HELP Looking for information on this Blue Roaring Forties GT40 RF109

Hello everyone! I need some help. I am looking for information on a particular car.
http://www.gt40s.com/forum/gt40-cars-sale/36088-roaring-forties-gt40-rf-109-sold.html
I have talked to the past owner of the car (John Bobowski) who owned the car in this particular thread and was selling it. I am trying to find the current owner of this car. He told me he didn't remember who bought it, and to ask on here. John seems really busy to talk to me about this car in detail, and I completely understand that.

I know of no better place to come for questions and insight into these cars. The passion I see here is unmatched anywhere else.

My dream car is a GT40, I have been reading on this forum for alittle over a year now before just joining. This particular car is exactly what I am looking for so I have a lot of questions. I will introduce myself in the proper location, so I will save everyone from that read if they aren't interested.

Any and all information would be absolutely fantastic. Help me locate this BEAUTIFUL car.

Caleb Herschberger

You can post on here or get ahold of me via email or phone.
[email protected]
Call or Text 1-(260)-333-2533

Thanks everyone in advance. I am happy to finally be a part of this community.
 

Ron Earp

Admin
I don't think it ever showed up again. I drove that car a long time ago as it was the only RF in the states that was running way back in 2001/2002.

Keep studying astrophysics, cool stuff. Don't squander your youth on cars, they'll be around later. Finish that degree and get grad school out of the way first. Your time for finishing that grad degree is waning so get on it as soon as possible. Cars will always be available but your productive youth will not.
 

Keith

Moderator
Yes, I remember John and this car. It's documented quite extensively on here but I'll have to try and remember his handle (he had several) "Laundry Boy" may have been one.

Of course he remembers who he sold it to but I guess it wasn't exactly a stellar period of his life as I believe he had to sell this car and Shelby GT350 owing to business downturn. It was a well sorted car I believe and featured the first cross ram intake (from Australia) that I'd ever seen on a '40.

Oliver! :idea:

Drat! Should have clicked your link first, sorry....
 
Thank you both for the reply! I have noticed RF's aren't talked about on the forum very much, is there a primary reason for this? There are a few things about this particular car that set it off for me. I imagine you can do the same to others but I particularly like the looks and "build" of this exact car. I talked to John to try to get as much info on it as possible.
 

Keith

Moderator
Thank you both for the reply! I have noticed RF's aren't talked about on the forum very much, is there a primary reason for this?

It's a completely different company now to that which supplied this particular kit.

Let's just say that the original RF didn't cover themselves with glory, which is a significant understatement and I believe the memories are still painful and very close to home ;) 'nuff said, but if you want to get the whole painful history, it's on here - just do a search.

Nothing to do with the quality of the parts you understand, but everything to do with business practices. The new RF company is very approachable & professional however and will assist on the original parts if necessary..
 

Doug S.

The protoplasm may be 72, but the spirit is 32!
Lifetime Supporter
Yes, I remember John and this car. It's documented quite extensively on here but I'll have to try and remember his handle (he had several) "Laundry Boy" may have been one

After John was banned as "Oliver" he returned for a short time under the forum name "Revilo". He did not last long under that moniker.

I do recall that cross-ram intake..it looked splendid and solved the clearance issue between the various ITB systems and the rear window..

If my memory is correct John was quite bitter about the treatment he received on the forum and so I would not expect him to be very willing to help us forum members. I do recall that he was pursuing the sale of his RF.

I looked at the member lists and I see neither Oliver or Revilo listed.

It was a very tumultuous time here on the forum...true, that!!!

Cheers!

Doug
 
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Some Dude from upstate NY purchased it. I remember him calling me and inquiring about parts commonality. He did post on the forum after purchasing it but I do not recall his name.
 
Thank you all very much for the information. I really appreciate it. I will wait and see if anything turns up. I think I might have found the current owner and I sent a pm. Scott you are right, his profile is showing he is from NY.

I do have a quick question, would it be difficult to convert right hand drive to left hand drive?
 
