Lynn Miner's SPF GT40 Visits the Portland Historics

Gary Kadrmas · 07-08-07, 07:38 PM

Hello everyone,

This weekend, Lynn Miner brought his VERY BEAUTIFUL GT40 from Washington to The Portland Historics. To my recall, it is the first time a SPF GT40 ever attended the Portland Historics......that ran under its own power. And run.......WOW!!!!!!!!!!

To say his car is fabulous is an understatement. To say his car is more than beautiful is an understatement. The install done by Lynn is VERY first class. Their are so many things he has done to the car up and above the delivered product from SPF, you will need to get one of his CDs to really appreciate the craftsmanship! Makes you want to just s**t your pants.

I hope he posts pictures from Portland. I only had a 35mm old fashion camera, so the pics he has on his digital will go way beyond what I have.

Lynn and his wife, Becky, are super nice people, and I am so glad I had an opportunity to meet them here in Portland. Lynn gave my grandson, Kyle, a ride in his GT40 on the parade lap on Saturday. You should have seen the smile on Kyle's face!!!!!!! Reminded me of when I rode in my Cobra when I was 12. Kyle's (9 yrs old) comment was...."I got to ride in Lynn's GT40 before you did!!!"

Super memories that will last forever!

Thanks Lynn and Becky for a great weekend!

chuck smith · 07-08-07, 08:01 PM

I got Lyns DVD but it will not load and only shows a small clip about someone building a pantera based GT40

Alan in Nevada · 07-08-07, 10:10 PM

Now, if we could just get HMSA to let the SPF cars run in their events.......

Lynn Miner · 07-09-07, 12:16 AM

For those with trouble loading the DVD - This is NOT a movie, it is a data disk. You have to view it using Windows Explore. There are hundreds of subdirectories and thousands of files to view.

Thanks for the kind words from Gary K. What a wonderful individual. Had it not been for Gary's help and greasing the skids (palms too, I think), I could have never made it into the event. Gary is a very humble guy and I'm not sure if there's a nicer person on the planet.

We had a great time and I'll be posting several photos for everyones enjoyment in the next couple days. I took several shots of Jim Click's P1061.

Stay tuned

Lynn Miner · 07-09-07, 01:58 PM

As Promised here are some photos of Jim Clicks original P1061 GT40. The kid in the picture is Gary Kadrmas' grandson Kyle next to Jim. These are good archive photos for build ideas.

Neal · 07-09-07, 03:59 PM

Sorry I missed you guys. I bet Lynn's car is even better in person. I got as far as Federal Way and developed a miss. Traced it down to a cracked plug. Blew the morning getting everything sorted out and decided to return home with my tail between my legs.

I spoke with Jim last weekend at Pacific raceways. Nice guy. As a side note, one of the his vintage mechanics, Jerry Stewart was the Ford salesman in Arizona that sold this car in 1968 to it's first owner.

Gary Kadrmas · 07-09-07, 07:17 PM

Neal,

Its the Sh**s when your car has a mind of its own, preventing you from having a good time. Sorry we missed you!

How about next year, we post a thread and get organized for the event in advance, so more people can get together and share stories and a brew or two?

Neal · 07-09-07, 07:48 PM

Definitely Gary,
There should be close to seven 40's in the area on the rode by next year.
Neal

Alan in Nevada · 07-09-07, 08:02 PM

It's Jim Click's Mark I that thrashes ZF transaxles.

Would this be sacrilegious?

Gary Kadrmas · 07-09-07, 09:27 PM

Alan,

I had a 72 Panera back in 1979-80. I never had a problem with the ZF. I shifted slow, and applied the power slowly. A ZF was never intended to be shifted like a top loader 4 speed. And anyone that attempts to power shift a ZF, should be prepared to have an expensive lesson ahead of himself.

When I talked to Jim this last weekend, he never mentioned anthing about high horsepower/ZF failures. Watching him drive his car out on the track, it appears he is not affraid to put the power down, but the sounds coming from his GT40 sure suggest he is applying power in a progressive way to protect his hardware.

I am sure more folks on the forum will chime in to add to this issue.

