I decided it was time to test the GTD40's mettle on the open road and as a "Grand Touring" car. My wife and I used our custom luggage for packing (2 Walmart bags stuffed into the door pockets) and headed off to the Seattle area from the San Francisco Bay Area for a long weekend with our daughters family. We took 2 days to travel up California's 101 to the Oregon Coast. Overnight in Brookings, Oregon then on thru Lincoln City and over to Portland just in time to hit the Friday night parking lot traffic thru town, 8 miles in 1 hour. Needless to say the engine got very warm in the 90 degree heat, but the little GT40 soldiered thru and immediately cooled down once we crossed the bridge into Washington and traffic returned to full speed. We continued on and arrived in Graham, WA ready for a cold beer and a shower. The up leg of this trip was right at 900 miles and the 340hp ford 302 averaged 18.4 mpg. For the return trip we came straight down I- 5. It took us 13 hours with gas and eating stops to drive the 850 miles and the mpg for the entire trip was 19.2. We did not exceed the speed limits by more than 5 mph for the entire trip. Things went well enough so that we are now planning a trip in October to a car show in Crescent City, OR. My wife was very reluctant about the whole idea of a long trip in the GT40 and many of our friends thought we had lost our minds. All in all things went pretty well, the A/C worked reasonably well and I found that if you stopped to gas up about every 150 miles and stretched your legs a bit the trip was more comfortable. So stretch your horizons and use the GT for some fun touring - just remember you have to back light! Amazing moment, I forgot to mention while driving the back roads from I-5 to Graham WA, between Tenino and McKenna a GT40 followed by a Cobra came at me and before I could get to my camera they were gone. Any of you guys out there?
Long trip in a GT40
- Thread starter 40bud
- Start date
Grats on the trip and nice pics
Ian Anderson
Lifetime Supporter
Hi
Well done on the trip
Best distance in the Gt40 that I managed with the wife was a weekend visiting in Liverpool about 220 miles easy way.
For packing in the door packets we used some of the vacuum pages where you either suck the air out or squeeze the air out making the package smaller.
Something along these lines
[ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vacuum-Pack-Storage-Bags-bags/dp/7253700341]Vacuum Pack Storage Bags: 4 bags 80cm x 55cm in size: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home[/ame]
Ian
Well done on the trip
Best distance in the Gt40 that I managed with the wife was a weekend visiting in Liverpool about 220 miles easy way.
For packing in the door packets we used some of the vacuum pages where you either suck the air out or squeeze the air out making the package smaller.
Something along these lines
[ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vacuum-Pack-Storage-Bags-bags/dp/7253700341]Vacuum Pack Storage Bags: 4 bags 80cm x 55cm in size: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home[/ame]
Ian
I think this is still the record here...
http://www.gt40s.com/forum/superformance-gt40s/28979-1085-miles-wife-dog-two-days.html
http://www.gt40s.com/forum/superformance-gt40s/28979-1085-miles-wife-dog-two-days.html
No dog, but the round trip was 1700 miles - up on Thursday and return on Sunday. The electric rear view mirrors from the Cross Fire made passing and merging a dream as the rear vision was great. The A/C was good except when the sun was shining directly down thru the windshield and right on to us. Then you wanted more blower! I added cruise control when I gave up track days and it was a real nice add on for a long trip like this.
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It stars Steve McQueen! Sorry, couldn't resist!
Dave Hood
Lifetime Supporter
For those interested in the 3M product, I've had their Crystalline film installed on the inside of my windshield for about a year now. It's a fantastic product that significantly reduces the amount of heat in the cabin without impacting visibility at all. Something I highly recommend for owners in the southern states where the sun is a killer. It's a bit tricky to install on a GT40, but a good tech can do it in about an hour. Cost was about $300. Here is a link to an article on the product in Motor Trend magazine:
3M
3M
Tim Kay
Lifetime Supporter
^that's the stuff^ Really does what it claims, next step is in all my cars I like it that much (Rick, I like the McQueen film better yet!). There are 2 or 3 levels and I selected the lowest level concerned about visibility but the next application I'm gonna go up. As Dave mentioned the visibility is hardly discernible.
Great job Bud!!!
Your pictures are works of art in themselves that would be suitable for a GT40 Calendar!
Need to learn more about the 3M film. Your link would not work on my iPad so I will have to look at it from a real computer I reckon.
Your pictures are works of art in themselves that would be suitable for a GT40 Calendar!
Need to learn more about the 3M film. Your link would not work on my iPad so I will have to look at it from a real computer I reckon.
I need to look into this film. In my experience once you have properly sealed the GT cabin solar heat is the biggest source of "warm". On my SPF I have really gotten the cabin sealed up pretty good and despite what some claim I get NO heat from the center tunnel. On a 90+ day driving to the Glen the tunnel barely got warmer than the rest of the cabin so that is not a big source of heat. Of course the side windows being poly offer NO resistance to UV or heat so they are prime candidates for the film
Dave Hood
Lifetime Supporter
Rick - I only had the film installed on my windshield, and that alone makes a huge difference. I wasn't sure if the film could be installed on the poly windows, so I didn't mess with that. But maybe that would work as well. Tim, did you install it on your side windows?
I have done some checking on the window tint. My Local guy, who has been doing this for over 25 years, switched to Llumar. They make a 78% visible light transfer that still gives a 43 % total solar energy rejected. He also claims that the clarity is better. With the 70% visible and 50% total solar rejection Crystalline you can get a little grain or orange peel reflection at night, especially with steep angle of our windshields. If you don't see any grain thru the Crystalline it is slightly (7%) better heat rejection. Either product looks pretty good for cutting down the cabin heat!
Nice trip!
You might want to check before your next trip though...Crescent City is in Cali and not Oregon. I was just there from So Oregon to check out the Redwoods. That is a nice drive on the 199 if you get a chance.
Mike
You might want to check before your next trip though...Crescent City is in Cali and not Oregon. I was just there from So Oregon to check out the Redwoods. That is a nice drive on the 199 if you get a chance.
Mike
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