CAV GT40 Specific Questions

[Sandy]

Getting close to the final decision. But have a few specific CAV questions if anyone can answer. A few have popped up but not totally what I'm looking for. So here goes...

1. With the Gulf Flares what is the largest rears that have been fitted to the car (15" and/or 17" rims). Large to me is 335's or larger(17's). I think for 15's it is not a problem for vintage blue streaks, but not sure that is a tire I want to track with

2. Are the cars that currently have a non ZF box easily changable to the ZF? (What needs to be done, details if possible).

3. Track users, any feedback on handeling vs. others that you may have driven, or other comperable cars.

4. Brake system, has anyone removed the Vacuum boost and done something like dual tilton masters (balance bar, etc).

5. Anyone lower the rear so it sits with the tires in the fenders

6. Any other comments (can be private if need be).

Thanks

Sandy

 

I have CAV#66 and am working on some of the issues you mentioned. First, I am using Pirelli P Zero tires, 345-35 ZR-15. They are mounted on 15X12" PSE BRM wheels.
Concerning the rear ride height for the 15 or 17" wheels. I have a kit developed to correct the problem with the ZF trans axle. And to answer your question if a car that was ordered for a non ZF can be easly converted, Yes. Also I have a motor mount upgrade kit. If you are interested I will post pic's of each kit.

Kenny J

 

[Sandy]

Kenny -

Thanks for the reply. I was getting a bit worried that all the CAV people were using the cars for daily drivers

The 15" rims are about only good in my book for the Vintage Goodyear Blue Streaks, the tire choices are just too hard to find. I didn't even see your size on the TireRack site. More importantly is that the at least can fit the width I'm looking at.

It is also good to hear that someone else besides me sees a difference in the ride hight on the cars and did something about it! I had asked this before and people seem to think it is fine, but I has always looked like the rear sits too high on the CAV (same for RF). The DRB's sit correct IMO.

I think a big difference of the CAV owners vs. the 'Assemble yourselfers' (Which I fit into the later) is that most are not of the mentality of wanting to do much mechanically to the car, and just want to drive. As you can see not too much feedback from any CAV'er but you, which is actually very suprising since their have produced a good car with many sold.

Post the pic's as I'm sure others will be interested as well.

Thanks again for getting one more question off my plate! Only a few more to go...

Sandy

 

[Bob Childress]

Hi Sandy,

When I first got my CAV, I also thought that CAV owners were likely to be more interested in driving than building. I guess that is still technically true, but there are at least a dozen owners that I have happened to find out about that have done some truly inspired CAV racecar/showcar modifications. They are just not particularly public about their work. Maybe in the future we will see more pictures and comments from those folks.

As for your question about rear ride height, I got advice from a lot of old hands and then reposition the rear ride height on my car by shortening the upper shock bracket. The first photo illustrates this change. The second photo shows the car level with wheel clearence and ride height totally adjustable in the desired range.

Bob

 

[Bob Childress]

Second picture of car set level with equal wheel clearence.

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Bob..

Did your car come through Dave Wagner....??

 

[Sandy]

Bob, first thanks for the comments!

Yes, you have one of the few CAV's that I have seen with the rear sitting right, however needs to be painted gulf blue and orange

I like both of my options very much, but for some very different reasons. Some of them are things that are an annoyance (to me that is) on the CAV, other the CAV has is a huge plus. The build it yourself route has some things that I really enjoy doing, ie, the mechanical, the rest like fit and trim I suck at and don't like BUT I can use 13" racing brakes, dump a hewland transaxle in it, etc, etc. The CAV is excellent in the fit and finish and it is easy(er) to get one up an running and that is huge. I really can't say how nice it would be to work on my engine and trans and drop that into a car that is pretty much done except for setup and tweeking. Some of the tradeoff in what I can dump into the car also is related to how much of the work is done, the fixed cost of a CAV roller vs me doing bunches of work and gathering up all the minutia (sp) of parts that are really needed to get to the same state.

In any case, thanks for the feed back

Sandy

 

[Bob Childress]

Hi Fran,

Yes, you are absolutely right. I bought my CAV roller from Dave Wagner in Michigan. Dave is a long time Ford employee and a Cobra expert. We worked together on my car until it was drivable and could be shipped to Phoenix. Dave has a fantastic work shop, is very skilled, and is great teacher.

At the time, Dave had 4 other CAVs in various stages of completion (along with a couple of Cobras). As luck would have it, all five GT40s were finished on the same weekend so we rolled them out to take this picture. Each was outfitted differently and all were full of custom fabrications. From left to right, Guardsman Blue, 385 HP 289, & ZF; Black 600 HP 427 FE, & ZF; Maroon 351 with injection, & ZF; LeMans Blue 650 HP 427 (351 stroked) & ZF; and my Guardsman Blue car on the right end with a 400 HP Roush 342 & ZF.

The last month was very exciting, as one at a time, each car as completed and started for the first time.

Bob

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Bob..
Dave is a good friend of mine also ..I actually sold a couple of GT40 's for him..

He is a great guy with a wealth of knowledge...he did however tell me he would not do mid engined cars again due to their complexity compared with his beloved Cobras...

