Hey Ya'll - Question on SPF GT40 Track Use

[David]

I am starting my research into purchasing a Superformance GT40 and need some advice.

I do a lot of track days and would like to take this car to the track.
Is the Superformance car capable of doing as many as 20 track weekends a year?
Is the car a good performer at the track?

Any help would be great.

Thanks

David

 

[chuck smith]

Re: Hey Ya'll

I do not think you will find anyone with that kind of experience in a SPF gt40 yet , however, I see no reason that if the car is built with that intention in mind that it should not be up to the task. I did hear from someone at the VIR event recently that it gets a little light in the front end at speed, maybe some canyards would help.

 

[David]

Re: Hey Ya'll

Thanks Chuck

We have a members only track here where I live and I put around 5k miles at it in my C6 Z06 last year before it tanked.

Currently I run a Viper out there but am looking for the GT40 as another car to add for the track and for town cruising.

I have always loved the GT40 from childhood and think the newer replicars are coming out from the factories with great components and are very worthy of consideration for purchase as well as any auto manufacturer is producing.


David

 

[Gary Kadrmas]

Re: Hey Ya'll

David,

The SPF GT40 is a very nice package from the factory.

If you have ever attended a Historic Race, you will have noticed that much of the equipment on original GT40s are in place to last long periods of time under sustained speeds. Even so, alot of times, the originals have times where things happen that side lines a car.

So if you intend to track your car, it will require some serious thought into the engineering of components to the engine/trans/cooling systems/and the lubrication systems to allow for track days. You will find that the best engineered systems, under the test of real time testing will result in re-engineering. So, it is a learning experience, and what you are seeking is attainable, but the journey getting there will be the initial cost of entry + the $$$$$ to make the car go the speed you are seeking.

Cost of the car + engine/trans/+ other stuff = $175K+. Depends on what you want to do, and if you can do some/most of the labor necessary to assemble and engineer the components.

Good luck with your journey!

 

[chuck smith]

Re: Hey Ya'll

just as a side note, apparently CAV is now producing a more race inspired GT40 designed for your type of endeavor.

 

[Malcolm]

Chassis comments aside as I am biased towards GTDs for track work (!) be sure to look hard at brakes and gearbox and do not go for a mental engine. Get those right and the rest is just good maintenance.

 

[Howard Jones]

Malcolm is right on the money! Overbuild the brakes, cooling systems, and powertrain and underbuild the motor, at least the power output. 20 trackdays a year. Thats a lot of hours. Figure on 20 mins a session and 8 sessions a weekend. Thats more than 100 hours a year even if you miss a day or two. Thats a lot of track time and a lot of wear and tear even if you take it easy. My guess is you will spend a lot of the other 32 weekends working on it. Good clean fun.... ehhh!!!

I would buy some extra suspension parts, wishbones, trailing arms, all with a complete set of rod ends, uprights, and driveshafts with CV joints along with my orginal purchase.

Then I would time change them and have the set off the car crack checked form time to time. You CANNOT break these on track and have a good day.

As far as motor goes I would start with 300 RWHP and dial in the rest of the car before I added more motor. A basic ballanced and correctly assembled 351 with a single holley will do for a start.

Go hog wild on a gearbox! Lots of time will be spent on this question.

You will more than likely want at least one extra set of wheels also. Slicks on one set or two and street tires on the other. The 15 inch or 17 inch bridge must be crossed at some point. Lots on this question here under tires or wheels in search engine.

 

[David]

Thanks for all of the input.

 

[Frank Catt]

David, I think your question is more specific to the Superformance GT40. We have prepared two Superformance cars and track tested them here in the UK. the chassis and most of the suspension components are copies of the original GT40 mono chassis of the 60s, however, it my opinion that you will need to consider alternative springs and definately change to adjustable shocks if you want to track these cars. Another area which will need improvement is the fuel delivery system, the Hi Teck standard system is not adequate, but having said that the factory are responding all the time to these needs and no doubt by the time you order a car these may well be resolved. Frank

 

[Paul Thompson 'Hooligan']

As Malc states, keep the power sensible and fewer problems/issues are likely to arise.

