How much experience do you need to build a GT40?

[John S]

There are some really impressive threads on the forum where some of you show their skills. But it also made me think about my own skills. As long as nuts and bolts are involved I think I can manage. But some of you guys are making modifications, fabricating bits and pieces and even doing the bodywork yourself. I presume you need a technical background for that. Having no experience in building a car/kit is the GT40 a step too far for a beginner? Am I underestimating things and should I leave the building part to the manufacturer? Or certain parts of the build process? I can imagine the body to be a bit special and the wiring of course.

Thanks,

John

PS. See what I mean??? (from thread of Chris K)
"My dad and I got through it and had the spider aligned- or so we thought. We started with the front and rear clips and had to re-do a lot of our work. I was getting a little... frustrated. I pulled out the phone in a moment of desperation and put a call in to Hersh. I left him a message saying I needed to validate what I was doing and asked if he'd be willing to swing by. The work week came and I let it go for a while.

Hersh was by Thurs and we started back from scratch, ironically getting just about right back to where we started. That's when he gave me the "it's a 1960's racecar and it's not square" speech. We (he) got a fit I am happy with. I will need to close up some gaps on the doors though as I put any errors there and left the spider & clips as close as I could to original.

Right now I am working on the doors and getting them to hang and swing. Holy crap it's a pain in the butt. And I absolutlely massacred the passenger door handle as well. I'm sure people who've built them already know this but it's a little difficult to get a drill bit in there to get the hole for the pivot drilled. Any recommendations before I deface the driver's side? What tool do I need?"

 

[chuck smith]

just remember, building a car is just an exercise in putting together a lot of small sub systems. It is much easier if you think of it that way. You can do it.

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Chris K built the majority of his car in a little over a month which goes to show that he was on a mission and feeling his own self induced pressure...

Chris's approach is not the norm, as the build is one of the majorly enjoyable exercises for many builder.....the journey not just the destination....dont be detered.
Once you immerse yourself in a build it becomes fun and the feeling of achievement is fantastic...
I know I feel it everytime I see an RCR coming togther so I can only imagine the pride felt by each and every builder that realises their dream............rockonsmile

 

[Martin]

Hi John,

I'm new at this game also and have taken delivery of a new MDA within the last 3 months (Chassis, body, suspension, wheels + Tyres)
I wasn't too keen on doing the panel work so got MDA to do it for me. Generally, if you choose your manufacturer carefully, they will assist you through your build with minimal issues.
If you stick to what your chosen manufacturer recommends then you should be fine as there will have been many who have travelled the road before you.
Of coarse there are those that go their own way and extensively modify their cars for whatever reason. It's then that you need to have experience to get it right.
My advise would be to not be frightened, talk to all the manufacturers on your short list about the areas of the build you feel least comfortable with and make your own conclusions.

It often helps to get in touch with other owners and talk through their build experiences to put your mind at rest.
The Bodywork can be a very frustrating and demanding part of the build. It's not beyond you, just be prepared for a few headaches. Take your time, step back a lot and leave it if your tired and come back another day.
Good luck,
Martin

 

[Mike Pass]

Hi John,
If you buy one of the excellent replicas which are now available you should be able to manage OK. You will find that there is is a lot of help available on this forum and if you join a GT40 club there will be lots of people local to you who can give loads of help and advice. In the days of the KVA you got told that if you needed a build manual you shouldn't be building one! Fortunately this is no longer true. There are now also lots of people around who will be able to do any jobs you feel are beyond your skills but most things will be sorted for you by the maker of whichever GT40 you choose.
Talk to as many people as possible and have a good look at their cars and "drain their brains" Then......Go for it!
Cheers
Mike

 

[Andy Sheldon]

John

Our cars are designed to be built by customers who have little or no car building experience.

The chassis frame is supplied fully bracketted and no welding is required. We even put the studs on for the brake pipe unions.

Only the simple hand tools that most customers have in their garage are needed.

Each kit is supplied with a comprehensive build manual which takes you through the entire build step by step in the correct order and includes diagrams and colour pictures.

Every single item required to complete the car is available direct from Tornado to ensure the compatability of all parts used and each part is supplied part numbered for identification purposes with all of the required fixings, fittings and clips to be installed.

All fixings are BZP plated and all external fixings are in stainless steel.

The wiring harness is supplied with a comprehensive connection chart which lists all wires by colour and gives each terminal identification.

The body is supplied with all cut outs pre marked in the molding process and dimensions for correct alignment are supplied in the build manual.

Its not easy to produce a kit this comprehensive or easy to assemble but we have had 18 years of practice.

Thanks

Andy

 

[John S]

Thanks guys, I'll better concentrate on my research again then (there is simply too much to read on this forum, my wife is complaining she hardly sees me, be it daytime or at night).

John

 

[Doug S.]

I'm in the same boat as you, John. I am confident that I can bolt together any project that is complete from the manufacturer, but it's those that require considerable engineering and fabricating that give me concern regarding the probability of completion. Many manufacturers will supply everything you need (for a price, of course), while others will expect you to source quite a few bits.

