Big thanks to All here

[George]

Hello everyone,

I just want to thank everybody for all the help and support you have given me in regards to a GT40 that I have stated I cant afford right now to even get. Im just happy and greatfull that I was treated warmly and welcomed by all.

Thank you for answering all the questions I did have even if they may seem silly or stupid...

Thank you for not saying "WTF do you want? If its a Gt40 leave it as it is, enjoy it for what it is otherwise its not the car for you" etc etc.

I been to many forums... Im a member of the dodgecharger forum because I own a Charger... I was there for 2-3 years. Recently I said on there I wanna go an Exotic, and the replies I got "What the $A#$, your comparing an exotic car to a muscle car? You wanted to turn ur muscle car into an exotic handling car? do you even know what the hell you want? You dont wanna play around with old wcars? Ur obviously not a car guy, better sell your car to someone that is"

Recently I posted on there about the GT40 idea I was encouraged by you guys "we suggest u buy ur GT40 soon and move along"

Like total bs, just because I said other cars other than MOPAR is good I get told to piss off pretty much.

On the exotic ferrari forum, I asked about how good a Diablo can be made cause I wouldnt mind 1, I get told "If u wanna alter the DIablo, then its obviously not the car for u, these cars are not about numbers on a skid pad or on a race track they are what they are and thats it, if u want a car that handles get a track car and leave these cars to those that appreciate them for what they are"

and bla bla.

I dont see the problem in wanting a specific looking car and then modifying it to produce the handling/feel/speed/acceleration I want out of it, but seems most ppl do.

WHile here, everything I asked was answered, I been learning, I found what Im after, and you guys dont seem to have a problem with what I wanna do with it WHEN I buy one.

So thank you for not telling me to get the money first before talking about it etc.

Im going to do some car dealing (importing and selling) a few exotics to earn some money to be able to buy the GT40, I assume if all works out, 2 years I should be able to get my Replica. My next car after my 68 Charger is a 308 Ferrari, then a 328 Ferrari, then an F355 ferrari, and after that one should be able to get the Replica.

Once again Thankyou and I will be hanging around to see whats going on and to learn more about them... as in... get helped by you guys create the full visual of what I ultimately want in this GT40, colour, interior style, engine style, handling performance, weight, materials (like carbon fibre), designs, etc.

So Thanks once again for being willing to answer questions to a guy that cant even afford to buy one now or 'soon', I feel welcomed very much so. Guess ford guys arnt bad afterall.

You all seem down to earth.

Thanks once again
George

 

[Jack]

Hey George, it's all about following YOUR dream. Not someone elses idea of what you should want! Hang in there and keep after it, may go quicker than you think. Good luck.

 

[Keith]

"Down to Earth"

Well Georgie Boy, I guess that's fairly true but in the main we're older, but not necessarily wiser otherwise we wouldn't be so keen on a shoebox size exotic race car that first turned heads in 1964 and is still turning them!

Nothing wrong with your Mopar either, it's a phase we all go through although some on here are still going through it and remember, we used those kind of cars as daily drivers back in the day... (mine was a '67 Shelby GT350)

Good luck with your ambition...

PS Ford Rules mate!

 

[Jimmy P]

Never, ever, give up on a dream!

 

[Jim Craik]

George,

We are all dreamers here, you'll fit right in.

 

[Mark]

George,

If your looking to earn money by buying and selling cars be careful when dealing with some of the exotic's. I had a Ferrari 328GTS for many years and they can cost a whole lot of money if they were not properly maintained and need any repairs. Most buyers will not touch a Ferrari unless it had a recent major service and this major service usually starts at $5,000. If you find a Ferrari that is a good deal to flip use caution and make sure it has complete service records and get a pre-purchase inspection.

 

[George]

Thanks guys.

Yeah I know with the Ferrari can cost alot of $ to service casue u gotta drop the engine out of the car first, then change Cam belts, tensioners and so forth.

What I plan to flip (and enjoy at the same time) is a car thats got service history, major service done, no work needs doing... and importing that myself for around 10-15k less than market price here gives me that little profit on top to be able to upgrade to the next one.

Im in contact with a group I know that does this, and they got ferrari dealers/service people/inspection people that check the car over before they get it so I buy a gurantee good/no work needs done car.

I know it could take 6 months to sell one of these, but, while I do my normal work I figured, why work for 150 000 and then spend all that hard earned money on a car when I can let a car buy me a car which buys me a car and I end up with what I want while enjoying the cars that baught me the car I really wanted... I think its smart choice.

