I was standing on a street corner in Covian, California, back in the day when this car went around the corner just a few feet away. It made such an impression on me that I own one today.
I’ve enjoyed your program for most of my adult life, as I watched this episode. I was trying to remember all of the channels that it’s appeared on over the years. In my opinion, it’s still the same great informative, and entertaining show it ever was. Thanks for taking the time to put this out for all of us car guys. Do I need a car like this? Do I want a car like this? Forever- yes.
Process of fiberglass body restoration takes a time and you guys did a great job working on this classic 60's MKI and making it back to original silver color without a wide central stripe. Thanks a lot for the best classic and original low mileage car videos on TH-cam!
One of the best looking cars ever, Lola pedigree, Ford reliability and a race history that just slayed the opposition of the day. 1,2 & 3 at the 1966 Le mans, absolutely incredible! Looks, grunt, dependability, and not forgetting Carol Shelby; EVERYTHING!
Dave Heerensperger bought his GT from Shelby and brought it back to Spokane. I was in high school then and it was always a treat to see it out and about. Dave owned the Eagle Electric & Eagle Plumbing stores throughout the Northwest. He later started Eagle Hardware and it was later bought by Lowes. Dave owned the Eagle Hydro Racing Team and was the first boat to run a turbine engine.
I was born in 1966 so a '66 GT40 has always been on my mind [to acquire]... Because I am related to Henry Ford. I am so glad you had the patience to get one. Thank you for sharing your story.
Very cool! Stunning automobile and a great job restoring it. The story you bring to the table and the 2 gents that had a brush with this rare car all those years ago was a really nice touch. Kudo's to you guys.
Wow fantastic work and the 4 year restauration is worthy an explanation. Quoting for Ronnie Spains book: 1968 Tallakson sprayed it dark bleu and fitted a 289 Cobre race engine, in '69 Steven Earle fitted Hallibrand alloy wheels, 2 owner later to '75 Schroeder who in '81 sprayed Gulf Le Mans colours for the use in Gulf TV advertising. Hence the considerable work and the enormous list of period correct parts you had to track down. Bravo. One more thing when "over here" a street version GT40 it the so called Mk3 which features principally higher front wing and four round head lights (to confirm to minimum head light regulations), central gear change and a longer tail to accommodate extra luggage space. 1028 shipped in 8/66 and predates Mk3 by 2years was classified as street apparently only because it had a of the line production engine and "mufflers" fitted. All of your 4 years work deserves more credit and a video?
The GT and the 917. Both the archetype of cars when I was a small boy. I remember I had a book about racing cars and I still can see these images. I was too young to see anyone of them in races but yet; they are my youth memories and they are sweet.
Eppie Weitzes!!! WOW! That name on it’s own is history in motor sports!!! It’s been along time since I’ve heard that name, and to see him still being a young buck. What an incredible opportunity to meet him in person🙏 I’m pretty happy to come across this episode👍😎 Cheers from British Columbia.
Nice to see Eppie Wietzes, born in 1938 Assen {(Drenthe) famous for the Dutch TT & 'Bartje'} moved to Canada in 1950,. He participated in two Formula One World Championship Grands Prix. Wietzes later experienced success in the F5000 class and won the 1981 Trans-Am Series. In 1993, he was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame. Wietzes was the driver of the first safety car in Formula One.
A local car broker and collector has a GT 40 in his shop showroom. So impressive and beautiful in person the 50 year old GT 40 is an ultimate competition car design transcending time and fashion.
That was very interesting, such a cool story and car. As an owner of a CAV GT that needed a lot of tuning, I know these cars fairly well. While they are hot inside, with limited visibility; outside of traffic and gawkers closing in on you, they want to go - fast.
Sports Car Graphics an American sports Car magazine in 1966 did a story on a Silver GT40 Street Car. back then . I still have that magazine I must read find that,magazine. These are very old cars now.
Bottom line up front: I am a dyed in the wool GM man. I owned the same 1970 GM product for 31 years. I currently own a 1966 GM product and I have owned...six GMs from the 60s and 70s and 11 GMs overall. I have two GMs in storage right now, the 66 and an 08. The car I want most is a 1966 GT40
I remember being at drag race circa 1965 and there was a GT 40 for sale asking $8,500. It was black and yellow and mediocre shape, panels missing, you could see the road in some places and the plexiglass windows were loose in the trays. Like a kit car. 289 Webers.
