Dwight's RCR GT 40

I wouldn't go out without one. The expansion when hot will ballon those hoses. That is the purpose of the tank. It will vent the hot water as needed when the pressure allows it and then sucks it back in as it contracts. It also gives any trapped air a place to go. Any one disagree??

Bill
 

Randy V

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No disagreement here Bill...

Dwight may be just thinking about an overflow tank or a purge line up at the radiator or something else though.. We don't know what the rest of the system looks like...
 

Dwight

RCR GT 40 Gulf Livery 347 Eight Stack injection
I have the recovery and expansion tank but did not install them at this time.
I did install two heater hoses from the intake / water pump to the heater. The heater should work as designed. Intake pushing water to the heater and the water pump sucking water back into the motor.

I will install the recovery tank toward the rear of the car, near the transmission. That should take care of overflow and when cooled return it to the system.

Is the expansion tank for removing air from the system?

I know a GT40 cooling system hoses are 9 feet longer than my Cobra but it should work the same.

For those that drive their GT40s a lot, how is your plumbed?

I'm trying to keep is simple.

One day I would like to drive my 40 to St Lewis and buy Chuck lunch. (without calling a tow truck)

Dwight
 

Dwight

RCR GT 40 Gulf Livery 347 Eight Stack injection
ordered a MS3 Pro from Very Cool Parts.
Next; wire in the ECU

on wheels so I can push it around the shop.

Dwight

 

Randy V

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Looking good Dwight!
You might want to consider buying 4 relatively inexpensive furniture dollies at Harbor Freight (like $8 each on sale now) to put under the wheels.. If you spin the shock's spring collars down as far as they will go with the weight off the wheels, the combination of the two will bring the car up to a better working height.
 

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I don't know about you guys, but I don't like to bend over that much. Here is how I did it early on in the build. I built a support table that was 3-4" shy of the frame rails laterally, and 3/4 the length of the frame rails. I put it at 2-3ft up(dismantled it when done). I used the engine hoist to raise the front end up and work the table underneath. The bottom 2x4s were mounted off the floor so the hoist could slide under. I added wheels to one end and a hand truck(with a 2x4 to take up the space) to raise the other end for moving around the shop. This was done without the drive train in the car. For that the car came off the table. Just 2x4 construction with some plywood bracing or 2x4 cross bracing. Used 6x6 for the corners and made shelves or inserts or Rabbet cuts for the 2x4s to rest in/on and screwed them to the 6x6. Just left over stuff from a deck project. Allowed me to reach all that I needed without having to bend over so far. 0$, just left over stuff.

Bill
 

Dwight

RCR GT 40 Gulf Livery 347 Eight Stack injection
work is going slow on the 40 but I did get the headers ceramic coated. I have a dent in one of the mufflers that I'm going to get repaired this weekend.
I will have to ship it off to be coated but for now the rest is on the car! Looks good. It's Nitro Plating's bright finish and I like it.

Dwight

 

Dwight

RCR GT 40 Gulf Livery 347 Eight Stack injection
I did make two braces for the belly pan out of 1 1/4" x 1 1/4" x 1/4" aluminum. One coat of aluminum primer and two coats of gloss black paint. I used four (each piece) 5/16 stainless button heads to hold in place. I ran them from the point where the pan bolts to the chassis to the point where the rod attach to the pan.

this is a picture of the one on the left hand side

 

Randy V

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Dwight - did that stiffen up the pan like you hoped it would?
 

Dwight

RCR GT 40 Gulf Livery 347 Eight Stack injection
I have not installed the deck on to test it. But I think it should.

I check it out tomorrow and let you know.

Dwight
 

Dwight

RCR GT 40 Gulf Livery 347 Eight Stack injection
it's been a long time but I'm back working on my 40.

I build four wood stands to bring the car up to a better working height. I finished the wiring. Well, I still have to finish the wiring at the headlights, turn and tail lights. I have weather pack connectors close to the lights so I can remove the body parts. It will be a short pigtail from the connector to the lights. Not much but will take several hours to complete.

Ordered new glass for headlights, turn signals, side windows. I'll have to install the rivet nuts before paint. More hours!

For the last three months I have been working on the body. Well except for the three weeks my wife had me painting the bedroom. That's a long store. Like a frame off rusty car project.
Lots of patching of the fiberglass. Then filler putty for some the ulgy spots. I have a painter who will fix all my bad work. I keep reminding him I'm not a painter. it's going to look great.

