[Bob Childress]

Everyone knows my bias that some threads should be about the sequence of the design process and the choices that go into upgrading our cars. How does anyone know what to do or what details are important unless real examples are provided along with the rationale for choices made. This is not information we are born with, and it does not automatically come with general automotive knowledge. There are times when I realize I am just reinventing the wheel, but the experiences of others at least keep me from reinventing the octagon.

The sequence of pictures that Ian added shows the evolution of his designs and are perfect examples of information that helps everyone advance. Hopefully other will also add pictures of shifter designs with some description of salient details. One of the really great things about owning a CAV is the number of truly talented people who have contributed to the designs for upgrade and alternate components that fit the original 100 seam-welded stainless steel mono chassis. They come from really diverse backgrounds and have all sorts of hidden talents and skills.

One GT40 buddy in Northern England is a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. He has been known to remodel train stations on his lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. Another does charity work translating ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees. In France there is a person who likes to occasionally tread water for three days in a row and can woo women with sensuous and godlike trombone playing. There is a whole group of gear heads in the Northwestern United States who can cook Thirty-Minute brownies in twenty-two minutes. One is also an expert in stucco, another is an outlaw in Peru. California in particular is a gold mine of talented individuals with GT40 skills. My best contact there, using only a hoe and a large glass of water, once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. He has been the subject of numerous documentaries and on Wednesdays, after work, he repairs electrical appliances free of charge. An Italian “suspension consultant” who shall remain nameless has critics worldwide swooning over his original line of corduroy evening wear. But of course he doesn’t perspire. While on vacation in Canada, dashing and debonair GT40 owner from London once successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. After that experience he was reported to have even discovered the meaning of life, but forgot to write it down.

For this shifter project I teamed up with a friend in Sydney, Australia who is rumored to have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. As for myself, I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. As far as I am concerned, we are all beyond good.