Well I remember when I was little, before I got hooked on the Diablo with its awesome sciscor doors, I had this little book at my grandmas place (who died many years ago sadly) which was a little story of racing cars/drivers. The pictures in that book were those Old F1 style cars that had that oval mouth at the front (I still think these look awesome) but there was a car on there that I loved.. it was a car that had the oval mouth but was a full sized style car (similar to the GT40), may have been a GT40 may have been a ferrari, but it was that classic oldschool racer shape. So I will be very happy with one of these.

Basicaly What I tried to do with my Charger was throw 200 000 at it to make it an exotic handling car (like an Enzo if possible) while still having its awesome big block for all that Torque which gives phenominal acceleration. Was gonna go the 528ci Hemi, 700ft/lbs of torque, 335-345 tires in the back, everything alloy in the engine bay to reduce weight of the big charger etc.

Ofcourse I went for a drive in a Ferrari F355 one day and realised something I never understood before... no matter howmuch power, or how good the Charger would be able to be made to handle, it still has bad aeros (which cant be overcome), it also doesnt feel like a really fast car because its so big inside, its not tight around u, doesnt feel like its on rails... Best example of this feel I can give is a Go-kart. Those things go 20mph max. But the car feels like its going 200mph. I mean driving my charger at 100mph 'feels' slower than a Gokart at 20mph...

This is the experience I got with the F355, I fell inlove with the feel instantly... I was like WOW, firm, tight, cruising at 40mph felt like i was on a race track, never going to forget that.

Then I realised, as much as I wanted to turn the Charer into exotic... its not doible as there are inherant things (such as feel) that cant be changed.

So I decided Its easier to go the other way... Make an exotic accelerate like a muscle car rather than muscle handling like exotic.

So I set my heart on the Diablo (the GT was in the back of my mind like a plague). I knew it was fast, low to the ground, had those doors I liked... however, something for me was missing...

I MISS MY V8 SOUND!
I MISS MY BIG BLOCK TORQUE!

It provided all the handing, it also provided all the speed and aeros, but... to me (i know this is numbers on paper but still) I was like... I get a 700hp v12 built... it will only have like 550 ft/lbs of torque while my charger with 700hp would have 700 ft/lbs of torque AND cost a whole lot less to... Making the straight line performance on it better.

So I was stuck, I wanted something (again in my own mind) a car that would hammer in straight lines (incase I never went to a race track to ever need handling, and thus what i need an exotic for) but If I ever was to go to a race track, I wanted to know I had the king handing car (even If I couldnt use it as I have no track experience and probbably will never have enough to use it)... so to me perhaps it was all numbers on a page "A car that Handles X amount and accelerates X amount" gave me a satisfaction even if it was NEVER to be used as I knew what I had/owned.

This is how the GT idea surfaced from the back of my mind...

It looks like a race car
It handles like an Enzo Ferrari
It accelerates like a Big Block muscle car
It sounds like a V8 (cause it is)

So it kinda had everything... The look I wanted (exotic/race)

It had the thing I loved about muscle cars that I would have missed in the Exotics n thats a Big block V8 that has HIGH torque numbers and a FLATTER power curve (that exotics dont offer)

It also handled like an exotic which the muscle car wouldnt handle like.

So to me its an exotic handling muscle car accelerating type of car.

The best part was.. when I got into the whole exotics (diablo which ofcourse didnt have the torque of the GT40), As I saw cars that were lighter and lighter... (Diablo heavy, Enzo Light, Pagani Zonda even lighter, Mclaren F1 EVEN lighter) I then wanted to add that in the equation aswell "I want a car thats light aswell"...

The GT40 IS extremely light, has a shorter wheelbase for good cornering, has a wide track width for stability at high speeds, has a flat torque curve thanks to its big block v8 that I can put in there and handles like those hypercars and feels fast like a gokart due to the nature of its design while still maintaining that 60s racer Look that I loved and thus the 'theme' is still oldschool

I also loved Y spinners (the Y centre caps) which never suited dodges or chevies, they only suit Ford and I loved them, so now I can run that aswell (very minor detail I know but still) as it suits the Ford Perfectly, again gives it this oldschool racer look. And the cool part is I can run 17/18 wheels with 13/14" brakes to give it a more exotic look or run the traditional 15" wheels because the car is light and doesnt need as much brakes and thus keeping the weight down... either size wheel suits the car. I dont know of any car that looks good with either 18 or 15" wheels. Exotics look retarded with 15s while muscle cars to me look retarded with 18s. The GT40 looks awesome with 15s (oldschool racer look - Good year slicks... absolutelly stunning with those low profiles) or 18s like the GT giving it a more exotic look (which it is an exotic car)

So the GT40 just seems to be everything I ever wanted 'on paper'.

