Lone Star is Making GT40 Kis Again!!

[Tommy]

Craig,
I'm not bashing you personally. Nor Tom from Ft. Worth who is just up the road from Lone Star. There are folks out there who can not afford the $150,000 Ford GT and just like the way it looks. They would be happy driving an 18K "replica" whose doors were not "correct" and would not be caught dead in a Corolla. Even the new Ford GT you have to open the doors nearly 180 degrees to keep from hitting your head on that "wing" that never really seals out the air or water at high speed. If your "replica" is your "going to the mall car", you have to park away from everyone to open your doors, i guess that is okay. Or if you are rich you can have your GT40 "replica" or your Ford GT in a trailer and drive a Corolla to the mall. I blame Ford Motor Co. for not selling the Ford GT for an affordable $50,000 like the 2005 Corvette. I'm not a corvette person, but I hope Chevy sells a million of them. Since 96 the vette has been a great car in SCCA competition. How many real Ford GTs or GT40s do you think we will see at mid Ohio this year? All the ones I have heard of around here have gone to Europe for over $200K.
I used to HATE kit cars when I was younger, but I have grown to respect them when I realized CS was building Kit cars himself. I would love to own a Lone Star GT40 replica. I would install electric windows, a kick ass stereo system, cold vintage air cond and get my circular saw and make two horizontal cuts on the body and buy 4 heli latches from mcmaster carr. At that point I can weld the frame any way i want it and drop a big mother Ford v8 into it. Since it would be larger than FIA 2.5 liters it would have to be a daily driver. I'm just saying, just because the car is not exactly like yours, it's right for me. I don't know for the life of me why Ford made the doors the way they did on the 05 GT as the gas tank is in the middle. Maybe that's why they charge the extra $100K for it.
I plan to be in Australia next year and when we meet if you want to open a 55 gallon drum of whupass. Let's do that and get it on. Otherwise, nothing personal intended.
If you have one of those Calvin peeing on a Chevy emblem, could you remove it from your GT40?
thanks,
Tommy

 

[Tommy]

Pete,
I dont think you really want to open up the forum to negativity. You will have the original 137 GT40 owners and the 2005 Ford GT owners critisizing every nut and bolt that is not like theirs.
As far as the LS40 looking "ordinary". Only if you happen to be near Lemans in June with all the other replicas. 9 of 10 non car nuts could not tell how "authentic" it was.
I live 160 miles from Dallas and the only Ford GT at a dealership there, was shipped to Germany the next day. The closest others were at the Kansas City dealership about 800 miles from here. Ken said two went to France for over $250k each. Could you drive a car that expensive to the mall and park it and not worry about it. IMHO the LS40 does not look ordinary, but if some unkind person dinged it at the shopping center,it would not be the end of the world. Cars are made to be driven. I personally like the doors that you can open and close without feeling your head is going to be taken off. You know that is a lot like burning your ankle on a Cobra sidepipe. I guess you could tell the people at work , when they ask about your black eye; your wife did it to you when you spoke back to her. I would love to own one of those 1/2 million dollar cars, but I would have a heart attack if a kangaroo jumped on the hood.
tommy

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

Tommy with all respect I think you are missing the point.
I do not wish to "open the Forum up to negativity", but neither do I want to be censored because what I say may be construed by someone else as negative. I think your Country's Bill of Rights has something about free speech in it, does it not?

 

[Tommy]

Pete,
you are right, i'm sorry, the gauntlet has been strewn.
my FIRST wife asked me if a dress she had on made her look FAT. I told her no, it was all that fettucine alfredo she ate that made her look FAT
Promise yourself to be so strong nothing will disturb your peace of mind.
Think only of the best, Expect only the best.
Meet every living creature with a smile, make all your friends feel they are special.
thanks for all the HELP on this board

tommy

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

Good onya mate, have a terrific day. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[kevinduffy]

I don't think that LoneStar is trying to compete with the other manufacturers, but instead offering alternatives. While the engineering questions posted here are quite valid, the 4-cylinder alternative is interesting. With fuel mileage as a question to be dealt with, I think that they may be on to something here.

Building your own fuel-efficient car isn't a bad idea...as long as the rest of the engineering is done well.

What about fabricating a rod that would replace the stock steering rack that is now on the rear wheels? Better than a single weld...

k

 

[fostereast]

The Lone Star is an interesting entry in the market. The GT40 Replica market is very high end for the most part and to date only a few participants get to enjoy a gt40 replica. They also are offering a "roll down window" if I am not mistaken; and without the built in scalping device. It's not accurate, but it is practical.

It's not for me (so far I'm partial to ERA, and I have yet to pull the trigger on a Cobra or GT40 build, still sorting out my Mustang) but I'm curious where it will go.

 

[Doug S.]

Is the Lone Star an "entry"? V-8 Archie has been offering a Fiero based GT-40 kit/turnkey with a SBC for quite a while now and they have sold a few.

When I first say your post, Bill, I was hoping Lone Star had re-introduced their original GT40 replica--it was a true, mid-engined V-8 powered kit, I saw one and it was quite nice for a race car (it didn't look to be registered for street use).

As for performance, well, let's just say we ought to be wary of those rice-burners. The kids have those 4 cylinder motors putting out some serious horsepower, mostly b/c of the high RPM range in which they will operate, but more than one American V-8 muscle car has had his A$$ handed to him by an Oriental automobile. I suspect that if one of the owners wanted to start with aftermarket parts their LS40 might just perform pretty well, who knows, they may be very well balanced?????

That is not to say I want one of these LS40's--I'm still dreaming of an RCR with a small port Boss 302 in that rear engine bay!

Doug

 

[Eddie Garza]

I think I would have more fun autocrossing the LS40 than a full replica 40, but for high speed runs/racing I would go with the V8. Also IMHO it would be more tame to drive the LS40 to the grocery store.