I do have a quick question, would it be difficult to convert right hand drive to left hand drive?

That's depends on several things....
1). Your time
2). Your budget
3). Your fabrication skills

You'll need at minimum a new steering rack & dashboard. Plus, if the coolant pipes/foot box is offset to the left like a RHD Tornado, switching steering sides will result in a very small foot box. At the point where you contemplate moving the coolant pipes, IMO, you may as well just get a LHD chassied car.
 
I disagree. When converting you will need the things Scott mentioned. You will have to add the support pieces(read weld) to the left hand side for the steering colum. Not a big deal. The foot well on some of the cars is a little bigger for the drivers seat. that makes the left side a little smaller. All you have to do is move the coolant tubes an inch or two to the right as they enter the cabin. On my DRB I didn't have to move them at all. I still had room enough to add a dead pedal to rest my clutch foot on
Save the right hand dash and use it as a template for any roll cage you are adding(if you do). I cut the center portion of the old RHD dash out and modified the corners so that they would slip in around the cage. The trimming is hit or miss so you can cut paper templates to fill in if you make a mistake. That way you don't screw up the good dash. I then made pieces that would fill the gap in front of the cage. It isn't that hard. Just need some imagination when fabrication pieces.
I will add some photos this afternoon when I get home to show how it is done. The frame pieces may be alittle different but not insurmountable. Good way to get your feet wet in fabricating, as you may have other issues you will have to alter.

Bill
 

Ron Earp

Admin
The RF space frame of that vintage was asymmetric. The box that ran down the central tunnel was about 7" wide or so, maybe the same tall, and it was biased toward the passenger side. So for a right hand drive car like the RF I had a long time ago the passenger side is smaller than the driver's side. Add to that the shift linkage issues (move from right side of right side to center), pedal box, master cylinders that bolted through a plate with cut holes, dash, wiring, and other things it will be a lot of work. Doable, but a lot of work.

I'm with Scott, buy a left hand drive car if you must have left hand drive, but real GT40 replicas are right hand drive the way they should be.
 
I fixed my dash with the leftover dash for templates.The ends were notched and for over cuts, pieces of paper were taped on the dash pieces once the first cuts were approximated. These added back to get the shape of the cuts needed. Here are some photos of the cuts and pieces added to fill them in once put in place.
P2020065.jpg


P1010105.jpg


P1010049-1.jpg


P1010108-2.jpg


To get the inserts to stay in place I added a bolt with most of the head filed off and slightly counter sunk into the dash. This hid the bolt . The insert was a friction fit.

P1010109.jpg


I eventually went for power steering and here are the 3 supports(first iteration) for that column. Notice the pedal box had plenty of room.

P1010300_zps30ddf71a.jpg


Thought I had more pics. If you need any detail shots I can get them when the car gets back from the interior shop. Finally finishing up that job. Wife told me that if I retire next summer, there is no budget for the car. So it will have to be "completely finished" by then.

Unless you don't want to do any fabrication work at all, these kinds of things are sort of fun in that you get to add your touch to the car.

Bill
 

Randy V

Moderator-Admin
Staff member
Admin
Lifetime Supporter
Count me in the camp of Putting the steering wheel on whatever side is customary in the country it's to be driven in...
Why?
These are darned small cars with poor rear visibility... Actually poor visibility anywhere except straight out the front - and even then, you can't see the traffic light you are stopped at..
If your driving skills were gathered in a LHD car in a LHD country, you have at least part of the battle won. There have been a number of people here who went with the RHD car for the purposes of originality. Some were sorry they had done so later as they were not comfortable with the additional stress and risks of driving a car such as this while trying to get acclimated to the RHD.
Personally I found it interesting to drive an RHD car in the US, but that was a Jag and it had much better visibility.. I only drove it a short time and am surprized I didn't crash the darned car. Left turns were particularly challenging, but not nearly as much as merging onto the freeway...
Good luck with your decision..
 
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