Richard Butterfield-built Galaxie styled after Jack Sears’ 1963 BSCC championship winning car
Prepared for Lord March himself for Goodwood Revival and other Masters events
Powered by a brand new Peter Knight built v8 race ready and accompanied by a full history file and HTP papers
The arrival in 1963 of the cumbersome and clumsy Ford Galaxie in the British Saloon Car Championship caused quite the amusement in the paddock at the Silverstone International Trophy! The amusement would quickly die down, however, or at least as soon as the car turned a wheel on track…
It all started in the winter of 1963, when ace driver Jack Sears received a phone call from JWA Team Manager John Willment, who had just started his Ford dealership outside of London, and who would later famously go on to win the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1968 and 1969. Taking inspiration from Dan Gurney’s BSCC Chevrolet Impala effort from a couple of years back, Willment began the project of importing to the UK a NASCAR specced and Holman & Moody prepared Ford Galaxie, one of the 210 ‘lightweight’ R-code cars, fitted with Ford’s latest big block 427 engine, fibreglass bonnets and doors, aluminium bumpers and transmission cases etc… The early 60s NASCAR rulebook was surprisingly similar to that of the British Saloon Car Championship, thus very few modifications would have to be made.
The car arrived in the UK in May 1963, just in time for the Silverstone round. Chances of glory were thought to be slim though. Not only had 4 rounds of the championship already passed, but the sheer weight of the beast also translated into very poor braking power from the Galaxie’s drum brakes. Against all odds however, the JWA Galaxie dominated its first race as Jack Sears “simply drove away from them with no difficulty, winning the race with ease even though I never took the car out of top gear after the second lap”, in Jack’s own words. Critics rightfully pointed out that the Galaxie would surely struggle on the tighter Crystal Palace or Brands Hatch courses, but despite that, the 7-litre engined NASCAR powered to victory in all of the remaining rounds, securing a dominant championship win over the accustomed Jaguar Mk IIs.
The car presented here was built to ‘Lightweight’ R-Type specification on behalf of Lord March and painted in JWA’s iconic white with red striped livery, mirroring Jack Sears’ championship-winning machine. Lord March himself participated in the Goodwood Revival in the late 1990s with the car. In 2008, Richard Butterfield acquired the car and set about fitting a new 427 V8 engine from Peter Knight, which was to be built to FIA specification in order to continue the car’s historic racing career. Following the engine rebuild, the Galaxie made successful appearances in the Goodwood Revival in 2007 and 2008, as well as at Silverstone Classic in 2013.
“909 WAR” is now ready to terrorise the track once more, powered by a Peter Knight built competition engine and accompanied by a full history file and FIA HTP papers.
