minimum chassis production. The Mirage could not benefit from the GT40 production series due to too much change in the bodywork and also the change of name.
For 1968 JWA transformed 2 of their Mirages to GT40 specifications. M10001 and M10003 were rebuilt and became 1074 and 1075. After the retirement of these 2 cars at Daytona and Sebring Gulf was wandering if they had chosen the right investment. Fortunately after a win at Brands Hatch (1075) and at Monza (1074) the spirits at Gulf and JWA improved. The Le Mans trials happened the same weekend that the BOAC 500 at Brands Hatch. After the Friday practice in England they sent Jacky Hicks to Le Mans on Saturday to test 1074 and flew back to race 1075 at Brands Hatch. The Nurburgring track didn't suit the GT40 but they managed a 3rd and 6th place. By this time JWA decided to built a third car for back up. They took 1004 which was sitting in the factory unused for some time and prepared it to 1968 race specifications and it was renamed 1084. It raced at Spa (Entered as 1004 !) with 1075 while 1074 went to a full overhaul in preparation of the 24 hours of Le Mans. Spa was 1084 only race. Its 1965 origin made it too heavy compared with its 2 lightweight sister cars.
At Spa Alan Mann brought his new creation : the Ford F3L (or P68) entered as a 3 liter prototype to replace the now obsolete Mk2 he was racing in 1967.
Due to the problems in France in May 1968 the 24 hours was rescheduled in September and the next race was at Watkins Glen. Jacky Icks won again with his favorite mount 1075.
For Le Mans JWA entered 3 cars 1074, 1075 and a completely new one 1076 built to lightweight specifications. Unfortunately the star driver Jacky Icks broke its leg at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix and had to be replaced by Pedro Rodriguez and his regular co driver Brian Redman who also broke his arm at Spa was too replaced by Lucien Bianchi.
Le Mans didn't start very well. After 6 hours 1074 quit (clutch problem first then blown engine) and around midnight 1076 blew it's engine too. Fortunately 1075 ran like a clock and won the 24 hours with 5 laps to the 2nd place Porsche 907.
The Le Mans win secured the manufacturer championship (won mostly by 1075) but they sent anyway 2 cars for the Watkins Glen race for another 1-2 win.
The last remaining Mirage M1 (M1 0001) was sent the the non championship race at Kyalamy for another win with Jacky Icks. It was its last race under Gulf color.
1966 was the year for Mk2, 1067 for the Mk4 but 1968 was the one for the original GT40 : the Mk1.
Beside the Gulf cars a myriad of Mk1 were raced by privateers all year long in local, national and international races

The Le Mans line up:

#9 - Mk1 - Chassis 1075 - Winner - Entered by JWA
#10 - Mk1 - Chassis 1074 - DNF - Entered by JWA
#11 - Mk1 - Chassis 1076 - DNF - Entered by JWA
#12 - Mk1 - Chassis 1078 - DNF - Entered by Strathaven Inc
#8 - Mk1 - Chassis 1079 - DNF - Entered by C. Dubois

The Models:

Ford GT40 Mk1 - Chassis 1079 - 7th Monza 1968
(BOX Models modified)

The same

Ford GT40 Mk1 - Chassis 1074 - DNF Sebring 1968
(Kit MARSH MODELS)

The same

Ford GT40 Mk1 - Chassis 1075 - Winner Brands Hatch 1968
(Kit RECORD modified)

The same

Ford GT40 Mk1 - Chassis 1075 - Winner Le Mans 1968 (IXO)

The same

Ford GT40 Mk1 - Chassis 1074 - DNF 10th Hour Le Mans 1968 (BOX Models)

The same

Ford GT40 Mk1 - Chassis 1076 - DNF 5th Hour Le Mans 1968 (SPARK)

The same

Ford GT40 Mk1 - Chassis 1079 - DNF 1st Hour Le Mans 1968
(Kit GRAND PRIX MODELS - Decals TENARIV)

