Mark IV Information Brochure by Charlie Dolan

The giant Sequoia trees are one of the wonders of nature’s world. To grow to be that impressive required constant vigilance towards the goal with the right conditions over a long time. They require strong, deep roots…and a little luck. Similarly, without a doubt, to the members of the Shelby American Automobile Club, the Ford MKIV is one of the wonders of the automotive world. To be that impressive, the car required constant vigilance towards the goal with just the right conditions over a long time. It required strong, deep roots, a little luck and to a Shelby fan, it has all the majesty of the giant Sequoia. Some background information is in order here; the MKIV is impressive; it was the world’s first racing car to utilize lightweight honeycomb chassis (basically a supersonic jet fighter on wheels) and was created by the combined efforts of several talented Engineers. The Father of the GT40, Roy Lunn, realized during the 1964 Nassau races that more horsepower would be necessary in order to keep ahead of the rapidly developing competition. He proposed to use the “Big Block” 427 cu. in. motor to accomplish that goal which resulted in the MKIV drive train. The MKIV chassis concept can trace its roots to a late 1964 conversation in England between Ford engineer Charles “Chuck” Mountain and then developmental driver Bruce McLaren. The topic was how to make a chassis lighter and yet be stiff enough to handle the large and relatively heavy 7 liter motor. Chuck was one of three Ford USA engineers (Len Bailey and Ron Martin being the others) that had spent the last six months helping Roy Lunn set up the Ford Advanced Vehicle’s (FAV) engineering office in Slough England, working with Eric Broadly and designing the GT40 MKI. By the end of 1964 the GT40 Program was at a critical point of change; FAV was set firmly on the course to concentrate on the production of the MKI cars; Shelby was given control of the GT40 Racing program and Roy Lunn and Chuck Mountain left England to set up another “skunk works” shop, called Kar Kraft Inc. closer to the FoMoCo world headquarters in Dearborn Michigan. Kar Kraft was a private company with one client- Ford - and worked under the direction of Ford’s Advance Concepts which was lead by Roy Lunn. Kar Kraft drew upon the talents at Ford Motor Company, with Ford engineers who would “moonlight” after hours from their day jobs at the nearby Ford Engineering offices. The first order of business was to work on a concept which included the 7 liter motor and a newly developed transaxle capable of handling the torque. The spring of 1965 was spent stuffing the drive train into a standard GT40 chassis “mule” (GT40P- 106) with the sole intent of testing the driveline for the upcoming 1966 GT40. Copyright 2011 Kar-Kraft LLC 1 of 34

The birth of the MKII as it was later called is covered elsewhere, but the fact that the 7 liter had potential was understood by all. It was simply the result of insufficient preparation time that prevented the MKII from winning LeMans in 1965. After the 1965 LeMans race (which was the second year in a row that Ford GT40’s failed to finish), a “Come to Jesus” meeting was held at Special Vehicle Operations (SVA was the Department at Ford responsible for all racing programs). It was decided the best approach to win in 1966 was to “Divide and Conquer”. Internally, SVA would create a new position titled Manager of GT Development. This position was filled by Homer Perry and, as the title suggests, he was responsible for managing the development of the GT40 program. Additional preparation and trackside resources were employed with Holman and Moody and Alan Mann being brought into the fray. The course was set - concentrate on the MKII for 1966 while letting Advance Vehicles design a new lighter and faster replacement as a reserve entry for 1966 and eventual replacement for the MKII when it became obsolete. The all new car would conform to Article “J” of the FIA regulations and be properly named the “J-Car”.

J-Car concept drawing personalized by Roy Lunn

The goals for the “J” Car project were to create a more aerodynamic body style designed around the 7 liter drive train and a new lightweight chassis to offset the weight penalty of the new engine and transaxle. Chuck Mountain never forgot his conversation with Bruce McLaren a few months earlier and neither did Bruce. In the fall of 1965, Bruce McLaren experimented with an aluminum GT40 MKI chassis and a lightweight 427 motor for competition in the newly forming “Can-Am” series (see Chassis GT40P 110 history). At the same time, Chuck searched various technologies and found Brunswick Corporation which was manufacturing honeycomb dashboards for fighter jets. Copyright 2011 Kar-Kraft LLC 2 of 34