DaveM · 07-09-07, 09:48 PM

Thanks for bringing your immaculate gt40 to the Historics. Your meticulous work has to be appreciated in person. Click's car looked and sounded great on the track! All this has motivated me to get an order in with Dynamic.
Dave Miller

Dutton · 07-09-07, 11:33 PM

Damn... if I'd known you guys were going to be there I'd have headed your direction! Great pics, Lynn - and congrats for getting into the show. By the way, where are the pics of your car??

I was in white on Turn 5 at the vintage event last weekend at Pacific Raceways... the twisty bits on the lower side of the course. Jim Click wasn't holding the car back too much through that turn, which made it the first time I'd heard, live, a 40 being driven hard. What a sound.

A get-together is a great idea, Gary. Why wait for next year?

Lynn - some pictures, please...

Best,

T.

Gary Kadrmas · 07-09-07, 11:54 PM

Dutton,

I agree no need to wait til next year.......but, I start my second round of Chemo on July 17th. It will last for 5 weeks, and during that time, I will also be getting Radiation Treatments.....which means I will be at an all time low for those 5 weeks. Then a 4 week rest, no treatments, and then the third round of Chemo for only one week. The doc said to plan on being out of it until around November.

By then, the weather will be yucky. I will hve to wait to see how the second round of Chemo goes. If it fails to knock the hell out of me, maybe we could coordinate something for a get together.

I know that Lynn will be posting more pic in the next few days. He said his trip from Washington to PDX was a nine hour drive. He left PDX on Sunday at around noon, and I believe his ETA to Washington was around 9:30-10:00 PM. So he is taking a few days to catch up on the normal day to day stuff, and when he is caught up, will post more pis for us all.

Keep in touch,

Alan in Nevada · 07-10-07, 01:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Kadrmas

When I talked to Jim this last weekend, he never mentioned anthing about high horsepower/ZF failures.

Then you didn't specifically raise the issue with him or his crew chief (like I did).

It was his crew chief's words ("tough on") with respect to the Mr. Click's Mark I on ZF transaxles, not mine. I submit that the two ZF transaxles that they keep as spares aren't for investment purposes.

Certainly, you can maintain and tolerate a weak link in a chain by babying it, but when you pay 130-140k for a de-facto race car (i.e. the SPF GT40) you shouldn't have to do that. Certainly Mr. Click isn't doing so all the time on the track with his original . . . . . and therein lies the problem stated by his crew chief. Whether Mr. Click is abusing his transaxles, I cannot say.

Good luck with the treatments. I know they are a bitch.

Gary Kadrmas · 07-10-07, 02:05 AM

Alan,

Any way you look at it, if a trans breaks, it will be either abuse, or not up to the task.

I suppose a person can improve the design with the addition of an external cooler and internal fine tuning over the original unit, but given the way the trans is being used, it may result in being used up(!). I know sometimes in the heat of the moment, an upshift intended for a 3rd to 4th upshift, may gather up 2nd gear.....which is tough on ZFs. Hard to say what happened in Jims case. Being able to witness his driving talent over the 3 days of the event, (and not just in the 40), he gives me the impression he is very capable of "pointing it and punching it!"

Thanks for the kind words regarding my treatment.

Cheers,

Lynn Miner · 07-10-07, 12:20 PM

By popular demand here are some photos of my car at PIR last weekend. The last shot is Dick Guthrie (Weber Tuner Extraordinaire) working some magic.

Gary Kadrmas · 07-10-07, 12:38 PM

Wow,

Lynn, your pictures turned out perfect.

I never got a chance to ask you in person........What is the story behind Red knock offs on the left, and Blue knock offs on the right?

That is something I would do, to duplicate what was done at LeMans, so the mechanics would not try and cross thread the wrong knock-offs to the wrong side of the car. (Am I close?).

Lynn Miner · 07-10-07, 12:46 PM

Gary

That is exactly correct. Red is right hand threads - left side. Blue is left hand threads right side.

Alan in Nevada · 07-11-07, 01:32 AM

Beautiful car.

It looks like something from Outer Space.

Team Hightower · 07-13-07, 04:45 PM

Hi all,

My thanks to Lynn and others for making the Historics such a memorable event. Taking my son there and being able to see, hear and smell these wonderful cars, especially the GT40, and saying "When I was your age..."

Pictures from the event http://www.teamhightower.com/Rally/P...rics/index.htm

Someday...
Greg Hightower