Almost everyone is familiar with the shorthand history of the 1964 - 1967 Ford GT as it has been presented so many times since then . essentially , it drop dead like this : Having been repel by Enzo Ferrari in their attempts to buy his company and the halo serve it , Henry Ford II and his minions decided to add grown - metre sport - car racing to their competition plate – already push with participation in NASCAR , Formula 1 , the Indianapolis 500 , and international rallying – by buying up another constituted detergent builder of racing machinery , one that would n’t balk at being affiliate with the Ford name .
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Over in England , Eric Broadley ’s Lola Cars , Ltd. had just introduced a sleek , Le Mans - ready mid - engine coupe , prudently fitted with an American Ford V-8 engine . Ford , depend for the brusque distance between idea and success , buy up Mr. Broadley ’s slight workshop , dress up the Lola Mark 6 GT a mo , and , lo and behold , a mere 10 - figure cash expenditure later , was able to steamroller its means to victory at Le Mans .
A first reading that the popular fable may not be the real , a staring chronicle of the GT can be found in the spring 1964 issue ofAutomobile Quarterly . There , in a piece peculiarly titled " America Goes Grand Prix , " Ford ’s Roy Lunn put down out some of the thinking behind the GT ’s ontogeny . It ’s all very oecumenical , of track , and slightly disjointed in places , as if redact down from a much big report .
TheAQstory had been cull from a paper submitted to the Society of Automotive Engineers plus , apparently , some material prepared for a talk Lunn was to present . But within the descriptions of aerodynamic inquiry , project conception parameters , and other item was a paragraph that begin with the words , " By July , 1963 , a basic blueprint and style had been found at Dearborn … "
Fords had won races on lots of tracks in pile of series by the other sixties , but the 24 - time of day sports - railcar endurance classic at Le Mans was not on that tilt . Henry Ford II wanted to exchange that .
Dearborn ? That ’s a heckuva longsighted way from Slough Trading Estates in England .
The level ’s trail led from that innocuous sentence to retired Ford labor engine driver Bob Negstad , who was specify to what would become the Ford GT undertaking in its earliest days . He agrees that the impetus for the task came in part from Ferrari ’s refusal to connect Prancing Horse to Blue Oval . But he is adamant that the similarities between the Lola Mark 6 and the Ford GT are largely coinciding .
Lola was bring into the project , Negstad asserts , because Eric Broadley was a " brilliant storyteller . " He ended up doing much of the grammatical construction and assembly work on the Ford GT prototype . But it was not in any agency his creation .
" Broadley was technically naive , " Negstad says , " a trial - and - error valet " working in a " terribly sometime , obsolete edifice lit by a individual 40 - W bulb . " The attraction for Ford was not Broadley ’s intent expertness , but rather his ability to apace work up what they wanted , plus the availability of a car of passably like constellation that could dish as a driveable tryout seam while Ford ’s own design was come up together .
For more data on the the 1964 - 1967 Ford GT classical car , keep on to the next pageboy .
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1964 Ford GT Encounters Problems
Before Negstad , Lunn , former Aston Martin team director John Wyer , and other figures in the making of the 1964 - 1967 Ford GT took up abidance at Lola and moved the surgical procedure to new , more forward-looking premise , Broadley went racing with the Mark 6 . It showed potential – any lightweight car with plenty of horsepower had at least some potential – but was befuddle by job .
Some were small-scale ( during one 1000 - kilometer slipstream the car was retired after either a distributer problem – the prescribed reason – or because the steering wheel addict would n’t remain close on their he-man ) . Some were major ( a clangor at Le Mans was blame on gearbox loser , although some invoice indicate to a serious aerodynamic problem as the perpetrator ) .
But sentence had go out for the Mark 6 . Construction of Ford ’s design was well under means and , of the three Mark 6s built , two became test mules for Ford , while the third was sold to Texas oilman and race squad owner John Mecom , who gave it a Chevrolet engine . ( After a few disappointing junket , relieved by a profits at the Nassau Speed Weeks , Mecom ’s car was destroyed in a crash at Riverside , California . )
In March 1964 , the Ford GT was presented to the self-propelling mechanical press at the New York Auto Show . modest , sleek , and purposeful , it depend ready for conflict . It was n’t .
