Wickerbill = trim tab on full lock.
Dan Gurney also invented the Gurney Bubble.
www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/11/gurney-bubble-gurneys-bubbly/
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When they were developing the prototype and Gurney tried the cockpit on for size, he had to tilt his head just to fit, so the fabricators at Kar Kraft, Ford’s protofab shop in Dearborn, gave that chassis’ roof a bump. The Gurney bubble (not to be confused with a Zagato bubble) is actually pretty complex, going together from contours on the roof panel, the door, and the engine cowl. You may notice that the steering wheel is on the right hand side of the car, which explains why the bubble is on that side of the roof. Though the Mk IV has right hand drive, it was indeed made in the USA.
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It's interesting, in light of recent controversy, That this comment highlights that the squareback 'bread-van' body killed Ken Miles. The solution was a fastback.
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jhefner
November 15th, 2014 at 2:04 pm
Great article Ronnie; good to see the MkIV and Dan Gurney reunited. Learned more details about the history of the Ford GT program and the “Gurney Bubble.”
Missing from your timeline is the unfortunate J-car. It was originally built in a “bread van” shape based on the wind tunnel data. During a test session at Riverside International Raceway in August 1966, with Ken Miles driving, the car flipped on it’s back. The honeycomb chassis did not live up to its design goal, shattering upon impact, bursting into flames and killing Miles.
It was determined that the bread van shape generated too much lift; the same issue that caused the Mercedes CLR to flip on it’s back; the crash ended Mercedes’ involvment in sports car racing. Ford instead redesigned the J-Car into the Mk-IV.
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