information on GTD for sale

[lms]

Hello all, does anyone know anything about the GTD in top marques & at www.sovereigncarsales, shelby blue with white strips looks like reg no is jjn 5500. It went to Le Mans this year. I,d like to buy it, just like someone who knows the car to confirm its the real thing. Many thanks LMS

[Malcolm]

Have had a look at the web site and the pictuires on there. From that it looks as if the car is a GTD. Pretty much all the parts I saw in those pictures could well have been supplied by the factory.

a couple of thinsg stood out to me;

Non cross over exhaust. Engine spec standard 302 but no more?
17 inch wheels - originality?.
Cable operated gear change. Perfectly fine once set up but a pig to set up properly. Needs rose joints not knuckle joints. You may find this stiff until sorted.

What brakes are being used? Especially on the rears? Check it doesn't have solid rear discs, or worse drums!

Garages will always try and charge top money. You could buy a similar car elsewhere for a bit less but how often do they come up. This all depends on build quality. Be satisfied on that as your life is in the hands of the builder.

If you are serious about buying then email me privately and we can discuss further if you want to.

Malcolm

[Bryn]

Dear All,

Newbie here, have been looking unsuccessfully for a GTD40 for the past 6 months, either too late in seeing them advertised or they're going for £35k plus. Can anyone help please???

Budget is between £20k - £25k.

Oxford area.

Many thanks

[Fran Hall RCR]

Get in touch with Chris Melia, melchrismelia@aol.com
I am sure he has a car for sale and it comes with cool options too.
Good luck

[Julian West]

Keep looking guys, there *ARE* cars available in the UK for sub 20K, but you have to look hard & be patient.

As you say, you quite often see cars advertised for 30K+, but it would have to be a very special GTD to be worth that kind of money.

Probably best thing to do is join the two UK clubs & keep your eyes peeled!

[dave harris]

Hello Julian,

The red color on your car (thumbnail picture) looks so deep and is absolutely beatuiful - what color is it? and do you have the paint codes.

thanks

[Fred/Belgium]

You may also look at www.mecanicimport.com in Belgium but having UK registered GTs I believe
Fred

[Julian West]

[ QUOTE ]
The red color on your car (thumbnail picture) looks so deep and is absolutely beatuiful - what color is it? and do you have the paint codes.

thanks

[/ QUOTE ]

Dave,

Thanks for the kind words, unfortunately the picture is deceiving, the colour looks much more 'orange' in the flesh.

I don't have the paint code, but the guy I bought the car from reckoned it was a f*rr*ri colour! The car is shortly going in for a re-paint in a different colour!

[dave harris]

Thanks Julian,

I was afraid of the "orange" tendency of reds - and I just can't bring myself to put on a F!@@##$%i color - I'll just keep looking and when nothing turns up I'll fall back on my second choice - Yellow with black stripes!

thanks

dave

[Martin Weigold]

Julian,

I have to disagree with you on this one. As you may be aware, I am trying to source a GTD40 for a friend of mine and I believe the opposite strategy is true - that it is far more economic to buy a well sorted car up front (as much as you can afford) than to try and modify later. And there are some very well sorted GTDs indeed out there, particularly those that compete. The problem is of course that they rarely come up for sale - hence I am still looking [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Ibryn, if you have come across any cars that were above your budget but thought were good cars, please pass their details on to me.

Thanks, Martin

[Malcolm]

I think that it depends on what is available car wise at the time of purchase AND what the buyer wants to do and is able to do with the facilities available to them in the time frame they have. Even a fully loaded car may not be just what a new owner wants. That is the great thing about our cars, not being originals we can turn them in to OUR idea of what they should be without getting crucified by purists/historians. There are some things that Julian is doing that I wouldn't do and there are some things on Martins car that I wouldn't have and I know there are lots of things on my car that others wouldn't have. However of the three mentioned there are three happy owners who get on just fine! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Ain't that how it is supposed to be?

Just don't pay too much for a basic car!

Malcolm

[Julian West]

Martin,

I'm not sure what you're disagreeing with here, or what strategy you are refferring to. If Ibryn has a buget of 20-25K I'm sure he'll find a few cars to choose from, but as I said, he'll have to be patient & keep his eyes peeled.

If your pal wants a 'well sorted' (I take you 're after a high spec?) car & has the cash, why not go to someone like Roaring forties? I'm sure they can build up a car to as higher spec as you like?? or what about a new CAV?? There has also been talk on this forum of 'other' 'new' manufacturers, why not see what they've got to offer??

[Jools]

Over the last year there has been noticeably more 40's available for sale, both though the auctions and within the classified's.Part of this i'm sure is due to the greater media coverage the marque has received recently;but as ever you must decide upon specification and budget first ,then be ready to purchase as soon as the right car becomes available.. they rarely remain unsold for long!
As a P.S i think Julian West and i have on occasion been confused for each other, as many members have spoken to me during the race season about posts that he has made.It's not an unfair assumption with two Julian's both with red 40's!! Hope this clears up the confusion [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[Malcolm]

And I seem to remember talking to both about best ways to get a car too! Maybe they bought the same car. Just as well one is seeing sense and changing the colour from red! And the other will soon have the red polished off back to lovely grey primer [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Malcolm

[Mike Inglis]

So what's wrong with red then?????????? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

[Martin Weigold]

Julian

(And I do not mean Jools!) what I was getting at is that many of the GTD cars that I have seen for less than £20k are not very good quality when in fact there are some superb ones around for £30k plus - and for the extra money you get a much better sorted car.

He hasn't got the budget for a new car (e.g. RF or CAV).

Regards, Martin

[Julian West]

Blimey! do I understnd this right???, ie there is another Julian, also with a red car?? Gees whatever next!! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Anyway, our cars should be fairly easy to tell apart, unless the other Julians car is also in a thousand bits!!

Martin, I guess what we are saying is, you get what you pay for, fair enough....

[Tony Hunt]

Hi Julian,
I'm glad I contacted you again, as I 've lost your phone number. We spoke a few weeks back about your coming up to Penn to look at a local GTD40 with me, but we decided against it.
Well, I have my car at last - it's a 1996 factory-built GTD with 302 SVO lump with crossover exhausts, MSD 6AL ignition, aircon and 1450 miles on the clock. It's absolutely pristine.
I'm currently making it big enough inside to get into and drive it!
There are plenty of really good GTDs on the market, it's just a matter of finding them at the right price.
Regards,
Tony Hunt

[Jools]

Tony, congratulations,i'm glad your search has paid off.It sounds like you've come across a nice little find. They are out there,just sometimes need a little digging out!If you would like any ideas on fitting to the car,there are a number of 40's in the area that you can have a look at, and see how we have solved a few issues.. and not all of them involve hack-sawing yourself off at the knees!!

[Mike Inglis]

I can arrange that!