One of the most successful racing efforts ever to come from MoTown was the Ford GT40. It was built with one objective in mind...to win the Le Mans 24-hour race, which it did, in 1966 and 1967.
Lee Iacocca partnered Ford with Lola Cars Ltd. to develop a race car, and powered by a 255 V-8 Indy four-cam engine, the GT40 was born...called "40" because it was 40 inches high.
The car was offered as a road car with a 289 engine, modified with a softened suspension. It created a legacy on the street as well as on the track. From 1964 to 1969, Ford sold more than 100 GT40s, but the car passed on before the '70s.
That car has been resurrected as a popular kit car, and from the Land Down Under, Australia, comes a fine reproduction that is race-worthy and street-legal, the Roaring 40s GT40.
An awesome race/street car we were fortunate to see and drive in is the Roaring 40s GT40 of Herschel Byrd. We took a ride in Byrd's 40 at the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Byrd's hometown of Phoenix and saw that, in excess of 100 mph on S-curves and straights, this car handles as awesome as it looks. It accelerates quickly, handles turns and bumps in fine, tight race fashion, and smoothly moves from track to highway.
Byrd had previously modified a MidStates Cobra and a '34 Ford Vicky and spent nine months building this sleek race animal. The Arizona Cobras member told us, "I couldn't afford an original and this had been a favorite car of mine for 30 years, so I knew I just had to build this kit."
The Roaring 40s chassis has a wheelbase of 95 inches, and it makes for a smooth ride, helped out by Roaring 40s' double-wishbone front suspension and an Audi Getreg transaxle. The ring-and-pinion ratio is set at 4:11-1, and Byrd added AVO single adjustable shocks and coilovers.
Halibrand wheels (16x7.5 in front and 16x9.5 in the rear) are covered with 205/55/16 tires in front and 205/50s in the rear.
For power, Byrd installed a Ford 302 V-8 that was race machined and now has a displacement of 306 ci.The engine is a Stage 3 package built by Levy Racing of Tempe. Edelbrock Performer RPM heads, a custom eight-barrel injection manifold, and 180-degree exhaust help bring the mill to 340 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque.
The body is a Roaring 40s' fiberglass Mark1B kit, painted PPG Lamborghini Silver by Levy Racing.
Byrd, who has driven the car to the Knott's Berry Farm AHA Show in California, the Carlisle Kit Car Nationals in Pennsylvania, and the Double Venom Spring Fling in Ohio, drives his 2,260-pound project on the highways and track. He has blazed the quarter-mile in 12.0 seconds and has achieved a top speed of 180 mph, though we only brought it to about 107 on the Bondurant test track.
He has been involved in cars, modifications, and building for 40 years, but this is his most-fun project to date.
After seeing it and running in triple digits in it, we can surely understand why.