SNAKEEYES joins GT40 forum !!

[Hershal Byrd]

One of the most knowledgeable people I
know on historical vintage race cars and drivers. He also is the proud owner of
a beautiful GTD GT40 painted in the Essex Wire colors. I will let Bob describe his GT and maybe he can post a picture for us.
Please welcome him to the forum. I know he will enjoy this place and I know you will enjoy his contributions.
Welcome Bob, I was real glad to see you had signed up....did you think you was going to sneak in here under the radar?

Hersh

 

Man, what a welcome...Hersh, you are a class act as always. Thank you for the kind words but I am neither all that knowledgeable, nor do I have any personal experience from when these cars were the hot tickets of the racing world. Heck, I was only two months old when the MkIV scored Ford's second Le Mans victory. I just own a lot of books.

It's nice to be a part of such a worldwide, knowledgeable bunch of Fortysomethings (sorry, my new term for us GT40-aholics). I will work on posting some pics of my new GTD...

 

Wow, that actually worked...a shot of my GTD tucked into the garage. She has a very pretty Essex Wire livery, complete with the anti-glare triangles over the front "wings" (although I suspect the real cars had them in matte as opposed to gloss black, but then nobody consulted me when the car was built

). She was one of two cars constructed by Unique Cobras of Alabama, when they were considering becoming GTD dealers. Apparently they reconsidered after seeing how much was involved!

Another:

 

And another (stop me when you guys start getting bored

):

 

More:

 

Still more:

 

And more. The car is nicely done with a Gurney bubble, air conditioning, etc. It is five years old and had covered a whopping 170 miles before I acquired it! The leather still smells like new.

 

Another:

 

Yet another, a detail shot of the front paint treatment:

 

And finally, the business end. A 289 with 48 IDA Webers, ceramic-coated (non-crossover) bundle of snakes, Renault 5-speed...not the hottest engine on earth but the car runs strong and sounds great--

 

Thanks again for the intro, Hersh. As always, you're too kind.

 

Bob,

Welcome! You have a beautiful GT40. I'm glad to see the snorkel scoops on the rear clip. I'm putting a pair onto mine after I finished making a mold from it.

If the leather still smells like new then you might need someone to break the 'new' car in for you...what time should I be there?

Thanks again for the photos.

Have fun!

John

 

[Johan]

Nice car, I really like the lexan plate over the carbs, and I want to try and make one for mine. I have the rear scoops too and people are always looking into them for some reason.
A guy named Jeff Lewis had one of the original Essex wire cars and I was transporting the car back to Georg Stauffer's place after the 30th Gt40 reunion at Road America. When we got back the car had a cracked headlight cover and I almost commited suicide right then and there.
I hope you have a fire extinguisher on board, as cold webers often backfire.
Beautiful car, all the more reason for us to have a get together at a race track.
Please tell us what lurks under the covers in the back ground...
Johan

 

Thanks for the comments, guys. I really like the snorkel scoops, as well, although I guess they are not strictly correct for a Mk1 replica. I have seen at least one real Mk1 GT with them, but I wonder when they were added. Regardless, I think they look neat, and add to the car's mystique. The scoops, in concert with the Webers peering through the rear deck, really add to the visual impact of the rear end.

Johan, I have studied the pictures of Lewis' GT in the John Allen book extensively. What a beautiful car--transporting her back to Blue Mounds must have been a nail-biter, unless you got to drive the car, which would undoubtedly be one of those experiences of a lifetime. I used to live an hour south of Elkhart and went to many races there in the mid-Eighties. I hadn't been for years, until I found myself flying into Chicago the Sunday afternoon of the GT40 reunion you reference. Although my flight arrived at something like 1 p.m., I jumped in a rental car and sped north, arriving just before the conclusion of the all-GT40 race. The race weekend was essentially over by the time I got to the track, but it was nice to see the cars in the paddock and soak up a little atmosphere. My wife and I have been back four times since then for the BRIC, with the highlight being last year, when we spent the weekend escorting Phil Remington around. He is a friend of a friend and it was one hell of an honor to hang out with him. When I was a kid reading about these cars, I never once dreamed I would find myself sitting outside of Siebken's, drinking a beer with Rem...it was a really special weekend.

Anyhow, I digress. My garage is not all that impressive. Quantity over quality, I guess. A 1970 Z/28 that was my high school car, a 1990 5.0 Mustang coupe that was my daily driver for several years, a Euro-spec 308 QV, a 3.2 Mondial cabrio, an ERA 427 Cobra replica, a Beck Lister replica that should be done in the next few weeks, and now the GT. The picture doesn't show the good stuff: a 1950 Ford 8N tractor, a crewcab diesel dually Ford pickup, or my dirt bike...

[ January 23, 2003: Message edited by: snakeeyes ]

 

[M.B]

Welcome, Bob !

And i did see your dirt bike on one of your pics...or something like it...
If you are talking motorcross as we call it !
Even have my own ´73 veteran 400 Husky with metal shields(word?)
Last year before plastic arrived...
Did have some Modern Honda´s..
But up over here, Husky(Husqvarna) is always a top choice !

But they were sold out to India or something...
So know we have Husaberg´s and KTM´s along with the Italians and the Jap´s..(rice boiler..Love and Hate !)

Nice looking car !
That livery is alway´s a winner ! )

 

Marco, I have a friend who owns FIVE KTM's--he just bought three new ones at Christmas. Those are tremendous bikes! My "dirt bike" has little value except sentimental--it was owned by one of my college roommates, and I learned to ride on it. A couple of years ago I mentioned to him that I was looking for an inexpensive motorcycle to run around the neighborhood on, and he told me I could have his...it is a 1981 Honda XR200R. It is not in the greatest shape, but after tinkering with it for a while it is running pretty well and brings back a lot of good memories--

 

[M.B]

Bob !

Your friend really Loves these machines !
I´ve never had 5 at the same time..
But there are a lot of "loonies" here too !!!

Like the KTM´s too...

Sentimental values is one of the most important ones...
Imagine you´d been robbed of all your stuff !
That´s A nightmare !!!

I don´t think we have those over here..
It is roughly 125 or 250 for example..
Nothing in between..
There used to be 175...a long time ago..
As well as 200ccm standard motorcycles..of course..
XR200R ! then it should be what we call a "off road".
De tuned or changed engine..
Different dampers, weight over all..
Etc...Etc..not a competition machine..
Or too be used in a competition clothing in Enduro racing...
Wich is becoming very popular "city" bike´s as well as the SUV cars...

It is a good weight and steam looser, to drive it in anger a few hours in the woods !
Even worser on a proper track (hard on your arms)
You will fall a sleep when the bed time comes...
Rest assure all you guy´s who has not tried it out !
It is a easy bike to drive !
Even at Winter time !
Cheap too !

 

[Ken Montes]

good to see these GTD pictures. nice car sir!

 

[Howard Jones]

Welcome to GT40s.com! Very nice GTD! I have one, and I live in TX also. Where are you? I'm in New Braunfels.

 

[Jac Mac]

Joined in 2003, last activity in 2007, gets welcomed in 2017.... a new record??