Hi Mike,
Thanks for touching base, to the best of my knowledge here is the history that sits behind my car.
Chassis development history:
In 1987 Phil Ware formed a syndicate to acquire moulds and basic kit from the United Kingdom. Returning to England Ware approached GT40 kit car manufacturer KVAs owner Ken Attwell about acquiring moulds to produce GT40's in New Zealand. Agreement was reached with Attwell selling a disused set of moulds. KVA had taken its moulds from a genuiine Mk 1 GT40.
A KVA C-type chassis was also purchased to be used as the chassis design for Wares Ford GT40 replicas. After the initial 10 car bodies were built, Ware was approached by a number of people wanting to acquire one. He formed GT40 Replication Limited for that purpose and had Replicar Developments improve the mould quality. John Simpson, a specialist automotive engineer, improved the GT40s suspension and chassis. In total 35 kits (including the initial 10) in total were sold, some turnkey.
David Harvey then acquired the business from Ware in 2002.
[7] Harvey’s holding company was Nelson based GT 40 NZ Limited. David then engaged Dave Bray from Dave Bray Chassis Shop to verify the building of the cars as well as other related parties to check all the dimensional and safety aspects of the construction along with LVTTA certified engineers. This resulted in the following refinements being made to the chassis:
- Rear bump steer corrected
- Rear cross member design change to allow Transaxle to sit lower
- Improved rear transaxle mount
- Better roll bar mounting allowing full length tanks
- Lowered floor panel to accommodate taller driver
- Forward chassis design improved to make panelling easier
- Additional strengthening of the A pillars
- Strengthened the front mounting platform for the spider to bolt on to.
David renamed the business in May 2010 as GT40 & Lola Parts Limited. His primary market was the US and sold the majority of the GT’s to US customers. Total production was 10 GT40’s.
My chassis was one of last to be produced and David had kept two for himself but decided to sell this chassis as he is undertaking other projects (Lola).
There's no doubt that I may have overlooked something but there you have it.
Mac