One thing to consider when selecting your engine is 'intended use' - Be sure to be honest with your intended supplier as some guarantees do not necessarily include track use, some actually exclude it, so if they state a "6200rpm rev limit and 2yr/10000 mile warranty" it might not mean you can use more than 5500 very often and certainly not for long...

Hopefully these days you'll 'get what you pay for' - but do check to be sure...

Have fun!

 

[David]

David, I think your question is more specific to the Superformance GT40. We have prepared two Superformance cars and track tested them here in the UK. the chassis and most of the suspension components are copies of the original GT40 mono chassis of the 60s, however, it my opinion that you will need to consider alternative springs and definately change to adjustable shocks if you want to track these cars. Another area which will need improvement is the fuel delivery system, the Hi Teck standard system is not adequate, but having said that the factory are responding all the time to these needs and no doubt by the time you order a car these may well be resolved. Frank

Frank,

Will Motons work? Can you be more specific as to the fuel sending problems?

I pulled up the SPF archives a video of Tiff flogging the car in South Africa.
That was enough for me to decide that the car will work will some adaptations

 

[Trond]

Hello

I have just finished 3 full days of racing in Poznan, Polen. My SPF is completely standard as delivered from the factory, with Roush 427R engine and ZF gearbox. Wheels and tires is as delivered from the factory (15" with Yokohama AVID tires)

The car got a really beating for theese 3 days on the track (and also a bit off the track). The only problem I expirienced is bad tires. This I knew up front and was no suprise, but I wanted to test out the car before I decided what changes to be made. I drowe the car on the road down to Poland and back again (2200 kilometers all in all).

This is a summary of my track experience:

Tires
I will get a set of 17" wheels and better tires.

Brakes
The original brakes is more than good enough using dot 5.1 brfake fluid. I drove 20-25 rounds without pit stops on this 4 km long track without any touble with the brakes.

Cooling
We had temperatures of 30 degrees celcius and the car was never overheated. Oil cooling is also wery good. The only problem is that the electrical cooling fans is running all the time when the temp is above 90 degrees celcius. When having several trips off the track and into the "bush" it easily comes stones and dirt into the fans and this broke one of my cooling fans. I will redo the power supply for the fans so that I can turn them off when going round the track.

Suspension
I think the original suspension is good enough for track use, but of course a set of fully adjustable shocks whill make it even better. I know that Wilbers is working on making a set.

Others
The only thing I have found to be of bad quality on my car is the window wiper. There is a wery simple and bad solution for connectin the wiper arm to the rod. I need to improve this. Apart from that the car seems to beg very good put together. Even with the wery bad tires that I had I was able to keep up with Ferrari 430`s, Vipers and a variety of Porches that also attended this event. Here are som links to som video on Youtube taken by spectators at the event:
YouTube - Gran Turismo Polonia '07
YouTube - Gran Turismo Polonia 2007 silnik Ford GT40
YouTube - Gran Turismo Polonia 2007 Ford GT40 z 1966

Regards
Trond

 

[chuck smith]

I give you thumbs up on the driving of your car Trond, it looks like you are really enjoying it and that is what they were made for.

 

[Dean Lampe]

That was incredible! You are quite the driver!

 

[Gary Kadrmas]

Trond,

The third clip is the best. I bet your heart beat increased quite a bit when you put the left side wheels in the grass. Good Save!!!

epper: epper: epper: epper:

 

[Keith]

Interesting sound - not quite a big block but deeper than a small block. Nice.

 

[Rich E.]

Trond,

Thank you for the video. For those of us that are still waiting for our SPF's these types of vids make the wait a little more bearable.

BTW, in the 3rd vid it looks like the car had a tendancy to transition from oversteer to understeer pretty quickly. What was your experience with this and do you think a spring rate change or shock valving change would help.

Rich.

 

[Frank Catt]

Rich, having driven the 7 litre Mk2 on the track, the answer is yes !