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JWF Milano GT - rare Australian sports car

Name: JWF Milano GT 1962
Brand: JWF

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Created on February 23, 2013

Text:

Werner Bartholai

Photos:

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv Zwischengas

Balz Schreier

Menzi

Lucio Pompeo

Rudolf Menzi

Archiv

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv Zwischengas

Balz Schreier

Menzi

Lucio Pompeo

Rudolf Menzi

Archiv

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - shorter than a modern Mini

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DolderClassics 2012 in May - the place is slowly emptying - but the JWF Milano GT is still there

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DolderClassics 2012 in May - JWF MIlano GT

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - at the Arosa ClassicCar hill climb 2012

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JWF Milano GT (1962) with starting number 218 at the Arosa ClassicCar 2011

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JWF Milano GT 1962 in racing action in 2010

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Arosa ClassicCar 2010 Bergrennen - JWF Milano GT 1962

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - the engine is far back, there is only limited space for the passenger cabin

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - stocky and beautifully curved

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - from Australia to England and Switzerland

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - the exhaust gases are routed out the side

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - the Milano bodies were available with a large and a small rear window

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - the engine compartment extends almost to the middle of the vehicle

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - excellent access to the power unit

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - Three SU carburetors provide an ample fuel supply

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - no engine designer was yet at work here

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - the in-line six-cylinder engine comes from Holden

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - View of the interior, sparse but functional

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - bare, painted plastic interior

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - contemporary aluminum wheels

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Pit stop @ Meylenstein May 2011 - JWF Milano GT

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - bulges on the hood to give the carburettors enough space

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - refers to the 179 cubic inch Holden engine used

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - the Milano emblem identifies the vehicle type - no Alfa emblem

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Holden EH_Premier (1963) - also supplied the engine for the JWF Milano GT

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JWF MIlano GT (1962) - Advertisement in Sports Car World April 1962

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - Advertisement in the September 1962 issue of Sports Car World magazine

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - Bruce Leer's car from around 1962

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JWF MIlano GT (1962) - Sam Johnson's vehicle at the Amaroo hill climb in 1965

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - Interior of Sam Johnson's vehicle

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - View of the interior of Bruce Leer's car, circa 1965

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - Bruce Leer's car - front suspensions - taken in 1965

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - large rear window on the Bruce Leer car

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - Bruce Leer behind Sam Johnson at the 1966 Oran Park race

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JWF MIlano GT (1962) - Bruce Leer at the Bathurst race in 1968

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - Bruce Leerin Oran Park in a duel with an Alfa TZ1 in 1965

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JWF Milano GT - during a race in Australia in the sixties

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JWF Milano GT 2 (1970) - three vehicles of the GT 2 model were built

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JWF MIlano GT (1962) - rebuilt, here around 1975

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - with Traco Oldsmobile V8 engine around 1970

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JWF Milano GT (1962) - two Milanos in England around 2006

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Gaisbergrennen 2011 - JWF Milano GT (1962) - on top of the Gaisberg

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Summary

The JWF Milano GT was a successful sports car in Australia. Built between 1962 and 1968, it took part in races such as Bathurst, Oran Park and Warwick Farm and also held various 1/4-mile records. As a road-going sports car equipped with components from Holden and various English manufacturers, it offered the best driving performance at a reasonable price. The vehicle presented here was number 3 of 30 built. The report is illustrated by many current and historical pictures, advertisements and price lists.

This article contains the following chapters

Three sports car fans come together
Commercial success with plastic
A chassis-body combination
With MG-TC or Holden components
The right Holden 179 engine
A new standard in terms of price-performance
The racing car for the road
Car number 3
From the cockpit

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

When the black sports car appears at a petrol station, it doesn't take long for someone to ask: "Is this an Alfa Romeo?"Others guess Jaguar or at least an English car and are just as wrong, because the JWF Milano GT, which bears the Milan coat of arms on the front of its name, comes from the land of koala bears and kangaroos, i.e. Australia. In the late 1950s, three men - Sam Johnson, Geoff Williams and Grant Furzer - had similar dreams in New South Wales (Australia). And they decided not to leave it at that. Instead of continuing to make do with scale models, they enlarged one of the plastic models and produced a mold for series production. The "Milano" was born. They named the company after the initials of their surnames, i.e. J.W.F.

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