Delivery / Pickup A phone call to Fran Hall at RCR caught me a little off-guard. I was calling to see what the status of my build was – He said come pick it up next Friday. How’s that for notice? I scrambled to change my calendar around. It would be tight, next Thurs/Friday is the week before Christmas, the weather didn’t look good, but after a years anticipation, you just have to do it. A nine hour drive with a trailer to Detroit, an overnite in a local motel and waking up to about and inch of snow on the ground.  And now, a 9Read More →

The considerably smaller owner market means there are even fewer online build documentations. These are a few of the ones I have referred to. GT40 Supercharged Jason Ferraro’s RCR build Australia Ruffian GT40 Chris Ashton’s highly modified Superformance Southern CaliforniaRead More →

How many small blocks are there? When I decided to build a GT40, my experience with Ford engines was primarily Big Block FE’s. While there are multiple configurations of the FE, there is essentially one engine with some minor differences. Easy enough I thought that same logic would apply to the small blocks. Boy, was I wrong! The 289/302 has entirely different front dress arrangements, not just a couple but 11 at last count. And some couldn’t even be identified by year or model – it depended what Ford may have had on the shelf when the car ran down the line. Nothing seemed constant.Read More →

HM2023 Induction

These are snippets to help you in your process of choosing which  path and whether you want to go there or not. Just little points to remember. History Pursuing higher performance on a given package, a few small block cars were outfitted with Weber 48IDA carburetors. The results were spectacular. Although Webers were originally fitted to the MarkII GT40, they were soon replaced with Holley four-barrels. To our knowledge only one big block car was fitted with Webers (CSX3033) however it was an after production change-over. The car was originally delivered with the dual four barrels. But legend often overwrites history. The eight direct pathRead More →

What cobra should I buy/build? I always answer this question with an explanation of the cars history and asking what are you trying to do? Do you want a good resale value, as cheap a build as possible or what?  As you become familiar with the hobby and the vehicle, you learn there are four tiers of cars available to you. Original Cobra: unless you have an unlimited bankroll, this is probably out of your range. At today’s market, 427 cars are going to run you 1-2 million, depending on their pedigree and condition. Continuation & Kirkhams: Often these are one in the same, ShelbyRead More →

These cars are made to be driven. However the elements sometimes can be very challenging. We built ours with a heater and seat heaters, but the open cockpit can really be uncomfortable at 30 degrees and 30 mph. The addition of a ‘lap blanket’ puts all the components into play and makes for a very comfortable ride. The blanket snaps to the underside of the dash, trapping heat into the cockpit. It is under the seatbelts so heat generated by the heater is focused on your lower body. Read More →

There’s a lot that goes into building a replica in addition to the wrench turning.  Project background Costs & Budget The hardest part Time and space requirements Kit Info Problems Choosing a vendor Documentation Licensing Mod’s Couple tips – Do a lot of research before (and during) your start and developed a method of thinking about four steps ahead of where you are. (Where you plan to put that bolt might not be accessible once the body is in place)Read More →

The body I received was very high quality – on the outside. The inner edges left a lot to be desired. Two issues; 1) voids in gel coat and underlying glass had to be repaired to insure integrity of the finish and 2) I knew that people would be feeling the edge to determine the type of body. I could emulate aluminum but I could make it as close as possible. The body openings, on the inside, looked as if they had been cut out with a dull pocket knife. In many areas, the glass laminate had separated and presented voids. The arrows point toRead More →

Body MaterialsThe Hurricane body is polyester resin over glass fiber. I will attempt to stay with the same manufacturers, to avoid any compatibility problems.  GlassworkI chose to go with Evercoat products. Part personal preference and part due to the overwhelming use of Rage Gold as the finishing putty. Kitty HairFor patching or any area subject to high stress, this is a long strand fiberglass product. Long strand means you can’t just dip a little-bit out of the can. It is a real challenge to get out a golfball sized bunch. Keep trying, you get it out. Mixing is also a challenge. Uses the same amountRead More →