Building a RCR GT40

[Chet Zerlin]

Today I began by removing the spider, the roll bar, and the firewall.

Then I started in with the removal of the rear suspension. Took a LOT of pictures of everything before disassembly and also reassembled things as much as possible - putting all bolts, spacers, nuts, etc. back in place so that it can serve as a guide when I reach the point to put the suspension back on. Did the left side suspension first which took me the better part of two hours. After that learning curve I was able to disassemble the right side in about 20 minutes.

Two small furniture dollies from Harbor Freight worked well as rollers for the rear suspension.

Got a call today that my fuel senders have been modified for length and ohm range and are being shipped back to me. Once I get them back I can begin to set up my fuel tanks for installation. RCR also let me know that the A/C parts have been shipped and should arrive shortly. I expect to spend a lot of time mocking up the installation of the brake lines and the A/C lines and the pedals to make sure they don't interfere with each other before drilling the first hole or making the first cut. As a result I'm spending a lot of time going though Chuck and Ryan's build for guidance as well as a number of the other excellent builds on this Forum and the online manual from RCR.

 

[Chet Zerlin]

Finished stripping the chassis and removed the transmission and all mounting brackets. Only thing left is to remove the engine mounts.

I'm still waiting on some backordered parts to be able to fit the brake lines, A/C lines, etc. Unfortunately, Vintage Air has the evaporator unit on backorder so I can't really begin to cut the holes needed and fit the unit in the chassis yet.

However, very soon it will become decision time on what to do with the bare chassis. Powdercoat? POR-15? Polish? Just leave it as unfinished alloy? I really like the chassis (plural?) that I've seen on this forum that are satin black. That color seems to beautifully offset the polished aluminum components. Chuck and Ryan's image of their completed powdercoated chassis without bodywork has kind of been burned in my brain since I first saw it (over two years ago!). SEE: https://www.gt40s.com/threads/chuck-and-ryans-rcr-build.22083/page-8
The finish that Phil has on his powdercoated chassis looks great too. Keith's magna-polish job on his car is beautiful as well - but I'm wondering how much work it would take to do that (plus how much maintenance is needed over the years to maintain it). Not to mention that I probably couldn't look directly at it in the Florida sunshine - even with sunglasses! Finally, looking at the POR-15 finish that Rick (GT40Rick) was able to do on his chassis looks really good - and the fact that he was able to accomplish that by himself (with a 6" roller and a brush) in his home garage is a definite plus. Also, from what I've found in research, POR-15 is a self-leveling paint and therefore, unlike powdercoating, it is possible to repaint an area that might have been scratched during assembly.

For me to have the chassis powdercoated I would first have to find a commercial outfit with a large enough oven near me and find a way to transport it to them and back. The powdercoating shops near me do mostly pool furniture (I did mention that I live in Florida-right?) and are not equipped to handle such a large job. There's also the "fear factor" of trusting the chassis to a shop I've had no prior experience with and hoping that the result is done well (and nothing gets bent or dented in the process). Leaving it as unfinished alloy is certainly the easiest thing to do (and certainly the most original) but the surface of my chassis has many scratches on it and frankly I think I would later regret not finishing it when I had the chance.

Decisions decisions! At any rate I've got some time to make a final decision...after all I don't even have an engine yet!

 

[Neil]

Chet, my advice on finishing aluminum is always the same prepare it with Scotch-Brite clean it very carefully wipe it with MEK or denatured alcohol then spray a coating of zinc chromate epoxy primer. I bought mine from aircraft spruce and it is very durable. You may not like the yellow green but it's used on aircraft everywhere and is the standard for protecting aluminum,