Very nice Dean, outstanding!
Larry

Dean, you have great taste and I'm not sure I've seen better anywhere.

Damn good job.

Dean, Brent said you were a good car builder, dang, he wasn't kidding.

It looks great!!!

Hope you come to London next year so I can check it out.

:D

Dean,

This equals your efforts with the FIA car - GREAT job. I'm just curious, did you install an AC on this car (I can't see a compressor)? I hope too to make it to Run & Gun and see it first hand. Take care.

Yep, there is AC in this one. I like to race and I want to be as fast as I can but you gotta have air in these babies! It is really tight with all the AC lines, compressor, then the swaybars, fuel and dry sump lines but I got it in there.

Dean, where did you get your banjo fittings for the weber fuel lines? I can only find the red ones and I cannot stand the colored fittings. chuck

Very nice Dean, congrats on your car. Now for the important question - So how does it drive.

John

Entdoc,

He sprayed them down with Easy Bake oven cleaner to remove the red anodize.


John,

He doesn't know because he doesn't want to get any dirt on it. :)

Clois

Hey Clois, have you seen Dean's car up close?

Dean, how much did you do? I think there were pics of you getting boxes and the rest was up to you.

:D

Clois, seriously? If so , the damn things should come with a can of it.

Dean,
Congratulations on a superb job. Only thing to say is "Done right".
Would you share where you sourced the 8.7 deck ally block? They don't grow on trees...

Absolutely amazing car. Good luck with it!

Have you had enough seat time that you could share some thoughts on driving the GT40 vs driving a Cobra?

Holy crap it's true!

http://www.rcnitrotalk.com/25/removing-anodizing/

I am off to the grocery store

Me too. No more sandblasting fittings for me. I should have paid closer attention in chemistry.

Dean, your car has the potential to be the source of a lack of contentment among me and my other cobra buddies that have been pondering doing GT40 builds. You have the coolest bike in the neighborhood.

Guys, thanks a lot for all your comments. Clois knows, I don't sleep much and I spent many nights in the garage. You know the ones where you come in and take a shower then go to work! I did most of the car myself. The body man was really very good and the engine was really a special build. Both of those guys are to be commended. The kit is fantastic. I will tell you that Fran at RCR is really a great guy. I got about 90% of the parts from him, the rest I sourced myself. The SVO 8.7 block was a "special" puchase along with a matched billit crank from the builder. I don't know much more than that.

Regarding the oven cleaner, It is not that easy. You will have to use a small brass brush to do the final prep and don't use it on swivil fittings with an o-ring. I learned that the hard way.

I got my plates today but I need the appraisal for my insurance. I will probably be an unisured motorist tomorrow and just see how it feels. I loved my little FIa kirkham but this car is more of everything. I hope I enjoy the GT as much as my cobra. I hear it will take some getting use to. If you guys have any questions let me know, I have taken pictures of about every bolt as it was put together.

Was there any part that you felt wasn't designed the way it should have been? What do you think are some of the weaknesses of the RCR setup whether it be from a maintenance, durability... whatever perspective? Any "nightmares"?

RCR is on the list for me and a few guys around here. It'd be nice to be able to do a walk around on one being built but I don't think there are any in the Central FL area.

awesome car, I hope to have one in the near future, maybe I can buy one thats done just as well as yours before Ross finishes his.

Jmimac351, That is a fair question. My concern is that if I post my opinion about the kit regarding design, build, etc., they could get taken out of context. Like every build there are issues with things but as fair as the quality of parts, the way they fit together and the over all design is concerned the car is as good as it gets. I had trouble getting all my parts after I recieved the car but Fran let me talk directly to his suppliers and I was able to help him light the fire. I was never held up waiting on parts. I want to make that point clear, they just were not there when I picked it up. Most people wouldn't build as fast as i did anyway. I know most of that has changed now. He has a huge warehouse full of stuff. Also, most of the stuff he sent me later was a substantial upgrade to what was available when I bought the kit. (at no charge) The kit is 90% complete. You will have to source the odds and ends and hardware but the car doesn't cost 80K either. All of us that have our cars built have kept great notes with part numbers, prices and sources. At the end of the day I have a car that is much better for slightly less money than anything else on the market. (my opinion) For me to elaborate more than that would just be throwing gas on the fire. I love a good fight but I would rather do that on another thread.

Dean,
that's a very level headed reply.

One thing that has to be kept in perspective when asking comparison type questions is making sure you compare apples to apples.

Mid engine cars can be far more complicated to build than front engine/rear drive...If you so chose to make it more complicated.

Staying on the "path" makes a build far easier.

Dean has done a superb job with his car and has deviated in just about every aspect of his build from standard...and he still managed to do it in 6 very busy months.

I have had customers assemble their cars to a pretty complete roller in a matter of weeks...that is absolutely unheard of in the GT40 replica world....

Obviously the expected use of the car will also determine the complexity of the build....

All of my cars offered are very accurate body wise ,also dimensionally under the skin but I have chosen modern production manufacturing and engineering techniques for the components themselves....no donor parts.
As such we have deviated from the "kit car" norm of welding tubes together to make chassis and suspension components..this has enabled very fast and accurate assembly for the end user....

Much like any company worth its salt I am always striving to improve our products and have efficient responses to customer issues and questions...we cant keep everyone happy all the time but I do try damn hard to achieve that...but vendor supply issues do happen and as Dean will attest they are not always as timely as needed...(even the best/biggest names in our industry.)

I would like more people to accept component cars for what they are ...assembled by hand to meet specific individuals needs.....not a "KIT CAR" per se......