DRB #5

Bill,

First and foremost it's good to hear you wife is doing well if there is anything you two need don't hesitate to give us a call. It's really good to see you have the GT on the road now I know it has been a long road with ups and downs along the way. I bet it felt great the first time you took her out under her own power.
 
Tim,
I know it has been a long time since we got together, but you and I need to do that so you can get that ride. Maybe your wife will even want one. Just name the day and I will be there. Hope you don't mind one that is still in the works so to speak.

Bill
 

Renato

Lifetime Supporter
Hi Bill,

It certainly switches your priority when someone close gets ill.
Good to hear your wife is doing well! All the best!

Nice to see your car close to completion.
But, it's never really finished is it? :)
It's the tinkering we all enjoy...

Regards,
Renato
 

Pete McCluskey.

Lifetime Supporter
Hi Bill, I haven't looked in here for awhile, glad your wife is doing well, the car looks fantastic. I just finished reading your story of the coil packs and the broken ring gear. I have coil packs and so far they have worked perfectly touchwood, but now every time I start up it is with trepidation .
Best wishes for you both.
 
Hi Bill,

I dont log on to GT40's.com very often now, so now tat i have I looked up your build log.
I have DRB #7, and have had it registered since 2008. I believe I sent you some drawings and details of the DRB chassis back in 2003, when you first purchased the car from Aust.

I must say your build log is an epic adventure. Its amazing how long a build time takes. Mine took me 12 years (with a 3 year break).

Anyway congratulations on getting the car going.
 
What is it with us DRB guys?? Seems to take forever to build them. You are the first one that has taken longer than me(10years) to get their car on the road. I didn't take a break, just kids that wouldn't let me stick with a budget. I think they call that priorities!!
You do know as Renato stated, you never really finish these cars. I can attest to that. The tinkering does go on forever it seems. I am trying to make sure this winter is the last lay up for mine. There are some updates with mine but not on the build log. More like redo or rebuild!! Go here for more news on DRB#5:
http://www.gt40s.com/forum/gt40-tech-exterior-interior-ac-trim/38802-experiment.html

I had one stupid mistake(not the first or the last) that really set me back, but I am learning new skills and slowly conquering those frontiers.
http://www.gt40s.com/forum/gt40-tech-exterior-interior-ac-trim/42492-rookie-mistake-concequences.html

Here is the progress so far after the incident. Still a ways to go. Just waiting for some more packages to arrive.
http://www.gt40s.com/forum/gt40-tech-exterior-interior-ac-trim/42528-paint-my-ride.html

Bill
 
Well guys, I am back into working on the 40 this winter. The car has performed great with minor issues that have been overcome. Lost am alternator belt demonstrating to a buddy the awesome power of the car. Noticed a drop in the voltage which told me right away that the belt was gone. Managed to get to my son's house in Woodstock as the electronics finally gave up the ghost. Had to trailer the car back to the house. An easy repair. Later on the water pump gave up as the seal expanded from a low level post overheat on the way to a show. Replaced the pump with a new pump that was a change in design that allowed the filling process to eliminate all air bubbles.
IMG_20180114_165655701_zps35tk9ekz.jpg


I am working on the cameras at present as they may be in the beginning stages of failure. The front end issues are fixed. I finally got around to taking it to a front end shop that does race cars and they couldn't align the front end. So a new set of adjustable A arms was fabricated for the car. They are very stout and should hold up to anything I throw at it. Here is the old setup which we found out was the early C-4 setups.
IMG_20180114_165518600_zpsanpsxlmi.jpg


