Picking my GT40

[BuzzClarke]

In the 60s I fell in love with the GT40 shape because of a car built in a local garage in the Philadelphia suburbs. One of the top guys in the garage built it for himself. It was outrageous, and we found every excuse to go over to this little performance shop to hang around the car. It was a V8 powered Valkyrie. The shop was run by a guy named Roger Pensky.

From then on I always wanted a GT40.

In 1990 I went to a shop north of Philadelphia in a little town called Kintnersville. I still have the pictures of my half dozen visits to decide if I was going to pay $110,000 to $120,000 for a GTD built by a guy named Val Byrd(?sp). I was in love again, but it was probably $40,000 beyond where I was comfortable.

In April of 02 I read about the Ford GT. I call Ford. I call dealers. I couldn't get anybody to take a deposit and guarantee me a car at whatever list price is when the car is delivered. I don't have the 150K, but I have a year or two to earn the shortfall. They all say the same thing...there are going to be 4,500 cars...there are 5,000 dealers...your not a polition...your not an entertainer...your not a member of Roush racing or NASCAR. You'll never see a car. I give up after 18 months.

In October of this past year a friend says there is one of those GT40 cars for sale in White Plains NY. We get in the car the next day. Nick Suprano has some beautiful cars. He asks if I want to drive. I say no. He knows the car better so I'll learn more from him driving. He asks what kind of passanger I am. I say fearless. He drives perfectly...smooth and effortless with a great deal of speed considering the limitations of traffic. He tries to hand the car over, but I decline. He asks what else I'd like to do. I tell him I am interested in build quality...shakes, rattles, body flex, body roll....he smiles. The rest of the ride was memorable. We were riding up a mountain on a four lane that was probably curving back and forth along a river. He turned inland, and back down the mountain. This was a nasty, heavly crowned road that he tried not to straddle. The right wheel stayed in the gutter and took a beating. He was polished and agressive. He did just what I asked, beating that suspension.

I only met the man that one day. The pictures in his office with Enzo told me I had been in good hands. If the car was my color choice I would have owned it. He said it was manufactured by a company called CAV in South Africa. I had found my build quility. Now I had to order a CAV.

My buddy got on his computer, found Bob Lacey and you all know the rest. Now I'm hoping that build quality will carry me through the Cannonball.

It wasn't until after I ordered a car that Vic told me about this forum, and I started reading pages and pages of previous posts to get better informed. One thing I know is that if I had run into Hersh and his RF instead of Nick Suprano, I'd be in a RF today. Between the two as turn key cars...I have no idea. In a perfect world I'd be down the street from Roberts RF facitity, and he'd start building me one. It could be like shades of the 60s hanging around a little neighborhood garage owned by a guy named Roger.