Bare Honeycomb MKIV Chassis The other talented engineer in the J-Car history is Ed Hull. Ed was given the job of Concept Engineer for the JCar. Ed had been involved with the Advance Concept Team since the Mustang I days, had created the layout for the T-44 manual shift transaxle used in the seven liter cars on his own time at home as he felt the automatic transaxles would be unreliable (which turned out to be true). Ed put the J-Car concept on paper (pencil and ruler in those days). Then the package was finalized at Ford Styling where Gene Bordinat lead the Design Team to make the clay model and fiberglass molds. By spring of 1966, J-1 was completed in time for Le Mans Test days. By that time though, Homer Perry had done his job well and had lead the development of the MKII to a point where there was little competition inside Ford to change course at such a late date. The die was setit would be the MKII that would go into the history books with the LeMans 1966’s 1-2 3 finish. After the win, most of the exhausted management in SVA wanted to “rest on their laurels” but Henry Ford II’s edict was that for 1967, Ford would win LeMans again, but with an “all American” racer. This quickly changed everyone’s mind.

The J-Car development continued in the summer of 1966, but suffered a tragic set-back

with the death of Ken Miles at the wheel of J-2 in August of 1966. It was not until the spring of 1967 that Chuck Mountain with Phil Remington (Shelby American’s Chief Engineer) and Homer Perry redesigned the J-Car in a wind tunnel into the now famous MKIV shape.

J-Car transformed into the MKIV at Ford’s wind tunnel. The first outing for the new look car was at Sebring 1967 where Mario Andretti and Bruce McLaren (now realizing his dream that a lightweight would be competitive) won in a thrilling 12-hour race against the Chaparral and a MKIIB driven by A.J. Foyt. Ferrari was not in attendance though so there was still some well founded concern. To further the effort, J-3 was used at the rainy LeMans test days to “dial in the final set-up” but still no good competition comparison with Ferrari. For LeMans 1967, three MKIIBs and four new MKIVs showed up for the famous LeMans start.

1967 Le Mans line-up The result is history and for the first time a car that was conceived, delivered and nurtured in America won the LeMans 24 Hour race. Chassis J-5, in its red livery and roundel (intuitively emblazoned with #1), soundly defeated the competition with Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt at the helm. J-5 not only survived the grueling accident prone race by coming in first place overall for distance but it also won the Index of Performance award, the prize awarded by the French FIA organization for the most fuel efficient car. The MKIV was so domineering in its wining both titles that the FIA just gave upâ&#x20AC;Ś.the rules were rewritten in a way to make these earthbound jet fighters illegal. The change was needed in order to let the rest of the automotive world compete amongst themselves on a lower but leveler playing field. The GT program that had taken so much time and energy to develop to this point was cancelled. Ford was instantly out of directly competing in sports car racing - quitting while on top.

Two winners

Enough history - This story is about what we call the “Kar-Kraft MKIVs” (for lack of a better title and this betrays the fact that the project is the compilation of a truly impressive cadre of Ford enthusiasts and a project that has been formulating for many years). Fast forward from 1967 to 1989…by this time the thought of seeing, touching, riding and driving the MKIV was food for long day dreams. All of the 12 original chassis existed, in some form or other (10 as complete vehicles, and the first two as a handful or parts from each. Since there were so few of the original cars built, they would qualify for coverage under the Endangered Species Act. These cars are so precious and coveted by their owners that they are rarely let out of their protective cages. Most enthusiasts are lucky to have ever seen one and have to settle for a picture or video. Copyright 2011 Kar-Kraft LLC 6 of 34

Just as the roots of the Sequoia can be traced back to a certain, specific time and place where they really began to take hold, so can the roots of the Kar-Kraft MKIV project. The time is 1989 and the place is Watkins Glen, NY…where possibly the greatest gathering of GT40s ever before or since took place. The roots of this project took firm hold during a casual conversation between well-known GT40 enthusiast Mike Teske and Edsel Ford. Mike Teske is a long time Ford racing enthusiast extraordinaire; archivist for the Ford Motor Company’s original documentation from the Total Performance Program, a published author (The Ford Racing Century) and long time fabricator of racing parts for vintage GT40’s. His enthusiasm for GT40’s resulted from his first sighting which was on the streets of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania where GT40P 1054 was being driven at speed with a resounding roar, (that car is owned by Fran Kress). At Watkins Glenn in 1989, by chance, Mike asked Mr. Ford (honored guest and speaker at the reunion) to pose with GT40P/1046, the 1966 LeMans winner. After the obligatory “Mr. Ford with Ford” photo, Edsel and Teske talked GT40’s for quite a while, walking and talking about the various versions at the show. Towards the end of the conversation, Edsel asked which one of the fabulous original cars was Mike’s. The response was what most enthusiasts would say “None, I can’t afford one”. However, Mike went on to say, “I intend to build one”.