And here is the new setup.
IMG_20180114_165242500_zpszc3wbuwd.jpg



The starter raised its ugly head again. I was getting that nasty grinding noise. Hoped it wasn't the ring gear which it wasn't. This time I checked it out and found a broken collar in the starter itself, which was replaced by the shop in California. The car was starting just as it should,,,,, for about 3 starts. Then the grinding started again. Upon inspection the runout on the starter was around 40 thousants which was allowing the nose gear to move away from the ring gear. Bad news is that the movement allowed for the wearing of the ring gear so much that the nose gear was hitting the edge of the teeth and now just spins freely with no engagement. The guys at the shop did only the repair, and didn't check to see what was causing the broken collar. To do this repair the engine and trans will have to be pulled. The distributor is touching the cross member and tilting the trans up over the rear frame member will destroy it. Really didn't want to disengage the motor mounts. They are a bear to line up.
Well I retired on December of 2016,and had my 72nd birthday in December of last year. Have been having a good time until now.
When I retired my wife has constantly been reminding me that we are now on a fixed income and there wasn't any room for repairs that might come along with the car. So I planned ahead and started working again,,,,, in the movie business. Doing background acting. It doesnot pay well at all, but it keeps me busy with something to do and gives me some money to do things with. Have had some good camera time in several movies. "Kevin probably saves the word", "Valor", "The Front Runner"(Gary Hart's run for the Presidency in the 80s), "The Residents" a series about young doctors during their residencies. This one will probably win Emmys or Golden globes. Very well done. Lots of the movies will be filler types for the networks and you won't recognize any of the stars(least I didn't). Got to work with a few names some that some might recognize, like Queen Latifa, and Hugh Jackman, Have dealt with my brother's passing during the last year and have spend some time repairing and rebuilding his two cars. The Audi A-4 has been sold as it was in terrible shape, and a 72 Olds Cutlass Convertible, being restored for driving only, and will be shipped to my nephew this spring in Sweden. Most of the repairs are to make it functional. Tires, steering wheel and miscellaneous other things like getting the top to go up and down. All is almost done, so just waiting on the weather.
Now to the other part. My age is catching up with me. Bad arthritis in my hands and all the manly things that go with old age. Time is beginning to run out for me, as no one in my family(last generation or this one ) has lasted past 75 yet. I am the most fit of all of them as I exercise regularly and still run 2-4 miles a week, so I am thinking seriously of doing something radical as a final effort with the 40. I am toying with disposing of the entire drive train and converting it to electric. Not to putter around in but to build the fastest 40 on the planet. I have thought it out and should be able to do it and with a little luck, break even on the deal. More to follow.
Here are a few teasers.

The Craziest Electric Vehicles | Translogic - YouTube

This Electric E36 Makes 850 lb/ft of Torque at the Wheels! - /TUNED - YouTube

Electric Factory Five 818 Project - Track Shakedown - EV West / 33 Machine - YouTube
 

Doug S.

The protoplasm may be 72, but the spirit is 32!
Lifetime Supporter
Nice to see you back around, Bill! I get ya on the whole issue of being in your 70's...I'll turn 70 by the end of the year. I keep telling my friends that the protoplasm may be approaching 70, but the spirit is still 32.

I look forward to what you'll be doing...electric is the way to go for brutal accelleration, I hear, but there's hardly room for an overnight bag in a 40, so I'll be interested in how you manage to get all the batteries in. This is going to be one great build!

Cheers to you!

Doug
 

Terry Oxandale

Skinny Man
What is it with you DRB guys?? Seems to take forever to post anything. I'm electrified by the prospect of watching an electric build.
 
Really great to see a post from you Bill. I often wondered how you were doing but then life got busy and I neglected to pick up the phone. Hope you and your wife are both enjoying retirement. Let me know if my 50 year old hands can be of assistance
 
Here ya go Bill..
Electric DRB that I purchased late last year.
All the electrics have been removed now as I’m going the other way with it.
Cheers
 

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Got to doing some cleaning in old files and such. Stumbled across an old pic of my 40 from February 2016, at Coffee and Octane. This is one of the biggest shows probably in the country. They hold it on the 2nd Sunday of each month weather permitting. It is held at Perimeter Mall on I-285. This is probably the 2nd or 3rd largest shopping mall in the state. Usually runs from 8-11 AM, but if you aren't there by 6:30 you won't get a spot. Every parking space is taken up by either Exotics, Classics, Sponsored cars and at least 50 car clubs. Attendance is in the order of 5-10,000 people. The place is wall to wall people.
At any rate, as I was entering and going to park, one of the film crew spotted the car on its entrance and got probably one of the best shots ever taken of my car. So here it is:

GT40C_zpszfjmq0s6.jpg


This year I made it to both Caffeine and Octane and Caffeine and Exotics(this one you have to submit an application to exhibit). I spotted the listing in "Southeast Wheels" two years ago and decided on a whim to aply. Figured I would be able to show the rejection letter as a good number of that crowd are pretty snobby. Really surprised I got an invite. Met up with Bruce, one of the owners of the event and he turned out to be a really nice guy. While there this year, the film crew approached me to do a feature article for NBC Sports and will be filming in the next few weeks.

Bill
 

Randy V

Moderator-Admin
Staff member
Admin
Lifetime Supporter
Drooling all over my iPad here Bill....
Love the Linden Green!
 
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