I know three of the other owners of the cars you picture...
Reed had Dave remove his ZF and install an uprated G50 transaxle due to its superior strength and the fact he was running a serious engine.....
Thanks for the great picture...(outside of Daves garage) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Dave Wagners personal car for sale

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4558804241&category=7251

 

[Jean]

Hi Sandy
I would like to answer some of your questions.The NEW GENERATION CAV GT has many features you may want to know of.
The chassis has been stiffened,we have 2" more headroom than before,2" more legroom than before,the suspension is fully rose-jointed at the rear,the brakes have been upgraded to Wilwood all round,larger rotors all round,new BMW carpet interior,new revised suspension geometry,new front and rear upright design,etc,etc.
Please contact us on [email protected] for more information and tech specs.
We will be launching the new car soon with all the details and pics.

Regards
Jean Fourie

 

[Jean]

Hi Bob
Thank you for all your input and support.Your car looks great.Do you know where I could get hold of Dave Wagner?

Regards

Jean

 

Jean (saterday) I will send you Daves num. on monday Cheers Roy

 

[Bjoern]

[ QUOTE ]
Hi Sandy
I would like to answer some of your questions.The NEW GENERATION CAV GT has many features you may want to know of.
The chassis has been stiffened,we have 2" more headroom than before,2" more legroom than before,the suspension is fully rose-jointed at the rear,the brakes have been upgraded to Wilwood all round,larger rotors all round,new BMW carpet interior,new revised suspension geometry,new front and rear upright design,etc,etc.
Please contact us on [email protected] for more information and tech specs.
We will be launching the new car soon with all the details and pics.

Regards
Jean Fourie

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi,
Newbie here... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
I've got the impression that CAV GT40's are well built cars.
Can someone educate me in how to separate the NEW GENERATION CAV GT from the "old generation" when looking at the chassis id plate or chassis number?
Or at the car for that matters?
What was the last build date of the old? What was that build number?
What date started the new generation? What was that build number?
Is there a list on this site or other sites stating all the differences?

 

Hello Bjoern will save you some time as I investigated all this also before i bought CAV29. All the CAV's monocoque cars are essentially the same from serial nunber 1 to serial number 80 when auto futura took over. they state that there have been 30 modifications(do i dare say upgrades)si nce then. keep in mind that there have been scores of happy monocoque owners before the "upgrades"and many have been tracked with no problems. now.... lets see ..if I were starting a new series wouldnt i want to implement a whole bunch of upgrades so people would buy new cars from the factory instead of preowned "old cars".Face it they are businessmen and to continue to sell the cars without upgrades is not wise. One possibility is to buy an old CAV monocoque and then implement the upgrades you select(most are bolt in).you have to make a decision as to whether the upgrades amount to a hill of beans.Buying a new roller is going to set you back75000$ with sales tax and then you have the joy of selecting and installing the engine and trans etc.Yes you will end up with a "better car" of your spec but you will be into it 125000$ and then of course there will be more absolutely essential " upgrades "down the line.Precisely why I went with buying a completed car. Besides I've built too many cars from scratch.

 

Hello again I forgot to mention about the "space frame" cars that CAV produced before they came up with the monocoque car. I dont have vin numbering for those. As I understand it CAV is going to have a comparison between space frame and monocoque cars on their website soon..The old spaceframe cars are somewhat cheaper than the mono cars.torsional stiffness data is not available (except for RF per Hersh)and the reason for buying a mono is mainly the other aspects ( beautiful stainless steel work etc.) of the monos and the basic human need to have the latest and greatest. The other manufactures like RF and Tornado are still space frame based and have a lot of developement behind them. Since most replicas in general are space frame based i went with the mono car mainly because it more approximates the original and just looks better and is different than the herd. CAV recognized this early on and did the mono mainly as a marketing thing I believe.The next cool thing they could do would be to make the roof also stainless steel as per original.Then they would have a car commensurate with the ERA car which is the next level in pricing and wait time.Soooo.. I'm just going to enjoy my little mild spec starter 40(mono chassis with ford crate motor and Audi Getrag) which is just stunning in appearence until I find the right GT40 replica which someone else has dumped 150000$ into.

 

[40 Bud]

I believe that the only replica with a steel center section - so far - is Super Performance. The Snook/Goran chassis will also be steel I believe. Last time I looked, the ERA is glass- just like everybody else.

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

RCR is working on a steel and also an aluminum roof section , I am persuing both avenues at the moment and will decide once I have worked through the pro's and con's of each, ..aluminum is winning at present due to the compatibility of the chassis and the ability of making the mono/roof section completely cohesive....look for it as an option in early 2006....

 

can you really buy a superformance SPF GT gt40 roller for 65000$(mk1 or mk2) with factory support? if so the other 40 manufacturers have had the bar raised considerably since the car is monocoque chassis with pressed steel roof and leather and ac and smiths gauges and set up for ZF. I actually much prefer the Mk1 body (without the wide hip gulf option)to the mk2 with all its inlets and snorkles. kinda like the difference between the series 1 XKE and the series 2 XKE. The series 1 rules.

 

Sandy, In reply to your much earlier post about most CAVs seem to be daily drivers is probably true because mine is and it is much more fun to drive than turning a wrench. IMHO Joseph /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif