David Prophet's Ferrari 250 LM & transporter.
Firstly, I must thank Malcolm Jeffries for the following two photographs of a stunning Ferrari 250LM and its Ford Thames 400E-based transporter. He, via regular contributor Keith Belcher to whom I also offer thanks, provided both 1960's images and ok'd their reproduction here. Neither picture has been shown publicly before I'm advised, so thanks to you both.
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The Ferrari in question is 250 LM chassis number 6051, registered here in the UK as DJJ 4C. It belonged to David Prophet, who is shown stood alongside his equipe in the first image. He ran a smart car showroom as his day job, situated in Kings Norton, Birmingham, which presumably provided the not-insignificant sums that would have been required to maintain and race a car of this calibre. In these scenes, David and Malcolm are shown heading back to base after competing in a race held in Karlskoga, Sweden, during 1967.
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Ford 400E six-wheeled transporter.
The transporter is a very interesting conversion of a Ford Thames 400E. Note the extended wheelbase, crew-cab conversion, and twin rear axle configuration. One of the loading ramps is shown stowed alongside the Ferrari, while beneath the load area are a number of enclosed lockers, which would have held all manner of tools, spare parts (for the car and the transporter) and other equipment essential for a smooth-running race weekend. I wonder what became of this fascinating Ford? For comparison, a number of "standard" 400Es in various guises can be found here.
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Photograph number two was taken at the same location, but with Malcolm rather than David posed with the trusty Ford and its valuable cargo.
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The 250 LM (Le Mans).
The 250 LM was launched late in 1963 as a replacement for the front-engined 250 GTO. In all, only 32 were
constructed between 1963 and 1965. This car, #6051, went to its first owner (Viscount Edward Portman) here in the UK in 1964, then passed to
Roy Salvadori the following year before moving on to Jackie Epstein who competed at venues such as the Nurburgring and
Kyalami. By this time, the RHD Ferrari was UK road-registered as DJJ 4C. In 1966 it acquired a modified "Drogo" front end (replacing a Scaglietti-designed nose that had been installed in 1965). In 1967 David Prophet purchased the LM and re-painted it silver/grey, as in the photos above, after having initiated a number of bodywork modifications including the rear spoiler. He then raced the car throughout '67. By the late 1960s it had passed to new ownership, and continued to be raced in various different owners' hands until recent times. According to the Barchetta.cc website it hasn't seen competition since 2012.
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Return to Page 20 in the motoring photographs archive, or visit the main index here.
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More unusual & old Ferrari photographs.
Anyone interested in classic Ferraris may well find the following two pages of interest. The first, here, shows a V12 330GT after a very unfortunate incident. The second, here, is of a parked 250 GT swb at a race meeting in the UK.
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