LeMans 1966 Edsel Ford with his Father-Henry II, stepmother Christine, Henri Chemin (Ford of France Racing Team Manager) and the Head of Fiat that had just purchased Ferrari.

A smile and a bit of disbelief came across Edsel’s face (perhaps that “sure, kid, whatever you say” look) but the conversation continued with the plan being outlined and the missing pieces described. Teske had gone further than a “I wish I could build one of these cars some day” pipedream; he had put some real thought into the project. Edsel was enthusiastic and offered to assist in any way he could. That offer eventually turned into reality with the documentation of the Ford Motor Company being made available for the project. For several years Mike spent his vacations in Detroit doing research at the repository. And the man himself, Carroll Shelby has not only given his support for the project, but lent the use of his Detroit apartment to Mike for a month to assist in the data collection from Ford Archives (Mike thanks you Carroll and said the chili was great!).

Interior of Shelby’s Detroit Apartment

Doesn’t everyone have one in his or her living room?

In late 1992, in a quirk of fate, Mike was fortunate to be at the right place and at the right time to obtain the bulk of Ford’s Total Performance documentation holdings including photographs, papers and drawings that were incredibly destined for the dumpster during a downsizing of the archives. While the source for the information for the Kar-Kraft MKIV project can trace its roots to a chance meeting in 1989, they actually go deeper and further back in time - to the sixties. Two individuals were living in separate worlds but with similar interests. Enter Kenny Thompson, fabricator extraordinaire and two-time NASCAR Fabricator of the Year (an award that is given by NASCAR team members, owners and drivers similar to an Emmy). Working at Holman-Moody during the epoch, he is one of several personalities with ties to the original MKIVs that are active in the cars being assembled by Teske.

Ken Thompson working on a MKIV at Holman Moody shops during the height of the Total Performance Era Ken Thompson is a fabricator by trade and for pleasure.

He has fabricated some of the world’s most

interesting custom car projects. By the early 1990’s, Thompson was nearing completion of two MKIIB clones using the original MKI chassis drawings obtained by Tim Ganskop from Len Bailey of FAV fame. Similarly, Mike was working on his own MKII and to produce it had partnered with Peter Thorp (of Safir GT40 MKV fame), Bryan Wingfield (ex-Ford engineer and well known GT40 restoration source) and John Williment (one of the “J.W.’s” of J.W. Automotive Engineering, Ltd.). At that time, Peter was building his continuation MKVs and Williment was supplying “official” J.W.A.E. serial numbers to Safir; which was one of the things that make

the

MKVs

something

much

than

mere

“replicas”.

Teske

had

partnered

with

Thorp/Wingfield/Williment to produce a small series of replacement MKI Chassis using a fabrication shop called Tennant Panels. The chassis was made to MKI specification first (as the original MKII’s were) and were modified to MKIIA specs (see individual history of GT40P/1146) in Detroit with Ron Fournier- one of the fabricators that created the original MKII’s when he worked at Kar-Kraft.

(L-R) Mike Teske, Ex-Kar-Kraft Fabricator Ron Fournier, Ex Kar-Kraft Mechanic John Mulrine and Ford Engineer Ed Hull celebrate the completion of Chassis GT40P/1146. With the GT40 world being a relatively small one, it is no surprise that these two should meet. Kenny assisted Mike in completing the MKII chassis modifications to the Tennant Panel chassis, doing similar work that he did at Holman-Moody during the sixties.