As a boy l used to buy "CAR " a britsh magazine . They road tested a road version it too, was finished in Silver ans as l recall electric front windows . And if my memory serves me well (which isn't often !) I'm certain it was built in Switzerland . Definitely 1966 .
I’d argue chassis P1049 is the most significant street GT40 ever, as it would become the first Gulf racing GT40. P1049 was Grady Davis’s personal GT40 that was road legal, but he also used it in SCCA racing. In 1967, John Wyer and Grady would begin a business venture that would bring the world one of the most beloved liveries of all time. They decided to use Grady’s personal GT40 until their evolution in the GT40 was finished (the Mirage M1) this included removing items that were of comfort for the road…. Except for one thing by mistake… At the 1967 Daytona 24hr. P1049 would finish 6th overall, the highest placing GT40 of the race. It could have finished higher, had a windshield heater switch not accidentally been hit while they were driving, causing the car to use more amperage than the alternator could produce. They believed it was the alternator or battery, so the time lost repairing that stuff before finding the switch dropped them down. P1049 would race one more time under the Gulf livery at Sebring, where it DNF’d. P1049 would be one of the last GT40’s to race in top level sportscar racing, as far as I could tell, into 1970. Today it still dawns its dark metallic blue and orange stripe (the Mirage M1 would take over what P1049 did, and debuted to the world the powder blue and marigold we know today) and resides at the Revs Institute.
My brother and I saw one of these back in 1966. It was parked at a cottage in the Laurentians just north of Montreal. It was all red and I don't remember if there were any stripes on it. I don't think so. Apparently the owner was the son of a wealthy Canadian businessman. We had no idea what we were looking at having never heard of these cars. We figured it was a British car due to the steering on the right side. I do remember wondering why there were two gas filler caps? One on each front fender just ahead of the windshield. We were also impressed with how low it was. One of our neighbors had a Corvette which was a very low car but this thing was way lower! We never heard it running unfortunately and never saw it again. Knowing what they're worth today I wonder what they sold for in Canada in 66?
Just today watching a Mecum auction on Discovery. So had to watch this video when it popped up. They called it a a factory lightweight, and I don't think it was this car after watching your video. Colour a little different. Went for almost $8M. But it made me think of LM when they showed a couple seconds of that car on a track, and the track had a Canadian Tire banner. Know anything about that one Peter ?
As a young guy, in 1968, I was offered an original GT40 for $17,000! I did not have that kind of money. My firends and I were going south on Route 38 in Tewksbury, MA and spotted it so we pulled in to take a look. The owner came out and said it was for sale. I'll bet many of you old timers like me have similar stories.
In your research did you ever find an owner in Minnesota? In the late 70s someone in Minnesota owned a silver GT40. A street car. I saw it at a local event but I didn't get close to it. Don't know who it was or how long he owned it.
As you probably already know: The GT 40 is NOT a Ford but a European British Lola race car. The fact that this car was, for the Le Mans races only, leased by Ford at the Lola Race Car Company had everything to do with the friction coming from the rejected Ford USA offer by Enzo Ferrari to purchase the Ferrari company. At Ford USA, they were furious about the rejection of the offer that Ford immediately started searching to purchase a European race car with an engine in it based upon the American Ford V8. So in their own customer field they found the British race car manufacturer of Lola and their Lola GT40 with an engine roughly based up on an American Ford V8. This engine was build in an entire different way as the Americans were used to, but the Lola was fast, so only little tweaks could improve the already existing fast Lola V8. Only for the Le Mans races this Lola race car was rebadged into Ford, which it wasn't, and Ford was not allowed by Lola to build their own Lola race car due to legal rights of this car which still to this day (2024) belong to Lola. This is the reason why the Ford could build the Ford GT, but it had to be larger and could not be named GT40, due to legal reasons. No single bolt, nut or wire, nor any body part for all that matters is the same as the original Le mans (France, Europe) winning Lola GT40, temporary rebadged as Ford, which it wasn't. So the Lola GT40 is not an American car, not even if you'd call it a Ford GT40. It was not build in the USA, it was not developed in the USA, it only carried an engine derived from a Ford V8, which was so different, that the Ford engineers did not even recognize this engine as derived from a Ford engine. So, although tempting, do not get any funny ideas here. The cars you're looking at here are Proud European Lola (race) cars, and so they are not American cars to begin with. I'm sorry, but these are the facts.
