What's This?

[Joe]

Hi there.. I'll start by introducing myself as i am probably not your average forum member, only being 17 years old. My obsession for GT40s really took off when i opened my bedroom curtains one morning to see one parked at the top of my neighbours garden... which brings me to the reason for my post. What is it? after revving it and being taken for a ride, i took these pictures. All i've come up with so far is a KVA with Rover V8. Am I right? Or even close?




Time to turn your screen over...


And back again...


Any help appreciated.

Joe

[I LOVE GT40- Paolo]

Ciao Joe, welcome abroad.
U are in the right place to ask and learn everything about gt40s.
U also are lucky cause living in UK, and so surely u will found asap (when u get a driving license maybe)a nice gt to start live the dream.
From pictures u posted I think that car is a kva (for sale on ebay uk sometimes ago).U can recognize it from the strange suspension on the rear axle,from some parts of the chassis and from the generic quality of build (seems a car build some years ago..when less replicas were available)
I am anyway not 100% sure of it..surely many other guys here in the forum can give u a better answer.
Kva were some of the first replicas available on the market, many many years ago,today u can buy too better and excellent cars and find a lot of hlpful people ready to give u an hand during the building process.
Just ejoy some weeks gaming with search button asking everything u want..and u will found an answer.
I wellknow what blast is to see a gt40,and if u had the same strike to your heart...u can only go on loving it and maybe join one of the wonderful clubs u have in Uk (I did it..from italy..joining the enthusiast club uk...too nice)

ciao 4 now
Paolo

[Joe]

Thanks paulo. I have my driving licence but my "ride" isn't really much to shout about (fiat cinquecento...) I saw the bloke who owned this gt40 loading it onto a trailer the other day so i guess he must have sold it. the towing van was German registered, so i guess its gone to germany now. I suspected that it was quite old and the donor parts on the rear sus were possibly sierra parts (did KVAs use sierra parts?). I've already got some ideas for my own GT40 but not being blessed with parental wealth, thats just a dream at the moment . How does a Tornado with gulf arches and rear grilles, gulf paint scheme, 351W stroker 427 sound? I looked at that engine spec on fordcobraengines.com... god bless the exchange rate - 7000 pounds sterling - bargain.

Joe

[I LOVE GT40- Paolo]

yes, surely sold in Germany then,probably that was also a good deal, at least for beginners (and if u are here..u are already not a beginner.
All the cars produced today have a general quality that is really impressive,even more if u have the possibility to ask company (as tornado or Cav uk) to finish the car for you.
Consider anyway the building is th most important part of the process.Some people was able to have stunning cars also from old kva kits,cause a too high personal skill.
Again, today all this is much more easy.

Better...honestly for u NOT to hear at this point of your illness what is the sound of a serious gt40 , really ..try look at this video i've posted before, this is an american Superformance (one of the last ones on the market..impressive.):
YouTube - Superformance GT40

the gt40 sound is simply furious.

P.s: even for sound pleasure..have a look at this short clip, is one of the nicest ever seen (pump up the volume..):
YouTube - Gt40 losses control=

[Joe]

Phew that video where he spins it... even the tickover must be deafening..! thats its exactly the sound that I long for. (whether it would be legal or not is a different matter - do you think that it was over 90db (the limit in the UK i think)?) Is the one that spins out real or a rep? what makes me think that the KVA i went in had a rover v8 was the sound. It seemed more smooth and "burbly" than the fords and chevys i've heard.

Joe

[I LOVE GT40- Paolo]

I dunno if the spinning one is original or not (some says its a french car..),anyway the engine sound is that, also in replica (they usually use small block ford 289,302,351 ..).
If u have heard the Rover engine,surely that will be a little different(less aggressive than this one,but a lot depends from the exhaust).
Consider anyway many owners have more than one exhaust,u can change the "snakes" for road use..or for track-race use..look at engine bay pictures, that seems not such hard work as in ordinary cars.

From what I know the rover engine was used on the first replicas cause bigger american (more powerful) units gave bigger problem to the chassis (the difference is in the order of 150-200 hp, for americans,and a really stronger torque).
Even from (the few honestly ) I know, seems Rover engine is also more complex and expensive than Ford units.
Probably when all started many used it cause was the best unit available for kitcars,and in the 80s that was a real masterpiece in performaces,surely really cheap for this pourpose in Uk.
With Fords u are also more "original".
The rover 3.5 liters v8 is anyway a good engine,perfect if u like a more cheaper car,perfect as a start (I remeber club member kva rover v8 for sale at 16.000 gbp..that is a TOO GREAT bargain to drive a wonderful car..) and anyway keep in mind it has never less than 200hp,over a car of 1000 kilos, that is a LOT if compared to any production car.
Today there is the possibility to have better chassis able to take even more and more powerful units (many ones have up to 450 hp),also if sometimes this amount of power becomes surely hard to control (geetees do not have antiskid or traction controls..so its all under your feet..)

hope this help

ciao

[Joe]

thanks paulo thats a great help. i'm definitely going for a ford. but as i said, that wont be for years.

[Ian Anderson]

Joe

Welcome

A couple of things
SVA test of exhaust noise is 101 DB at 3/4 of max power revs.

I would say that the car ou had a run in was a KVA Early type where donor Cortina front suspension and similar donor rear suspension was used. Not a good copy of the original set up but a good way of getting into a GT40.

Rover engines were British and so was Ken Vincent Atwell who made the KVA (His initials) and so it probably looked like the correct thing to do at the time. (His first car was powered by an XR3 Escort engine so a V8 of any sort was a big step forward)

The exhaust system on the car in your photos looks like one exhaust from each bank of cylinders so it is a V8 burble but not a GT40 note which is the same as 2 four cylinder cars reving in unision.

I have a later model Rover Engine in my car - reasonably tuned (About 280hp) and it has a cross over exhaust so sounds corect and is at the max legal noise limit.

These have come a long way from the early Rover 3.5 engines where they were cammed for about 4500 revs max and very mild at that. (140 hp rings a bell)

Where in the UK are you based - as there are numerous "meetings" on the 2 clubs and you'll get up close to some very nice cars!

Ian

[Joe]

I'm in rainy (though probably not as bad as you've got it) Devon. I keep meaning to make a trip to MDA nr Exeter to 'browse'... Although I'm not sure what they'd make of a kid turning up in a Cinquecento wanting to know 'how much horsepowers it got mate?'... If your at the max limit for noise i guess your running straight throughs then? You metioned that the earlier Rover engines were tamer, I agree - my only knowledge on this being from old episodes of Police Camera Action, when they used the old SD1s and thinking "well for a v8 thats barely moving!". something i was wondering - would a chevy or rover V8 sound the same as a ford if fitted with the same crossover system? (obviously not exactly the same because the system wouldn't be the same length) or do they have different firring patterns?

Joe

[I LOVE GT40- Paolo]

second engine should be from a Cav-gt

[Joe]

And btw, yes he did get into the same garage as the clio - with a lot of pushing and within milimeters of a clamp on a bench at the back. I was even more worried when he simply slammed the garage door without even checking the nose was in enough! How he got back into it once inside i'll never know...

[Ian Anderson]

Joe

The cross over exhaust takes cylinders 2 and 3 from each side and crosses over to the pipe at the other. By doing this the firing order pulses once down the left pipe and once down the right

I may be told differently but the other makes of engines should sould the same as the Ford in this configuration. Yes header lingths and tuning come into the equation but you know what I mean.

http://www.gt40enthusiastsclub.com/ will take ou to a club site and yes there is a meeting in the South West.

I would presume MDA would make you welcome - anyone interested enough to find them is at least doing their homework!

Hell when I arrived in the UK I drove a Fiat Panda and later a Punto - don't knock your wheels - learn to drive safely and keep your dream of ownership - it may come true!

Ian

[Joe]

Thanks Ian, i'll make damn sure that my dream comes true - esspecially once i get my Motorsport Engineering degree under my belt and start making some real money! I definately have learnt to drive safely after writing off my mums Rover 214. That thing was built like a tank, whereas i dont think id be so lucky in the little fiat... which is why i think they should make mothers doing the school run in their 4x4s drive around in original minis for a week, and then see how they treat other road users. I know im straying from the subject of gt40s but it gets on my tits. people will probably argue with me all i say is this - If you live on a farm fair enough, but you don't need a Toyota Battlecruiser to do the shopping!!! i'm sorry. i feel better now...

Joe

P.S also, the reason i wrote off the rover was that a 4x4 pulled out in front of me... maybe that has something to do with my dislike...

[Keith Hardy]

Originally Posted by joebrown

but you don't need a Toyota Battlecruiser to do the shopping!!!
Joe

You do in Brockenhurst mate......it's a lot safer.

[Dutton]

Joe,

Hold on to the dream - while you're 17, many of us have had the bug since we were younger than you!

The BEST thing you can do right now is finish your education, find yourself a career that really pays the bills and leaves you enough to start investing for the day you can see that GT40 in your garage. For most of us, that required decades but I know of several members of the forum who've made the move at a significantly younger age. The bottom line is you CAN do this (hell, if I did it I see no reason why you can't!), it just takes some planning. So do what it takes.

In the meantime, you've found THE right place for a bit of research and creating some new friendships - there are some remarkably great guys in the UK who'd like nothing better than to give you a hand if you're serious. Sieze the opportunity, Joe, and you'll have a big head start on what some of us old guys had to work with only a few years ago!

Dreams do come true,

T.

[Dave Bilyk]

Hi Joe,
you clearly have a genuine interest, so you will be welcome here.
On the subject of crashing rovers, a long time ago, a friend of mine, 18 at the time, put his mothers rover 2000TC into a ditch - and no, he didnt require the assistance of a 4x4 to do it, he did it all by himself. He did drive like a maniac, and does agree with that assessment! Anyway, he was not popular with mum for a while since every panel on the drivers side had to be replaced.
So good luck with your engineering degree and your GT40 dream.

Dave

[Howard Jones]

I was in the right place at the right time when I was about 14-15 years old, 1967-1968, and I got a short slow ride in a right hand drive GT40. It took me a little longer than 30 years but I never let owning one slip away.

If I was you I would join one of the UK based clubs and join in the fun, save up your money and who knows it might be a lot less than 30 years for you.

[Joe]

Thanks for all the positive comments, I'm gonna make sure that one day i can mock you all with my awesome 40! It's just gonna take some hard work and some years and then i'll be rolling to the sound of 7 litres of pure American power . (which will make a nice change from my 899cc of Italian "exotica")

Joe