The paint was barely dry on the railway car when it was loaded into a plane and fly from England to New York . Real testing had barely start . Ford ’s programme was to have two cars at the Le Mans run days a picayune more than a month after the press launching , compete in the 1000 - kilometer case in May , and be ready to take on Ferrari at Le Mans in June .
On report , the Ford GT and the Mark 6 were very like . Both were based on stressed - skin monococque chassis tub - the Ford GT ’s formed of brand , the Lola ’s of aluminium – to which conventional upper - and - lower A - arm front and scummy - arm / upper transverse and chase after arm rear suspension assemblies were attach . Both , of course , used the belittled Ford V-8 powerplant , though the GT ’s was brought up to what the press button called " Indianapolis " spec in term of intimate upgrades and carburetion .
Both had fibreglass soundbox panels as well . Dimensionally , the two car were near ; the Ford GT had a 95 - in wheelbase , three in longer than that of the Mark 6 , was slightly wider , and substantially lumbering , at a ironic weight of 1820 Syrian pound , versus the Mark 6 ’s 1,465 pound . ( The Ford GT would get heavier still , as time went by . )
At introduction time , Ford was being quite opened about the GT ’s maternity , giving full recognition to its own people in Dearborn and in England . But somewhere along the fashion that changed , perhaps as a uneasy reaction to the AMA ban on manufacturers ' lineal involvement in motorsport then still in core . ( It sounds illogical , but somehow Ford - engined Lotuses at Indy and factory - backed Fords and Mercurys running in NASCAR did n’t seem to mean quite the same matter in the executives ' view . ) Word come down from the top that nobody at Ford , save designated spokesmen , was to verbalise to the press about the Ford GT .
Developing the 1964-1967 Ford GT
As a result of Ford ’s new policy on the 1964 - 1967 GT , Lola ’s role was contribute increase prominence in print as sentence decease , even though Broadley himself had quickly grown tired of battle with Lunn and Wyer over design item . in short thereafter , he would bow out of the project and build up the remarkable T70 racer on his own , and the GT would be an all - Ford show via an English subsidiary , Ford Advanced Vehicles .
" Factory " GTs would be run by Shelby American embark on in 1965 , FAV would become JW ( John Wyer ) Automotive that same year , and a emcee of private entrants would hasten Ford GTs at Le Mans and elsewhere .
But we ’re get ahead of the write up . The Ford GT ’s introduction at the 1964 Le Mans test daylight was shortsighted and not especially fresh . Gallic driver Jo Schlesser was the first to be bitten by the new Ford , lose one of the two cars in a big style on the tenacious Mulsanne heterosexual . He was uninjured ; the car was not so rosy . Not long after , Roy Salvadori live off the road in the 2d Ford GT with psychometric test - finish results . formally , it was say that wet route condition were to blame , but the real suit was far more serious .
Ford architect had created the Ford GT ’s body conformation with the aid of aeronautical engineers who had suggest an " inverted - wing " configuration . What no one seems to have considered at that moment is that aircraft can fly upside down in certain place . So , too , could the Ford GT . This spooked the driver . Worse , it spooked the FoMoCo executive director who were supporting the program .
Haunted by visions of Ford GTs launching themselves into the horde of witness delineate the lead at Le Mans , the top brass in Dearborn at last decided to polish off the 1964 race commitments with the car list as FAV entries and then hand the machine over to Carroll Shelby for the next time of year , not only because of his racing expertise , but also to have a front man for the effort in case of catastrophe .
To its recognition , Ford did n’t block maturation . Right after Le Mans practice , a GT was ingest to the Motor Industry Research Association wind tunnel in England . There it was discovered that significant amounts of lift were present even at 60 to 70 mph . So the pretty , plain body design generate a new nose , staring with larger aviation inlet and substantial chin spoiler , and a give up - up tail a la Ferrari was produced . Now the Ford GT could keep its foot on the dry land .
Despite the campaign of dedicated technician , fabricator , and mechanics , the Ford GT ’s electric potential remained unrealised through 1964 . A individual car was entered at the Nurburgring , but was retired from fifth position after the upper rearward suspension bond points proved too tenuous .
At Le Mans , the net event were equally disappointing , but a Ford driven by Richie Ginther did chair the opening lap and another , with Phil Hill at the cycle , localise dissolute slipstream lap of the year .
1964-1967 Ford GT Picks Up Speed
Other rudimentary problems with the 1964 - 1967 Ford GT were coming to illumination that direct all and sundry back to the proverbial drawing table . The Colotti gearbox used so far was , in Negstad ’s countersign , " junk . " It simply could not deal with the torsion of the Ford railway locomotive , and was failing on a regular basis .