You are mixing fact and wishful thinking. As taken on by Ford the Lola GT was a pretty raw design, it was far from a Le Mans winner. To turn it into a successful winner took a huge amount of redesign and development work together with effective team management on both sides of the Atlantic. John Wyer in UK and Shelby in the US were at the sharp end but the Ford harnessed it's immense corporate development resources in engine, gearbox and general engineering design and prototyping parts. The Ford Advanced Vehicle Operation in the UK and Shelby in the USA although contrasting in style were both experienced and highly efficient.
Designed and built in England. Though many GT racers of the day were RHD because most circuits ran clockwise so it made driver changes easier at pit stops.
Because racecar. Remember that this is basically a British Lola. Was made in Britain but arranged for U.S. driving. Many racecars did this, r-hand drive with shifter on right instead of centre.
I was standing on a street corner in Covian, California, back in the day when this car went around the corner just a few feet away. It made such an impression on me that I own one today.
As a kid in the sixties the GT40 was the coolest thing ever.... AND STILL IS!!!! IMO. Thanks for sharing.
yes still have my match box GT40
That's a hard call, it has some interesting company.
I’ve enjoyed your program for most of my adult life, as I watched this episode. I was trying to remember all of the channels that it’s appeared on over the years. In my opinion, it’s still the same great informative, and entertaining show it ever was. Thanks for taking the time to put this out for all of us car guys. Do I need a car like this? Do I want a car like this? Forever- yes.
Process of fiberglass body restoration takes a time and you guys did a great job working on this classic 60's MKI and making it back to original silver color without a wide central stripe. Thanks a lot for the best classic and original low mileage car videos on TH-cam!
Peter and his sons are class acts
Bravo
Love the subtle Playboy joke Gary... Cool car. I'm surprised that the rotors are not ventilated.
Great Restoration. The GT 40 is my all-time favorite car. Like you I’ve been doing Restoration for over 30 years. Nothing like that car in the world.
Love your show Peter...i remember doing business with you back in the 80s when you were the Shelby Shop...Porsche 928S Tuxedo Black!
My favorite car of all time! I ws born in 1964, my father was a motorhead, and my mom let him have fun. Looks like the fountain of youth to me!
One of the best looking cars ever, Lola pedigree, Ford reliability and a race history that just slayed the opposition of the day. 1,2 & 3 at the 1966 Le mans, absolutely incredible! Looks, grunt, dependability, and not forgetting Carol Shelby; EVERYTHING!
Dave Heerensperger bought his GT from Shelby and brought it back to Spokane. I was in high school then and it was always a treat to see it out and about. Dave owned the Eagle Electric & Eagle Plumbing stores throughout the Northwest. He later started Eagle Hardware and it was later bought by Lowes. Dave owned the Eagle Hydro Racing Team and was the first boat to run a turbine engine.
I was fortunate enough to see this car when the paint was being stripped. Such a cool story.
The right car and the right people for the job
Too Kool!!!!
I was there at Mosport. Took many photos of the car. Thanks for the reminder.
Stunning car. You can’t get any better than a 40
Definitely a perfect restoration
Peter, Gary & Legendary crew, WOW the GT came out fantastic.
Throw the Viagara away, LOL, Priceless.
I was born in 1966 so a '66 GT40 has always been on my mind [to acquire]... Because I am related to Henry Ford. I am so glad you had the patience to get one. Thank you for sharing your story.
Amazing! Thanks LMC!
Very cool! Stunning automobile and a great job restoring it. The story you bring to the table and the 2 gents that had a brush with this rare car all those years ago was a really nice touch. Kudo's to you guys.
On every level - Stunning!
Incredible restoration, looks absolutely amazing !!!
