Stumbled

[Tony]

Hello All,

We found this forum after a GT40 found us. The brother in law and I bought a kit that needs assembly and some direction. It came out of a stable of cars in a local estate sale. There is a frame and body kit - GTD40 from what I can tell. The drive train includes an 351W, trasnaxle, clutch, adapter plate and rear suspension.

The front end is welded in place but appears to be 4 inches too far forward. Not much has been assembled. Our approach is, anything that has been done will need to be redone.

We look forward to the experience and learning from all of you.

All the best,
Tony

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

Welcome Tony, you will find a wealth of knowledge here and many people willing to answer your questions. Enjoy your build.

 

[Cliff Beer]

Welcome Tony. If you want to have a look under the hood and clamshell of a CAV in Seattle for comparison then let me know, happy to have you come over (we're in NE Seattle).

Cheers.

 

[Tony]

A look for comparison sake would be outstanding! Any prat falls we can avoid would be great. Seems I am north of you a bit (LFP).

 

[Neal]

Nice to see another in the area. Just got your PM. There are some good resources in the area that should help. You're welcome to come by if you are in the area.

 

[Malcolm]

A GTD with the front welded on 4 inches too far forward would be most unusual. Post some pictures and should be able to identify and if you PM me a chassis number I can perhaps see what other info I have lying around.

 

[Tony]

Here are a couple of pictures, but not a lot of critical details I'm afraid. Reading a little more on the site, this kit has a space frame (?). My ignorance is fading already. Any observations are appreciated.

The type and location of the front end are my primary interest. If it needs to be removed and repositioned would we be better off putting something else back on.

Thanks,
Tony

 

[egoman/ Shawn Wedge]

Well right off the hop thats a VW front suspension from a beetle.
There are many designs better than that.......allmost anything else would be better.

 

[Tony]

egoman,

Even though it isn't located properly, and needs to be replaced, I prefer to think that the existing parts came from some sort of base model Porsche. It makes me feel better.
Please add sarcasm above.
In the mode of moving in the right direction. What would you suggest?

 

[Terry Oxandale]

Welcome to the site Tony. Saw something new today...A VW front suspension on a GTD. Between this and the Dr.Who string, this site has become a beacon of enlightenment.

That's the exact same front suspension I started out with as well (not a GT project though). Pulled it off, sold it on Ebay, and built a typical unequal length arm suspension. Can we assume you're handy with the welder?

Can you provide some information on your fabrications skills or experience or background? This would assist us in assisting you. There are other "modular" pachages out there for the DIY'er (Mustang II for example), all the way to a fully fabricated suspension and steering.

 

[Tony]

Right the fabrication skills - I am not handy with a welder. Haven't done any actually. Maybe my biggest achivement is I don't break many taps now that I use cutting fluid. My mechanical skills have been honed on big block GM products mostly. Remove and replace kind of activities. The Olds that I have now has new springs, front suspension, brakes, shocks and a fresh short block.
I don't consider myself skilled labor but I am a mechanical designer. I use SolidWorks to develop designs and then have them fabricated. Lately I have been getting in the quotes, ordering the parts, building up the prototypes, testing them then troubleshooting the final assemblies. I have been getting my feet wet with sheetmetal parts of late. Before that I worked with machined parts out of Stainless and Titanium in medical device product development.
Leaning toward the Mustang II front end.
The VW front end comes off this weekend.
Tony