At least this non - Ford part could be used to take the blame for an even more underlying job : The 289 - Criminal Investigation Command V-8 itself just was n’t up to the demands placed on it . To accomplish the kind of performance the GT was subject of ( Ginther had apparently learn something like 210 mph on the Mulsanne straight at Le Mans ) , the little powerplant had been overemphasize ; several of the well - publicized " gearbox failures " of 1964 and after were , in fact , fatal locomotive malfunctions .
Ford engineers take up a new trial run broadcast with some of their calculator - savvy engineer ( suspension guru Klaus Arning and Barney Larkin among them ) during which a mathematical theoretical account of the Le Mans lap was make . All potential performance variables – tires , suspension , horsepower , and aerodynamics among them – were assessed .
The squad quick ascertain that top speed was the critical factor and began look for ways to push the GT toward 250 mph . That was clearly beyond the " small " V-8 , but another Ford engine , the 427 - cid V-8 used in the company ’s NASCAR crusade , could churn out some 500 bhp for extended periods . This more than compensated for 120 or so pounds of extra weight it added to the already embonpoint Ford GT .
A prototype was apace built and taken to Riverside Raceway in California for examination by the Shelby American squad . In a memorable back - to - back running play against a 289 GT , the 427 , with Tom Payne driving , was capable to commit away easy from Ken Miles in the standard car . Miles transgress off the test , took Payne ’s place in the 427 , and break down out for some laps on his own , cover at the end of them that " this is the end of the 289 . "
And it was .
While development work on the Mark II 427 progressed , a Ford GT won the 1965 24 - hour race at Daytona ; another finished second in the Sebring 12 - time of day issue . But Le Mans turn over out to be another dismal episode for the team , with the sole undimmed spot being another fastest race circle , set by Phil Hill ( again ) in a Mark II . Power ( 485 bhp when the engines were tune up to run on low - octane Gallic fuel ) was rich , if not quite enough to let on the 250 - miles per hour roadblock , but there were some engine problems , more of the expect failures of over - accentuate gearboxes ( now ZF instead of Colotti ) , and brake woes .
1966: A Breakthrough Year for the Ford GT
The Ford GT ’s brake woes were the most urgent . During tests at Daytona , the 427 GTs worked their brakes to a near - transparent white heat . ( " You could see the shadow of the front temporary removal vertical through the discs , " enunciate Negstad . ) When the cable car were halted , the atomic number 29 in the Pteridium aquilinum pads would combine to the discs , at which point the only elbow room to get the pads off was to break away the aluminium calipers .
newfangled ventilated discs from Kelsey - Hayes finally replaced the Girling components . pad still assume at an alarming charge per unit , but the brakes worked and the calipers were designed to allow pad change during pit stay .
Of of course the full setting of the work done to get the cars into race - winning form ca n’t be covered in so short a space . The " magnanimous money " purportedly feed from Dearborn was n’t always being used to best result , and political conflict between the head office , FAV , and the people actually act upon to develop the car threaten the program from time to time .
discrepancy finally led a group of Ford employees , believers one and all in the Ford GT ’s potential , to dress up workshop in Detroit - area premises owned by racing partizan Nick Hartman . Using surplus equipment foregather from here and there , the new Kar Kraft house reworked the 289 GT to Mark II spec , build a telephone number of parts for the Mark IIs , include transmissions beefy enough to absorb the power of the 427 engines , and later fabricated chassis vat and other essential components for the J - Car / Mark IV series cars .
The yield year was 1966 . Daytona ascertain the drive squad of Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby leading the parade , with other GTs stop second , third , and 5th . Sebring was another convincing profits ; this time Miles and Ruby led a 1 - 2 - 3 finish for Ford .
And then there was Le Mans . Ford lend no less than eight of the 427 - powered coupes to France , three each run by Carroll Shelby and John Holman ( of Holman and Moody NASCAR renown ) , plus two shepherded by Englishman Alan Mann . In addition , a issue of 289 GTs were entered as policy – unnecessary it turned out – as three 427s gave Ford a 1 - 2 - 3 end run of the slipstream .
regrettably , someone on the corporate / public - relations side of Ford handle the near - impossible task of turning a brilliant accomplishment sour for almost everyone involve . Ken Miles , portion out a 427 with Denis Hulme in piazza of the injured Lloyd Ruby , had put on a superb performance , record the fastest race lap and pushing his Shelby American entry to a near - watertight lead . Then , as the terminal endocarp stops were being made on Sunday dayspring , a Ford functionary – said to have been hie chief Leo Beebe – determine he wanted a photo finish , and ordered Miles to slow down down and earmark the other two surviving 427s to catch up . They did .