Mike in return supplied a hand built recreation of the magnesium cased

T-44 transaxles for Kenny’s project. In short order, both had reached a goal of having their MKII’s; Teske’s from Thorp/Wingfield/Williment/Fournier and Thompson’s from scratch. Now, when two enthusiasts with a deep addiction to the Ford Racing Program’s efforts have completed the largest project to date of their life’s goals, the choice of what to do next is simple - either go the Elephant’s grave yard and die - or start another project! They chose the latter. What could be more challenging than recreating the MKIIA & B’s to these two masochistic addicts? Both knew that hidden inside the documentation that was supplied to Teske by the Ford Motor Company was the documentation and drawings for the J-Car, MKIV and Group 7 Can-AM car. After a careful review, they determined that most of the drawings were there and those that were missing could be reverse engineered. The choice was obvious – build the MKIV. With the “mission statement” established (construct a small quantity of exact replica Ford MKIV racecars), work began in earnest. The two enthusiasts settled on a small quantity of cars, seven to be exact. Anyone familiar with the GT40 family tree can see the obvious monkey-wrench in the plan: the MKI, II, III and V were all built up with steel chassis. Flat sheet was bent, stamped and formed into a large pile of pieces, and these pieces were welded together to form the backbone of the GT40. The MKIV however was another animal entirely. The Copyright 2011 Kar-Kraft LLC 10 of 34

structure was based on a series of bonded aluminum honeycomb sections. Honeycomb panels start out with panels of thin aluminum to form the outer panel that is visible. Inside, there are very thin strips of aluminum formed into a hexagonal “wave” pattern with engineered inserts placed in specific locations for hard mounting points. The assembly is glued together, back-to-back, to form a sheet of a structure that resembles what honeybees create. It is extremely strong in one direction but very weak in another, so putting them together requires a good structural engineering background. In order to make a car chassis for racing purposes, the various hand fabricated honeycomb chassis panels are assembled into precise location using sheet glue and rivets to temporarily hold them in place. The roof panel and dozens of mounting brackets for the engine, transaxle and suspension are then bolted and riveted in place with more sheet glue. Then the whole chassis is baked and cured in a large oven. Certainly not something the average car builder could do in his basement and yet just one of the many challenges to be overcome. Research was first on the agenda; their assembled list of talent interviewed looked like a “who’s who” of Ford GT people:

Roy Lunn - Chief Engineer of Advance Vehicles Development, GT40 chassis designer.

Chuck Mountain - Project Engineer- FAV and Kar Kraft Inc.

Ed Hull - Project Concept Engineer- Mustang I, GT40 MKII and MKIV

Bob Negsted - Ford Project Engineer (sadly deceased shortly after the project began)

Homer Perry - Project Manager, GT40 Program

Mose Knowland - 50 year veteran of Ford’s Racing Programs

The Wyer Family

Carroll Smith - Shelby American Team Manager (deceased after the project began)

Phil Remington - Shelby American Chief Engineer

John Wonderer - Holman-Moody Team Manager

Alan Mann - Founder, Alan Mann Racing

John Horsman - FAV/JWA Chief Engineer

John Bosalwiak - FoMoCo Engine Engineering

Nick Hartman - Kar Kraft Inc. owner

John Wanderer- Holman and Moody GT Team Manager

Numerous other employees of Shelby American

The original “cast of characters” participated in many ways with some performing actual fabrication and some providing valuable original documentation to the project. For example, Carroll Smith donated all of his papers (every test report, failure report, meeting minutes and parts list). Since 1982, Mike Teske has been taking reference photographs of every remaining original MKIV and Group 7 cars. Fred Simeone, owner of one of the coveted original MKIVs (J-8, the dark blue Holman-Moody entry at LeMans in 1967) has granted the team unprecedented access to his car, and the result is a reference portfolio with hundreds of photographs of every Copyright 2011 Kar-Kraft LLC 11 of 34

detail of the construction. If that was not enough, Mike Teske was commissioned to co-author “The Ford Racing Century” for Ford Motor Company’s Centennial Celebration in 2003. During this effort, Mike gathered over 10,000 historical images that are available for reference in order to get exacting and accurate details unblemished due to time and changes in the original cars.

Front Suspension Detail - J-5 at LeMans 1967

Above and Below- J-8 in the Peugeot Garage during preparation for the 1967 Race

Actual fabrication of parts and subassemblies began with the transaxles and LeMans 427 dry sump assemblies in 1999. Mike had made a run of transaxles and dry sumps in the 1980â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, so building another batch was time Copyright 2011 Kar-Kraft LLC 13 of 34

consuming but low risk. One point of interest in the process of duplicating parts in exacting detail; original examples are required as many casting marks and details are not on drawings; the transaxle and dry sump castings had different looks between 1966 and 1967 for example. Samples of parts were obtained over several years - pattern makers are given the drawings and original parts and told to make it function per the drawing but look like the original one. Mike is also procuring the drive train, wheels, uprights, hubs, steering racks, brakes, bellhousings clutches and complete 427 aluminum head dry-deck tunnel port motors with dual quad dual plane intake and correct SK style Holley carburetors.

