Dan Gurney’s All American Racers has been entrusted by The Henry Ford Museum with the conservation of the 1967 Le Mans 24 Hours-winning GT40 MkIV that carried Gurney and A.J. Foyt to history’s only all-American win in the French endurance classic.
“I don’t think we could have found a better person or better organization to conserve this very special racecar,” said Christian Overland, executive vice-president, The Henry Ford. “Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt made this Mark IV famous with their win at Le Mans, and to have Dan, his son Justin and their employees take on the job of conserving it for future generations seems so right. There is no doubt in our mind they will take the upmost care in this job because of what this car meant to their family’s history.”
“The younger generation of engineers, fabricators and mechanics at All American Racers is excited and proud to help conserve this car, which is of such great historical significance,” said Justin Gurney, president and CEO, All American Racers, Inc. “We thank Ford and Henry Ford Museum for entrusting this special task to us.”
The red #1, powered by a 7.0-liter Ford V8 engine, was one of only six Mark IVs built for competition, specifically designed for endurance racing with a NASCAR-style roll cage around honeycomb panel construction. Gurney and Foyt took the car into the lead 90 minutes into the 24-hour event, and ended up winning by four laps.
This will be the second major conservation in recent years of a historic racecar from The Henry Ford Museum’s “Racing in America” collection.
The Lotus Ford 38/1 Indycar that Jim Clark drove to victory in the 1965 Indianapolis 500 recently was conserved by Classic Team Lotus in England, led by Clive Chapman, son of Lotus founder Colin Chapman, who fielded the car at Indianapolis.
