Going From A Cobra To A Gt40

[PatBuckley]

Originally Posted by Dandy Don

I just sold ERA#593 (Turk's old car) to a Japanese fellow from Las Vegas who is shipping it to a client in Japan. Undoubtedly, this guy resells them for a lot of yen in Japan. He buys only ERAs and has purchased 15 to date.
I was sorry to see the car leave the country----but the Cobra market is pretty soft, especially this time of year. And the buyer's money was as good as the next guy's (who may never come).
After enjoying the Cobra, I'm looking into a GT40. I love the ERA but most folks tell me I would be hard pressed to finish a quality build for under $125-135K.
Several folks have recommended the SPF which is going up in price from $69K to $79K on January 1,2007. I guess I need to sh-t or get off the pot pretty quick. I won't pay an additional $10K.
Any personal experiences on the driveability of GT40s on the street?
Are they claustrophobic with the fixed side windows? Does the Lexan scratch like mad? I assume rearward vision is bad.
I'm 6 ft 2 in. and 235lbs---will I fit (even with a Gurney bubble)?
I plan to visit Dynamic Motorsports between Christmas and New Years.
A $25K deposit is required----

Regards-Dandy Don

Don,

Congrats on the sale of the Cobra. I spent many many hours working on that POS. The color was horrible but maybe it only looked bad when parked next to my red ERA which made it look kinda puny.

Seriously, to answer your questions (and to get this thread back on track and away from becoming more of a blatant banner ad) I will give you my opinions based on my CAV GT40 and my perfect size (5'9 and 170).

I assume when you say driveability you are not talking about throttle response but what the ergonomics are like?

Vision is obviously fine out ahead and to the side - you don't notice the fixed side windows - the rear vision is marginal but can be helped by two things:

1) mount your mirrors as close to your eyeballs as possible - I have no idea why manufacturers mount them way out on the fender - mount them in the lower corner of the side windows and use a convex one on the right side. I can post a picture if you need one.

2) Plan ahead a little and use your cars acceleration to put you where you want to be on your terms.

My car has Plexiglass side windows which I keep in good shape with some stuff called Plexus. I haven't noticed that they scratch any more than any other Plexiglass. If the car you are looking at uses Lexan, hopefully they use the harder Lexan which, I am told, is much more scratch resistant.

Good luck - and go sit in each of the cars you are interested in.

By the way, how much are you planning an spending?

Pat

PS - Turks old car was one of the nicest I have ever seen but he needs to be kidded about it.