CHASSIS 104
Two prototypes were being tested at the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) test facility in Warwickshire, England. The second of these, GT/104, was the first GT40 prototype built with lighter chassis steel wheels – 24 gauge instead of 22 gauge – for decreasing weight. After just 50 miles of testing it was shipped to France to be driven at the 1964 24 hours Le Mans by Jo Schlesser and Richard Attwood, who qualified in 9th place. But in the fifth hour fire broke out in the engine bay at the Mulsanne Straight. Attwood stopped quickly enough that fire marshals were able to extinguish the blaze, but he could not continue.
GT/104 was repaired at Ford Advanced Vehicles and fitted with a Cobra-spec 289 CI engine and refined front bodywork to prepare it for the Nassau Speed Week in November. It competed there with the GT/103, but both cars were put out once again with damaged rear suspensions. Thus the 1964 season drew to a close without a GT40 completing a single race. After the Nassau Speed Week race, this car was also sent to Shelby America for a total revision and refinement. The 1965 season started with P 03 in Daytona (B.Bondurant/R.Ginther), retirement in Sebring due to suspension failure ( R.Ginther/Ph.Hill) . in Europe, the car suffered an accident in the 1000 km Monza again due to suspension problems ( C.Amon/O.Maglioli), P 08 at the 1000 km Nurburgring (C.amon/Ph.Hill/B.McLaren). At Le Mans, both GT/103 and /104 were dropped from the roster in favor of two new production chassis and were thereafter retired from competition.
Duty remained, however, for GT/104, which was sent to Ford contractor Kar Kraft for restoration. A change of plan saw the car invoiced in November to Ford by Shelby American and delivered to the Ford Styling Department, who completed the restoration. Over 500 hours of work was invested and included new bodywork with a smoother tail section. It was returned to its original White with Black stripes but the nose was finished in a shade of Turquoise rather than the original matt Blue; the Halibrand magnesium wheels were retained rather than the Borrani wires the car wore when new.
Initially the car served duty at auto shows including the Detroit Auto Show at Cobo Hall, and remained in Ford's ownership until 1971 when it was sold to its first private owner, A.H. "Nub" Turner of Ann Arbor, Michigan. GT/104 was sold in 1972 to John Beaudine Stringer of Road Sport International, also of Ann Arbor, who sold it the following year to Dr. Peter Patton of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Dr. Patton immediately began a restoration, but illness forced him to sell the car in early 1978 in unfinished condition to Bill Jacobs of Chicago, Illinois. Greg Lonberger of Oak Park, Illinois, had contacted Dr. Patton to purchase GT/104, believing it to be the 1965 Daytona-winning GT/103. He was able to negotiate a sale with Jacobs in September 1978 and took it to his shop intent upon completing the restoration. It remained disassembled for years until it was examined by GT40 expert Ronnie Spain, whose discovery of the hole in the rear bulkhead for a water pressure valve installed during the initial Shelby overhaul confirmed its identity as GT/104.
The car's provenance affirmed, after years of inaction Mr. Lonberger began the restoration of GT/104 in earnest. He completed the rolling chassis and invested hundreds of hours finishing the fiberglass panels to Shelby specification. In June 2010, the partially completed car was sold to a private owner, who turned it over to renowned English GT40 specialist Paul Lanzante.
Mr. Lanzante's knowledge and experience restoring important vintage racing machinery – including five original GT40s – proved invaluable in precisely returning GT/104 to its Daytona configuration, complete with accurate finishes and materials that render the car completely period correct in its presentation. The completed GT/104 comprises many original and/or period-correct components. Even the lightweight steel chassis sheet metal is noticeably thinner than standard GT40s. In addition to retaining the original 4.2 L engine mounts, GT/104 also has its Colotti gearbox, an indisputably rare piece as ZF transmissions came into use almost immediately after the Shelby overhaul. Most significantly, the engine is the correct type Shelby American 289 CI block with correct Le Mans specification internals, and is believed to be the same engine used in the 1965 season. Supporting this is the fact that the earliest engines employed five-bolt bell-housing patterns necessitated by the Colotti instead of the 6-bolt design of the later ZF units.The quality of the work extends of course to the mechanical components; the running gear was completed precisely to the original specifications and the car is entirely ready for spirited on-track duty.
The car was on sale in a Houston Auction in 2014. It was sold to the Larry H. Miller Total Performance Museum collection
As the first ever 1965 Shelby American-specification GT40, chassis GT/104 is widely regarded as the most original and correct prototype Shelby American team car and possesses what Ronnie Spain has described as "one of the clearest provenances... of all GT40s."