I truly think there the most beautiful cars ever built!! And if i had 5 million it would already be in my garage!!! Great job guys!!!!
Amazing work! I love the part when the original drivers were confused by the white exhaust, goes to show sometimes memory really is unreliable.
Wow fantastic work and the 4 year restauration is worthy an explanation. Quoting for Ronnie Spains book: 1968 Tallakson sprayed it dark bleu and fitted a 289 Cobre race engine, in '69 Steven Earle fitted Hallibrand alloy wheels, 2 owner later to '75 Schroeder who in '81 sprayed Gulf Le Mans colours for the use in Gulf TV advertising. Hence the considerable work and the enormous list of period correct parts you had to track down. Bravo. One more thing when "over here" a street version GT40 it the so called Mk3 which features principally higher front wing and four round head lights (to confirm to minimum head light regulations), central gear change and a longer tail to accommodate extra luggage space. 1028 shipped in 8/66 and predates Mk3 by 2years was classified as street apparently only because it had a of the line production engine and "mufflers" fitted. All of your 4 years work deserves more credit and a video?
Thanks long ago i had a road and track with mk 3 road test now i know the difference
loved your show...dream car garage
Proudly made in Slough Buckinghamshire, designed by Eric Broadley of Lola.
If you can restore this you can restore anything ! wow
The GT and the 917. Both the archetype of cars when I was a small boy. I remember I had a book about racing cars and I still can see these images. I was too young to see anyone of them in races but yet; they are my youth memories and they are sweet.
That's a beautiful car!
One of my favorite cars oh the sound. Thanks for the video
Eppie Weitzes!!! WOW! That name on it’s own is history in motor sports!!! It’s been along time since I’ve heard that name, and to see him still being a young buck. What an incredible opportunity to meet him in person🙏 I’m pretty happy to come across this episode👍😎 Cheers from British Columbia.
What a great story on a historic Sports Car, Thanks for Sharing!
Really special team Legendary
Nice to see Eppie Wietzes, born in 1938 Assen {(Drenthe) famous for the Dutch TT & 'Bartje'} moved to Canada in 1950,.
He participated in two Formula One World Championship Grands Prix.
Wietzes later experienced success in the F5000 class and won the 1981 Trans-Am Series.
In 1993, he was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.
Wietzes was the driver of the first safety car in Formula One.
Great video....we'll done!!
LMC for the win!
The GT40 and the Muira are the prettiest super cars ever.
Way to go Peter 😊
Well done, the Street GT40s are the rarest FWIU.
A local car broker and collector has a GT 40 in his shop showroom. So impressive and beautiful in person the 50 year old GT 40 is an ultimate competition car design transcending time and fashion.
helluva job guys, the amount of research takes time hey?, I love the stories just as much as the cars. Well done, good job 🤝
Amazing
Very stylish ! Love the color.
That was very interesting, such a cool story and car. As an owner of a CAV GT that needed a lot of tuning, I know these cars fairly well. While they are hot inside, with limited visibility; outside of traffic and gawkers closing in on you, they want to go - fast.
Great job!!!
My dad used to work on these, at Norman Reeves Ford, in High Wycombe, UK.
Gorgeous car
I need to get back to the showroom. I saw the red car a few years ago and as much as I like Ford GTs, I have to check out that 959 rally car
holy GT! wow! thanks for vid was awesome
Awesome car in every way. Just super cool
what a fun job!
P/1028 sold at the Mecum Auction in Monterey back in 2016 for $4.4 Million
Sports Car Graphics an American sports Car magazine in 1966 did a story on a Silver GT40 Street Car. back then . I still have that magazine I must read find that,magazine. These are very old cars now.
One of the sexiest cars ever.
15:35 Sam the Record Man.. Yonge and Dundas TO. Iconic photograph
Bottom line up front: I am a dyed in the wool GM man. I owned the same 1970 GM product for 31 years. I currently own a 1966 GM product and I have owned...six GMs from the 60s and 70s and 11 GMs overall. I have two GMs in storage right now, the 66 and an 08.
The car I want most is a 1966 GT40
Lovely. Designed and built in England, based on the Lola Mk VI GT, a British race car designed by Eric Broadley.
