GT40s Happy New Year

Ron Earp · 01-04-06, 11:31 AM

Dear Members,

Happy New Year and thanks for all the support throughout 2005! I must say, www.gt40s.com has grown larger than I thought it would, no doubt about that. And, thanks to all the fabulous members here on the forum we’re becoming well known for being the best source for GT40 information on the web and are mentioned specifically in numerous places (ClubCobra, FerrariChat, etc.) as being very helpful. We’ve got a unique blend members, owners, and manufacturers here that provide us with a knowledge base that is unparalleled on the web. I’m quite proud to be a part of it all and I’m looking forward to an expanding user base for 2006.

The forum has been fine with respect to cash flow for 2005. With advertising and donations we drew in about $3300 for 2005. Of that we spent approximately $2100 on server fees, software, some hardware, and software support, leaving us with a surplus of about $1200. This is a good thing because my plans are to re-vamp the forum during the first quarter of 2006 with a new forum software package running around $400 when it is all said and done (software, installation, features, setup). Some of the remaining we’ll use to purchase a USB hard drive so that we can back the server up and maintain a local copy, and the rest we’ll save for a rainy day. I think the new software will offer some nice features to you folks like a photo gallery, whilst allowing me to fix a lot of things that halfway work such as registration, validation, and password emailing removing a huge burden of frustration from my shoulders.

I’ve given some thought to opening a GT40s.com Estore so that some particular items of interest might easily be sold to interested parties. I’m still in the “thinking” stage about this, but I’m trying to figure out a way to generate some compensation for time with respect to the forum and this might be a good way to do it. One item in the works already are some extremely high quality 3D GT40 crystals of the like seen here a few years ago, although these are of higher detail. These will be available through the forum and also for folks that contribute donations at a high level for no charge. If anyone has thoughts or ideas for items to have in an Estore let me know. Could be we could offer some of the items that people want such as VIN plates, shirts, patches, valve covers, and whatnot in one central location thus making it easy for the seller and buyer.

So, I am looking forward to a year of growth at www.gt40s.com. We’ve a lot of new things happening in the GT40 industry and I’m eager to see some actual customer cars completed from Superformance, RCR, and of course Roaring Forties – hopefully one of the latter being mine in early 2006!! I’ll be interesting to see how the industry matures and directions in which manufacturers take for the future. And, I’m also hoping that 2006 will see many of the project cars that have been under construction hit the road in anger – good luck guys and keep on working!

Best,
Ron

PS-If you wish to have a new Avatar the start of the new year is a good time to put it in place!!!!

Chris_K · 01-04-06, 04:02 PM

I'm surprised I'm the first to say this but thanks for your time and effort Ron. I stumbled across this place almost accidentally, and now what I never thought would happen might some day soon become a reality. It is a great place for exchange of ideas, opinions, thoughts, humor, stories... anything, and the quality of the people is astounding.

Thanks for all your hard work and patience. I appreciate it.

All the best,
Chris

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif[/img]

Dan Weilacher · 01-04-06, 04:05 PM

Ditto's Ron, thanks for all your hard work and dedication.

Doc Watson · 01-04-06, 04:30 PM

Many thanks to you Ron, without the help of this forum I wouldnt be anywhere near where I am right now in my build.

Happy new year

JimmyMac · 01-04-06, 04:42 PM

Cheers Ron,
Without you I would have got more sleep over the past two years !!!!
But, there really is no point in dreaming about GT40s is there ?

Thank you for keeping me interested and more importantly, introducing an otherwise solitary to some fine people through your forum.

Slainte' and Good Health,

Bill Musarra · 01-04-06, 04:47 PM

I think this is more than a pat on the back for Ron. It is a testament to the active participants of this forum as well. So, CONGRATS and a wish for greater things to come, to not only Ron and the moderators, but to the members as well, who have helped shape this forum [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif[/img]

Bill

David Bullock · 01-04-06, 05:17 PM

Ron

Many thanks for the hard work you put into this forum. I just wish that I found this site before I built my car. It would have been much better based on all the good ideas and tips etc freely given by everyone, then again I could start to refit things!
Regards

David

DMatt · 01-04-06, 05:20 PM

Ron,

Thanks for all the time and effort you put into this forum. It is greatly appreciated!

Pete. · 01-04-06, 05:26 PM

Congratulations Ron, because of this forum I have been able
to meet a lot of terrific people across the country (OZ).
The most memorable being the day a bunch of us spent a rainy afternoon in Pete's Bar at the AGP.The forum was also a source of ideas that I incorporated into the build of my car which was completed late last year.
Once again thanks and congratulations and have a fantastic 2006. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif[/img]

Pantera1889 · 01-04-06, 06:53 PM

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif[/img]

Howard Jones · 01-04-06, 06:58 PM

First I would like to say that without this forum My car would be at a much lower state of spec. A lot of the ideas I have incorporated into my build i got right here.

