Targeted Best GT40 Kit, Your Opinions Please

[Scott]

I have been 'lurking' on this forum for almost a year now, and am now almost ready to purchase my GT40. As such, although I've learned a fair bit reading here and on the 'net I was hoping some of you would spare a few minutes to weigh in on opinions on the best replica in my situation.

Here is my situation:
- I am looking for a MKI.
- I will never competitively race it. I may someday go to a 'track day' event, but this is not why I am buying the car.
- I am only 5'8" tall
- I must have A/C, as I spend my time in Phoenix, AZ and Death Valley, NV
- I am not concerned about being 'perfectly' historically accurate
- I will drive the car, it will not be a "show" car
- I live in a CARB state, but would still like to make 500bhp (Roush engine?)
- I have not decided on transmission yet
- I have a budget, but can afford some flex in it for the right car. Authentic (real) GT40's are out of my range, and the very small production kits are too.
- I have auto-body experience from many years ago when I put myself through school working in a shop. So "some assembly required" is fine.
- I am patient, and am willing to wait.
- Glass breaks in phoenix because we have 'desert' landscaping (rocks) everywhere. Thus, availability of replacement glass for the front window is a must.

I know "best kit" threads have happened alot over the last year, and are not always beneficial. However, I was hoping this thread could have some value to me and others in similar situations. If anyone has any hidden costs or experiences with various kits/rollers I would also love to hear about those.

Thanks in advance for your opinions, I've been saving for years for this moment, and it is a big decision.

_Scott

[Cliff Beer]

Originally Posted by scm6079

I have been 'lurking' on this forum for almost a year now, and am now almost ready to purchase my GT40. As such, although I've learned a fair bit reading here and on the 'net I was hoping some of you would spare a few minutes to weigh in on opinions on the best replica in my situation.

Here is my situation:
- I am looking for a MKI.
- I will never competitively race it. I may someday go to a 'track day' event, but this is not why I am buying the car.
- I am only 5'8" tall
- I must have A/C, as I spend my time in Phoenix, AZ and Death Valley, NV
- I am not concerned about being 'perfectly' historically accurate
- I will drive the car, it will not be a "show" car
- I live in a CARB state, but would still like to make 500bhp (Roush engine?)
- I have not decided on transmission yet
- I have a budget, but can afford some flex in it for the right car. Authentic (real) GT40's are out of my range, and the very small production kits are too.
- I have auto-body experience from many years ago when I put myself through school working in a shop. So "some assembly required" is fine.
- I am patient, and am willing to wait.
- Glass breaks in phoenix because we have 'desert' landscaping (rocks) everywhere. Thus, availability of replacement glass for the front window is a must.

I know "best kit" threads have happened alot over the last year, and are not always beneficial. However, I was hoping this thread could have some value to me and others in similar situations. If anyone has any hidden costs or experiences with various kits/rollers I would also love to hear about those.

Thanks in advance for your opinions, I've been saving for years for this moment, and it is a big decision.

_Scott

Hi Scott,

You're in good shape for moving ahead it sound like. Your modest height will certainly make fitment problems a non-issue which is great.

Not racing the car will keep things simple and less costly. My impression is that all the manufacturers supply car with plenty of good engineering to easily and reliably handle road time provided the build is done carefully. Track days will certainly put a strain on some makes - my only hands on experience is with CAV and there are a number of upgrades for older CAV (better uprights, yokes, etc.) which are essential for track time although most of these are included in new CAVs. Superformance seems to have a good record for right-out-of-the-box track time and the Superformance GT40s that I've seen in person looked to have a nice high level of spec (beefy uprights, larger yokes, strong chassis, etc.). I don't have any hands on experience with other makes so I can't comment.

The A/C is good in my CAV, not sure how others perform. It won't take your black painted GT40 sitting in the AZ sun down to freezing but it'll take the inside temp from 130 down to a reasonable 75-80 in a 105 degree AZ day.

Regarding transmission, if you keep it below 350hp (and don't do drop clutch burn outs) you can get away with an Audi Getrag and save a good six or seven thousand dollars. Believe me, you don't need 500hp in a GT40, particularly if you buy/build one which is sub- 2,300lbs (as many are). Think volkswagen bug with major American V-8 power. There won't be anyone passing you, I promise. Besides, a lot more hp can cause some realy headaches.

Regarding glass, as I recall there is a UK supplier with reasonable rates for GTDs but shipping will eat you up. CAV can get you a new windshield domestically but they're expensive, same with Superformance. Not sure about others. You might find that the healthy rake of the GT40 windscreen makes is a little less prone to breakage - I've found that to be the case at least.

Hope that helps and enjoy, you'll love your GT40.

[Gary Kadrmas]

Scott,

If you have not already done so, I would recommend visiting a few upscale dealers for GT40s so you have a first hand experience seeing one in person, setting in it (and maybe a test drive), and being able to discuss variables for options and standard equipment with the sales person. This in itself will be well worth your time to help answer your questions you have listed above.

I agree with Cliff. Keep the horsepower within reason, and you will end up with more driving time, and less repairs that will drain your pocketbook. The horsepower to weight ratio of a GT40 will deliver fantastic performance with 300-350 HP, and anyone with limited driving skills will find the learning experience to be very expensive when it comes to repairing collision damage. Remeber.....these cars are FAST setting still!!!

Cheers,

[Bill D]

It will also help to know your budget

[Steve26]

I will just jump in here and say hands down when looking at value, customer support,completeness of the kit and replacement RCR is the way to go.

Steve

[fostereast]

The Carlisle kit car event in PA is in May. That would be a excellent time to look all the cars over and make a choice. I suspect you could have members of this forum that are going meet you at various manufacturers booths point out aspects of each car and things to consider that you may not have thought of or seen in person yet.

[EGLITOM]

Rcr

Tom

[Andy Sheldon]

These type of threads always make me laugh.

When will someone ever be man enough to stand up and say I did not buy the best kit.

Just an observation.

Andy

[Ron Earp]

Originally Posted by Andy Sheldon

When will someone ever be man enough to stand up and say I did not buy the best kit.

Now that is a piece of wisdom right there.

Note to self - must put "What is the best GT40 kit?" in the FAQ.

Ron

[SpyderMike]

I can say it! I did not buy the best kit!

I bought the best completed car for my needs though-

Hell, I would be happy with any of them!

Mike
SPF MKII P2120

[Chris Martino]

My MDA is the best!

Is that the answer you were looking for?


Chris

[Scott]

Originally Posted by Bill D

It will also help to know your budget

I really need to keep it under $100k complete. This seems to be the threshold I have observed for a quality kit -- if there are high quality kits that could be completed for less, I'd love to hear about experiences with them.

I spent some time at Barret Jackson this year to look at the Shelby booth and see the Superformance up for auction. I was *very* impressed at the Superformance build quality, and everything in the Shelby booth. My friend and business partner picked up both of the red Jaguar E-Types at the auction, and a Shelby continuation Cobra in the no-premium tent -- which I admit may have pushed me over the edge in waiting any longer to start my GT40.

As for the horsepower, my daily driver is a mildly modified BMW M3 -- and I really wanted to make sure my GT40 was noticeably "faster feeling" than that. I arrived at the 500bhp number based off my back of the envelope guesses for arriving at a "butt dyno" rating of "wow, this is fast". Not very scientific, I know. I spend a bit too much of my income on cars -- and have been blessed with the ability to have owned a Corvette, Audi S4 (B6 v8) and a couple Porsche's in my lifetime - and was afraid of not putting enough power in this build to match up. The only car I have ever driven which truely "stunned" me was a small British component car manufacturer "Ultima Sports". I met them when they came to the Barrett Jackson auction about 8 years ago, and was given the opportunity to ride in a GTR. That car was simply unbelievable. That moment defined a new performance pinnacle for me, and ever since I have been hoping to own a car in that caliber. I believe that vehicle had approximately 400bhp, and was extremely light. As the Ultima is in a similar price group as a GT40, I considered that route as well. However, my passion for the GT40 design (especially the MK-I) has always swayed me more than raw-performance.

