Seattle Active Power GT40 - A Father/Son build

slow but steady progress...some pics


Added the door bar to the Passenger side...notched the door. Next is to clean it up, and likely add some reinforcement

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Door bar welded in.
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I wanted some extra protection to prevent the front roll hoop from caving into the passenger compartment in a roll over...but still wanted a reasonably accessible entry. I ended with these hinged door bars; they are ~110 degrees from the front roll hoop, so in the event of a roll over, they'll remain in compression.
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Pull the pin, and they fold down nicely.
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My welds never look great...but I usually get good penetration, so they function. I upgraded from a ~12yr old Harbor Freight unit (cheapest they had) 2 years ago and it's been soooo nice.
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Then I started to get some odd voids and splattering...finnaly found out that the pressure regulator was randomly dropping the sheild gas to 0; the pressure regulator was the last part of my HF unit. Time for a new one!
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Seat Rails: I cut some thick L brackets, and weld those onto the side of the chassis. It pushes them as wide as possible, and lets the seat site low.


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Welded into place
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Tak'd into place w/ kart seat style mounting to the FG seat.
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Final: got them apholstered locally, then I sealed them w/ Por15.
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My good freind stopping by to lend a hand...driving the Lotus 7 kit that I build about 8 yrs ago.
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Harrop's ITBs arrived...these things are beautiful!!
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cover removed...and it better shows the real length of the runners.
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mock up test fit...looks right at home!

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Top removed...love it!
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Backing plate test fitted...plan is to make an intake box around them; that way I can run a filter & MAF.
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Headers arrived from Chris @ Active Power...no wonder they call these "Bundle of snakes"!! I was really worried it would take me the better part of the night to figure out how to install them, especially b/c clearances are so tight w/ the rear roll structure.
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20 min later (inlcuding 10 min to find some random bolts that would work).
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love the curves...
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last set...more or less brings it up to date.


Installed a Corvetter oil pan, it reduced the pan height by ~2.5", so now the pan is ~1/4" below the chassis. once I get the tranny, I may raise it up to make it level.
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While doing the oil pan, we also got a kit from Improved Racing, that included a crank scrapper & baffle. Since this is a 427 stroker w/ 4.125" crank, it needed some cutting to make it work. Main reason for going through route is that most ppl say once you pull more than 1G lateral, the LS3s are known to oil starve. So this kit adds a baffle to help.
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Baffle installed
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over the years I've learned there's no way my memory will ever be good enough...so I put all of my notes on blue tape around the areas that still need work. "No coolant", "no oil", "TQ Spark Plugs",...
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Nice big oil cooler from Improved Racing. Includes a thermostat, temp switch to activate the fan,...and we'll add an accusump 3Q system.
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Where have you been all my life?!?! I've been using cut off wheels to sheet metal for ever...sparks flying, metal dust,...then I found this. $40 from HF, and it cuts straight, quietly, and easy!
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installing a footwell partition.
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installing the throttle pedal mounts: using the OEM DBW pedal.
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the OEM DBW pedal had a really long plastic pedal face that wouldn't fit...so I welded a small plate & bought an Aluminum pedal that looked similar to the Willwood Brake/Clutch pedal.
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Pedals install. Still needs a few tweaks...but the spacing feels good, and heel-toe position is how I like it.
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Randy V

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What sanctioning body will you be racing with and what class?
 
What sanctioning body will you be racing with and what class?
none at this point...it's going to be an open track day car w/ some street use.

Here's a pic as I researched various ways to design a roll cage w/ the GT40's unique doors; Gave me pause...and with ~600HP, I know I'll want to stretch it's legs on the track, so it solid cage is good insurance.
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Randy V

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Please install a lot of padding on that cage if you plan on street driving it. We’ve lost people due to head impacts with cages.
Consider adding tubes between the front and rear hoops at the top corners (above windows) for your best on-track protection..
 
Please install a lot of padding on that cage if you plan on street driving it. We’ve lost people due to head impacts with cages.
Agreed. General principle for the roll cage was to design it such that you're more likely to hit your head on any other interior panel (or windshield). We'll also have padding on the key areas, and 6pt harnesses will be the sole seat belt, even on the street.

Consider adding tubes between the front and rear hoops at the top corners (above windows) for your best on-track protection..

We were going to do that, but with how far inboard the top of the door line is, the bars would have been too close to the driver/passenger head. I couldn't find any design that we liked...since the rear hoop already had rearward diagonal bars, we figured adding a similar bar (the pivoting bars) to the front hoop did effectively the same thing, and critically would prevent the front hoop top edges from caving into the interior in a roll over.
 
I took a few months off the build and just getting back to it...update I posted to our build blog (http://umimech.com/2019/11/17/its-a-tribute-build/)

"It’s a Tribute build…
What started as a Father & Son’s GT40 build is now a son’s tribute build of his Dad’s Dream car. My Dad passed away after a nearly 11 year battle with Thyroid Cancer; while the pain of loosing him is still far too fresh, I’m so grateful for the time I’ve had with him. This project car served it’s primary purpose…we got to talk nearly every day on all of the details for the last year; and an inconsequential side benefit is that in a few more months we’ll also have a driving car."
 

Randy V

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We’re very sorry for your loss...
May you enjoy the good times you had with your dad in your memories for many years to come....
 
a few updates...for some reason some of the pics are sideways, not sure how to rotate them?



This is the harness bar for the seat belts (6 pt harness). I had originally planned to wrap the harness around the bar...but there's a bulkhead panel that separates this harness bar from the interior (bar is in the engine bay). I didn't like the idea of the harness belts being in the engine bay (heat, debris,...), so I welded in a threaded insert that penetrated through both sides of the bar, and the eyelet now lets me keep the harness fully in the interior.
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Fuel system done on the passenger side. I've got a few extra connections that will be used once I add the driver's side fuel tank; the Passenger side will be the primary, and supply the engine...the driver's side will just have a transfer pump to move fuel to the passenger.
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Axles: Modifying the OEM Corvette C5/6 axles...there's some so simplistic yet beautiful in the design.
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checking full droop and compression...glad I did, b/c at 1/2" droop, the axle was bottomed out.
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Same thing as above, but this time with an extra spacer between the CV930 and trans. The spacer is sold as an easy way to add grease...and it was the perfect thickness to allow full droop of the suspension while still allowing for full compression.

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Tac'ing up the mufflers
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Wiring for the dash. I bought these from SpeedHut, they use OBDII for the majority of the data, which really simplifies the wiring/sensors. Speedo is GPS.
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Final work on the dash, glad I checked it w/ the steering wheel installed...the quick release was just slightly too wide!
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After I sanded the FG dash, I sprayed a truck-style bumper textured coating over it, then painted matte black. Turned out really good...picture sucks, but it hides any imperfections, and looks nearly OEM.
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Gauges lit up.
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The rear suspension didn't have much room for the coilover & axle...so my freind is helping to design an inboard set-up w/ rocker. This was our test fit...can't wait to get the final design installed!
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