A great big thank you www.GT40s.com

A great big thank you www.GT40s.com

A BIG THANK YOU www.GT40s.com

I now have the story. This website was motivated by Robert Logan, owner of Roaring Forties in the land of the Kangaroo, Koala bear, not forgetting to mention Fosters. Also some rugby and cricket players. He put his idea to Hershal Byrd who said he knew just the person to make it happen, Ron Earp.

To these three gentlemen a huge big thank you for their initiative and foresight. They've changed my life forever and I'm sure that all other forum members and visitors to the site would agree wholeheartedly.

In January last year when I dropped in to check on progress on the GT40, Ken MacLeod asked me if I had heard of the GT40 website. I said I hadn't and went home and immediately signed up. My life has never been the same since!!!!

Being one of the 'older boys' it took me a long time to get my head around computers. If in doubt ask a six year old! During 2002, a business associate nagged me on a regular basis to get on to the Internet. He predicted, that as I said above, that it would change my life forever. I'm thankful to him as well. We often need people to make fire under our whatsisnames.

As the website revolves around a car I've always found the sharing of technical and historical information brilliant. It also allows one to wander off the subject (I'm probably one of the main culprits!) and thanks to OFF TOPICS many issues such as aircraft, motor bikes, trailers, animals, jokes and even politics have been discussed. It makes life most interesting and one learns much from fellow forum members. I've been and am always hugely impressed by the intelligence, intellect, wit and often sharp and thought provoking responses. I've been told that on other forums there are often fights and arguments but apart from the occasional glitsch www.GT40s.com has been civil, friendly and fun.

Thanks to Robert Logan's brainchild, I've had four visitors from three countries. Three stayed with us for about a week at different times and one visited. Three of the visits led directly to new business deals. They all said, 'Ah, there are the dogs.'

My British born, nitpicking (Virgo!) editor wife has often said that my car building and motor racing buddies and I are all barking mad (thanks for that expression Barry Davison). However, she made my day when she said what nice friends I have on the forum and that she would be delighted if they came to stay again!!!! You see, I'm trying to tell you what a good bunch you are!!!! We have an open house and if any of you want to head to the bottom end of Africa, come and stay. The scenery, barbeques and wine are good!!

I have one particular lasting benefit and I mean this sincerely. Whenever my blood pressure rises and I feel like throwing my toys out of the cot, the picture of Pete swimming with the dolphin pops into my mind. Now how the hell can you be cross when you see in your mind's eye Pete's happy smile with the equally cheerful dolphin?
Obviously some good guys in Oz. Just a pity they regularly beat us on the cricket and rugby fields.

Thanks once again Robert, Hersh and Ron.

Have a great Festive Season and may 2005 be a good one!
Andre 40

 

Re: A great big thank you www.GT40s.com

Well said Andre. We all owe a great deal of gratitude to Robert,Hersh and Ron for making it happen. Thanks guys. Regards /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Re: A great big thank you www.GT40s.com

Andre..

So your wife will upset when I show up at your door with a months worth of luggage?

Boy, I wish I could visit S.A. to see you, Jimmy and all the other wonders down there!

Best to all for the holidyas, whatever version of them everyone celibrates /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Rick

 

Re: A great big thank you www.GT40s.com

Hi Rick,

That's probably the time it'll take for us to 'chew the fat!'

Whenever you're ready just jump on a South African Airways flight at Atlanta. The flights go via the Cape Verde Islands for re-fuelling and direct to Cape Town. Some flights go via Johannesburg.

First time visitors from the Northern Hemisphere have always found it strange to celebrate Christmas in the heat of summer. Even more strange to see Christmas cards in South African homes depicting snowy scenes!

Port Elizabeth is about 500 miles due east of Cape Town and flying time is one hour. Otherwise the drive is scenic and if you keep the needle on about 120 km/h you'll hit Jimmy's little shop in about eight hours.

A suggestion. My old Porsche buddy and his wife, Claudia, spent a week with us in November. Roger and I shared an apartment in Stuttgart and we both left Porsche in mid-1964. He moved to Bowling Green in Ohio where he's been ever since. When he arrived at Cape Town airport it was the first time I had seen him in over 40 years, which meant some very serious chewing of fat.

For the past 17 years Roger and Claudia have been running small tour groups of about 20 people to Europe and more recently to Australia. In view of their business I've been nagging them for years to visit Dark and Wild Africa and finally I succeeded! The main reason for their visit was to assess the country for a future tour and luckily every day went off without a hitch including a 350 mile trip along the Garden Route in the direction of Port Elizabeth. They've returned home to start planning a trip for November next year.

They would be the ideal people to tell you about their visit and about the country. Roger will even tell you about his barking mad friend! You can contact them on telephone 419 352 8096 and e-mail [email protected]. For the past 21 years they have been the tourism correspondents for the Toledo Blade, www.toledoblade.com Go to 'contributors' in the left hand column and then to 'Holliday and Fischer'. Roger e-mailed me a few days ago to tell me that their SA trip report is about to be published.