Thanks again,
Scott

[Scott]

Also forgot to mention on bhp calculation, on the Superformance web site they list all their specs with an engine producing 550bhp with the RBT transmission, and posted a 3.7s 0-60. That being said, I figured dropping off 50bhp from that would get me somwhere around 3.9s 0-6, thus breaking the "4 second barier" and unquestionably being faster than any car I've owned. Am I off base in my estimations?

[Bill Musarra]

Scott,
I won't inflame the old monocoque vs. space frame debate, but when I did my research 5 years ago, I was interested in many of the things you mentioned. For me, there had to be some practicality in the car. It is the last one I will build and it is sure the most involved one. Most of my builds were modifying the engine and the ride height. So I looked at the repairability of these cars. The monos would require "professional" help if anything got bent. I know that the probability of having an incident is out there. Hell I even wrecked my Lotus Esprit and it took over 9 months in the shop to get it back. I think my insurance salesman got sick when that happened. I have repairable skills though rudimentary compared to yours. So I know the space frames are for me. It gets bent, basically, cut it out and replace it. That being said, I then looked at the ones being manufactured(new kits) and what was out there available for sale, which was darn few at the time. I got lucky and found an unfinished car that was the brand I finally settled on. I chose the DRB, and for several reasons, which I think will stand up to todays reasoning as well. Most of the space frames required many rivets to complete the build. I know that airplanes use them. My argument against them was that they don't use the aircraft techniques in applying them. So to my way of reasoning, some will loosen and begin to rattle. The DRBs, in the words of the advertising, are made to withstand the Australian roads. They incorporate steel panels in the frame work in critical areas to make them stronger. I think to make them safer as well, but thats my opinion and haven't seen that in print anywhere. I looked at where the panels are and made that judgment. Also in my reasoning, the panels are welded in place. This has to aid in the rigidity of the frame work as well. I will say this, that the welding looks awful when you get up close. Strong it is, but not showmanship quality.The powder coating and undercoating done today would hide most of that. I chose to remove the panels and add stainless for the look. Materials and techniques have changed a lot in these five years, and I probably would have gone with ceramic coating or one of the new powder coatings or incorporating undercoating to get the effect today. A heck of a lot cheaper and lighter and I would have finished the build by now to.
So for me, it was an easy choice to make. RCR one of the more popular ones today wasn't around then. If they had been, my choices would have been a lot harder, because I wanted some thing I could show as well as get on the track and get dirty.
Even if the car were only trailered and rarely driven, I have a friend who lost a car in a trailer accident. They happen. You may want to find one in your area to look at, or take a trip up to Oregon to see if it meets your requirements. If you need any help with DRBs, I or any of the other DRB owners would be glad to assist you. Just drop one of us a line.

Bill

[RMH]

Hi everyone I'm new here and looking for some advice on a GT 40 purchase . I have been looking @ the CAV . I'm more of a what kind of wax do I need guy so I want a complete roller. I have a Backdraft Cobra & I herd that BDR & CAV were coming out with a new GT 40 that was larger inside & some other new features?
Any thoughts would be great.
Rick

[Big-Foot]

Originally Posted by RMHINC

Hi everyone I'm new here and looking for some advice on a GT 40 purchase . I have been looking @ the CAV . I'm more of a what kind of wax do I need guy so I want a complete roller. I have a Backdraft Cobra & I herd that BDR & CAV were coming out with a new GT 40 that was larger inside & some other new features?
Any thoughts would be great.
Rick

I can't speak of any of the others but when I sit in my RCR40 - I cannot stretch far enough to hit the end of the foot-box. I'm 6'3" tall.. No Gurney bubble needed either.

[John Lowe]

There is no "right" answer to this question. Most of the kits out there are pretty good. Proper research (build logs on this forum are a good source), talk to both owners and those manufacturers you short list. Also have in mind what is important to you.

For what its worth I researched the thing to death and chose RCR mostly because it appealed to me (as an engineer) to be engineered to high standards mixing new tech into the mix to just the right degree.

Good luck with your dream

John

[I LOVE GT40- Paolo]

Originally Posted by Andy Sheldon

These type of threads always make me laugh.

When will someone ever be man enough to stand up and say I did not buy the best kit.

Just an observation.

Andy

eheheh TOTALLY agree