Ford GT40

From a really young age I had a love for sports cars and building things in general. As a teenager I had collected brochures from manufacturers of replicas, mostly the Cobra’s and Lotus 7’s and it just made sense to combine the building and sports cars idea together, and one day, actually build a car.  The decision about which car came pretty easily - by the time I hit my 40’s I just didn’t have enough hair to make a Cobra practical he he. 

 

When I came across the GT40 I was fascinated with the whole Ford versus Ferrari type history and how these cars were so revered in the late 60’s.  I spent a few years researching both the original GT40’s and the replica kits that were available in Australia at the time. Whilst some great looking GT40’s kits were for sale, none in Australia were true replicas of the body or the monocoque chassis, instead having steel ladder frames and only approximate body panels. 

 

By around 2010 I discovered the US company ‘Race Car Replicas’ had assigned an Australian distributor to sell their RCR40 replicas in kit form and have them tested and approved for registration over here. I met up with the dealer, saw the incredible welded monocoque chassis and digitally identical panels from an original 1967 GT40 press car, currently in the Ford museum in England, and decided to ‘pull the pin’.

 

I knew the GT40 would be my greatest challenge so far, and I went into the build process with my eyes wide open. The GT40 is affectionally known as the 1000-hour car and I am confident of having spent that time and more getting mine to the condition it is now. The challenge I wasn’t ready for was that during the build process, the US parent company and the local distributor parted ways, potentially causing me a major issue with registration as the local dealer would not release the compliance documents previously promised to me. 

 

Unabated I decided to continue with the build and was consoled by having contact with the engineer who had performed the compliance on the 2 or 3 other RCR40’s currently in Australia. This plan worked and after 6 years of part time building the engineer was able to use the previous documents he had, and comply my car for registration.

 

At this stage the cars body panels were attached, however from the factory they fitted poorly, the comment from the manufacturer being that it was ‘an identical copy of a handmade race car’. After driving the car around in its gel coat colour, I then took the car off the road for a while to remove and adjust each panel to fit perfectly. I quickly learnt many fibreglass techniques, having the opportunity to learn from a guy that manufactured surfboards and had been a professional spray painter working for Giocattolo cars, which were manufactured in Caloundra in the late 80’s. He went on to spray my GT40 for me in its current ‘Ferrari Rosso Corsa’ red.

 

Although I had originally intended to use the car for motorsport as well as road use, I changed my mind early on and instead spent the effort to make it into a great road use car only. To that end, in the build, I included some comfort features - sound insulation all through the interior, road springs and shock absorbers, glass rear screen, reflective materials in the engine bay and air conditioning to reduce heat.

 

The engine I chose is a 302 Windsor V8 (very similar to the Le Mans winning models in 1968 and 1969), sourced from a Tickford III AU XR8 Falcon, and the transaxle is an inverted 5 speed Porsche 911 gearbox with turbo clutch components. 

 

My future plan is to drive the car as much as possible and also upgrade the engine with some performance heads and cams. The car does attract a lot of attention everywhere and I really appreciate the release of the recent ‘Ford versus Ferrari’ movie as now most know what it is!

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Dyno Power Run Results

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CAR SPECS:

• Mk I GT40: an RCR Replica of the 1968 & 1969 Lemans winning racecar

• Ford Windsor 302 EFI Tickford V8 engine

• Porsche G50 transaxle

• GT40 Crossover exhaust system

 

REPORT:

• HP 254.6

• Torque 386 NM