VIN: the Nick Cussons / Ed Nelson / Colin Crabbe Ford GT40 chassis P/1021

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History of chassis P/1021

Chassis P/1021 was one of 85 Mk1 GT40s built between 1965 and 1969.

Completed on 24th November 1965, it was painted Metallic Green and originally came fitted with Borrani wire wheels.

P/1021 was purchased for competition use by Nick Cussons whose grandfather had founded the Cussons personal healthcare group in 1884. The Cussons Group was best known for Imperial Leather soap and became a publicly traded company in 1947.

Prior to the GT40, Nick Cussons had occasionally raced a Cooper Monaco and an Aston Martin DB4 GT.

For the 1966 season, Cussons sometimes raced P/1021 himself, but he mostly enlisted experienced drivers like Richard Bond, Mike Spence and Brian Redman.

Season highlights included ninth overall / fifth in class at the Monza 1000km and twelfth overall / third in class at the Nurburgring 1000km. There were also several top three finishes in domestic British events.

During the autumn of 1966, Cussons sold P/1021 to amateur racers, Ed Nelson and Colin Crabbe.

Nelson was a Director of the Daily Mirror Group. He had actually agreed to purchase Peter Sutcliffe’s GT40 (P/1009) with the intention of contesting the 1966-1967 Springbok winter series in South Africa. However, P/1009 was delayed on its return from Australia (where Sutcliffe had been racing). As a temporary solution, Nelson arranged to purchase P/1021 with Colin Crabbe.

Crabbe was the owner of Antique Automobiles in Baston, Lincolnshire. Between the mid 1960s and mid 1980s, Crabbe was responsible for unearthing a plethora of significant motor cars from far flung corners of the planet. Antique Automobiles was considered one of the best restoration companies in the business.

Nelson and Crabbe paid £1750 each to became joint owners of P/1021. They collected the car from Ford Advanced Vehicles in Slough and went on to contest the Springbok series as planned between November 1966 and January 1967.

In order to accommodate Crabbe’s substantial frame, a special door was made with a domed roof blister.

Despite failing to complete their first two races in Africa, Nelson and Crabbe went on to score four top seven finishes.

Upon their return to the UK, Crabbe purchased Nelson’s share and became P/1021’s sole owner. The green Ford was subsequently repainted the Antique Automobiles colours of maroon with a broad white centre stripe.

During the course of the 1967 season, Crabbe’s GT40 was a frequent top ten finisher at national and international level. The closest it came to class victories was a brace of seconds at the Nurburgring 1000km and Reims 12 Hours.

P1021’s final outing was at the Brands Hatch Evening News Trophy, a round of the British Sports Car Championship on August 28th.

During practice, the GT40’s nearside rear wheel came off at Hawthorn’s Bend. P/1021 left the track, demolished a tree that smashed through the left-hand side of the bulkhead and burst into flames. Crabbe was pulled from the car by Peter Sutcliffe, who had been running just behind in his Ferrari P4.

Miraculously, Crabbe suffered only burns to his ankle, but the badly bent and fire-damaged monocoque was beyond repair. As Ford Advanced Vehicles were unable to supply a new tub, one was sourced from Sandy Luscombe-Whyte.

Antique Automobiles rebuilt P/1021 as a road car. In 1968, it was sold to David Walter.

By 1986, the GT40 had been sold to Ian Lowson and the by now green car was on display at the Doune Motor Museum near Stirling, Scotland.

In the early 1990s, P/1021 was sold to the USA.

Notable History

Nick Cussons

08/04/1966 BSC Snetterton Scott-Brown Memorial (R. Bond) 7th oa (#18)
25/04/1966 WSC Monza 1000km (B. Redman / R. Bond) 9th oa, 5th S3.0+ class (#8)
30/04/1966 BSC Oulton Park Tourist Trophy (R. Bond) DNS (#46)
14/05/1966 BSC Silverstone International (R. Bond) DNF (#23)
29/05/1966 BSC Mallory Park Grovewood Trophy (R. Bond) 5th oa (#14)
05/06/1966 WSC Nurburgring 1000km (M. Spence / R. Bond) 12th oa, 3rd S3.0+ class (#49)
02/07/1966 IND Crystal Palace (B. Redman) 3rd oa (#61)
09/07/1966 BSC Silverstone Martini Trophy (R. Bond) 8th oa (#24)
30/07/1966 IND Oulton Park (N. Cussons) 2nd oa (#131)
06/08/1966 IND Crystal Palace Anerley Trophy (N. Cussons) ran (#66)
14/08/1966 BSC Croft Wills Trophy (N. Cussons) 8th oa (#52)
14/08/1966 IND Croft Benefactor Cup (N. Cussons) 3rd oa, 3rd GT2.5+ class (#52)
29/08/1966 IND Brands Hatch Eagle Trophy (N. Cussons) ran (#111)
11/09/1966 WSC Zeltweg 500km (M. Spence / N. Cussons) DNF (#3)

Sold to Ed Nelson and Colin Crabbe

05/11/1966 SBK Kyalami 9 Hours (E. Nelson / C. Crabbe) DNF (#9)
19/11/1966 SBK Cape Town 3 Hours (E. Nelson / C. Crabbe) DNF (#8)
17/12/1966 SBK Lourenco Marques 3 Hours (E. Nelson / C. Crabbe) 5th oa (#??)
27/12/1966 SBK Roy Hesketh 3 Hours, Pietermaritzburg (E. Nelson / C. Crabbe) 7th oa (#4)
02/01/1967 RSA Kyalami (E. Nelson) 5th oa, 4th C class (#??)
07/01/1967 RSA Killarney (C. Crabbe) 4th oa, 3rd C class (#??)

Nelson sold his 50% stake in the car to Crabbe on its return to the UK

27/03/1967 BSC Silverstone Wills Trophy (C. Crabbe) 9th oa, 7th S2.5+ class (#8)
29/04/1967 BSC Silverstone International (C. Crabbe) DNF (#34)
20/05/1967 BSC Silverstone Martini Trophy (C. Crabbe) 8th oa, 6th S2.0+ class (#49)
28/05/1967 WSC Nurburgring 1000km (C. Crabbe / R. Pierpoint) 8th oa, 2nd S3.0+ class (#67)
25/06/1967 IND Reims 12 Hours (C. Crabbe / R. Pierpoint) 8th oa, 2nd S2.0+ class (#18)
02/07/1967 IND Norisring 200 mile (C. Crabbe) DNS (#8)
15/07/1967 IND British GP Support Race, Silverstone (C. Crabbe) 5th oa, 3rd S2.0+ class (#43)
30/07/1967 WSC Brands Hatch 6 Hours (D. Charlton / C. Crabbe) DNS (#54)
13/08/1967 IND Swedish GP, Karlskoga (C. Crabbe) 7th oa, 5th SP2.0+ class (#6)
20/08/1967 WSC Zeltweg 500km (C. Crabbe / J. Neerpasch) DNF (#4)
28/08/1967 BSC Brands Hatch Evening News (C. Crabbe) DNS (#57)

Rebuilt with a new monocoque after Crabbe’s practice crash at Brands Hatch

1968 sold to David Walter

1986 sold to Ian Lowson

Later sold to the USA

Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: unattributed