DRB chassis #74

[keohep]

Hi There
Well i guess its time for me to have ago and create my own build thead .I dont know which is more daunting building a car thats been a goal for twenty years or so ,or post my handy works on here.After all theres so many top quality GT40 to compare.

My experience with car building is pretty limited to say the least,the closest thing to building a car is to have fully stript my 68 Cooper S My other favouret car of all time.And manage to re-erect it fully replacing all that needed replacing and with engine upgades performed by my self,it was the first engine rebuild id ever done and a massive learning curve but very interesting.

My only relevance to anthing performance wise is aircraft manufacturing with the use of carbon and Kevlar and various core materials,and abundant Vacuum bagging tecknics to last me a life time. Which by the way helped me in my other hobby Compeditive White Water Kayaking at international levels.The abillity to build a kayak and destroy it in white water gave me the advantage of seeing how good carbon and kevlar is when placed in a compromising position like crashing into rocks paddleing through grade 5 rapids or dropping down a 9 mtr water falletc.And i might add theres nothing like the sound of carbon colliding against rocks carrying an object 10 times its own weight (ME).

The other reason ive held back from posting my build here is the fact I still havent masterd putting up a few pics of my GT40,can any body help?

I recieved the car buy mail like most of us which in it self is quite funny ,the thought of building a car through the letter box.

Thanks to Pete and the crew at DRB it arrived at my house and man, the grin on my face after 4 hours began to stress my checks like most of you would remember.And the start of many sleepless nights.

The though of what im about to have a go at was begining to sink in,But it was a good thing as like most of us thrive on a descent challenge.

My car went on its first field trip,to the exhaust guys a ARP in Perth so hense the time for me to start my log.

Cheers for now Keron

[Pete]

Congrats are in order.

I have chassis #83. I have some questions. You have a PM

Thanks

Pete

[Dimi Terlecky]

Hi Pete & Keohep

Congrats

I have chassis 68.

If you have any questions I would be glad to help or guide.

Let me know.

Dimi

[keohep]

Thanks Pete,Dimi

Although i had my Kit for a couple of years, Ive been flat out resourcing parts etc,studying other builds and now im at the stage where the cars at the exhaust shop and its given me time to start my build thread.

To date ive fitted all brake lines and used Wilwood radial 6 pot fronts and 4 pot rear on 330mm front and rear,with cross drilled and slotted rotors. The rear hat was a problem as the option in C4 corvette hubs limited whats available on the market as far as up grades,so finally I had custom hats made to suit the C4 rear hub so I could mount the 330mm Rotor.

I was going to use the traditional 302 motor but was still open to other options,A freind of a freind recently purchaced a HSV GTS and wanted to put a 427 LS7 in it so he literally drove the car from the dealer to the performance shop pulled the LS2 out.I was just at the right place and time when i heard hat he was doing so i jumped in and got the engine for a great price. So now my GT40 will have a Chev ,is a bit sacrilege i know but in the I plan to dress the rockers and get rid of thouse ugley alloy things and make some more traditional ones ,and i think only a true enthusiast will tell the differance....well who knows i can always drop a Windsor back in if my consience get the best of me.

The Ls2 is hooked up to a g50/03 box with Lsd I had to make adaptor plates to suit the Holden drive shafts but in the end worked out good and with no problems.

I purchased my rimms and tyres from vintage wheels and by the way if i may say thanks to Bob out there at Vintage Wheels.I must say if you want great service his was the best absolutly no dramas prompt and thorough.And they look the best rimms ever.

Im also using a 8 port throttle body to which i may say look great but the drama getting them and the after service or even during purchase service was to say the least "Crap' and id only wished id done a bit more research and maybe I think I would have orderd a Kinsler setup.

Im still in the process of fitting the wiring and well im slowly getting there.Lastly has any one measured the front clip and noticed if the guard and the right is about 10mm closer to the tyre or is this a normal thing?

I dont have any colour selection but Gull is still a favourite unfortunaly not with the Misses.
( I think I"ll win in the end)

Cheers Keron

[keohep]

Well it’s been months since I’ve put up a post, although I’ve had a bit of a break from the car I’ve finally restarted work, though I don’t think I really stopped, there was a long time when just walking past it to do other jobs around the house was a task.

When I last put up a post I had mentioned I transported the car to a local custom exhaust guy. Well after several months with excuses I decided to return the car to where it can from (my house) and decided to do the exhaust myself. As the custom performance guys didn’t really want to much of a challenge and do the cross over. To hard as they put it, so I did it in my shed.

It’s amazing how much time i spend looking at things and then finally do something constructive, it’s amazing how much time goes into doing something that seems trivial. I must have spent days looking at the wiring harness for the engine, then finally having a go at stripping it down and working out what is required and what’s not. I must say I like to give everything a go and well if i stuff it up then ill guess I’ll learn next time. hehe

I’m finally refitting the engine in for hope fully the last time, then fitting up a temporary fuel system and starting it up for the first time. I've also made several changes to the standard DRB for example redirecting the gear select rod around the motor, I surprised myself again it seems to work fine. I also fitted the dash and modified the air-conditioning ducting. I made a bracket to fit the relay box and hide it in front of the aircond duct behind the fire wall.

Finally I’m due for two weeks leave from work and decided to start the body work, I’m going to spray Gel coat on the scuffed surface, use it as the filler coat then buff it up and polish it, I plan to also grind into the old gel coat the strips then once i spray the gel coat on it will permanently hold the GT strip lines. I’m doing this so when I block the colour down it will hold the lines. I'm not sure if anyone has tried to put colour on this way.

The thing is Gel coat is way stronger than paint and much easier to repair, it’s more compatible with fibre glass and much more durable, I think it just requires loads of elbow grease.

[victor]

Everything looks great. One question though, did you really made the exhaust? if so, great job, if not, they look great anyway. You are way more experience around tools and hardware that you say you are.

Congratulations, keep it up.

Víctor

[keohep]

Thanks Victor,
Yes the pipes wernt as hard as I'd thought there'd be , I must tell you I'm a plumber by trade so you could say pipes are my thing . It was my first attempt next ones I'd like to sand bend like we used to in the old days with copper pipe.
Cheers Keron

[Dave S]

Nice work Keron.
Can't wait to hear it fire into life...That injection set up is awesome..
If I ever built another GT40 it would have an LS motor for sure.

[keohep]

Hi Dave,

Yeah im sure you will be there when it fires up!! The harness still needs a bit of converting. I need to find out how to wire it up to the ignition etc If you have an idea give me a clue.

Im still also working on the electrics..mmm

K.