One of the last three Ford-sanctioned GT40 Mk1 out of the original 90 production car run! Built-up by John Willment in 1994 with all original parts he stored since 1969! Sold privately by Willment’s daughter in 2006 and U.K. road registered in 2007! In fresh, race-ready condition with its original engine and gearbox as spares and with current FIA HTP. Eligible for all prestigious historic race and road events!
In 1964, the Ford Motor Company sanctioned a manufacturing run of 100 GT40s – 10 prototypes and 90 production models – which were to be built at its Ford Advanced Vehicle (FAV) plant in Banbury Road, Slough, U.K..
At the end of 1966, John Willment Automotive (JWA) took over the production and development of the Ford GT40 road and race cars from FAV. Through the next several years, JWA became almost synonymous with endurance sports car racing, running GT40s on the factory’s behalf with enormous success culminating with a back-to-back win in 1968 and 1969 Le Mans 24hr. When the GT40 program ended in 1969, 87 GT40s had been built which left three unassembled GT40 chassis, namely 1087, 1088 and 1089, the last three of the Ford-sanctioned run of 90 production vehicles.
These three chassis and all accompanying parts were kept by John Willment, the founder of JWA, with a plan to build these into complete cars at some later stage. As early as 1981, he secured the rights to these last three GT40s from JWA but it took until 1994 when John Willment decided to “finish the job” and he asked Brian Wingfield, GT40 expert and former a chassis development man at Ford, to build the 3 cars utilizing many of the essential parts he had stored since 1969 in a caravan on a farm occupied by his daughter Janet.
As the original chassis were beyond restoration due to rust, Wingfield’s team, led by Paul Fleming, used the original factory drawings to build authentic new tubs which was done by Tennant Panels. A few other corroded components, such as suspension wishbones, were also replaced for safety’s sake. Original 1969-spec Ford V8 engines, in 5 litre “302” form, were included in the stored kits and these were de-rusted and refurbished by John Dunn who, with his partner Ryan Falconer, had been responsible for much of the early GT40 engine development. The unit contains all the period’s authentic tweeks needed for 24-hour race reliability and the cylinder head is the famous Gurney-Weslake alloy design.
This car, with chassis P/1088, is the 2nd of these three cars and was built for John’s daughter Janet Willment. It was built to the exact same technical specification as the 1968 Le Mans cars and was finished in European Gulf colors. P/1088 remained in the ownership of Janet Willment (who changed her name to Avia Willment) until being sold privately in 2006.
Its new U.K. owner road registered P/1088 with plate “XYY 378” in 2007 and sold it on to Paul Van Doorne of The Netherlands in 2008. After 2 more owners, the car was bought by its current owner in 2018 who has successfully raced the car in Peter Auto’s 2019 CER1 race series (with wins at Spa and Dijon) as well as the Tour Auto. During his ownership, the car has been maintained at the highest level by French Rouen based IMSA Performance.
Prior to its racing start, the original FAV Experimental engine and the ZF-gearbox were removed from the car and a new, Mathwall-built and 1968 date coded 302-specification engine with Gurney Weslake heads was installed in the car together with a new ZF 5DS-25 Type Zero gearbox. Both the original engine and gearbox come with the car as do 3 sets of wheels. The car itself is 100% race-ready with a fresh, zero-miles engine, a rebuilt gearbox and with all date-related items current. P/1088 also comes with excellent documentation and a current FIA HTP valid until December 2028.
The car has also been entered for the 2022 Le Mans Classic in Grid 5.
This is a rare opportunity to acquire an original, Ford sanctioned and numbered 1968 Ford GT40 Mk1 in stunning condition which is ready to be enjoyed in all prestigious historic competition events as well as on the road.
Full car specifications:
1968 Ford GT40 Mark 1, chassis number GT40/P/1088
Maker: Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan
Engine: Ford V8 with Gurney-Weslake cylinder heads, overhead valves, 302 cubic inches – 4942cc
Horsepower: 425 @ 6000 rpm
Pounds per horsepower: 5.1
Weight: 2186 pounds
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Carburettors: Weber 48 IDA
Gearbox: ZF 5DS-25 / Type Zero
Brakes: Girling ventilated disc
Wheels: BRM 15” diameter rim with 10” front and 14” rear
Body: Lightweight moulded fibreglass with wide ‘Gulf’ rear bodywork arches
Height: 40.5”
Width: 70”
Wheelbase: 95”
Overall length: 164.5”
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