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The Tedious Restoration Of Le Mans-Winning Ford GT40 P/1046: Video

The original Le Mans-winning Ford GT40 – chassis No. P/1046 – is slated to make an appearance at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, commemorating the 50th anniversary of its historic 1966 win by revisiting the same hallowed ground where it stomped all over Enzo Ferrari all those years ago.

Alas, before it can do that, the irreplaceable Ford GT40 needs to be in a single piece.

Enter RK Motors Charlotte, which – along with Rare Drive Inc. from New Hampshire – has undertaken the inconceivably immense project of restoring Ford GT40 P/1046 to her former glory. The entire 20-month restoration is being documented in a seven-chapter video series, the fourth of which can be seen above.

Restoring a car so historically significant is a daunting task. The companies are working with as much of the original hardware as can be recovered; any unoriginal hardware will be replaced with a custom-fabricated piece as close to the original as possible. Hundreds of original photographs are being studied carefully to ensure that Ford GT40 No. P/1046 is reconstituted with the utmost accuracy.

Be sure to watch out for the final three chapters of the Ford GT40’s restoration, coming soon.

Aaron Brzozowski is a writer and motoring enthusiast from Detroit with an affinity for '80s German steel. He is not active on the Twitter these days, but you may send him a courier pigeon.

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