The beast is born
- Thread starter ArtGirl
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As well as a 4 digit odometer for rotary powered cars....:thumbsup:
4 digits .... that extra digit sure seems like a waste ... I'd imagine most rotary owners would want to reset the odo after their engine grenades, so 3 digit max :thumbsup:
I'm really pleased to hear this, Ruth!
It seems that the current philosophy is "if good is enough, great would certainly be better" (not that there's anything wrong with that, I just can't see being able to afford a mondo build), and while I am primarily interested in a GT40 right now, the SL-C does interest me. I don't want a track beast, I don't want to go 200 MPH, I just want a cool, radical-looking street machine. I know what can be done with a 40, hopefully you'll be able to show what a budget-minded SL-C build can offer.
We'll all be watching for your build thread......:thumbsup:
Cheers from Doug!!
Doug,
You've probably already viewed Cam's build thread, but if not, he has a good example of a "by the book" SLC build. He has a nice street-registered build. I'll bet Ruth and Collin's SLC will be just as nice!
Cam has done a couple of track days and most are impressed with his car's performance.
In terms of "cool and radical looking".....hard to beat the SLC, IMHO (certainly not knocking the GT40's classic look though).
You've probably already viewed Cam's build thread, but if not, he has a good example of a "by the book" SLC build. He has a nice street-registered build. I'll bet Ruth and Collin's SLC will be just as nice!
Cam has done a couple of track days and most are impressed with his car's performance.
In terms of "cool and radical looking".....hard to beat the SLC, IMHO (certainly not knocking the GT40's classic look though).
LOL!!
Dave would that be your middle digit.....?
That's okay ... I don't begrudge him ... the truth can hurt =(
Planning ahead, we've started looking for sources for the LS3.
Pace Performance and Fred Beans in PA seem to be competitive. Does anyone else have a source that is worth exploring?
And then planning WAY ahead, for those that have started to plan the interiors of the car, what are your thoughts for covering the interior panel that covers the fuel tank, and the rear interior bulkhead panel? I think carpet for the fuel tank cover, but what for the bulkhead? Same as seats, same as headliner?
Its amazing now that I'm looking with wide open eyes, how many interior, body, parts, auto electronics, and mechanical shops exist within a 5 mile radius of our place. Even, McMaster Carr is is only 30 miles away, but that's over an hour in LA.
Pace Performance and Fred Beans in PA seem to be competitive. Does anyone else have a source that is worth exploring?
And then planning WAY ahead, for those that have started to plan the interiors of the car, what are your thoughts for covering the interior panel that covers the fuel tank, and the rear interior bulkhead panel? I think carpet for the fuel tank cover, but what for the bulkhead? Same as seats, same as headliner?
Its amazing now that I'm looking with wide open eyes, how many interior, body, parts, auto electronics, and mechanical shops exist within a 5 mile radius of our place. Even, McMaster Carr is is only 30 miles away, but that's over an hour in LA.
for engine, if you want the best that will last forever
HK Enterprises - Specializing on American Late Model V8 engines
but you'll never get a hold of Erik, so you'll need to talk to one of his distributors
Your Source for Racing Engines & Performance Packages | St. Helens, OR
For interior, I saw raw interior, powdercoat panels either silver vein or wrinkle black. Leather dash.
That's an interesting source but I suspect it might be beyond our budget and needs. We'll need to dig a little deeper to see what something "basic" from HK costs. I just see the word "racing" on everything and envisioned $$$.
On the interior, I think we're going in the opposite direction of raw.
I am planning to do a complete interior on my car. I will likely use carpet on the interior fuel tank bulkhead, lower side panels (under the doors), floors and kick panels. Leather and Alcantara (or Dinamica) will go everywhere else. My modified console will probably have a flocked interior (suggested by Jack M).
The Rapier cars Fran did are good examples of really nice interior work, and attention to detail. The panels you are describing- and several more- were covered in a two-tone leather combo that accented the lines of the interior, and looked pretty good, IMO.
You'll need to give thought to how you are going to manage any audio, as the center stack is too shallow for a normal 1- or 2-DIN radio. You'll have to use a flat panel, probably with a car PC as I am planning to do. In my ergonomic studies (consisting of me in the car with the seats, console, steering wheel, shifter, etc setup
), a driver or passenger can reach the center stack controls while belted in, so a touch screen does make sense if you want to go that far. Several 7" screens look like they will fit into the center stack with a little work.There also aren't a lot of good locations for switches, etc, so plan that carefully. My AC controls will be hidden, and most all other controls will be hidden or operated remotely with the ISIS iPhone app. I'm looking for a very clean, integrated look. I plan to integrate an electronic parking brake switch in the console, along with a start button- and that's all I really want to show.
Keep us apprised of what you end up selecting!
The black Rapier car is a good reference for us. Its the direction we want to go. We just can't remember what covered the rear bulkhead and the pictures we have don't show it. We found an interior shop that seems knowledgeable just up the road that showed us lots of material options. Leather (American vs European) actually seems very reasonable with them.
There will definitely be a screen in the center console area for a rear view camera. And we want radio and ipod audio and maybe ipod video capability as well. Nothing much more than that. No need for gps or cd/dvd. Had a great conversation with an electronics installation firm around the corner. They're doing a lot of "mech-ing". Basically separating the front plate from the non-mechanical (no cd/dvd)guts of double din units. That creates some options. Alpine also has a screen and matching remotely located brains.
This all gets put on the back burner fairly soon as we have some bigger issues confronting us for a while until the chassis and body are done and we re-engage.
The rear bulkhead was covered in Alcantara with carbon fiber and aluminum escutchen plates for the harnesses..
You're speaking our language Doug.
Unfortunately there's no silver bullet here. As awesome as the end result will be, this just isn't a cheap (by our standard) undertaking. Venturing beyond the basics quickly takes you into the realm of "really expensive", and then "crazy expensive". We're filtering with vigilance so that we can avoid both of those. Cam did a great job of that.
I am pretty sure you wil be surprised by how many corners you dont have to cut to get a special car and still not rob a bank...
100% agree. We wouldn't be this far if we hadn't done our homework and reached that conclusion.
This just gets more exciting every day!!
Glad to hear you guys have a plan Ruth. My goal with my current car was fun & reliable. And I managed to do that with the twin turbo build. I DD the car in the summer and take it on roadtrips back to NY, etc. I have over 34k miles on the TT set-up over the last 4 years and the car is still running strong. Everyone always says to turn up the boost or put a sticky tire under it. But I tell them, my goal was fun & reliable. So it runs what it runs. Always puts a smile on my face and everything I did was for a reason. So stick with your plans and I have no doubt you guys will get there. I look forward to following your build.
Ken Roberts
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