Do your research.

[norman falkiner]

Anyone looking to buy a kit/turnkey should have a good look at this site and the various websites of the manufacturers and then work out the ones of interest and go have a look at the factories. The cost of an airline ticket is small in the overall cost of a GT40.It is cheap insurance because all replicas are not equal. Australia,New Zealand and South Africa are all great tourist destinations so have a holiday at the same time. Regards

[JP]

I couldn't agree more.

This is the most important part of anyone's build. Once you've spent your money, you won't get it back.

Here is what I have found, not including my choice of MDA. My budget was almost limitless, but I won't throw away money! I wanted a good deal!

1) Engine (Ford SVO block) - a 331ci with Fuel Injection, Motec M48 is awesome. Vctr Jnr Heads. Will provide heaps of power and remain driveable, mainly because of the FI.

2) Suspension. Spend money here if you want it to handle. Ohlins Shocks - possibly the best. Eibach or Hypercoils for springs. Uprights - aluminium.

3) Brakes. AP,Brembo, etc. You can't go wrong here, as long as they are at least 4 pots. I've used 6 pot AP Racing.

4) Seats - Frank Catt.

5) Gearbox- will it take at least 450HP - proven? I used the Renault unit with Quaiffe parts and a Quaiff LSD. This is a lightweight option compared to a ZF. Gear change - solid rod change, cables might work but a solid change is far superior.

6) Instrumentation - Smiths Original are available in the U.K, anything else does not look right.

7) Wheels. If you want the best follow the advice of the late Carol Smith and go buy some Jongbloeds. They are awesome. Also look at Phil from PS Engineering.

8) Tyres/Wheel size. 16 inch seems the best compromise between originallity and availability of suitable tyres.

9) Exhaust - pay good money and get a system that won't rob you of any power. Consider removable silencers for different apps.

10) Cooling/Oil/water/other - don't think that these items won't make a difference they will. Take a look at NeoSynthetic/76 Racing/

Consider carefully the fuel you have available in your country. In the U.K we have a very good high street pump fuel with an octane of 98. Worth more power.

It goes on and on. I wish I had started my project at least 12 months before I did, there will nearly always be some hurdles along the way.

Good luck to all considering a 40. Do the research, build the car and live your dreams.! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Regards,

J.P

[Mike Dozier]

Not to burst anyone's bubble...
But a trip to Australia or South Africa is NOT cheap insurance. It is rather expensive insurance.
Including airfare, accomodations, time off work, etc,
it is more than most of us can afford, since the budget
for a "toy" is usually locked. That $ 3,000 would be much
better off spent upgrading components.

That's why IMHO more GT40s have not been sold in the US,
and sales will only pick up substantially after more
running cars are within realistic travel distance,
so they can be inspected in person. Again IMHO,
the factory is secondary in most cases to the execution
of the final product (except of course for those buying
a turnkey).

MikeD

[norman falkiner]

Yes Mike. It will be good for intending puchasers when there are plenty to view at home. Incorporate your research into a holiday as my post suggests and the cost greatly reduces. I would however consider spending $3000 upgrading something I should not have bought in the first place as throwing good money after bad. Getting it right the first time is the cheapest route. Regards

[Mike Dozier]

The upgrading I was referring to of course includes
upgrading from a $ 1500 engine to a $ 3000 engine.
Or from an 016 trans to a G50. Or adding an LSD or adding A/C or....you get the picture.

I have a fixed budget I have to stay under, and determining
how much gets allocated for each system is a compromise.
Again...I'd much rather spend the money on the car than
a 24 hr plane ride. But that's just me.

MikeD

[Bill Musarra]

I think some of you are missing the point. You are going to invest apox. 60K into any of the different brands, whether you buy used or new or uncompleted as I did. What is 3K compared to 20 or 40 into a brand you find out you don't like?
If you are married, take the wife and make it a vacation. It will make her happy and you more knowledgeable. In another thread I mentioned an article I wrote about buying a kit and the steps you could(should) take before buying. I bought an uncompleted kit, and believe me, even with research you are going to spend several thousand more than you planed, even with good research. I know. It just makes good sence(?) to find out what you like and don't. You may find out(through research) that you are not ready to do a complete build. Especially after visiting someone in the middle of a build with parts galore everywhere and the amount of time and effort it will take. As I said before, better to have spent $3000 on a vacation than $40K on alot of paperweights.
Bill

[Mike Dozier]

Bill

Don't get me wrong...for those that can afford a trip
to Australia or South Africa, I say go for it!
I just didn't have it in the budget.
So I drove to Carlisle, ERA, Bill Bayard's, etc
to see the cars I was interested in.

For SURE you want to examine close up before a decision.
We're in agreement on that. My point was more about the
lack of cars within "reasonable" distance. And as more
cars appear across the country, IMHO, more people on the
fence will take the plunge. Just takes time...time...time...

MikeD

[Bill Musarra]

I think we are basicly in agreement. There are more guys becoming subagents for the various companys, and that is making it easier to see the cars. If you read my article on buying a used or incomplete car and use the info for the new ones, you probably won't go wrong. What you need to do is look over the forum and find some of the owners near you and make some side trips to their areas. There are more and more cars out there now, and the numbers are growing. I went to a meeting in south Texas and on the return flight I went to Phoneix to take a look at the RFs. To my amazement I wasn't told of Hershals car. So all I got to see was a car that was being "fixedup"(no windshield, and a few other pieces which had been removed) for its new owner. Didn't get to ride in it either. So as a result, since I had already seen Tornado and ERA's facilitys(on another meetig trip), a sale was lost. and a couple of months later I stumbled over an incomplete DRB car that filled my bill.
I tried to circumvent my own advice of not visiting. I settled for a video only. When the car arrived, the suspension was barely held on with the bolts,the wheels had one or two lugnuts each, The engine(supposedly just rebuilt) had the intake manifold just sitting on it, and he had left it out in the rain. The suspension bushings and ball joints were totaly unusable. He also didn't ship it with the engine and trans out of the car(which he had agreed on). Fortunately for me I got to fill out the papers for customs and I had him put some race decals on the car, so I had it registered as a "racecar". Otherwise the car would have had to be exported out of the US, had the engine and trans removed, and reimported, or it could have been impounded by customs and declared a complete car which then would have to meet DOT requirents for the year it was manufactured(no chance there). I also was smart enough to have the money deposited in an escrow account with only a small part sent as a down payment. The escrow account allowed me 5 to 10 days to inspect the car before I had to deside whether or not to accept the car.
Well it would have cost another $4k to ship it back, which I wouldn't have done anyway. ($8k spent for nothing, Idon't think so) So he and I renegotiated the price and I got about $2k knocked off the price.($1500 to rebuild the engine and $500 for the excessive storage fees for shipping loose parts in the car without any listing, or value attached). So It pays to check these things closely and know as much about what you are purchasing. Thus my article which hopefully will save somone the time, trouble, and money.
Bill