Opinions Wanted on CAV GT40 Spyder

Hi,
First post on this site. I've had a 2006 Ford GT since new and have put 65,000 miles on it. Just replaced the clutch and transaxle. Not fun. I have tracked it on Road America several times, VIR, BIR (old Donnybrook) several times, Miller, Autobahn (Joliet) and Watkins Glen. Don't own a tow vehicle or trailer, so I drive it to and from track on street tires. I'm looking at a 2003 CAV GT Spyder currently for sale. It is one of 4 that they produced at that time. I thought it would be less claustrophobic than a coupe with the side curtains . I would like to track it on high speed tracks like RA and BIR. Other than adding a roll bar, would this model fit what I'm looking for or be a death trap? I still would drive it on the street on nice days as well as to the track. The car is a 5 speed monocoque with a 302 Ford Racing crate engine with a 4 barrel. It is owned by the original owner and only has 2200 miles. It supposedly has 400 hp. I might put a GT40 Weber set-up on it. I have one on my '63 Cobra 289 replica or have a medium riser 2x4 with small (390?) carbs as an alternative. Is this purchase advisable for what I want to do? I'm 67 years old and can't do this stuff forever. Please give me your opinions.
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
Dick, that is great that you drive the wheels off your GT. They are fantastic cars. There are several people on here far more qualified to give you an opinion on tracking the car in question. I only responded because of the last thing you said about not being able to do this forever. I would agree and suggest that is true for all of us no matter the age. Based on that alone I would tell you to go for it!
 
Dick, thats a very early CAV, so it may be a GTD spaceframed car, or ia early version of the Stainless mono. If it is the early mono I suggest ( and this is purely my personal opinion ) THINK very carefully before putting your money, and your person, into such a car. The original chassis is not overly strong, and relies entirely on the heavy glassfibre body structure for any sort of rigidity, if you then remove the roof !! As I said, my opinion. Frank
 
If it is the early mono I suggest (and this is purely my personal opinion ) THINK very carefully before putting your money, and your person, into such a car. The original chassis is not overly strong, and relies entirely on the heavy glassfibre body structure for any sort of rigidity, if you then remove the roof !! As I said, my opinion. Frank

On what do you base this statement?
 

Randy V

Moderator-Admin
Staff member
Admin
Lifetime Supporter
Hi Dick,

Welcome to GT40s.com ... Glad you found us!

While it's been a couple of years since I was active up at BIR, I'm one of the instructors there.
I'd say that you would need to have a pretty good analysis done of the chassis and suspension components first to see if they are really up to the task and of course a good cage fabricated and installed.
Then of course is the driveline. Transaxles come in many flavors and some are more capable than others. You may find yourself right back where you were with your GT in replacing a clutch and transaxle..
Feel free to drop me a note in a PM if you'd like to chat sometime.
 
Dick,

A 2003 CAV is a stainless steel mono chassis. It is very strong. There were formal strength tests done in 2002 showing the chassis to have very high torsional rigidity for example. The data is available. As such, this car does not rely upon the fibreglass roof for rigidity or strength.

As far as the spyder version, because the car does not rely upon the roof for chassis rigidity I would guess it would not make any difference. Plus, if you plan on installing a roll cage then chassis rigidity will absolutely not be an issue.

If you plan on doing some serious track time then you should check to see if the uprights on this 2003 are the original cast versions or stronger fabricated versions. The cast are just fine for street and probably occasional track time, but for serious track work I would go with the fabricated uprights.

I've seen one of the spyders, when it was new and still in a show room, it's a very attractive car. And, with 400hp I think you'll find that's a lot of hp for the car. That CAV is likely almost a 1,000 lbs lighter than your GT. However, you'll find that lightness comes at a cost - there's absolutely no creature comforts in the CAV. Compared to your GT it's like a NASCAR tub rather than a modern supercar. But it sure is fun!

You might find that the CAV is harder to get in and out of than your GT.

Good luck and enjoy!
 
Dick,

I own a 2003 CAV. It does have the stainless monocoque which is very rigid as Cliff mentioned. My car has been tracked quite a bit and it is a lot of fun. To date, it is the funnest and most exhalirating car that I have ever driven. I just got done installing the new uprights and the suspension seems to be working quite a bit better. Being that I track the car and not race the car, I do not have a roll cage and such, which is just fine as it does have good side impact protection. I would recommend against the webers. As they do sound great, incredible in fact, you can get more horsepower out of a 4 bbl set up. You will also have to change the cam out for the reversion. Of course, you already know this from driving your 289 car.

When I drive the car, its laughs and giggles for days.
 
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