Most Common Mistakes - New GT40 Owner

Eric B

Eric
Insulate the area of the rear clamshell above the headers so the heat won't blister the paint --- or worse. After some experimentation, I use a base layer of Dynamat Extreme, then woven Lavamat with a DEI reflective layer nearest the headers.

Dennis is installing "something" next week in the areas you pointed out, Thank You!

E
 

Eric B

Eric
A very common mistake that very few will actually admit in public is -
Building a right hand drive GT40 to drive in a right-side (left hand drive) country.
Visibility is poor out of these cars. Couple the poor visibility with the driver sitting on the wrong side of the car for the country and you have bought yourself a lot of anxiety. Now think about the other driver's on the road. They may be savvy enough to try and stay out of your blind spots, but they're expecting blindspots for left-hand drive cars. Then - regardless of drive-side, there are the rubber neckers and photo takers that will orbit you and your GT while on the highway - all the while they are paying more attention to you than the traffic around them..
--
If you really want to build a RH Drive car for a LH Drive country, I would encourage you to drive *any* RH Drive car for a few hundred miles in traffic to make sure you're up to it....
--
Originality is important to many of us, but if that originality yields a car that you just won't ever truly enjoy driving - then why build it?
My $.02 worth and Food for thought!

No worries, I went the easy way with a LHD car.

The seat is wider for the driver on a LHD car ;)

E
 
Ed Roth always comes to mind whenever I see a LHD/CS replica with its giant shifter.

;)
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Dave Hood

Lifetime Supporter
Eric:

The areas you described for the paint protection film are correct. The one area that I would add is the small lip on the rear clamshell that curves up and faces the rear tire. That area gets a lot of rocks, so putting film on that will keep the paint in tact.

The rear view camera I purchased several years ago is this one:


The camera mounts on your license plate screws and the system creates a WiFi hotspot that you can access on your iPhone or Android phone using an App called SightWiFi. It's super easy to use once it's installed. Great for seeing what's around you on the highway as well as backing into spaces.
 

Eric B

Eric
Eric:

The areas you described for the paint protection film are correct. The one area that I would add is the small lip on the rear clamshell that curves up and faces the rear tire. That area gets a lot of rocks, so putting film on that will keep the paint in tact.

The rear view camera I purchased several years ago is this one:


The camera mounts on your license plate screws and the system creates a WiFi hotspot that you can access on your iPhone or Android phone using an App called SightWiFi. It's super easy to use once it's installed. Great for seeing what's around you on the highway as well as backing into spaces.

Dave,

Could you take a picture or show me that area you described? I am not sure I know where that is,

Thanks for the link on the camera, a referral helps eliminate mistakes.

E
 

Ian Anderson

Lifetime Supporter
When travelling on a motorway, freeway and look to change lanes, I have found a good push on the accelerator squirts the car forward in case of the “hoverer “ in the blind spot.
fit some blind spot mirrors too! Something like

Fit them to the front of the door inside the side windows and they will show that blind spot!

ian
 
Some very good suggestions in this thread. Looks like you have LED lights taken care of. That was a great change for me. I would also suggest 3M crystalline film on the windshield to reduce the heat, it works fantastic. Another thing is rain-x in case you get caught in a shower. My wipers aren't worth bothering with! Rain-x works much better! Enjoy.
 
No problems with either Left or Right hand drive here in NZ at moment, not many cars to pass. But thinking seriously for the moment, if your going to LHD shouldnt you also shift the divider across to the RH side to make the car more posterior friendly? Yes I know it would require a ground up remake of the SPF & other genuine cars.
 
No problems with either Left or Right hand drive here in NZ at moment, not many cars to pass. But thinking seriously for the moment, if your going to LHD shouldnt you also shift the divider across to the RH side to make the car more posterior friendly? Yes I know it would require a ground up remake of the SPF & other genuine cars.
Actually SPF already does that on LHD cars. I would have preferred the seats were equal width as my wife thinks the RH isn't comfortable and the LH seat is too wide and needs additional padding to keep your butt planted while cornering. RHD SPF's are equal narrower seats as the gearshift is on the right side.
 