But as I said befor the new friends I have made are the real value of both my GT40 And this forum.

Thank you

How do you like my new alvatar?

Iron Sheik · 01-04-06, 08:21 PM

Happy new year back at ya, MODERATOR MAN. Thanks for having/Moderating such a great Forum. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif[/img]

Unlike Howard above, I did not utlized the advice given by members on this Forum. Hence, the 238 RWHP on my former engine [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

David Briggs · 01-04-06, 09:46 PM

Ron this is a great website, I check in every day!
Thanks for making it available.

Hershal Byrd · 01-05-06, 01:01 AM

Ron,
You made my New Years plus the last five. I have always wanted to start a GT40 forum but lacking in computer skills kept me from making that happen. That is until I met you. Even though you already had enough on your plate to deal with you still took the time and started a real forum for all us GT 40 nuts. I still remember you and me driving in that rental car talking about everything GT. I remember asking you if you knew anything about computers and if you thought you could start a forum. You said that you would look into it and the next thing I know there was a beta site up and going within a month or so if I remember correctly. All of four members and even that many made it fun. The word spread and Ron soon took us on line via host server.
So Ron, my hats off to you and once again thanks for making something happen for an old GT fanatic.

Happy New Year!

Hersh [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Fred/Belgium · 01-05-06, 06:03 AM

Ron,

I cannot more comment on what has been said about your baby.
Note that for a GT40 owner back in Belgium, this is an amazing source in order to stay in touch on a daily basis with the GT40 world(except some great guys in the UK).
Keep on going.
Best wishes to all for 2006 [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banana.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banana.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banana.gif[/img]

Fred from Belgium[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif[/img]beer....

Peter Olliviere · 01-05-06, 06:25 AM

OK, my turn at this love fest.

Yes Ron without a doubt you are the creater of one of the greatest sites on the web. I lurked for sometime before joining when I purchased my RF. As I move along with my build the information and people here have been an intergal part of the task and without the advice and information freely given I could have never gotten as far as I have.So with that said, I say Thanks to you Ron and thanks to all of those on this site that share the dream and are willing to help others achive it.

Now only if the dam hurricanes would stop leaving me damage to repair around the house I could get back to work on my car.

Peter

lisalotus · 01-05-06, 07:39 AM

I agree with every thing every body else has said, Ive learnt heaps since coming on this site, every bodys friendly, already making new friends, so may we all have happy, safe, mechanical trouble free journeys in 2006, ( oops, I forget there for a moment that I drive a lotus, chance of me having trouble free journeys are highly remote

)

Ron Earp · 01-05-06, 07:55 AM

Thanks for all the good wishes ladies and gentlemen! When the site started way back when on a free server for testing I never figured it’d get as large as it has. I knew we’d have a decent amount of interest just from the fact that threads on the Cobra Forums about GT40s were well attended. Hershal and I talked about that and how it was a shame that the threads were short lived on ClubCobra and other places, naturally so since those forums were about Cobras.

But, shortly after those talks we had our own forum up and running!! And, once the testing was a success and I found the time in between my wife and I having our daughter (a lot of this forum was setup whilst I was hanging around the hospital!) this forum was functional in September of 2001. For many of you that were not around on the original forum here is a link to it:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/127426/

It still works, but I closed in once this board was online. Ignore the links at the top, that forum was part of my original build site I started in 2000 that also started some of this forum talk. There is no path for migration therefore it is “dead”. Still might be some information on there for some of you though, I can’t remember. The big problem with it, and others like it such as Pistonheads (Lotus folks will be familiar as I am) is that there are no categories so threads are just in chronological order. This isn’t so good, since it isn’t easy to find things each week, as on the Lotus forum, you have to have the “Can I use good old gasket sealer or do I have to use Hylomar” debate. The answer is good old gasket sealer works fine, I’ve done it, assembled two Lotus engines, and neither flew apart, despite what the Lotus nerd will tell you. On these debates you need a good graphic like this one (press reload now so you can see animation):

Anyhow, I digress! We've got a functional forum with nice categories and that is what counts. Thanks to all the forum members for making the forum what it is let’s keep on making it a special place on the web for 2006! There aren’t many places with high content, low noise, and lots of helpful people – we’re one of them and I’d like to keep it going!!

Best,
Ron

PS-Howard, I thought you weren't going to show those pictures of my wife? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]

Howard Jones · 01-05-06, 01:09 PM

Thats YOUR wife! She didn't tell me she was your wife! Nice wife! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smoke.gif[/img]

Ian K · 01-05-06, 02:16 PM

Hey Ron,

Happy New Year's and as usual, thanks for getting the show
on the road. I am thrilled to say I was on board way back
when it all started 4.5 years ago in GT40s.com ver.1, and
to see who it's grown since then ... :O

Here's to a happy and fun-loving 2006, and a strong future for
us GT40s fanatics.

BTW, Orcus called again ... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Ian