New GTD member & builder

Hi, I'm a new member but I've had my unfinished GTD40 for a few years. Shortly after I got the car we moved house so I had to promise that the DIY on the new house would get done before I resumed the build. I have just restarted the build and work is about 70% complete. I'm just at the stage of fitting the doors which looks a nightmare. Any advice welcome! I have most of the parts I need to complete but I would be interested in anything GTD that anyone has to sell. Richard Lane
 
Hello Richard,

Welcome to our online community ! I'm sure you will get a lot of help & advice on here, also worth joining is the GT40 Enthusiasts Club.

All the best, Steve
 
Richard, welcome to the forum. You sure your wife didn't see the recent staggering selling price of the GTD at Bonhams and order you out into the garage? (82K quid!) :stunned:
 
Richard, welcome to the forum. You sure your wife didn't see the recent staggering selling price of the GTD at Bonhams and order you out into the garage? (82K quid!) :stunned:

That price at Bonhams has definitely changed her attitude towards me spending hours in the garage! There can't be many hobbies that are such a good investment as well. Just got to get it done now.:thumbsup:
 
Welcome Richard. I havea GTD which is about 85-90% complete. Where are you in Herts? I am at J30/31 on the M25, so if you wanted to come and have a look feel free.

My doors have been fitted :)

Brett
 

Howard Jones

Supporter
You will spend some time on your back with your head up under the dash. The door fix is the most challenging part of a GTD build but it had been done successfully hundreds of times. MAKE SMALL CHANGES in one direction at a time and try and zero in on the best fit.

Some cars require a bit of material added on the corners of the spider to get a perfect fit but concentrate on the closing edge at the top of the door where it fits into the spider head hole. Once you have that good then the vertical gaps at the front and rear might may need to be fixed with some added fiberglass. Should you need to close a gap then add plys of fiberglass material onto the edge of the gap and when hard grind down the excess to flush with the door/body face.

Just take your time and work until your back begins to complain. Heed this warning, hobbies that hurt cease to be fun. Then stop and work on something else or have a beer and relax. This too will work out and your car will be beautiful. A lot of GTD builders have gone thru this and come away just fine. You however, will never look at a GT40 again the same way. I alway look at the door gaps first now, always will, I suspect.

Good luck, start a build log, we all like to watch and it will also get you all the help we can give.
 
An aside that you stirred in my head. I found out the sort of easy way that anything to do with the dash or doors is best done BEFORE mounting the glass!! Now that my glass is in, it is a B**** to do anything with the dash. Forget getting to the door bolts. It is soooo much easier to bend over through the glass opening than to try and crawl into the car upside down and do any work, regardless of the make.

Bill
 
Welcome Richard. I havea GTD which is about 85-90% complete. Where are you in Herts? I am at J30/31 on the M25, so if you wanted to come and have a look feel free.

My doors have been fitted :)

Brett

Hi Brett, thanks for the offer. I am in Chipperfield near Watford which is J20 M25. I will get in touch soon as it would be great to come and see your build.

Richard
 
You will spend some time on your back with your head up under the dash. The door fix is the most challenging part of a GTD build but it had been done successfully hundreds of times. MAKE SMALL CHANGES in one direction at a time and try and zero in on the best fit.

Some cars require a bit of material added on the corners of the spider to get a perfect fit but concentrate on the closing edge at the top of the door where it fits into the spider head hole. Once you have that good then the vertical gaps at the front and rear might may need to be fixed with some added fiberglass. Should you need to close a gap then add plys of fiberglass material onto the edge of the gap and when hard grind down the excess to flush with the door/body face.

Just take your time and work until your back begins to complain. Heed this warning, hobbies that hurt cease to be fun. Then stop and work on something else or have a beer and relax. This too will work out and your car will be beautiful. A lot of GTD builders have gone thru this and come away just fine. You however, will never look at a GT40 again the same way. I alway look at the door gaps first now, always will, I suspect.

Good luck, start a build log, we all like to watch and it will also get you all the help we can give.

Thanks for the tips Howard. This is the only part of the build I have been dreading based on GTD owners comments at shows. I will enlist the help of a few friends to share the fun. Luckily I have a beer fridge in the garage so getting help and relaxing when it gets tough is no problem.:drunk:

I will post how I get on.

Richard
 
An aside that you stirred in my head. I found out the sort of easy way that anything to do with the dash or doors is best done BEFORE mounting the glass!! Now that my glass is in, it is a B**** to do anything with the dash. Forget getting to the door bolts. It is soooo much easier to bend over through the glass opening than to try and crawl into the car upside down and do any work, regardless of the make.

Bill

Good advice Bill. I'm quite a way from putting the glass in permanently but I have it resting in place while I'm doing the body panel fits to make sure there won't be a problem fitting the glass after paint.
Working upside down in the tub with a flashlight in your teeth can be so much fun !!
Thanks, Richard :thumbsup:
 
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