Tom Cotter has visited collections that have uncovered rare Ferraris and one-off concepts, but this latest episode has what Cotter described as “the car to top all cars I’ve ever found.” It’s a 1966 Ford GT40, and it was part of a collection that Tom had previously visited. Sadly, the previous owners of the car have passed away, but the jewel of that collection has found a new owner. Tom traveled to Texas to talk with Chad, the car’s new caretaker, and share its history.
In addition to one of the most impressive assemblies of dealership neon signs, the video shows just a few of the other Fords alongside the GT40, including a Shelby GT350, a few Cobras, a 1957 Thunderbird, and two generations of Ford GT from this century. This long-forgotten 1960s mid-engine marvel is in good company.
Both Tom and Chad researched the car to discover a bit of its background. It didn’t take much sleuthing to learn that the car was originally painted light green, then yellow, before its latest change to silver. That much could be discerned from the overspray that still exists on the car. The original vinyl interior was replaced with leather upholstery, which is still intact. The webbing holding up the seats, however, has deteriorated. Under the rear clamshell sits a high-performance 289 V-8 with a quartet of downdraft carbs and a beautiful set of 180-degree headers.
Because the car has not been registered in more than 40 years, Chad’s next goal is to inventory everything to see what’s needed to get it buttoned back up. So far, it looks remarkably intact with all of its original body panels and the correct engine and transaxle. Only about 30 street versions of the GT40 were built. The majority were built to race, naturally, which took its toll on both drivetrain parts and the car’s aluminum and fiberglass panels. Considering how much of it is intact, this might be one of the best surviving examples of the breed. That leaves Chad with a dilemma: restore the interior to function, freshen the drivetrain, and leave the weathered exterior, or fully restore the whole thing?
Watch the video as the car’s history is revealed through original documents, vintage photos, and some great stories.
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Report by Brandan Gillogly for hagerty.com