A 1954-1964 Ford GT For the Road
Not all Ford GTs were racer . A few were set up for street purpose and , in fact , there was a brief prescribed attempt to turn the GT into a serious roadgoing grand tourer . The duty for making it happen was assigned to JW Automotive ( heir to Ford Advanced Vehicles ) in England .
This was no halfway drive . From the exterior , a new nose was most obvious . It had reshape fenders to let mounting of the headlight ( round sealed beam for the U.S. rather than the rectangular CibiÈ halogens otherwise used ) at effectual summit . Useless bumperettes were installed as well , as was a heated rearward window . at heart , carpet was added , the fixate - position racing seats ( which work with transportable pedals ) were replaced by adjustable units , and provisions were made for line conditioning , a tuner , and all necessary appliance , including a portion of sound - deadening material .
mechanically skillful changes were equally extensive . In property of the raceway - prepped 385 - bhp , 289 - cid V-8 , the Mark III was give a milder 306 - bhp unit as used in Shelby ’s Mustang G.T. 350 . Mufflers were also append , of course . The racers ' ZF gearbox remained , complete with a sequent gearchange . little , less expensive brakes were installed on the theory that Mark IIIs would not often be haulded down from 200 mph , for which they were not gear anyway .
sonant rubber bushings were instal to filter out suspension harshness , and suspension geometry was altered to better drive comfort without materially affecting treatment . Smaller fuel army tank were put in in the side pods , reducing capability ( from 39.5 to 27.6 gallons ) , but grant infinite for some impact - draw foam fulfil around them .
The plan was for choose Ford dealer to deal Mark IIIs in the U.S. to the same kind of tell apart clientele who might otherwise have corrupt , say , a Ferrari 250 LM ( if they could get one ) . Base price was set at $ 18,500 , a square centre , but certainly in the approximate range when compared to the money asked for a contemporary street - legal Ferrari ( anywhere from $ 14,200 to $ 21,500 bet on model ) .
After seven GT Mark IIIs were built , the project was called off . According to one inside source , the reason for the abrupt cancellation had much to do with a road test published inCar and Driver . Among other complaint , theC / Darticle reported that " the workmanship and most of the ironware on this , the most costly Ford of all are , miserably below the measure of the meanspirited Falcon . " That was a damnatory mission , considering that the ledger entry - horizontal surface rendering of Ford ’s succinct car lean for a simple $ 2,118 in 1967 .
If that was n’t enough , legion quality - control problems were report , range from electric failures , to ineffective articulatio humeri - harness reels , to a correct - side door that would not remain shut . There were other intestinal colic about uncomfortable derriere and uncooperative grip and shift linkage as well , enough in fact to fill up more than the first third of the tarradiddle with complaints .
C / D ’s driving impressions reported favorably on the Mark III ’s attention - getting looks ( " People would cease deadened in their tracks . . . and stare open - mouthed " ) ; deal ( " The . . . suspension is beautiful . . . . [ The car ] ride around corners like a ground - effect motorcar at the end of a lead . The steering is uncannily responsive , with the precision of – not amazingly – a good race cable car " ) ; acceleration ; brakes ; and hinge upon solace .
Hindsight grant us to see the Ford GT program as the significant and laudable succeeder it really was . Yes , deliver the goods Le Mans cost Ford a substantial sum of money , but few major victory make out cheap . In the closing , however , the transmutation of a beautiful but ineffectual would - be racer into a serious achiever had more to do with top - flight drivers and the hard work of men who really believed in the projection than it did with the depth of HFII ’s sack .
Clubs for Ford GT Enthusiasts
Shelby American Automobile Club
P.O. Box 788
Sharon , CT 06069
phone : ( 860 ) 364 - 0449
Fax : ( 860 ) 364 - 0769
E - post : saac@li.com
Antique Automobile Club of America
501 W. Governor Road
P.O. Box 417
Hershey , PA 17033
Telephone : ( 717 ) 534 - 1910
