The 1967 Le Mans-winning GT 40 Mk IV on display at The Henry Ford in 2011. Photos courtesy Ford Motor Company.
Ask most race fans to name the first time an American team won Le Mans with an American car, and most will point to Ford’s 1-2-3 sweep of the podium in 1966. While many identify the 1966 Le Mans-winning GT 40 Mk IIs as American, the fact of the matter is the cars’ chassis were constructed in the U.K., which makes the correct answer “1967.” The 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans was won by an American manufacturer, with an American-built car (the GT 40 Mk IV) driven by American drivers Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt. Put another way, GT 40 Mk IV chassis J-5 is a significant piece of American history, meaning that careful consideration must be given to conservation over restoration.
The GT 40 Mk IV was a continuation of Ford’s J-car program, which sought to replicate the success of the GT 40 Mk II with an all-American race car. Ultimately, the program hoped to produce a lighter and more aerodynamic race car, but changes in construction and body shape resulted in a car that proved unstable at speed. When racer and test driver Ken Miles was killed behind the wheel of a J-car prototype in testing, the program was terminated in favor of GT 40 Mk IV development.
The Mk IV used a chassis similar to the J-car but with additional reinforcement and the incorporation of a NASCAR-style steel roll cage. The body was more conventional in shape than the “breadvan” J-car, resembling that of the Mk II but with a lower tail to improve airflow. Power came from the same 427-cu.in V-8 that had driven the trio of Mk IIs to a podium sweep in 1966, but the Mk IV had one significant drawback: thanks in part to the steel roll cage, mandated by Ford after Miles’ fatal crash, the Mk IV was over 600 pounds heavier than its primary rival, the Ferrari 330 P4.
Despite this disadvantage, drivers Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt delivered victory at Le Mans behind the wheel of Mk IV chassis J-5, making history in the process. Following the conclusion of the race (in which the car also captured the Index of Thermal Efficiency), the red Mk IV was returned to Shelby American, but there stories begin to differ. The World Registry of Cobras and GT40s states that the engine was removed for dyno testing (and shown to make an additional five horsepower compared to its pre-Le Mans state) and replaced by another 427-cu.in. V-8, yet Mose Nowland, the engine engineer behind Shelby’s 1967 Le Mans win, states that the engine is absolutely the same one installed in the car before the race.
The car made an appearance at the “Auto Expo International” in September of 1967, and then found its way back to Dearborn where it was donated to The Henry Ford in 1972. In the years since, it’s made limited appearances at concours and vintage racing events, but in 2012 the decision was made to ship the car to England for the 45th anniversary of its win at Le Mans. Chassis J-5 made appearances at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and at the Goodwood revival, but was damaged somewhat extensively in transit.
Restoration was out of the question because of the car’s historical value, so Dan Gurney’s All American Racers shop was entrusted with the car’s conservation. Per Mary Fahey, chief conservator at The Henry Ford, the focus of conservation is on retaining original materials and preserving the car’s evidence of wear and use; restoration would have returned the car to its as-delivered look, erasing much of its history in the process. It was ultimately decided, then, that All American Racers would perform only the restorative work that the staff at The Henry Ford could not tackle in house.
Ultimately, this work involved straightening the car’s frame and motor mounts, and replacing a damaged sill on the car’s left side. During the disassembly process, it was revealed that the Shelby American team made last minute revisions to the car, straightening and lowering the rocker panels with florist’s foam and sheet aluminum, presumably to improve aerodynamics.
Now that the car has been returned to The Henry Ford, the final stages of conservation have begun. Cracks not present when the car departed for England will be filled with carefully mixed and color-matched paint. Rivets replaced by AAR will also be painted, as will the left rocker panel (which will also require repainting of the Ford logo). The merits of replacing the windshield, cracked during the race but now extensively spidered after 47 years of wear, were also discussed, and the final decision was to order a replacement windshield for future use. For now, the glass remains the same as that peered through, eyes up, by Gurney and Foyt at the Circuit de la Sarthe in 1967.
It isn’t clear when chassis J-5 will return to the floor of the Henry Ford, but when it does, visitors can appreciate that the museum has done everything it can to ensure that the car remains as close to the state it was in after taking the checkered flag in 1967, becoming the first American car from the first American team to win the storied endurance race.
from Hemmings Daily - News for the collector car enthusiast http://ift.tt/1xzGhbH
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