Mark Reid RCR-40 Build

[Ron Randall]

It all about the details!! I was told by Mark and Fran that the spider on the original GT-40 was metal and was part of the frame, well theres not much I can do about the fiberglass not being part of the frame on the RCR but what if we metal plate the spider and make it replicate the original :idea:
I just got back from where we do the metal plating and pick this up for Mark. What do you think

 

[Mark Clapp]

I guess I must be missing something, won't it be painted like the pieces in the background? Will the plating be seen?

 

[chuck smith]

does seem odd, it looks cool but not much function

 

[Jac Mac]

Its the interior of the spider, so I it looks like an original spartan steel race car from inside, once you get past looking at the A/C, carpet etc

 

[chuck smith]

neet, but I thought they were painted black. I have always admired that technique metal morphous uses

 

[Ron Randall]

Chuck I dont think old shell would have painted the spider back in the 60s, remember that these where designed for racing and paint adds weight, thats why the originals had a corrosion problem, they didn't even use primer inside the sealed frame work. So bare metal might be correct and it looks real nice with Marks metal plated dash layout
Mark your interior is going to have a nice cooridinated look, nothing looks better than black and metal,

 

[Ron Randall]

You nailed it Rich and Jac, it will be another area of interest for Mark to discuss with spectators like the GT-40 doesnt have enough of those.Hey Mark as you can see my grandson already has good taste in automobiles, but I think he found a flaw in the paint Ron

 

[Chuck]

Mark:

Leaf through the pages of the GT 40 builder's ultimate reference book: "The Ford That Beat Ferrari" by Allen and Jones. In every picture of the interior of the Mark I and Mark II that I could find the inside of the clip was dark color, I assume either black or the very dark blue used on some of the chassis. I could find no originals left natural metal. Indeed all of the chassis are the same dark color.

There are some nice pics on the assembly line taken at Slough in 1965. You can see the chassis before and after being painted. The entire chassis, including top and bottom of the clip was painted the same black or dark blue. (page 51 - 53)

The only GT with an unpainted chassis that I could find were a few Mark IVs which had a substantial amount of aluminum used in their chassis. (page 169)

The glare from all the shinny metal while zooming down the Mulsanne straight at 200 mph could also be problematic, perhaps another reason to make it a dark color.

So if authenticity is the goal, black or dark blue may be more appropriate

Regardless, you car is really looking great!

Chuck

 

[MReid]

Oh no!

I started my GT40 engine today for the first time and after running for about 2 minutes, realized in horror that the oil pressure gauge was sitting at 0!

I was tired and really wanted to wait after 10 hours of working on the car, but my son was really anxious and worked really hard. Not wanting to disappoint, I turned the key and pressed the start button and it roared to life! Man did it sound good!

I shut it down, pushed it back in the shop, and went home. Now I'm racking my brain. It is possible that the gauge isn't working. I had oil to put in it, but it showed full on the dip stick. Foolishly, I didn't measure the dip stick to see how far it went into the pan.

Do you think I damaged the engine?

My son tried to get it on the cell phone, but this is a real teaser. Assuming it still runs, I'll post a much better one later:



Here are a couple of teaser pictures:

Finished pics next week after Carlisle!

 

[Bill D]

DAMN!!! That is so awesome!! The thin white stripe really sets off the orange and blue!! Excellent job!!!

 

[chuck smith]

Mark, my guess is that it is likely ok, however, I would remove the dizzy and turn the oil pump with a reverse drill and see if the oil is pumping up to the valve train. You could probably safely just unhook the coil and turn the motor over and look under the valve cover for the same thing.

 

[J. Salmon]

OK, I am no master mechanic, but either the oil pump was working or it was not (duh). Even if you were abit low on oil, you certainly had enough in the pan for the pickup. If the pump simply was not working, then I think in two minutes time - especially as this was the first time the motor was run - you would have heard some very bad noises.

My guess is its the gauge.

And Day-yem... that paint looks good! The orange cage is my favorite part!

 

[Jac Mac]

Oil pump drive didnt fall in the pan when you went thru the cam change exercise did it!

plus while cam was out of block along with lifters the pump may have lost its prime. It has been sitting for some time.

There are a few other things crossing my mind, but Im sure you dont need to hear them at this moment!

 

[Randy V]

Double check that you have the oil pressure gauge grounded...

Also - the sending units like to be grounded well as well.. I generally leave the firtst few threads on the fittings clean of any sealant..

Car looks beautiful!!!! I can hardly wait to hear that baby roar to life!

 

[Ron McCall]

I ,personally,don't see a new engine running for 2 minutes with 0 oil pressure. It should have locked up before that.
Hopefully it is just the gauge.

Your car looks INCREDIBLE!!!! I really want to see it at Carlisle!!!!!

 

[Rob]

Excellent Mark. She looks amazing. Fingers crossed for the bad gauge!!

 

[Ron Randall]

Mark it looks fantstic, I plan on stopping in on Thursday and see the progress.

Rich

 

[Craig White]

Man that looks fantastic.

Keeping my fingers crossed that the oil pressure problem is nothing serious.

 

[Ron Randall]

Ron here is a picture I found of the metal spider area just like the one that you morphed on Mark's. Wow its sure going to be alot of fun telling spectators that the spider on yours in not made of metal like on the original. Any updated photos yet?

 

[Chuck]

Mark:

One can check the function of the water temp and oil pressure gauges by simply grounding the sending wire. That will cause a full scale movement. Give that a try at by grounding the sending unit terminal and see what happens. You will know right away if it is a gauge problem.

Chuck