Dreaming of a GT40

[Houston Klassen]

Hi everyone,

Have loved cars since I was a kid. Always dreamed of having a Shelby Cobra, and fulfilled that dream by building a Factory Five Mark IV (Ford Coyote Crate Engine) 2 years ago with my Dad (which was really the best part of the dream, though the car is amazing to drive) With that done, I purchased an old '81 Jeep CJ7 to rebuild with my son (almost 14 and will begin driving with a permit early next year). With that pretty much out the door, I'm starting to look at what would be the next fun build, and a GT40 is really high on the list. I'm here to learn about others experience, and to figure out if there are strong options in the GT40 Kit market that I should be looking into. Sooooo... I definitely want input on what to look at, what to avoid, and any other thoughts and suggestions anyone cares to offer.

Looking forward to the conversation, and of course, getting to the point where I can start a new build!

 

[Geert-Jan]

Welcome to the forum.
I'm sure you'll find all the answers here!

 

[Ron Earp]

Welcome, enjoy the forum!

 

[Jack]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Randy V]

Welcome Houston!

There are many options out there in the world of GT40's
Pay close attention to the build logs section here and you'll find that even the most complete "kits" will still leave you with plenty of opportunities for exercising your skills. Depending on how period-correct you want to be, you will likely find yourself doing a fair bit of fabrication and deviation from the master plan of the mfgr..
Ask lots of questions of many people before you buy!!!
Good luck!

 

[Houston Klassen]

Thanks Randy. When we built the Factory Five Kit, which I would consider one of the best Cobra kits, we still had lots of custom fab to make it what we wanted, but I'm okay with that. I just want a quality car that once it is together properly, will perform and last. For example, I took the roadster to the track this year for a day and after 4 hours on a track at speeds exceeding 150mph and hard corners, everything was still in great shape. ANd btw... outrunning just about every modern "supercar" that was on the track with us, though maybe their computerized traction control and cornering capabilities out did us just a little. But once we had it pointed straight... get out of the way! Looking forward to learning more about the GT40 options!

Welcome Houston!

There are many options out there in the world of GT40's
Pay close attention to the build logs section here and you'll find that even the most complete "kits" will still leave you with plenty of opportunities for exercising your skills. Depending on how period-correct you want to be, you will likely find yourself doing a fair bit of fabrication and deviation from the master plan of the mfgr..
Ask lots of questions of many people before you buy!!!
Good luck!

 

[Randy V]

I used to be a Performance Driving Instructor at BIR... Fun track and when you're running the long course, you experience terminal velocity pretty darned fast... Glad you had a good time with your car there (assuming thats the track you were at)..
I've built 6 FFRs for other people and myself.. The newer bodies MK3+ make it a breeze...
It sounds like you've probably got the skills, now the patience and (of course) the patience and drive...

 

[Houston Klassen]

I used to be a Performance Driving Instructor at BIR... Fun track and when you're running the long course, you experience terminal velocity pretty darned fast... Glad you had a good time with your car there (assuming thats the track you were at)..
I've built 6 FFRs for other people and myself.. The newer bodies MK3+ make it a breeze...
It sounds like you've probably got the skills, now the patience and (of course) the patience and drive...

Hi Randy, you are correct that we ran at BIR... What a blast! It was really my first time on a track in anything so I had a lot to learn, but by the end of the day was running reasonably well. My biggest hold up was the concern about putting the car into a wall, which a couple of guys did that day... I think I'd have been much more aggressive if I was in something bought... but the thought of seeing the "dream that we built" smashed held me back a little. We built the MKIV, and it was everything I expected. A great kit with "most" of the bugs worked out.