Performance Cars Ltd. / Switzerland shows P/1013 and P/1033 - with Test Drive

[Szabo]

Hello,

i am not very close to Ford GT or GT40 history but i hope to show some interessting

in Switzerland the Importeur for Shelby was "Performance Cars Ltd." wich was
ruled by Georges Filipinetti
he has the Scuderia Filipinetti and ran with different Drivers some GT40, even in LeMans

The Test Drive and Shooting must be nearly at the same Day, Test was shown in September 1966
all Pics shown P/1033 after the reworked from Custom Body Specialist "Graber" and ready to sell on public,
Colour was Silver/Black and was later Shown on Geneva Auto Show in 1967

i would like to show first an overview from Performance Cars Ltd. Headquarter



P/1033 "Graber"


from back to front: 66GT350 / Ford Cortina / P/1013 Ford Press Car / P/1033 "Graber"
the pic was made on the outside Place from Performance Cars between HQ and the little Skysraper Building


Advertisment befor the Motor Show of Geneva in 1966 for adress


First i like to show the Pics from P/1013 "Ford Press Car" with englisch License Plate OVX 355 D

Pic in the outside Parking Lot from Performance Cars, same Time Code like the Group Photo
very good seen in the cement flooring




for the ride on Switzerland Autobahn / Highway the car was registered for the Switzerland Car Magazin
with Switzerland License Plates just fixed over the englisch license Plate ...








in the Car Magazin stand the they rides about 250 Kilometres ( 155 Miles )  which seems a pretty long test ride


on a different place the Car was also screwed up to show full technical Details,
most Closeup Pics was used for showing the difference between normal "Street" and "Graber Custom"










a very interesting and cryptic Pic was found with this sticker,
anybody knows what that has to say
i read "Last Day to shown" "1966" "17-10"


Funny Fact, the Test Driver was pretty high and this shows perfect how small 40 inches was ...




What do you think about that all known or something new ...

Second Part with P/1033 "Graber" comes tomorrow, in Germany it is 2 a.m.

Greets from Germany

Stephan 

[FL SAAC]

Very interesting thanks for sharing

[Richstang]

Stephan...WOW, you hit the jackpot with this large gathering of photos.

These photos of P/1013 (the first Road Coupe) are exceptional!
I don't recall ever seeing the leather added for the street model interior or the center hood vents and nosed removed.
Was this Swiss Magazine road test taken in September 1966 or was that date for P/1033 and the 'Graber' body upgrades?
The test driver needed a Gurney bobble on the door to give him another inch or two of headroom.

The two photos of Performance Cars LTD are an added bonus. I didn't realize the second photo was taken outside, to the right of the showroom.
I also missed the 66 GT350 behind the Cortina and two GT40's, until I read your note on that photo.

Thank you for sharing all of these with us!!!

[Coralsnake]

Awesome photos

Thanks for sharing

Decal says "last day of the month is shown"

[DennyD]

Stephan, I really enjoyed you post, great period photos. I see an AM radio and the speaker in driver's door, never would have thought it would be equipped with that. (photo 15) Could you even hear the radio?   

[Richstang]

Stephan, I really enjoyed you post, great period photos. I see an AM radio and the speaker in driver's door, never would have thought it would be equipped with that. (photo 15) Could you even hear the radio?

P/1013, the first GT40 Road Coupe. was equipped with 'silencers' and softer springs that made it far more livable for street driving. The radio was not originally in the car when built, but was added shortly afterwards while serving PR duties in Europe. The roof antenna was also added at that time. There was a multi-page article in the British magazine "Motor Sport' from December 1966. (written in October?) that outlines a road test over a weeks time.

The registry, notes confusion between P/1013 and P/1028, as both wore the same license plate 'GT40 PR' and were nearly identical in paint and finish. P/1013 was changed to the 'OVX 355D' when P/1028 was completed and took on that license plate number. Thanks to SFM66H for pointing this detail out to me several years ago.

[Szabo]

Thank for all the feedback, this is fun for me to read your thoughts.

