Spf #2221

Hi all. Wanted to introduce myself here as I'm a semi-newly minted SPF owner. I purchased chassis #2221 back in late July 2013 and have been slowly working on getting her together since. I'm finally nearing the home stretch so I thought I'd make a little noise about it. She's a Mk. II in Viper gray metallic with light silver stripes, left hand drive, and is going to be powered by an all-aluminium 482 F.E. fed by a quartet of 51 mm IDA's. The engine is a few weeks away from being done at the machine shop, and then the fun really begins! I have started the California SB100 registration and I have my sequence number, so with a little luck sometime in early April I'll find out how long the first set of Avons will last.
 

Jack Houpe

GT40s Supporter
I've been though Clovis a couple times in my life. Pictures when you get them please, glad to see your putting a normal engine in. :)
 
Here's about the best picture I have, I'm not much of a photographer, though I promise more soon! And as for normal, well, I was worried about traction, and having too much of it.........
 

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Congrats on the purchase! Did this car have 17" BRMs with black spokes at some point? I think possibly I admired this car in Wixom Michigan while putting a deposit in on a Mk1. Very nice!

- Jeffrey
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
If it is I almost bought that car until the dealer in Chicago D&M Motorsports offered the car at one price then came back the day I was to closed and raised the price $10K.
 
A SHELBY aluminum 427 FE taken to 482? Same engine I have. With the right cam a very smooth running engine and able to start in 4th and not falter all the way through the revs. Run lights in the summer as the shimmer from a hot road surface will completely hide the car because of the color. Be careful out there.
 
Yes indeed, my car is the one from Chicago, so she's been around for a while. I traded out the BRM's for the Halibrands simply due to personal preference. Sadly I'm not surprised to hear about prices changing, long story short SPF wasn't so impressive in that regard, and if it wasn't for a whole list of events coming together in a once in a lifetime opportunity I might have gone another way. Besides that, it is an impressive piece of work and I'm sure happy to have it one way or another. We'll see just how much she hides on the hot summer days, being in the Central Valley that's only about 9 months out of the year....:sad:
 
hot summer days, being in the Central Valley that's only about 9 months out of the year....:sad:

I feel your pain. Sounds awful. Here in Michigan we are so lucky to have the opportunity to have our cars resting quietly in the garage for about 5 months of the year. :tongue2:

- Jeffrey
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
Beautiful car can't wait to see more pics when it's complete. My loss was your gain :)
 
Now now, while being snowed under is certainly no fun, if you've never had occasion to visit this part of the country understand when I say hot I mean a month solid of 105 degrees plus with lows in the high 80's........I'm not sure which is worse for the enjoyment of our cars, frozen solid or cooked to death.....so, anyone know how good the AC in these things is?
 
Living in Oakdale I know your pain. Congrats on the purchase. BTW, from my experience, about 85-90 ambient is the breaking point where the AC can't keep up and the sweat starts for form.:shocked:
 
Ah, as I feared. Early morning drives it is then.... As I'm located in beautiful Fresno we don't even get the delta breeze to help us out. I wonder if anyone has found means of upgrading system capacity?
 

Jim Craik

Lifetime Supporter
Yes Kevin,

I went to Sacramento State and I remember those very hot days. The nice part is, the Valley is hot, but not humid, if you can keep moving the SPF40 should not be too bad. A hot day with traffic, not so much.

But I also remember beautiful evening drives, the valley at night really comes alive.

You should definitely upgrade your headlights!
 

Jack Houpe

GT40s Supporter
Jim I was stationed at Lemoore NAS in 73-75, I also remember those nice warm night drives and most certainly "the can't see your hand in front of your face" foggy mornings.

Kevin use Mike Trusty's bypass thermostat system and your engine will never overheat. I have the original coolant in my car from 07 and never had to add a drop. Been stuck in stop and go traffic in Tulsa when the outside temp was 98F, raced 118 mile open road races with temps 101F and never even got past 205. I have used his system in every car I build, twin turbo Ferrari, turbo'ed VW vanagon, Renault R5 Turbo 2, and a Ferrari 308 GT4 with a blower and none have over heated. The only thing that got hot was the VW with turbo Subaru engine and thats because I forgot to tighten the clamp on the radiator hose. Now the AC is a different story, it works good till you stop and the cabin heat sinks from the engine and radiator, its miserable but a good way to loose water weight. :)
 

Rick Muck- Mark IV

GT40s Sponsor
Supporter
.....so, anyone know how good the AC in these things is?

Works well. And even better with our A/C seal kit to reduce ambient air intrusion in the cockpit.

And here in the Northeast where our cars do hibernate for part of the year the two best drives are the last of the season and the first of the season................
 
Thanks guys, good to know about the cooling system upgrades. I never figured it'd be comfortable to be sitting stationary in the valley heat with a running big block an inch from your head but anything I can do to mitigate those issues will be worth it.
 
Thanks guys, good to know about the cooling system upgrades. I never figured it'd be comfortable to be sitting stationary in the valley heat with a running big block an inch from your head but anything I can do to mitigate those issues will be worth it.

It's those over-sized exhaust headers that warm your backside. The firewall insulation package is where you need to pay attention to your comfort. Also where the cables/rods come into the firewall from the transmission is where heated air infiltrates.
I have that engine in my MkII and I try not to get into stop and go traffic in during the day. Keep moving....It isn't so much the water temp, but the oil temp I pay close attention to. And when you park, the rear cover is opened up to let the heat out. I haven't seen anyone leave the rear cover down when parked.
Some don't have their scoops fully functional. I would advise you to do so.
The gap around the front water radiator and the bonnet should be sealed or your going to have hot air enter the cabin as it travels under the front bonnet and into the cabin. Place a shop light under the bonnet and then look in the foot wells for light. Air and water entry points are found. Ricks A/C seal kit is a must.
It takes time to sort out the point of entry for hot air and water....
Grady
 

Rick Muck- Mark IV

GT40s Sponsor
Supporter
As Grady mentions the ducts that straddle the radiator opening are blocked off from the factory. You must reach in the round steel tubes in the front clip and mark the fiberglass so you can cut them open. That will allow the ducts to flood the front clip area with ambient air and help force out the radiator heated air. These normally feed the front brakes via flex duct but the fresh air to the front area is a priority if you aren't racing and don't need the brake cooling.
 
The front clip gap....The gap around the front water radiator and the bonnet should be sealed or your going to have hot air enter the cabin as it travels under the front bonnet and into the cabin. See the aluminum shields.

That will 95% close the entry of hot air into the area of the front clip.

Earlier I mentioned the area in the rear clip that picks up outside air and forces it into the engine area. Also with the brake ducting fully installed, you can place 1 1/2" holes into the fiberglass that also allows forced outside air into the area around the header and where the exhaust are bundled. You can always use a plastic Cap-plug to close the holes if desired. I'll see if I can get a picture to add.
 

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Excellent advice guys, thanks! I was already thinking of doing something to duct the radiator outlet solely through the opening and eliminate all the un-sealed areas, that's a must-do now. Thanks for the pics as well, that gives me a few ideas on ways forward with that project. Since I'm still waiting on my machinist to get my parts done this gives me something to do to scratch the itch......
 
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