<< Prev Page 3 of 3 During qualifying, the Mk IIs were easily quicker than the rivalling Ferraris and the lone Chaparral. It once again proved to be a race of attrition but the sheer strength in numbers helped Ford achieve the much desired victory at the third attempt. By the time all the works Ferraris and the Chaparral had fallen by the wayside, three Mk IIs were still running. This allowed Ford to arrange a staged finish with all three cars crossing the line together. The unforeseen consequence was that Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon, who had started further down the grid were later declared the winners even though Ken Miles and Denny Hulme had crossed the line first.
While racing the Mk II, Ford had already started work on an all-new replacement for the 1967. Originally dubbed the J-Car, it later became known as the Mk IV and boasted a much lighter aluminium honeycomb chassis. With the new car still under development, the Mk IIs were updated to 'B' specification for the opening races of the season. Changes were subtle and included a twin carburettor system, good for an additional 15 bhp. Six Mk IIs were entered at Daytona but all succumbed to a gearbox failure later traced back to a batch of badly heat-treated shafts.
For Le Mans, two Mk IIBs were entered as a back-up for the new Mk IVs but accidents ended the race early for both. A final victory was added to the Mk II tally by Guy Ligier and Jo Schlesser, winning the Reims 12 Hours in June of 1967. Extensive rule changes rendered the big-block obsolete at the end of the year, and accordingly they were not raced again. It is believed that in addition to the two prototypes, a total of 11 Mk IIs were built in 1966; eight using standard production chassis and a further three on chassis originally supplied to Alan Mann.
Providing Ford and the United States with the much sought after outright victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Mk II has a special place in (American) racing history. Probably owing to their sturdy structure, most of the 11 examples still exist today. Among them is the winning chassis, which is actually in private hands and recently changed hands for an undisclosed amount believed to be around $10 million. << Prev Page 3 of 3
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During qualifying, the Mk IIs were easily quicker than the rivalling Ferraris and the lone Chaparral. It once again proved to be a race of attrition but the sheer strength in numbers helped Ford achieve the much desired victory at the third attempt. By the time all the works Ferraris and the Chaparral had fallen by the wayside, three Mk IIs were still running. This allowed Ford to arrange a staged finish with all three cars crossing the line together. The unforeseen consequence was that Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon, who had started further down the grid were later declared the winners even though Ken Miles and Denny Hulme had crossed the line first.