Top- T-44 transaxles in production â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Below- Completed T-44 4 speed manual and T-42 semi-automatic transaxles.

Ken Thompson will supply all hand-fabricated parts, which of course includes the honeycomb chassis. The build strategy for the chassis assembly was to first compare mating dimensions between detail drawings and the chassis. It was determined that all of the detail drawings in the files had the same dimensions as on the chassis assembly drawing. Individual components were then made for all seven chassis.

Chassis components on the shelf

In 2005, a mock-up chassis assembly was fabricated using birch plywood to the dimensions on the original assembly drawings from Kar Kraft and Brunswick, (the specialty sub-contractor that Chuck Mountain engaged to co-develop the chassis design). Afterwards, a cross check was made by assembling the components on the wooden buck to verify clearances and fit-up. All went as planned and the green light was given for chassis production. Copyright 2011 Kar-Kraft LLC 15 of 34

Front view of Master Body Piece on Mock-up Development Chassis

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Prototype Head Core ready for casting

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Intake Manifold Fit Check

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Rear Chassis with Engine and Transaxle

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Radiator Support and Front Foot Well with Suspension Mounts

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View of Chassis in Production

Front Suspension

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Elkhart Lake- 2009 First Public Viewing J-13 Mike Teske with Mose Nowland, an Engineer that worked on the original GT40 program that is still working for Ford Motor Company

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Body Fitting

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Body panels made from the original molds are being used for new body molds, which will be fabricated after initial fit-up of the master patterns. All seven chassis assemblies have been completed as of the fall of 2010. Two cars are completed and are in the hands of their proud owners and the remaining five cars are in their final stages of completion and in the process of final paint and assembly. All but one car are to be constructed to original MKIV specifications. The one exception is Ken Thompsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s; he has replicated the original J-Car (or Bread Wagon as it was nick named). Kenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s car required additional effort to make the J-Car unique parts and outer bodywork.

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The resultant cars would not be your average or even high end kit-cars; they are truly exact re-creations of the original cars.

This could only be accomplished by using the original drawings and documentation from the

groups responsible for producing the original car - Ford Motor Company’s Special Vehicles Activities Group, Kar Kraft Inc., Shelby American and Holman-Moody. The historical documentation obtained by Teske is certainly a fabricator’s dream, but also the dream of the historian as well. That documentation, along with a complete photo and dimensional documentation of every original MKIV and advice from the original MKIV design team results in a recreation that is exacting with such minute details as the inserts in the aluminum honeycomb chassis. Through this attention to detail, Kar-Kraft LLC MKIVs have been inspected and approved for vintage race competition by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Through the effort of all those involved, enthusiasts will be able to see, hear, smell, touch and (for seven fortunate individuals) drive Ford Motor Company’s all American race car that reached a level of performance and durability unmatched by any other sport car at the time. Copyright 2011 Kar-Kraft LLC

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Editor’s note: When determining the numbering sequence for these Replicas, it was the advice of this registry to continue the numbering sequence from where Ford Motor Company and Kar Kraft Inc. left off. The rational is the same as was done on the MKIV’s made by Safir/Thorpe; leave no gaps for others to fill. While all seven are not spoken for at the time of this writing, there are some very interesting conversations going on about who will be able to have their name associated with the remaining open slots. As of this writing, the current chassis number and Owners Registry for the Kar-Kraft MKIV’s is as follows.

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Configuration

Color

J-13

MKIV

Viking Blue

Fran Kress Pittsburgh, PA

J-14

MKIV

Guardsman Blue

James Dolan Pittsburgh, PA

J-15

MKIV

Yellow

Gary Moore Bethlehem, Pa

J-16

MKIV

Princess Blue

Joe Henderson Asheville NC

J-17

MKIV

Red

For Sale

J-18

MKIV

Emberglo Iridescent w/White Stripes

Mike Teske Sevierville, Tn

J-19

J-Car

White / Blue

Ken Thompson Denver, NC

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Notes

Registered Owner

Chassis Number

For more information, or for inquiries into purchasing J-17 Please call (412) 968-3900 Email: info@karkraftpartners.com

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