GTD40 Restoration

[Andy]

That is an option to consider, I was assuming the airco needed the heater as a kind of heatexchanger. If this can reduce the size of the airco unit it might be a solution. I am also looking to the wiper mechanism for which the motor is but in the middle with a lot of hinges and levers. I noticd with the southern gt, the wipermechanism of a mini is used with a spiral cord instead allowing the motor to put at the side. Lots of option to consider.

 

[Doug S.]

...or I need to tap them from the big tubes towards the radiator, and use an extra pump to circulate the water to the heater matrix...

One of our members who built an RCR40 did that... He used a standard Ford part for the pump...it was for a water-to-air intercooler. I thought that quite ingenious :thumbsup:

 

[Paulbav]

Of course if you ditch the heater you will need a heated screen...
The "mini" Lucas wiper motor is what I'm using just need the correct gearing for the full sweep with a single wiper, 110' iirc.

 

[Paulbav]

WIPER SYSTEM, ONE WHEEL BOX - Classic &AMP Vintage Car Parts from SVC - The Best Prices

Do double check the sweep though could be any of the options, happy to dig through my receipts if needed.

 

[Andy]

Hi Paul,
Thanks for the tip about the wiper, I will dig into it.

Today I focused on a small job being to insulate the left wall. There was nothing so I added some polystryreen and some Titanium heatshield.
Done the job without removing the big tubes...a bit challenging but was okay in the end.

The titanium is AMS 4902 sheet used in the aerospace
and is only 0.45 mm thick...

Removed the water tubes for the heater matrix for now.
Next step to decide how to install the airco...and how to set it up.
Using an auxillary waterpump just for the heater matrix and crunching my brains how to do a clean routing with all the airco components.
My goal is to reduce a much a possible tubing and hoses...kind of Lean design...

 

[Andy]

Here you can see the inside...still a mess.

Wondering if I can tweak the wiper motor to be a mini Lucas setup to reduce a bit the costs... for sure it needs to more to the right.

Anyone familiar with the steering ? Is it from a triumph Spitfire ?
It is adjustable in height and length but not really solid in my view...lot of slack on it. Any ideas ?

 

[40 Bud]

If my memory serves me correctly, the steering was from a Triumph Dolmite and later versions were made in house.

 

[Andy]

Received the Southern GT suspension upgrade parts for the GTD.

Looking good, bit a shame the transport damaged the powdercoat.

Trial fitted the front suspension.

The Shock absorber points out the position of the lower arm since there is no adjustment possible between shock / chassis and shock / lower arm. The lower arm rod ends now touches the rear side of the bracket.

The left front suspension shows 1/2 " space at this particular location so that one is better. Let's see what comes out of the front wheel position towards eachother.

Top mounts have enough space for adjustment.
The one-bolted bracket however worries me...might slide out of position under braking...

 

[Andy]

Trial fit of the suspension.
The right side top mount is 60 mm higher for less progressive camber during compression. IMO it was too progressive. Also planning to get rid of those reinforcement plates and replace them with a stiff crossmember which supports the top mount for the wishbones/arms.
http://www.gt40s.com/forum/members/...-restoration-picture1524-rear-suspension.html
...sorry, was not able to put the image direct in this post using an iphone only...

 

[Dave]

The Southern GT stuff is nice, If I was in the UK I think I would be building one.

 

[Andy]

Question about the door and latches...
Currently situation...

I was wondering if the metal plate from the door must go over the plate connected to the roof ?

My left door top section is sticking above the body and the right door is bit too low...the rest of the door is aligned okay, can I force the top section of the door with those clamps ?

 

[Randy V]

They're meant to go just the way they are.. Their function is to keep the tops of the doors in check at speed as GT40's have a tendency to lift the tops of the doors...

As far as adjustments go, I would use the metal plates to bring things into better alignment unless it took a lot of strength (doubtful) to move the door top into position.

 

[Mike Pass]

Here is a pic of the door clips on my GTD. Hope this helps.
Cheers
Mike

 

[Andy]

Hi Mike and BigFoot, thanks for the confirmation.
I tried to align the left door but after 2 hours of fiddling I concluded the holes on the car needs to be enlarged to give more room for adjustment. Time to check the brackets and pivots, needs cleaning and I see there are gaps between chassis and doorbracket which needs sealant. since the door is out, going to paint the inside black....started with something small, now everything is apart :drunk:

 

[Randy V]

Andy - the door alignment on a GT40 is probably one of the toughest jobs. Mine was so screwed up, I spent months on it and l finally have it where I want it...
Mine took a lot of body work to make it right..

 

[Andy]

Hi Randy,
It is tricky indeed and especially if someone already setup the body and fixed it to the chassis. I noticed the front section of the body is symmetrically with the chassis but the rear of the middle section is 1/4" offset (more to the left with regards to the chassis). When trial fitting the door, the front of the horizontal rooftop is tight to the chassis while the gaps on all the other edges is good.
First refurbishing the brackets a bit and will try again within a couple of days when I have some extra pair of hands around.

Below the first bracket removed from its green ship lacquer, ready to paint.

 

[Pierre-Louis]

There was the same problem on my GTD. Was some work to have these door tops level and true to a correct tolerance...

 

[Andy]

Woah, looking good.
Looks like I am heading to a complete paint :shifty:
I tried to avoid a paintjob but perhaps this is a good reason :idea:
Noticed some gaps on the left door hinge are huge (more as 1 inch).
Looking to other GTD's, I noticed some also have this huge gaps at this spot.
Inside the cockpit, I can see they already tried to lift the left section of the body up to compensate a bit for it.

Noticed also today some differences on the frame at the rear.

Top picture you see a metal ruler along the main beams.

The left side is more pushed forward...it is difficult to mount a metal plate since there is a difference of 1 inch.
At the right side it is okay.

Looking to the inside glassfibre, it fits all nicely. Crushing my brains how to fill up this gap to make a flat sheet against it. Using spacers but difficult to use rivets. Need to sleep a night over it. :zzz:

 

[Dr. Bob Woods]

Mike and Andy,

I would like to do the same door clips that are used on GTD. I haven't found their website. Do they have them for sale? Can you point me in the right direction?

-Bob Woods

 

[Mike Pass]

GTD are no longer in business. Try Mick Sollis at Southern GT.
Southern GT - Manufacturer of the new Southern GT40 Replica-niiup5q1not4tdc2ne49limbh6
Cheers
Mike