A DREAM FULFILLED WORDS AND PHOTOS BRIAN STEWART
Dad initially owned a Ford Pilot V8, followed by a succession of Zephyrs (MKI through III) and, after being treated poorly in a Chrysler dealership, two MKIVs, then a Falcon, a Cortina, and finally a Ford Laser. Consequently, when I became a keen follower of motorsport I showed a strong bias towards Ford. With the announcement of the GT40 back in ’63 I avidly followed the exploits of the car and its drivers in the motor magazines of the day. Here was a car to lust after. At age 13, the Le Mans victory in ‘66, especially with a couple of Kiwis at the wheel, was, in my young eyes, the pinnacle of motorsport achievement. I guess the dream started back then. A particular photograph, a rear view of a couple of MKIIs dicing with a gaggle of other cars, including a pair of P4s and a couple of MKIs, through the esses in ‘66, stuck in my mind for many years. The GT40 remained a firm favourite throughout its racing career, and, although I also had a very soft spot for the F3L (P68) when it was introduced, the yearning for a GT40 was still strong for some years after they ceased winning races. However, being on the other side of the world to major sportscar action, I was resigned to the likelihood of never seeing my dream car in the flesh, let alone owning one. Desire gradually faded and the GT40 slipped well down in my consciousness for a couple of decades. All that changed in 1990. Unbeknown to me an original GT40 was residing in New Zealand. I was at a classic race meeting in Dunedin and, there it was, a GT40 – in the flesh! All the memories came flooding back and I took as many photographs of it as I could. The car was chassis number 1078, and had been brought to
s 1078, Dunedin Street Race, 1990.
20 Beaded Wheels
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New Zealand by AC/DC’s Kiwi drummer, Phil Rudd. It was doing a farewell tour of the country’s classic race meets before heading back to the UK with new owner Ted Rollason. Unfortunately the car hit a kerb and bent a wheel in its first race and was side-lined for the rest of the meet. However the flame was alive again, and was fanned by a copy of Ronnie Spain’s seminal GT40 book found in a Timaru bookshop at half price. A couple of years later I came across another GT40 – this time in Gulf livery. Upon asking some questions I discovered it was a kit-car. I was flabbergasted. At the time I had no idea one could build one’s own GT40. Some years further down the line I spotted a GTD in Essex Wire livery for sale in Christchurch. I took a trip up to look at it and found that although it was a beautifully put together car, at six foot four inches I simply could not fit into it. I was gutted. My partner Carmen and I had been together about a year and she was with me at the time. Rather foolishly she said, “If you like them so much, why don’t you build one?” Wow! Talk about being given a green light… It is a comment she has regretted to this day. Deciding that I would indeed build a GT40 the search began in earnest. A 1969 Ford 351 Windsor V8 engine cropped up not too far from me and, based on my reasoning that, if a 351 was good enough for the GT40 based Mirages and AMGT-2, it should be good enough for me, I bought it and stowed it in the garage. Next step was to closely examine the available kits. I discounted GTD as I had already established that it would not give me enough interior room. Closer to home was DRB in Queensland and Roaring Forties (RF) just out of Melbourne, and GT40 NZ. In 2000 Carmen and I managed a side trip to RF while we were visiting Tasmania, and I came away very impressed. So much so that I was on the verge of sending away a deposit when I spotted an article in New Zealand Classic Car magazine. The article covered all the current makers of kit cars and bespoke replica cars currently operating in