O yeah there other part I wanted (again on paper) was a car that had some racing heritage... This is what (other than torque curve etc) threw me off the Diablo... Lambos dont have the racing Heritage FERRARI have... They look better to me but there missing that part (which is insignificant I know but again its part of the satisfaction feel), The GT40 - Lemans King Dominating FERRARI... its got that ASWELL. Meaning its not just 'yeah big deal' car its a car that you can say 'hey this won lemans 4 years in a row' with a big grin! So its also got HERITAGE behing it.

Everything I designed on paper (history/heritage, flat torque curve, torque numbers, looks, skid pad numbers, handling abilities, wheelbase numbers, weight numbers, wheel/tire sizes, interior seat design (ones with holes) ) that I would want... the GT40 is the only car that ticks every single box.Its Amazing!

I made my criteria in my mind and thats how I went searching and the GT40 is smack bang everything I wanted!

Im just thankful you all gave me the time of day and went along with my 'out there' ideas.

Hope that gives you some idea what Im looking at building when I get to it!

Btw - Im 28, 29 in march next year. Hope to get around to this latest by 31.

 

[Jim Craik]

George,

I was looking at your post, you mentioned, GT40 attributes.

It looks like a race car
It handles like an Enzo Ferrari
It accelerates like a Big Block muscle car
It sounds like a V8 (cause it is)


It looks like a race car: it is a race car.

It handles like an Enzo: maybe at low speed, because it's lighter. But the Enzo has much superior aero, and ground effects.

It accelerates like a big block muscle car: I bet most 40's would beat most Muscle Car, because it is much lighter.

It sounds like a V8: George, there is the best part, with their "bundle of snakes", cross over exaust, they sound even better.

 

[George]

Thanks

Well considering On Topgears track the FORD GT was 2.8 seconds slower around the track than the Enzo. Ofcourse the Koenigsegg was 2 seconds faster than the Enzo but it was also 200HP more.

The GT was 100hp less than the Enzo and 400kg more.

So I assume that 2 seconds would easily be gained by a GT40 in simply being lighter, + add the same amount of Power and I bet it would run head to head with the Pagani Zonda... stick 700hp in it and I bet it would be number 1 on Top gears track... Ofcourse this is my mere logical thinking "if enzo is 100hp more and 400kg less than the GT and only 2.8 seconds faster... then with 400kg less in the GT and 100hp more should gain more than 2 seconds"

I assume so, so I think its handling is better than the Enzo (or can be)

 

[Chris Headon]

George, going back to an earlier post of yours about the other car forums throwing you out because you were not "purist" The thing (one of the things) about the GT40 is that if you look at the originals they were nearly all different. Every development that was added, every change for a given racetrack all made a GT40 differ from another GT40 so there is no "pure" 40 look and feel to get all protective about. If FAV were still running and racing GT40s you can bet your bottom dollar they would be much different to the 60s cars, much as we have changed our spec to meet modern motoring demands. So whatever you chose to do to your 40 when you get it is up to you and most, if not all people on here realise that. I'm sure you could get a replica 40 to out perform an Enzo or a Diablo if you throw enough money and expertise at it, but as has been said so many times before, decide what you want to use it for first and plan/build accordingly, a balls out race spec car may prove undriveable on the road and maybe 350 BHP is enough to give you the thrill (I know it is for me). Meet up with a few owners and hitch a lift off one or more, you'll be surprised how much fun a "stock" 40 can be!

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

George, be careful importing into Australia. I don't want to put a downer on your ambition but when you import a cheap (compared to Australian prices) car,
you have to take into account customs and excise duty, Quarantine and shipping, which can be horrendous and eat all profit. If it was easy everyone would be doing it. Take the time to talk to a customs agent and get the low down before you commit $$$$.

P.S. I have Australia's nicest 355 F1 Berlinetta when you are ready to buy.

 

[George]

P.S. I have Australia's nicest 355 F1 Berlinetta when you are ready to buy.

lol

I was after a Berlinetta aswell. :thumbsup:

You guys rock!