Stumbling across a rare barn find is a dream that haunts many collectors and enthusiasts, but acquiring such a find, once discovered, is rarely cheap or easy. Tom Shaughnessy is living proof. He found a Ford GT40 crammed into a California garage, surrounded by junk and piled high with boxes. Only its primer-gray rump was exposed.
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This isn't just any Ford GT40, either. This is chassis No. 1067, and while it appears to lack the racing pedigree of some other GTs, it is among the rarest. The World Registry of Cobras & GT40s says it is just one of three GT40 MkI cars to come with the MkII's rear clamshell, and of those three, it is the only survivor. Furthermore, it was the last GT40 to be produced in 1966 and was the last GT40 to use a Ford serial number—all subsequent GT40s wore the serial numbers of J.W. Automotive Engineering.
Shaughnessy said that after a year-long bidding war, he recently took possession of GT40 CSX1067 from its previous owner, a retired fire fighter who owned the car since 1975. According to The Gentleman Racer, the GT40 sat idle since 1977 due to engine troubles, and health problems prevented that owner from getting too far into the necessary repairs.
When we asked what Shaughnessy paid for the car, he would only concede that it was "very expensive."