IMHO, this field is ready for someone to produce a kit with a "system engineered" orientation--one where a chassis/body/transaxle system is provided with specifically designed parameters that would guarantee a fit with prescribed common engines. The GT40 is a pretty small car and you'd be surprised how many have trouble with unexpected things, such as front engine dress, that cause problems. True, each one will be as individual as the person assembling it, but with the GT40 kits it seems to this beginner that there are an incredible number of variables.

I'm giving consideration to doing a much easier product build at first, maybe one of the Cobra replicas, just to build my confidence as much as building a car. I know it's likely that I would lose some $$ when selling it to finance the GT40 kit, but that might just be a small price to pay for the confidence that successfully completing that first project can provide. IMHO, tackling a GT40 kit as a first build might be a bit like jousting with a windmill. I don't want to end up with $50K in kit pieces sitting in a garage for a decade as I search for others to do things for me, much less face the potential for abandonment of the project altogether.

I, too, will have to learn bodywork if I am going to do the project myself. The advice regarding body/paint work I've seen most often is that if your field of employment yields enough income to pay for that service, it's $$ well spent. If not, well, then it appears we may be on our own in this area. It will be like any other part of the project in that respect--just depends on how much of a hurry you are in and how professional a result you must have.

 

[Howard Jones]

Tell the wife that she will never wonder where you are.......you will be in the garage!!! Really, you can do this. I built my GTD and it was the first car I had ever built from start to finish. I had raced motor cycles in my youth but I have found that I you can take apart a motorcycle then the skills required are not much different. The pieces are bigger but the tools in your hands are the same. If you want to leave the motor and gearbox to someone else then there are many sources for that also. The rest is really more simple than working on your family car. The family car has a lot technology in it and has much more stuff cramed into a much smaller space. GT40's are in the end easy to work on. Just open up the bodywork and there it all is.

As far as the bodywork is concerned, you can do that also. Fiberglass is very forgiving. I you don't like the way it comes out, you can sand it off and have another go at it. Really it is not such a difficult thing as it is time consuming. When the time comes to do the bodywork you can practice a little on some small pieces to get the hang of the process.

This forum gave me all the information I needed to do my bodywork. It's all right here. Just ask buddy!

The current crop of "kits" are pretty much complete as delivered. You won't need to do any mods until long after the car is on the road. By that time you will have the experience behind you to do as you wish.

Oh and the best part.... you are going to meet the nicest people in the world and make a lot of new best friends.

Let the build begin!!!!!!

 

[Scott Calabro]

The "System Engineered" kit Doug speaks of in the second paragraph of his post already exists.

Its called a Tornado TS40.

Cheers,
Scott

 

[Kym Haines]

As I posted in a similar thread:

It is a big undertaking and I was very cautious about whether I would be able to do it given that I had no automotive experience. I write computer software and my only vaguely relevant skill was that I could do a bit of woodwork and had tools relating to that. I started with a Roaring Forties rolling chassis and finished in 2.5 years with some assistance from other owners and the occasional phone call to the factory. I didn't need to buy all that much more in the way of tools except for a metal folder for the aluminium skinning. I did source almost all my parts from the factory.

It is a lot of work and the body work is very time consuming; but each task is relatively straightforward and you just do it a step at a time.

 

[Gary Kadrmas]

Dear NO,

This web site is full of information. Please use the search section for your specific needs. You are bound to find an enourmous amount of information.

In addition, pick up a "KIT CAR" magazine at your local newspaper stand. It will list the manufacturers of GT40 cars, and will contain much information you are seeking.

At this point, when you have figured out what more specific information you are seeking, you can chime back in for an update.

Good luck,

 

[David Morton]

NO - Who are you?

 

[Joey Dean]

Board troll hoping for people to hit his links?

 

[Bill D]

I'll give him a day to respond. If he doesn't, I'll delete his post

 

[John S]

Thanks a lot to all of you (except for Dr No).
I've found some people overhere in the Netherlands who are building their own GT40s (GTD, KVA and MDA) and hope to visit some to experience this process life.

However, I do get the feeling that many owners actually enjoy the build process as much as the car itself. I am more driver than builder which is why I am a little bit afraid to take the plunge. In the past I did all the work that had to be done to my go-kart (and BMW M3), but a GT40 is slightly more complicated and has to be build from scratch. As long as it is very clear which parts you need and where they'll go I should be fine, but I am not looking forward to having to come up with my own solutions where to put certain parts or redirect items. (And no I am not happy working with your solutions as it will probably mean I will have to get things made locally and figure out where to drill holes, attach brackets, etcetera ).
Living in the UK there seem to be many owners and specialist companies, but I am not too sure about Holland.

On the other hand there is always the possibility to have the car (partly) built by the manufacturer and there are already parts of the build process I am really looking forward to (apart from one or two possibilities to buy 2nd hand).

John

 

[frank beuker]

Hi John,
My experience (and this is brief only 1,5 year) is that it also depends on the type of kit you want to build and what the purpuse is going to be.
in my case i could have finished the car ( a kva)in less time and with less headeggs butt then the car would only be a lookat object ,because it would be to bad handling to drive
but this is a result of buying a secondhand kit which has passed through a couple of owners you can call me for some advice or just exchance idears
frank

 

[John S]

Thanks Frank, you are one from the list. I will give you a call later and see if we can arrange a meeting.

John

 

[Doc Watson]

Dr Watson says that Dr No's time it up....

 

[Bill D]

He's gone now