Honestly, I think the biggest mistake a new GT40 owner can make is to just accept the car as-is. Meaning, these are basically kit cars, not production cars....and as such, there can be many problems the car has when delivered....either new, or used.

In other words, don't just accept the cars shortcomings whatever they may be, instead, take the time to track down the faults and get them fixed. If you have the skills yourself then do it yourself. If not, then go to the experts. These cars can be made to drive well, be relatively reliable, and provide safe fun and driving enjoyment.

My GT40 (CAV mono) showed up with poor/non-shifting, mis-aligned wheels, torque steer that was uncontrollable, non-functioning AC, poor suspension pieces, and a list of other faults that basically made it unpleasant to drive and, frankly, unsafe. It took 3 years of fairly steady work to rectify all these problems and, at the end, the car was transformed into a wonderful driving machine that was safe and relatively comfortable.
 
Two things now available for the GT40. First, electronic warning devices on rear deck to show it's not locked down, and fuel dump system to remove all fuel pressure back to tanks the instant the electrics switched off, both by either ignition switch or emergency cut offs. Frank
 
Two things now available for the GT40. First, electronic warning devices on rear deck to show it's not locked down, and fuel dump system to remove all fuel pressure back to tanks the instant the electrics switched off, both by either ignition switch or emergency cut offs. Frank

they are good ones Frank.
Ultima have some little warning lights that flash on the dash when there clam shells are not fully latched. i am not sure how you would do it on the GT40 because the latches are different. Maybe a strong magnet on the "Hartwell latch" and a reed switch or something, i have not seen the latches you talk off.

I would add that some skid blocks under the nose of the car seem like a good idea as well, to prevent it grounding out on drive ways and humps.
have seen a few people fit these.
 
Hi Ryan, as an alternative to " little warning lights" we use a sound system that tells the whole town you are an idiot, it's embarrassing but saves a new rear body section and possibly more , Frank
 

Johnny M

Supporter
I just saw this thread. Mirrors. Allan just finished up my GT-R and he installed a rear view camera that looks just like an OEM rear view mirror except that it is a camera. The camera is wide angle and results in virtually no blind spots. Auto-Vox X1-Pro. It has alot of functions: clock; compass; recording; speed; etc. I have been a Corvette owner for 40 years and am familiar with the blindspot issue. Tale a look and I think that you will like. Good luck.
 

Markus

SPRF40
Lifetime Supporter
What would you have requested? Are you seeing corrosion in specific areas?

Idea was to conduct a cavity corrosion protection via e.g. "TimeMAX® Cavity and rust protection" and spray the chassis and other components with a similar product....

Unfortunately I see now corrosion starting all oder the place > various places on the tub (especially on the edges of the sheet metal), control arms etc.


The car only saw rain a few times and after winter I usually wait a long time to ensure the salt is gone....

Maybe I should start a thread on this and post a few pics.....
 
Two items I'd suggest:

Have Olthoff install an external clutch slave cylinder. Much easier to fix when it eventually needs attention. Trust me.

Second, and I didn't do this and should have if I had known, is to relocate the clutch and brake hydraulic fluid reservoirs to a spot in the front clip under the trap door. If you need to check the fluid levels, such as for tech inspection for every open track event on the planet, having to remove the whole front clip just to get to the reservoirs seems really silly. I am now assembling the parts to accomplish this common sense mod. You could alternately have Dennis fab a trap door in the front clip to get to the reservoirs like the original cars had.

Doug
Yes, I can definately second having an external slave cylinder fitted rather than the internal hydraulic throwout bearing (I am having that work done now after the internal hydraulic throwout bearing blew out totally). I would also recommend not getting the transmission oil cooler unless you are racing the car (it's apparently not needed and really complicates servicing the battery), and having remote battery terminals fitted.

/s/ Chris Kennedy
 
Two things now available for the GT40. First, electronic warning devices on rear deck to show it's not locked down,

I fitted two courtesy light door switches (arrowed in picture) connected to a buzzer. Only thing I would say is I chose a cheap buzzer which was a mistake. That may be because I have the same cheap buzzers for no oil pressure and indicator on, so can be a little annoying if the ignition is switched on when I have a perfect storm with all buzzers 3 doing their job.

Better than driving with no oil, an indicator left on or the rear clip scraping down the road I guess :)
 

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