The same

Ford GT40 Mk1 - Chassis 1078 - DNF 19th Hour Le Mans 1968 (IXO)

The same

Ford F3L / P68 Alan Mann - DNF Nurburgring 1968 (MINICHAMPS)

The same

Ford GT40 Mk1 - Chassis 1074 -April trials Le Mans 1968
(Kit RECORD modified)

The same

Ford GT40 Mk1 - Chassis 1075 - Winner Watkins Glen 1968 (Kit STARTER modified)

The same

Ford GT40 Mk1 - Chassis 1074 - Winner Monza 1968
(Kit STARTER modified)

The same

Ford GT40 Mk1 - Chassis 1001 - DNF Monza 1968
(BOX Models modified)

Ford GT40 Mk1 - Chassis 1079 - DNF Spa 1968 (BOX Models)

The same

Ford GT40 Mk1 - Chassis 1075 - Winner Spa 1968
(UNIVERSAL HOBBY)

The same

Ford GT40 Mk1 - Chassis 1004/1084 - 4th Spa 1968
(Kit MARSH MODELS)

The same

Ford GT40 Mk1 - Chassis 1002 - 8th Spa 1968 (Kit TENARIV)

The same

Ford GT40 Mk1 - Chassis 1017 - 5th Mallory Park 1968 (BOX Models)

The same

Ford G7A - Chassis J9 - Development prototype Canam 1967/8

Never raced (Kit MARSH MODELS)

The same

Saturday, October 18, 2014

The 1965 season

After the previous season's disaster, Roy Lunn contracted Carol Shelby to handle the racing department while John Wyer was in charge of the building of the GT40 at FAV (Ford Advanced Vehicles) at Slough in the UK. In Detroit, Ford created his own racing department : Kar Kraft. Eric Broadley, unhappy with the way the program evolved decided to leave and returned to work on his own Lola cars. After some testing in Riverside the GT40 evolved significantly. Two cars were sent to Daytona for the 2000 km race. Now in Shelby colors (metallic blue with white stripes) they finally found success. GT103 won the race and GT104 finished 2nd. The same cars went to Sebring for the 12 hours and GT103 finished 2nd behind the controversal Chaparral while GT104 didn't finish. These 2 long races were good preparation for the 24 hours of Le Mans. The traditional April trial saw 4 cars: GT 103/4/5 and a new roadster GT111. The results were encouraging. Then came Monza (a 3rd place) the Targa Florio (a DNF with GT111) Silverstone (a 5th place with 1002 the 1st production car to race) the Nurburgring (an 8th place and 3 DNF) and again with 1002 two second places at Mallory Park and Goodwood.
For a few months, at Shelby initiative two cars (GT106 and 107) were prepared with a big block 427 CI instead of the 289. They became the first Mk 2. The idea was simple, a bigger engine means more power and more power is more speed. A new transmission was designed by Kar Kraft to handle this extra power. They were sent to Le Mans with little testing. 4 other GT40, now refered as MK1, joins the group:
No 1 - Mk 2 - Chassis 106 Team: Shelby
No 2 - Mk 2 - Chassis 107 Team: Shelby
No14 - Mk 1 - Chassis 1006 Team: FAV ( J. Wyer)
No 7 - Mk 1 - Chassis 1004 Team: Shelby / Rob Walker
No 6 - Mk 1 - Chassis 1005 Team: Shelby / Scuderia Filipinetti
No15 - Mk 1 - Chassis 109 roadster Team: Ford France
All these cars were out of the race within the first 7 hours
Only privateers raced the GT40 the rest of the season while Shelby (with the Mk2) and FAV (with the Mk1) went on with more testing.
Another project was started that year : a lightweight alloy chassis roadster, known as the X1. the chassis GT110 was sent to Mc Laren Racing in England to be prepared for the Can Am serie. It raced at Mosport in Canada and at Riverside with no success. The project was abandoned.

The models :