@Richstang

The test was in the Magazin in 1st. September 1966, but in the articel is spoke from the LeMans Victory in 66,
so i hardly think the test was made between end of June or August

The Pics seems very sunny and you can see good vacation so i suggest this was in Summer which speaks for June/August too

For the silencer and the leather of P/1013 i found two more pics

leather trim


and the silencer (which means they also removed the Heck completly)


@all

i dont know about the radio, but i didnt think you can hear it very well :-D


@Coralsnake
thank you - can you explain what this could mean ?

[Szabo]

So i came up with the Pics from P/1033 after rework from "Graber"

in the magazin stands that the car was not used for a test drive, only a quick
view (and thank God a lot of Pics)

i can see that Graber used  a lot of aluminum/chrome parts to rework and fix
things like Light bezel or ventilation grille,
they also added very smal bumper ornament at the Front
and a unique Ieather interieur

Standing on the ramp bevor Performance Cars Ltd. building (see pic above)






Detail pic / best for compare to P/1013


reworked doors for windows,
i have read that there was electric Windows, but i dont know if that is real,
at this point there was Windows to pull up and down




Engine Bay with removed muffler




on the inside you see the reworked Door panels and the "crank" (right term?)


because of that the Radio has moved in the center under the reworked
and leatherd dashboard,
looks pretty wired and lost only screwed to the underside of the dashboard
but when you speak about luxury, you have to had a radio.


other deteils like the reworked automatic antenna and gas cap


the complete Car was shown on the 1967 Geneva Auto Show and on the
Cover from CAR Magazin and then sold to his new owner






So my report ends here but i hope you had fun and see something cool.
Greets from Germany

[Coralsnake]

@coralsnake

No clue!

[68countrysedan]

Mr. Szabo:

Incredible photos, and I was unaware of the Performance Cars Ltd. Switzerland GT40s.

We're fortunate that not only these detail shots were taken but you found them.  As usual, I like to consider details illustrated. Such as the tire tread surface/void configuration is very different from today's performance tire treads.
Also interesting is how they reconfigured the windows so they could roll up and down.
What is also a surprise is the racing style weber set up with no air cleaners, since I presume this car was street driven. Also, it appears that the engine isn't equipped with Gurney-Weslake heads. Guess they were race only. It would be interesting to know the engine head/cam specs.

[Richstang]

More amazing photos of another GT40. Well done!!

While I'm not a big fan of the added chrome around the taillights and fog lights, I find the chrome on the rear engine cover a nice touch, as is the tiny front bumpers next too the grille opening. The manual 'crank' handle roll down side windows are really well done. Compared to the pop out tiny side windows this must be a huge improvement for street use. How they sorted out the door scoop vent recess to have the entire widow open is very interesting to see. It appears most of these photos were taken on the ramp/hill leading up to Performance Cars LTD. (except the few on the block pavement along the side of the building).

Thank you for hunting these images down and sharing them with everyone. I like the added magazine cover too!

[FL SAAC]

Vielen Dank Stephan !

So i came up with the Pics from P/1033 after rework from "Graber"

in the magazin stands that the car was not used for a test drive, only a quick
view (and thank God a lot of Pics)

i can see that Graber used  a lot of aluminum/chrome parts to rework and fix
things like Light bezel or ventilation grille,
they also added very smal bumper ornament at the Front
and a unique Ieather interieur

Standing on the ramp bevor Performance Cars Ltd. building (see pic above)






Detail pic / best for compare to P/1013


reworked doors for windows,
i have read that there was electric Windows, but i dont know if that is real,
at this point there was Windows to pull up and down




Engine Bay with removed muffler




on the inside you see the reworked Door panels and the "crank" (right term?)


because of that the Radio has moved in the center under the reworked
and leatherd dashboard,
looks pretty wired and lost only screwed to the underside of the dashboard
but when you speak about luxury, you have to had a radio.


other deteils like the reworked automatic antenna and gas cap


the complete Car was shown on the 1967 Geneva Auto Show and on the
Cover from CAR Magazin and then sold to his new owner






So my report ends here but i hope you had fun and see something cool.
Greets from Germany

[Szabo]

Gerne geschehen 

Thanks all for your answers, very nice to get replys

[Coralsnake]

Keep up the great work