Nearly a decade ago, I did the unthinkable and jumped a security fence at a private airport in Decatur, Ark., in hopes of securing use of the property for a photo shoot. Not only was I lucky enough to not get shot by the owner for trespassing, I learned he was a fellow Ford man with some incredible examples of the breed, and we’ve been friends ever since.
Prior to getting up the nerve to climb that fence, I had spent half a day trying to gain legal access to the airport. I visited the local post office located less than a mile away and ran into a letter carrier who told me she’d been with the United States Postal Service for a decade and had never made a delivery to the property. She didn’t even know its actual mailing address!
Earlier in the week, I had traveled from the Detroit area to Billups Classic Cars in Colcord, Okla., to photograph a one-of-a-kind 1967 Shelby GT500 that Jason Billups and his team had just cosmetically restored. Billups and I discussed possible photo-shoot locations in the area to photograph the Shelby. I mentioned my preference for private airport tarmacs so we drove to a local airport, but it didn’t have a clean, clutter-free background. At that point, I began searching on my own for a suitable photo-shoot location within the area, and that’s how I found the private airport.
A GPS search located the airport in Decatur roughly 20 miles away. When I drove to the airport, I discovered what was possibly the most stunning location I had ever encountered. However, I could not find the entrance. As strange as it sounds, I drove around that airport for a few hours in search of an entrance, my Mustang consuming nearly a half tank of fuel in my search. Yet no matter where I drove, I couldn’t find a way into the airport. Numerous times I ended up at the entrance to a driveway within a small city park, but the driveway abruptly ended at a gate that was secured with several locks and chains. Attached to the fence was a sign that read “Private Property.” The driveway seemed to be the best way to access the airport, and after standing at it for the last time, it was evident there were no security guards or dogs to come after me. That’s when I noticed a silver Saturn driving down a steep inclined driveway just to the right of the airport hangar, then pull into an open door. It was at that moment I decided to go for it and climb the fence.
Once over the fence — my heart racing — I walked across a freshly cut lawn, then onto an asphalt runway to the tarmac where a white 2008 Ford F-250 pickup truck was parked. The truck’s front license plate read, “My Other Car is a GT40.” As I walked up to the hanger, a man approached me. I apologized for jumping the fence to get into the property and introduced myself and my dilemma. When I asked if he knew the owner of the property, he nodded his head and said,
“Yes, I might be able to help you with that. I’m Mike Trusty, and I’m one of the owners of the airport property.” We walked outside and I pointed to the license plate on the truck and he said, “That’s my truck. My boys put that license plate on it as a joke.” I asked if he really owned a GT40. He replied, “Yes, a Superformance 1966 Ford GT40 MK II. It’s at my shop in Little Rock.”
Dreaming of a GT40
I’ve since learned a lot about Mike Trusty. He was born on Aug. 9, 1948, in Russellville, Ark., and graduated from North Little Rock High School in 1966. After graduating high school, he went on to earn a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering (BSME) from the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville) in 1972.
Trusty’s first car was a 1966 Ford Fairlane GT 390 four-speed in Ford’s Emberglo color inside and out. Mike’s parents ordered the car for him in October 1965 and, as he puts it, “only because they were the best parents ever. They gave me the choice of any car I wanted, but it had to be something Ford produced. They surprised me by delivering it to me at a high school band concert that I was playing in.”
Trusty may have selected a Fairlane GT 390 as a gift from his parents, but it wasn’t his only dream car.
In 1964, Trusty read a magazine article that featured the development of the Ford GT40 and it piqued his interest. After reading the article and doing some research, the Ford GT40 became his ultimate dream car. He read about Mark Donohue being hired by Ford Motor Co. to pilot the No. 4 Emberglo GT40 MK II that was going to be campaigned by Holman-Moody Racing during the upcoming race season. The GT40 Mark II’s winning 1-2-3 sweep of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1966 only added to the cars’ mystique.
Trusty admired Mark Donohue. Like Trusty, Donohue had a laid-back demeanor and was a mechanical engineer whose knowledge allowed him to enhance or improve the race cars he piloted. Donohue took a good car and made it even better.
Although the Fairlane GT 390 was great, ownership of a GT40 would have to remain a dream for Trusty for nearly five decades.
Superformance GT40
In 2003, Superformance ventured into the GT-40 continuation market. After pursuing many avenues, Superformance acquired the original drawings and jigs that were used by KarKraft, one of the two original manufacturers of the GT40 during the mid 1960s.
At this point, a licensing agreement with Safir GT40 Spares Ltd. (holders of the GT40 trademark) was signed. This marriage allowed Superformance to produce exact continuation cars of the original GT40 with serial numbers to match. As these cars were exact to the 1960s versions, they were approved for inclusion into the GT40 registry.
