Chassis kit information
- Thread starter AlG
- Start date
Search the forum for or the net for MANY negative reviews on your GtForte thoughts. Cheaper is never better. Search function is your friend.
Regards Brian
Regards Brian
Al it depends on what you are looking for. I'm going down this rabbit hole myself and found that you have several options in no particular order:
1. AK40 - based in the UK but have a US based agent Revival Motor Cars
2. Tornado - again UK based and offers a 100 percent kit or a la carte options
3. RCR - US based out of Detroit - Deluxe plus kit is no where near complete but offers a good starting point
4. GenZ40 - US based startup - no cars delivered yet
5. Active Power - US based C5 suspension based kit
I am personally considering an AK40 or a Tornado for their completeness and factory support. Plus they allow build up in stages based on what you spec out and want. Check all the build logs on here for which one will suit your needs.
1. AK40 - based in the UK but have a US based agent Revival Motor Cars
2. Tornado - again UK based and offers a 100 percent kit or a la carte options
3. RCR - US based out of Detroit - Deluxe plus kit is no where near complete but offers a good starting point
4. GenZ40 - US based startup - no cars delivered yet
5. Active Power - US based C5 suspension based kit
I am personally considering an AK40 or a Tornado for their completeness and factory support. Plus they allow build up in stages based on what you spec out and want. Check all the build logs on here for which one will suit your needs.
Thank you for the info. AK40 was actually one company that stood out to me. I know everyone has probably heard this before but I want something that is going to be as close to the original gt40 especially when it comes to the chassis design. I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty either. I’d honestly prefer to weld the whole thing up myself but I don’t think that is going to be an option.
Just remember that any of the tubular framed cars are zero percent close to an original monocoque chassis. Thant includes the RCR monocoque and CAV monocoque which has similarities but far from being true.
But they do offer a wider variety of options of what you want to modify and adapt for your hearts content options.
The purer you want to be, would be with Holman Moody, GM Automotive Engineering,( Gelscoe), Safir, Superformance, if you can magically find ERA ones or if you like to clean up galvanized metal prior to welding GOX if you can even make contact.
But they do offer a wider variety of options of what you want to modify and adapt for your hearts content options.
The purer you want to be, would be with Holman Moody, GM Automotive Engineering,( Gelscoe), Safir, Superformance, if you can magically find ERA ones or if you like to clean up galvanized metal prior to welding GOX if you can even make contact.
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Well said Andrew.
Regards Brian
Regards Brian
Another thing to consider. The GT40 was never meant to be a street car and Tornado has done a spectacular job of creating a version that is much better mannered. Rubber bushed suspension joints vice spherical bearings, Grenada parts vice custom magnesium castings, air con, etc all make driving it much more tolerable. I’ve owned several race cars and even doing the parade during the July vintage races at Road America could be a challenge.
Andrew
I just read your post above and would like to make a few additions.
Our standard rear suspension has 6 spherical bearings with the remaining 12 bushings being rubber for isolation purposes.
The top rear links have spherical's on the out board ends to allow for camber adjustment.
The rear ends of the four long trailing links have spherical's to allow for rear toe in/out adjustment and rear castor adjustment.
If both ends of the rear trailing links were rubber bushed, as is the case with some early GT40 kits, the rear suspension would be in bind.
We do also offer a full Spherical suspension set up as an option but do not recommend it for road use.
We have not used Granada uprights for the last 20 years or so.
The front uprights are now cast aluminium items as standard with our own fabricated uprights at the rear.
Again we also offer our own cast aluminium rear uprights as an option.
Thanks
Andy
I just read your post above and would like to make a few additions.
Our standard rear suspension has 6 spherical bearings with the remaining 12 bushings being rubber for isolation purposes.
The top rear links have spherical's on the out board ends to allow for camber adjustment.
The rear ends of the four long trailing links have spherical's to allow for rear toe in/out adjustment and rear castor adjustment.
If both ends of the rear trailing links were rubber bushed, as is the case with some early GT40 kits, the rear suspension would be in bind.
We do also offer a full Spherical suspension set up as an option but do not recommend it for road use.
We have not used Granada uprights for the last 20 years or so.
The front uprights are now cast aluminium items as standard with our own fabricated uprights at the rear.
Again we also offer our own cast aluminium rear uprights as an option.
Thanks
Andy
Monocoques of ok quality is £50-80k if you can manage to negotiate a reason for the very few suppliers to accept your reason for them to supply you one. The next obstacle will be to get anyone to sell you all the needed uprights, suspension parts, rack, wheels, pegs, bolts…then the next quest is to find bodywork thats not for a typical replica as the originals differ quite alot… all in I’d expect parts alone will land you in the region £150 -200k easily… then you’ll need to find a suitable engine and a ZF box…
Happy hunting
Happy hunting
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Randy Folsom
Supporter
You really need to consider time. Time to delivery, and time from delivery to drivability. The age when you can afford one of these cars is also when your life can take sudden turns, like the passing of a spouse, health issues, new relationships, etc. I look at pictures of me when I ordered my car and pictures of me now 2-1/2 years later. I have definitely aged and I still have at least another year to go before I finish.
You should also consider return on investment. Plan on losing money, lots of money. This is a hobby. If the building process is not your favorite part of owning one if these cars, then consider buying a completed car. There will still be plenty of work to do as these cars are never finished.
You should also consider return on investment. Plan on losing money, lots of money. This is a hobby. If the building process is not your favorite part of owning one if these cars, then consider buying a completed car. There will still be plenty of work to do as these cars are never finished.
Wise words. The good news is that Tornado and AK offer a modular approach so you don’t need to spend 100k for a kit but rather could be as little as 20k (depending on how much you start with.
Plus please consider tool costs and equipment to build one of these things. It’s not a simple set of spanners and sockets. You need fabrication tools, saws, rivet gun, sanders, etc etc etc.
Plus please consider tool costs and equipment to build one of these things. It’s not a simple set of spanners and sockets. You need fabrication tools, saws, rivet gun, sanders, etc etc etc.
Davidmgbv8
Supporter
Well said, the Superformance is the closest chassis to original without going to the Gelscoe level.
Thanks for the input everyone. I think the first thing I need to establish is the budget. At this time buying a complete car is doable but definitely a stretch especially anything over 100k USD and I don’t want to be broke because of a project. I do like the idea of starting from the ground up, not trying to be overconfident but I do have experience assembling General aviation kit aircraft which may be a plus since I have a bunch of the tools needed probably like welders, welding tables, rivet guns, a paint booth, and a bunch of tools from my wrench-turning days as a mechanic.
Gosh I didn’t know about the modular approach from tornado… I even asked my bother in law how to make the trip to the UK, sadly he passed away last year.
Andres
Our super pro kit contains everything needed to build and finish a car for £64,995 which is approx $85,000 USD
It even includes the brake fluid
The above package can be also purchased in stages starting at £12,995 or approx $16,900
No welding, no machining or making parts or brackets is required as its all supplied in the kit
Just follow the build manual
Thanks
Andy
Our super pro kit contains everything needed to build and finish a car for £64,995 which is approx $85,000 USD
It even includes the brake fluid
The above package can be also purchased in stages starting at £12,995 or approx $16,900
No welding, no machining or making parts or brackets is required as its all supplied in the kit
Just follow the build manual
Thanks
Andy
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