You can click here for a pdf copy of the Kar Kraft Overview

Transcription

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
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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
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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.
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.
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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.
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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 up….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.
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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.
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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. Support from Dennis Juras of the
Ford Corporate photography archives and Darleen Flaherty of the Ford Corporate documentation archives
proved to be invaluable. 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.. thank you Carroll and said the chili was great!).
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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.
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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
more
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.
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(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
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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
detail of the construction. If that was not enough, Mike Teske was commissioned to co-author “The Ford
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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
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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 1980’s, so building another batch was time
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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 – Below- Completed T-44 4 speed manual and T-42 semi-automatic transaxles.
Ken Thompson supplied 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
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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.
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Front view of Master Body Piece on Mock-up Development Chassis
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Birch wood chassis mock-up with body
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Above- Intake Manifold Pattern - Below Cylinder Head Development Section View
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Prototype Head Core ready for casting
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Prototype Replacement Head and Intake Ports
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Intake Manifold Fit Check
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Panel Aseembly and sheet glue bonding
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Rear Chassis with Engine and Transaxle
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Toe Box fit up
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View of Chassis in Production
Front Suspension
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The fleet
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First Article chassis mock-up with body
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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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[email protected]
Body panels made from the original molds were used for new body molds, which were 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 Thompson’s; he has replicated the original J-Car (or Bread Wagon as it was nick named). Ken’s car
required additional effort to make the J-Car unique parts and outer bodywork.
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[email protected]
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[email protected]
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[email protected]
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[email protected]
Drivetrain installation on J-17
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[email protected]
J-16
J-14
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[email protected]
J-13
J-15
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[email protected]
J-18
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[email protected]
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[email protected]
The resultant cars are 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.
J-17 at L Mans 2012
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[email protected]
J-13 at speed
J-14
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[email protected]
J-15
J-17
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[email protected]
J-18
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[email protected]
J-19 Some said it could not be done
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[email protected]
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[email protected]
As of this writing, the current chassis number and Owners Registry for the Kar-Kraft MKIV’s is as follows.
Configuration
Color
J-13
MKIV
Viking Blue with
White Stripes and
black accents
Fran Kress
Pittsburgh, PA
J-14
MKIV
Guardsman Blue
with White accents
James Dolan
Pittsburgh, PA
J-15
MKIV
Yellow/ Black
Stripes
Gary Moore
Bethlehem, Pa
J-16
MKIV
Princess Blue with
White Stripes and
red/blue accents
Joe Henderson
Asheville NC
J-17
MKIV
Rangoon Red
KKP LLC
J-18
MKIV
Emberglo
Iridescent w/White
accents
Mike and
Nathalie Teske
Sevierville, Tn
J-19
J-Car
Wimbledon White
w/Dark Blue
accents & stripes
Ken Thompson
Denver, NC
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[email protected]
Notes
Registered
Owner
Chassis Number
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[email protected]
Shadrack and Roger Blanchard’s original painting titled; “The Build”
Theo Teske
Mike Teske
Kar-Kraft, llc
865-323-6643
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[email protected]

You can click here for a pdf copy of the Kar Kraft Overview

Transcription

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