In May 2005, the first Superperformance GT40 prototype was air-freighted to the United States and appeared at various shows, to wide acclaim. In December 2005, Dennis Olthoff, of Olthoff Racing, tested the first production Superperformance GT40 in South Africa. Various upgrades and changes followed before full production started in February 2006. The car was then tested by Tiff Nidell for the BBC TV program “Top Gear” before arriving in the United States.
At first, only the Mark II (big-block 1966) version was offered. In 2006, Superformance acquired molds for the Mark I version from Adrian Newey, formerly of McLaren and now a Red Bull F1 designer.
From 2006 to 2009, 150 street cars were produced by Superformance, 80 of which Olthoff Racing completed.
When Trusty was approached about a new GT40 in 2005, he realized his childhood dream might finally come true.
“Dennis Olthoff, owner of Olthoff Racing, called and told me about the Superformance GT40 that was coming on October 11, 2005,” Trusty recalled. “He received his first GT40 chassis on March 8, 2006. My wife, Paulette, and I visited Olthoff Racing on May 27, 2006, to look at a chassis to make sure it really was a real GT40 and not just another replica."
“After seeing it in person and studying the engineering aspects, I walked away with an understanding about its design and structural integrity. It was indeed real. Dennis Olthoff took Paulette for a ride. We ordered our chassis the same day."
"It was 'like taking off in a jet without ever leaving the ground,” recalled Paulette.' We were going fast, and my head was pinned to the seat. Like when Mike and I were going 170 mph on a racetrack in Michigan in our Pantera, but there was one difference: the GT40 was like a flash with its quickness. I don’t know if it was flight or fright; it’s something I couldn’t prepare for... just totally exhilarating.”
“My chassis arrived at Olthoff Racing on March 6, 2007, after what seemed like a long wait,” Mike Trusty said. “My son, Shane, and I drove from Little Rock, Arkansas, to Mt. Ulla, North Carolina, and picked it up the next week."
“Our GT40 was the first right-hand-drive, right-sill-shift car brought to the U.S. Most Superformance cars are left-hand drive with center-cable shift. Mine is a rod shifter, just like the vintage cars.”
The dry sump Ford SVO aluminum engine block in Trusty’s GT40 MK II displaces 416 cubic inches with a 9-1/2-in. deck, a steel crank, Oliver rods and Yates C3H heads. Fuel is controlled via 58mm multi-port throttle bodies with digital ignition and electronic injection atop a fabricated multi-port intake manifold. This combination produces 715 hp and 666 lbs.-ft. of torque.
The brakes are something that Superformance changed from the original cars, mainly for safety and use on a street-driven car, says Trusty. The factory car came with four-piston Wilwood calipers and 12.9-inch vented rotors.
“I used the rotors, but replaced the street calipers with GN six-piston calipers, same as used on NASCAR cup cars,” Trusty said.
The transaxle in Trusty’s GT40 is a ZF five-speed, the same as used on GT40 Mark I cars since the four-speed transaxle used on the Mark II cars “was unobtainable at the time,” Trusty said.
The suspension of Trusty’s Superformance-built GT40 is identical to vintage GT40 race cars, and its parts are interchangeable with the vintage cars.
“I had all the rods, links, hubs, etcetera, electroless nickel-plated like the vintage cars were done,” Trusty said. “They came from Superformance painted or bare metal. The wheels are pen-drive Halibrand, same as the vintage GT40 race cars.”
Track time!
Trusty and his track-ready GT40 appeared in public together for the first time at the Kohler International Challenge at Road America in August 2009.
“I have been fortunate in my past to work on historic GT40s, but not until now have I been able to fulfill my dream of owning one,” Trusty said. “I attempted to replicate the No. 4 Holman-Moody car of 1966 with a few changes of my own. The color (Emberglo) is a color that I have a lot of history with, being the color of my first car, a 1966 Ford Fairlane GT, as well as my 1972 Pantera, being only one of three cars that were factory painted that color.”
Trusty’s GT40 appeared at the 45th anniversary reunion of the GT40 at Road America. Mike’s car was so well received that he was invited to be in an exhibition race that included Le Mans-winning cars, as well as many world-class drivers such as Brian Redman, David Hobbs and Bob Bondurant, to name just a few.
When he’s not racing his GT40, Trusty’s current project is the Emberglo 1972 Pantera that he and Paulette bought new. He’s basically reengineering the car to “modernize a classic Pantera,” as he puts it. When he completes his challenge, expect to see it featured in Old Cars. Stay tuned!
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