Question about Salt Walther GT40 1005
 

I am sure that the barn hunters out there will find Jerry Heasley's new book about RARE FINDS (the one concentrating on Fords) very entertaining. Particularly the chapter about the GT40 that some guy helping out at an auction in Ohio found buried in mud. I have since found other references that say there wasn't that much of the car left, disputing Heasley's story where there is a whole chassis but anyway I wonder if any other GT40 fans have an an opinion on what happened to this car later?


In a nutshell, car racer Salt Walther's mother owned a boat business. The family had an auction company disposing of all the assets and out behind the building, a guy who worked for the auction company discovered the chassis of a GT40. This was left there after someone had tried to start the GT40 years earlier, and only ended up burning down the building with several valuable prewar cars in it. The GT40 was not included in the auction because they couldn't be bothered with some car he thought he saw buried in the dirt (only the top of the engine was visible). According to Heasley, at first the discover thought it was just an engine but dug into the dirt and found suspension arms and realized it was a chassis which was eventually connected to a Salt Walther- owned GT40. The discoverer, according to Heasley, bought the car but later on the Walther family objected that this car was not included in the auction and the discoverer who had bought it separately had to pay all over again for it. (I am more than a little confused because I know a former LA fireman--Dennis Murdoch-- who told me he has the Salt Walther GT40 he bought from Salt while Salt was in the hospital recovering from burns from a racing accident. He still owns that car)


But the story goes on. Other sources say that there wasn't that much there, after all, the car had been buried next to a river for 20 years, but anyhow a a Safir replica-- SN1127--is named as the chassis 1005's number was transferred to.

Now I have been to Safir when they were still in England (bought a car there for a friend) but since the Safir GT40s were made decades after the last GT40 by Ford (not counting the three that Ford had completed from old tubs) I question this re-assigning of numbers. It kind of reminds me of European royalty--say where a "pretender to the throne" (someone considered outside a royal family) ends up somehow being suddenly recognized as royalty when the last legitimate royal heir in the family (like the king or a royal prince) dies.

On the other hand, Safir was licensed by Ford to make their GT40 so others could argue one of their chassis is a legitimate substitute for the real thing. I know that 1005 appeared at an auction, so I'd love to know if--in the auction catalog-- the auction company admitted that the car known as 1005 was once a Safir replica.I still consider any chassis made out of original time sequence (in this case not in the 1960s) to be a replica even though I know that chassis replacement is done from time to time (when I went to Lotus once, they had Esprit chassis to replace those damaged in accidents since it was impossible to straighten out a chassis hit hard).

Also is Salt Walther still alive?

Ironically there is a more historically significant GT40 7 liter targa buried in Calif. but I have to see if there's anything on that,and the last guy I knew who was at the interment just died (Steele Therkelson).

I believe Salt died in an accident at Indy several years ago.

Nope, he's still in jail at Hocking Correction Institution in Ohio.

The numbers of the original GT40s are known. This one doesn't ring a bell.

On GT40s.net I found this listing for production car 1005
 

Ford GT40 chassis number GT40 P/1005GT40 Archives

Of course they don't go into its later ownership and recovery. I was surprised in looking back at the Heasley book he doesn't mention the combining of it with the Safir chassis.
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Ford GT40 chassis number GT40 P/1005 :

GT40 P/1005 General info:

The first car was named the GT (for Grand Touring) with the 40 representing its overall height of 40 inches (1.02 m, measured at the windshield) as required by the rules. Large displacement Ford V8 engines (4.7 liter and 7 liter) were used, compared with the Ferrari V12 which displaced 3.0 liter or 4.0 liter.

After chassis GT-112 the “production” began and the subsequent cars, the MkI, MkIIs, MkIIIs, and MkIVs, numbered GT40P/1000 through GT40P/1145, were officially “GT40s”

GT40 P/1005 Race results:

06/65 : Le Mans, 6, Muller/Bucknum, DNF -

01/67 : Brands Hatch, Drury, 2nd -

03/67, Snetterton, 56, Drury, DNF -

04/67 : Monza, 35, Drury/Olivier, DNF – Silverstone, 33, Drury, 6th-

05/67 : Silverstone, 46, Drury, DNF – Crystal Palace, 47, Drury, DNF-

06/67 : Brands Hatch, 7, Drury, 2nd – Brands Hatch, Drury, 7th -

07/67 : Silverstone, 45, Drury, 6th – Brands Hatch, 59, Drury/Holland, 14th -

08/67 : Croft, 32, Drury, 5th -

09/67 : Crystal Palace, 116, Drury, 6th – Oulton Park, 90, Humble, DNF – Phoenix Park, 50, Drury, 2nd -

10/67 : Oulton Park, Humble, 5th -

04/68 : Oulton Park, 91, Humble, DNF – Silverstone, Humble -

05/68 : Zandvoort, Humble – Spa, 39, Humble/Smith, DNF -

06/68 : Oulton Park, Darlington, DNS -

07/68 : Thruxton, 89, Darlington, 8th – Thruxton SGT, 89, Darlington, 8th – Oulton Park, Darlington, DNF – Snetterton, Darlington, 3rd – Silverstone, 9, Lanfranchi, DNS -

08/68 : Oulton Park, Darlington, DNS -

09/68 : Aintree, Vincent, 3rd

GT40 P/1005 History:

More information and photos for chassis number GT40 P1005 needed. Please submit information and/or links contact form on main menu above

GT40 P/1005 Photos:

no photos yet

That's a name I haven't heard of in years, wow?

Ralphy

Drug Addiction and Legal Problems

Following the 1973 accident, Walther battled an addiction with pain killers that were used after the accident, notably dilaudid. As a result of this addiction, Walther has suffered from personal and legal problems, including a long interruption in his racing career.

In 1998, Walther was convicted of "illegal conveyance of painkillers into the jail" after trying to smuggle three Tylenol III tablets, each containing 60 milligrams of codeine, into his jail cell. He failed to show for his sentencing, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He served six months in a minimum security jail, and placed on three years probation. He completed a drug treatment program.

In 2000, Walther was sentenced to 180 days in jail for child endangering and 10 months in prison for violating terms of his probation in the 1998 drug case.

In April 2007, Walther plead guilty to failure to pay child support, and in July a warrant was issued for Walther's arrest when he failed to pay by the July 10 deadline, facing up to 16 months in jail, and owing more than $20,000.

In July 2007, Walther remained at large and managed to elude Beavercreek and Centerville, Ohio police officers after he was recognized by a police officer at a local gas station. An officer asked Walther to stand outside of his car, but he got back in his car and fled the scene. This added a felony charge of "fleeing and eluding" to Walther's warrant. He was eventually arrested on July 29, 2007 and held in the Warren County, OH jail.[3]

On August 14, 2007, he was sentenced 16 months in prison for felony nonsupport of dependents, and 10 months in prison violating the terms of his community control imposed in a 2005 case involving nonsupport, with 240 days of credit for time already served in jail. On November 15, he was sentenced to three years in prison after a jury convicted him of failing to comply with an order or signal of a police officer for the July incident. The prison terms are to run consecutively. Salt Walther is currently incarcerated at Hocking Correction Institution in Nelsonville, Ohio.