My Dream Car...

[Steven]

It's funny, I tell people that I want to build a GT40 and all I get is nods and awkward stares. Whether it be those who don't know what this iconic car is or those who just don't believe me. Hard to imagine a 19 year old wanting to recreate the Hotwheel he played with every day when he was a kid. It's a little strange to talk about myself in 3rd person. :shrug:

Introductions aside, I would first like to touch on how thrilled I am to actually be this much closer to building it. I have checked with a few sites and it seems that Fiberfab US is the best to suite my provisions. I want to start from scratch and work my way up. From what I understand a mere rolling chassis is all I need.

I guess I'm mainly looking for some opinions: is my choice of manufacturer trusted, which transmission will support my choice of a Chevy 350, and which suspension upgrades and steering are most suitable.

Thank you all in advance for any and all advice. It's well appreciated. :thumbsup:

 

[Terry Oxandale]

Welcome aboard. Take your time, look at a lot of photos and older posts, and feel free to ask questions that haven't been addressed via the search feature. I hope your dream car comes true, especially at such a young age...but what ever will you do for a goal for the next (hopefully) 60 years?


Terry

 

[Jac Mac]

Hi Steven,
First off, welcome to this site, a lot of reading for you to take in & a lot of decisions to make as to what you want & what you might do with your car when complete. Can I suggest that you spend some time in the builders threads & try to read thru a selection of these including scratch builds, some of the various kits & some where others have taken over previous builds started by others, that way you can get a real feel for what may be reqd.... then you have to get really honest with yourself as to what you want to end up with. One thing I can assure you of it will take longer than you think, but you will learn an awful lot in the process. I'm 60+ & have made some very good friends via this site & Im still learning stuff.
So take your time, have a good read, decide what you want, work out how your going to do then do the most important thing of all...make a start

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

Welcome Steven, there are lots of people here that will be willing to answer your questions and help you achieve your dream.

Bite off more than you can chew and chew like hell.:thumbsup:

 

[Jack]

Steven, welcome to the forum. You may learn a bunch here, so take your time and go through the build logs and ask a bunch of questions!

 

[domtoni]

Greetings Steven, there are some pretty smart guys here. Not to discourage you, but take a good look around at all the vendors. I don't own a component car, but would say that with one of the better vehicles, you will lose far less money when you go to sell it than if you start off with an relatively unknown marque.

 

[Ron Scarboro]

Welcome to the forum. I agree with the sentiment that you should spend a lot of time in the builders section.

Not to pile on, but I would look hard at the marques that support this forum.

Each has advantages and disadvantages and all are visually close to the original. I don't know Fiberfab US, but the website vehicle (Valkrye) isn't a very close visual approximation of the original if that is what you're looking for.

 

[Mark]

Welcome to the forum,

I do not know much about Fiberfab, but I would also stick with RCR, CAV or SPF even if it means waiting a few more years. Do not be in a hurry, do your homework and don't make the same car mistakes that I have in the past. The Fiberfab looks nothing like a GT40 and when the time comes to sell you may not even get back what you have invested in the starter rolling kit. Remember Fiberfab is a kitcar and RCR, CAV, SPF are near exact replica's of the original.

 

[Martin]

Guys,
Steven is 19 years old. I doubt he has the budget for a CAV, RCR or SPF.
I had to wait till I was 40 to get the disposable income necessary to make a reasonably accurate replica. A budget build of a Fiberfab could be just the job for him. It won't be the cream of the crop as far as GT40 builds go, but it'll turn heads and be a very valuable learning experience.
I would heed the advice of Mark though. Don't expect a high return on a Fiberfab so make sure you don't get carried away with the budget. I'm not saying you won't get any return on your investment, but the market will be limited as there are so many more accurate recreations out there now.
Chevy power, a less than accurate body and doner suspension is a kit car rather than a recreation or replica. As long as you go into this with your eyes open you will have a good time and learn a lot.
Good luck and have fun.
If you do take the plunge, we'll be very interested to see how you get on so don't feel that just because you're young and don't have an endless budget that anyone here will think anything less of you.

Martin

 

[Terry Oxandale]

Martin makes an excellent point. This really could be the "skill development" car that will prepare you for building the much better cars correctly, and with attributes and desires you gathered in your first try.

The best advice is start simple, and then take on more and more complicated projects and components as you learn. You will NOT regret it. You won't experience everything you need to experience and learn on one car.

 

[Steven]

Well thank you all very much. Martin is correct, my budget is tight and I'm in no rush to get things started. I'm looking to good starter however and that is why I chose Fiberfab. However, believe me when I tell you I would drop 5 years worth of paychecks for a CAV GT.

Again thank you all, this forum seems to be the best source of information, cheers!

 

[Ron Scarboro]

Steven,
Please don't get discouraged or take us as anything other than passionate about our vehicles. This car (like no other IMHO) evokes passion. Our manufacturers are passionate (as demonstrated above) and our owners are passionate.

Whatever you build, Welcome! Please post to the builders thread and show your progress.

 

[Terry Oxandale]

X2 on Ron. I'm building my first (for practical purposes a scratch-build) mid-engine car, and the knowledge, examples, and skill on this forum are outstanding and have been invaluable. I too looked seriously at a Tornado, but was torn on total costs when done versus a scratch-build. Guess which one is going to be more expensive in the long run.

A word of caution...If you wish to keep clear of this site, by all means, avoid sparring in humor with these guys (the humor is a bit quirky, but my assumption is the over-abundance of engineering types), and never, NEVER review the "A Dilemma” string<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com<img src=" /><o></o>

 

[Jim Craik]

Steven, good luck on what ever you choose to do.

There is a good buch of guys here, with lots of strong opinions. Do not take us too seriously and you'll do just fine.

When I was 19 I would have loved to have a fiberfab!

Please keep us updated

 

[Eric Johnson]

Looking forward to following your project Steven. Welcome to the forum.