I have a guy lined up to install the windshield after I have the spider is painted Gulf livery.

I have a local shop who can do the four wheel alignment and ride height for me.

I weighted the body parts and they weight 240 lbs. The windshield is 31 lbs. I'm removing the body before I take it to the alignment shop and adding 270 lbs of lead. I have a lot of lead bricks and bags of lead shot I can use.

Then Eddie and I will crank the motor.

Have the body painted.

Windshield installed.

Then there will be a bunch of small things to do.
Gas up the air conditioning. Installing the new covers on the headlights and turn signals. Rear glass. Aluminum panels, side windows, decals, etc.
Dyno shop for the final tune.

The list is short but it will take a few more months.

I should have it on the road by early spring.

Jan will make 7 years since I bought a trophy winning show car that I've driven 1/2 mile.

Time flies.

But I can see the end.

Thanks to Keith Wilson, Chuck and Randy for all the help and encouragement.

Dwight
 

Randy V

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It has been a long road for you and this car.... Hats off to you for sticking with it!
If you're going to have it painted off of the chassis, you may want to have the stripe locations masked or marked some how before you remove the clips and spider.
Looking forward to seeing and hearing more about your creation!
 

Dwight

RCR GT 40 Gulf Livery 347 Eight Stack injection
Met Keith at a local gun show Saturday. We had a long talk about a lot of difference things. He offered to make a few parts for my 40 on his milling machine. Great guy. He has been a lot of help through the years as I worked on my car

I made a deal with a painter to paint my GT 40. He bought a new natural gas fired paint booth which he wants me to put together and wire for him. In turn he will paint my car. I'll pay for materials. Great deal for me. He has painted Cobras and a Coupe in years pasted. I know he will do a great job.

Next spring! I hope to be on the road.

Dwight
 

Dwight

RCR GT 40 Gulf Livery 347 Eight Stack injection
I do a lot of electrical work for a local body shop. Last month he ask me if I wanted to trade a paint job on the 40 for putting together his new paint booth. We discussed the details and I accepted his offer. He painted Coach's Daytona Coupe and did a great job. He was a PPG rep for 15 years before he opened his own body shop. I think he is very qualified to paint a fiberglass car.

His new booth is a natural gas heated unit. 1.47 million BTUs which will bring the booth temperature from 70* to 140* F in two minutes. Bakes the car for 25 minutes then cools down.

I have worked 3 days a week for the last 3 weeks on the paint booth. I have about 3 more days of work. I hope.

I'm almost through with my part of the body work on the 40. I don't want to have it painted and find a few small spots that the painter missed. But I keep telling the painter that I'm not a body man and I'm depending on him to do it correctly.
I want to bottom of the front and rear clips to look good. When I raise the rear deck at a car show it has to look clean and neat. Maybe not "car show paint job slick" but good.
Maybe I'm saving the paint shop some time, maybe I'm creating them more work?
We'll see.
The body shop owner is going to come out to my shop and look at the car again this week. He saw it a couple of months ago when he came out to pick up his large tow truck which I had done some electrical repair work on. He just took a quick look at that time. Now he needs to check gaps, high / low panels and mark the center line for the stripe.

I've got to order gaskets for the doors and rear deck today. Leaving here to check Chuck and Keith build logs for details I need.

Getting there slowly.

Dwight
 
I wired a global spray systems a year ago. 260 hours to do it . It was two booths end to end you can put two big trucks end to end,pain in the first then move it to the next and bake it while spraying aging in the first.
 

Dwight

RCR GT 40 Gulf Livery 347 Eight Stack injection
Well, seven weeks ago I started the paint booth. I finished picking up the scaffold today. I have about 160 hours in that project. A lot of problems but we worked through them.

They sprayed a couple of bumpers today. Booth works. But he is going to modify the exhaust filter frame. As the painter sprayed the paper filter caved in as it collected the over spray. I suggested he put a 4" x 4' wire frame behind the paper filter.


Tommy asked me Friday if he could sent a roller back out to my shop to pick up my 40. I told him I needed a couple of weeks to finish a few things and get a four wheel alignment. So for the next couple of weeks I will be very busy on the Gt 40.


I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it's not a train!
Dwight
 
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