Peter
I would love to see you get your hands on an original Shelby Daytona Coupe and go thru it.
Agreed.
I saw a metalic blue MK 18 at Ray Heppenstal's Glenside, PA shop in 68
I remember being at drag race circa 1965 and there was a GT 40 for sale asking $8,500. It was black and yellow and mediocre shape, panels missing, you could see the road in some places and the plexiglass windows were loose in the trays. Like a kit car. 289 Webers.
Beautiful 😻
Very nice story. Could you cover the nerdy restoration details...?
I am 57 years old. Seeing cars like make me feel like a hormonal teenager again.
Now this is a real car. Ford. First On Race Day!
Except it’s a Lola with a Ford engine.
@@markwise9868 Whats Lola?
@@markwise9868 - Not very "wise" Mark! There is no more Lola in that car than there is Kia in a Cadillac.
@ maybe you need an education on who designed it and its origins? It certainly wasn’t Ford!
@@markwise9868 Carol Shelby and a whole team from Ford I assume. Its badged as a Ford, it has a Ford Windsor powerplant! Its a FORD!
As a boy l used to buy "CAR " a britsh magazine . They road tested a road version it too, was finished in Silver ans as l recall electric front windows . And if my memory serves me well (which isn't often !) I'm certain it was built in Switzerland . Definitely 1966 .
I’d argue chassis P1049 is the most significant street GT40 ever, as it would become the first Gulf racing GT40. P1049 was Grady Davis’s personal GT40 that was road legal, but he also used it in SCCA racing. In 1967, John Wyer and Grady would begin a business venture that would bring the world one of the most beloved liveries of all time. They decided to use Grady’s personal GT40 until their evolution in the GT40 was finished (the Mirage M1) this included removing items that were of comfort for the road…. Except for one thing by mistake…
At the 1967 Daytona 24hr. P1049 would finish 6th overall, the highest placing GT40 of the race. It could have finished higher, had a windshield heater switch not accidentally been hit while they were driving, causing the car to use more amperage than the alternator could produce. They believed it was the alternator or battery, so the time lost repairing that stuff before finding the switch dropped them down. P1049 would race one more time under the Gulf livery at Sebring, where it DNF’d. P1049 would be one of the last GT40’s to race in top level sportscar racing, as far as I could tell, into 1970. Today it still dawns its dark metallic blue and orange stripe (the Mirage M1 would take over what P1049 did, and debuted to the world the powder blue and marigold we know today) and resides at the Revs Institute.
Awesome
My brother and I saw one of these back in 1966. It was parked at a cottage in the Laurentians just north of Montreal. It was all red and I don't remember if there were any stripes on it. I don't think so.
Apparently the owner was the son of a wealthy Canadian businessman.
We had no idea what we were looking at having never heard of these cars. We figured it was a British car due to the steering on the right side.
I do remember wondering why there were two gas filler caps?
One on each front fender just ahead of the windshield.
We were also impressed with how low it was. One of our neighbors had a Corvette which was a very low car but this thing was way lower!
We never heard it running unfortunately and never saw it again.
Knowing what they're worth today I wonder what they sold for in Canada in 66?
Just today watching a Mecum auction on Discovery. So had to watch this video when it popped up. They called it a a factory lightweight, and I don't think it was this car after watching your video. Colour a little different. Went for almost $8M. But it made me think of LM when they showed a couple seconds of that car on a track, and the track had a Canadian Tire banner. Know anything about that one Peter ?
I took photos of early GT 40's at Westwood motorsport park, B.C., Canada. (in the day)
So how do you compare a TH-cam program to the PBS programs?
This Ford was a Ferrari killer in Leman's, four years in a row. It's iconic and should be more valuable then a Ferrari.
Nice car, great story, ghastly music.
yep
As a young guy, in 1968, I was offered an original GT40 for $17,000! I did not have that kind of money. My firends and I were going south on Route 38 in Tewksbury, MA and spotted it so we pulled in to take a look. The owner came out and said it was for sale. I'll bet many of you old timers like me have similar stories.
What did it sell for?
P/1028 sold at auction for 4.4 million dollars, back in 2016.
How does this compare to the silver left had drive GT40 street at the Peterson ?
I cannot believe they didn't let Paul drive it.
Any chance of getting the original paint code and vendor
“Playboy - I read it for the articles …”
In your research did you ever find an owner in Minnesota? In the late 70s someone in Minnesota owned a silver GT40. A street car. I saw it at a local event but I didn't get close to it. Don't know who it was or how long he owned it.
As you probably already know: The GT 40 is NOT a Ford but a European British Lola race car. The fact that this car was, for the Le Mans races only, leased by Ford at the Lola Race Car Company had everything to do with the friction coming from the rejected Ford USA offer by Enzo Ferrari to purchase the Ferrari company. At Ford USA, they were furious about the rejection of the offer that Ford immediately started searching to purchase a European race car with an engine in it based upon the American Ford V8. So in their own customer field they found the British race car manufacturer of Lola and their Lola GT40 with an engine roughly based up on an American Ford V8. This engine was build in an entire different way as the Americans were used to, but the Lola was fast, so only little tweaks could improve the already existing fast Lola V8. Only for the Le Mans races this Lola race car was rebadged into Ford, which it wasn't, and Ford was not allowed by Lola to build their own Lola race car due to legal rights of this car which still to this day (2024) belong to Lola. This is the reason why the Ford could build the Ford GT, but it had to be larger and could not be named GT40, due to legal reasons. No single bolt, nut or wire, nor any body part for all that matters is the same as the original Le mans (France, Europe) winning Lola GT40, temporary rebadged as Ford, which it wasn't. So the Lola GT40 is not an American car, not even if you'd call it a Ford GT40. It was not build in the USA, it was not developed in the USA, it only carried an engine derived from a Ford V8, which was so different, that the Ford engineers did not even recognize this engine as derived from a Ford engine. So, although tempting, do not get any funny ideas here. The cars you're looking at here are Proud European Lola (race) cars, and so they are not American cars to begin with. I'm sorry, but these are the facts.
You are mixing fact and wishful thinking.
As taken on by Ford the Lola GT was a pretty raw design, it was far from a Le Mans winner. To turn it into a successful winner took a huge amount of redesign and development work together with effective team management on both sides of the Atlantic. John Wyer in UK and Shelby in the US were at the sharp end but the Ford harnessed it's immense corporate development resources in engine, gearbox and general engineering design and prototyping parts.
The Ford Advanced Vehicle Operation in the UK and Shelby in the USA although contrasting in style were both experienced and highly efficient.
@@andrewwmacfadyen6958 Sorry mate, I hate to disappoint you, but you're wrong.
@@andrewwmacfadyen6958
I believe Bruce McLaren had a lot to do with its development and testing
Only missing one thing: what did it sell for at auction?
Wait I recognize that car!
what about the Gurney Eagle Engune?
Great work, however the fiberglass repair didnt need the cloth on the out side local repair after grinding out the star crazes
Any documentation copies for sell .
These TH-cam channels always have a deadline to meet just to make it exciting lol
HOw old is this video? Feels like its 20 years old
QUESTION: Why was it originally fabricated as a right hand drive?
Designed and built in England. Though many GT racers of the day were RHD because most circuits ran clockwise so it made driver changes easier at pit stops.
I really miss the LMC show. Peter is so smart, and the work he does is immaculate. I guess i need to see if he's got a TH-cam channel.
Mark III not Mark I. I was at Shelby when they were figuring out how to muffle it
No. It's a Mk 1. And Shelby had nothing to do with the Mk 111 - they were built by FAVO in Slough England.
Can Lummox has it?
Why do the wheels sit inboard so much?
Someone confirm. The rear tires and haunches look like the 1968 and 1969. Wider than the 1966.
Is this the same Paul Cook who raced offshore racing? Betty Cook’s husband?
Can't imagine what those luggage boxes cost!? $6-7K?
weren't the first street cars mark 3's?
Yes the official street version is Mk III. But I think this was a british road version.
Why is it Right-hand drive, with a left-hand drive gear stick on the right of the driver?
Because racecar. Remember that this is basically a British Lola. Was made in Britain but arranged for U.S. driving. Many racecars did this, r-hand drive with shifter on right instead of centre.