Best wishes,
Andre

 

[Tim Kay]

Re: A great big thank you www.GT40s.com

Another great big thank you the the 'Three Musketeers' mentioned above.

This forum has become a main staple in my daily existence. I read it every morning like my 'old man' reads his L.A. Times newspaper. And usually it's the last thing I check with before I go to bed.

I guess being a part of this forum gives me some sort of link with the past that was history defining and therefore, is some obscure way, participating in the continuation of that history. In addition, the contributions of people like Andre who have been involved and dedicated with this industry all their lives add enormously to the reality of the past.

Thanks to all and seasons greeting.

 

[Robert Logan]

Re: A great big thank you www.GT40s.com

Andre,

Thank you for the big wraps but the real work was done by Ron Earp and still is done by him.

In the begining Hershal was a LARGE user of the Cobra forums and we talked often about the fact that we needed a DEDICATED FORUM JUST FOR THE GT40's. Hershal or myself knew what we wanted but did not know how to get it (same story when I was at college and all those girls!!!!). Hershal suggested an owner of one of my Roaring Forties and Ron came on board.

Ron is just one great guy. He is highly intelligent, very diplomatic and most of all gets the job done. He took it upon himself to build the forum and I agreed to help financially and before I knew it the forum was up and running. Talk about giving a job to a busy man.

Ron is now assisted by many others who act as administrators / helpers and these I also would like to thank butas I am sure we all understand Mr. GT40's.com is Ron Earp and without his continual dedication we would all be lost in ciberspace.

Ron is in the process of selling his Roaring Forties GT40 but this will not mean that we are loosing him. Nothing could be further from the truth, Ron is having Roaring Forties build him a new car and it is with pleasure that I can do this for him.

Ron is one in a million and I for one am most impressed in the way he deals with the day to day running of the forum and I could not even think of one thing that he has done wrong.

Ron thank you.

Best wishes,

Robert

 

[Ron Earp]

Re: A great big thank you www.GT40s.com

Gentlemen, I appreciate the kind words, but it really isn't necessary. I like working with the forum and the main thing that I wanted when putting it together was a place for people to discuss their builds and to learn how things are done. For the most part that need is served here, and far more than just that.

It has grown far more than I had anticipated when we started the thing over on the old 54 free servers. Probably most don't remember those days, but that was before most people were here and certainly before it was commerical or well known. Best thing that could be said for that format was it was a testbed for the future and provided some indication that the forum would be successful.

Like Hershal, I spent a lot of time on the Cobra forums researching Cobras before deciding I really didn't want one. Open top cars have never been my favorites and unless they are race cars I'm not attracted to them. I've always said when I want wind in my hair I'll take my motorcycle, and always did. Anyway, those days on the Cobra forums many of us tried to get GT40 threads started but they had short half-lives. Thus - here we are. The Cobra forums have since started GT40 sections but they are largely too late as most people know we're here now and join us happily for unfettered GT40 talk.

2005 will have a lot of changes in store for me personally, and for the forum. I plan to competitively compete in the SCCA Improved Touring S class cars with my Lotus-powered Jensen Healy - the only ITS Jensen Healey in the country racing in the SCCA. They have a winning reputation from the Production days and I hope I can make this thing win again, with some serious development. I'm also looking foward to taking delivery of a Roaring Forties GT40, as Robert mentioned, and driving a 40 instead of building a 40. That decision was incredibly hard for me to make but at some point you sort of evaluate all the things you do and you've got to make a decision. Between family, work, flying, driving, building the race car, and the 40 build there was little time - so I selected the 40. I look forward to replacing it with a running 40 that will see a lot of track time, therefore, the car bias will probably shift from what I was building.

I've decided the forum will receive a makeover as well. New software, supporting a host of new features, and it will have to have some advertising from sponsors. We already do accept advertising in the forum of foums for marquees, but we'll have some small but tasteful banner ads as well. Selling out? I don't think so - just being realistic with our needs and how we should operate. Trust me - it'll be smooth and you won't notice it except for the fact we'll all enjoy the new features and the advertisers will be happy with potential business and exposure.

I think 2005 is going to be a fantastic year for www.gt40s.com!

Ron

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Re: A great big thank you www.GT40s.com

Andre...
I truly appreciate the invite but unless Santa leaves me two round trip tix in the stocking, I will be absent! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif
The great thing about forums like this is we can talk to people as friends that we would otherwise never meet or connect with!

I am honoured that I can talk to people who have done and seen such wonders and have been present during amazing times and events. I am slightly amazed that I have interacted with people as diverse as Jack Roush, Jimmy Price and Bob Eaton not to mention the Hurlocks from AC!!!!

Sometimes I think I am doing a cheap version of Woody Allen's "ZELIG"!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Again, best wishes to all and everyones loved ones.
Rick /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif