GTSparkplugs

Well the Tire Size calculator was just fine, but it was a step to get to the next stage. That being the shift point calculator. Which basically is just a web based version of a program that I like to use called GearCalc that is for Windoze based PC’s. My version is just the basics so far, need to add Metric support, Graphing, and a few other interface clean ups (spelling errors). It allows entry of tire info like the old tire calc (still up) and addition of RPM ranges, Gear ratios for the rear and transmission. Output is in a text box for easy cut and paste or import into excel if your good enough. Will update more once I get the graphing in. So now when your in a coffee house at 2am and want to calculate the top speed at 7500 RPM it is just a URL away. Feed back if you have it.

Web Gear and Tire Calc or is that Tire and Gear Calc

This is the start of the work on my RCR (Race Car Replicas) GT40. It is an all aluminum monocoque chassis, no tube frame here. Very similar to the VSE Cobra. The beginnings of the car can be seen on the GT40’s.com website. I’ll post stuff here too since most all the other cars are here so should the GO DOG GO car.

Quick specs -

348 short stroke aluminum 8.2″ Dart block, Edelbrock Victor Heads, Super Victor Manifold, Dry Sump, Keith Craft Built. About 620Hp at 7500rpm, 8000 Redline. MSD 6Digital ignition and matching Ford SMALL cap distributor.

Porsche 930 Gearbox, custom close ratio gear, Quaife LSD, 4 Speed. Mapped to 175 MPH at around 8000rpm as I recall. This is one of the strongest gearbox Porsche ever built, just a 4 speed is the down side. No sissy ZF here (Just kidding ZF and Pantera owners).

Rims are 15″ BRM knock off replicas from Vintage Wheels. Rear split to accommodate 14″ wide Avons.They are Gulf Orange painted to the outer edge. A second set of rims are also on the shelf and unpainted (Might polish and orange up the spokes).
Brakes are 6 Piston Wilwood Superlight 6’s on all four corners.

Seats leather RCR custom.

Gauges RCR with a special made 10k RPM Tachometer and clock replaced with a more useful Oil temp gauge. All gauges from RCR which are made for them by Classic Instruments.

2 Hoods, dual snorkel and single painted to match.

Lighting is supplied by Original GT40 SEV Marchal Headlamps, and lower fogs were rigged up with a period looking SEV Marchal headlamp (round) from a Simca 1000.

Some changes to the RCR that I had done while at the Factory were rolling build out, including a Roll cage, and the wonderful Gulf Team Paint from the Number 9 LeMans winning car. Special Stainless headers shaped more angular like the 427 Mk II GT40’s were also delivered. Many other parts fitted. I also am going to swap the suppled RCR pedals with a set of Tilton Racing Pedals as they seem a bit more flexible from a racing set up prespective.
So to see the build process up to this point click HERE it will pop you to the GT40s.com site.

And so starts the story…

Want to drive with Mr. The King? Well if you do you have an excellent chance to do by heading over to the Motorator. They are having a promotional sweepstakes to get people into the site. Good luck, and if I do see you out (I’m pretty sure I’m winning it) you better hope that I don’t stuff you into the wall.

THE 17th ANNUAL FALL OPEN TRACK AND DRIVER EDUCATION AT THE STREETS OF WILLOW SPRINGS SEPTEMBER 27 & 28, 2008

This is a great event. I have done it many many times. If your new, great event. If you don’t want to thrash your car, great event. If you want to drive a lot and really hard, great event. This is on the Streets of Willow. The mix of cars ranges from ricer’s, Porsche, BMW, Chevy, Fords and even real Shelby’s.

A video from ‘The Ripper’ hosted at the Motorator

Another with the ChaseCam mounted on Gilbert’s sweet 911RS Spec Porsche, with much better video.
How much for all this fun (Two days of track time)?

Club Members - $195
Non-members - $205

Click Here for PDF Application

Click Here for LASAAC Main Site

A note from the Los Angeles Shelby Clubs web site www.lasaac.org
And I Quote…
We’re pleased to announce our annual car show is again being held on the historic Santa Monica Pier.  The show will be Saturday, September 6th, and run from 10am until 3pm.  Space on pier is limited to about 100 cars so we expect registration to fill up early.  It’s a great venue for a car show so don’t be left out of the fun - make sure you get your application in early.

End Quote

Here is the link to the Application Click Here
I missed out on this show last year but I understand it was a lot of fun. It is on the Santa Monica Pier and plenty of stuff to do besides check out cars.

Well, I guess it is inevitable…  We can’t have leaded gas, so no reason to let us have lead wheel weights. What next, I can’t use my cell phone while driving without a hands free attachment?  Wait, oh, never mind. Don’t get me wrong I’m not one that dumps oil down the sewer, or throws my aluminum cans in the trash, I put my old weight in a can not the trash and how many wheel weights are fly off of cars these days? They don’t catch a breeze and blow in the wind? And where does this lead come from, I thought it was in the ground already? … Well maybe it is from Canada or something. I had better look on the web for more data. This smells like the Global Warming, Global Ice Age, Global Warming thing. Remember Freon (12) well that was banned for R134A, which was supposed to be a good thing, well not so much.

As I have said before, when  Mother Nature really gets sick of us she is going to hit CTRL+ALT+DELETE and start fresh. How long before we piss her off that bad?

And finally I just ordered a couple of boxes of tape on LEAD weights before they become illegal and I have to pay 3x the price on Ebay, I can see the ad title “Vintage NOS LEAD wheel weights NO LONGER AVAILABLE” and the bidding war will ensue.

Well just a few more days to go. Me, my cousin, and friends make way to Monterey. While it has been a known issue that I despise car shows I attend this one with a usual glass half full (as I can be) attitude. Actually the Pebble Beach part of the show is the low point for me. I an not too interested in many of the cars that show up (I do enjoy the cheese and wine part). The one with the Ford marquee was a notable exception since a ton of GT40’s were on display. The weekend starts early as we all leave Thursday morning for the drive up out of Los Angeles area. My luck has it I have a dentist appointment that morning, seems I’ll have to hold off on the beef jerky for a while into the trip, but please be assured that it is a meat weekend instore. Back to the trip, the high point for me has almost always been the Historic races. I just love poking around the pits and chatting with a few folks that I know (Sunbeam Tiger guys, Shelby Guys). Another nice part of the trip is the Italiano Concorso. One of the only, and I use the term carefully shows that I ‘Enjoy’. I hope to have a bunch more photo’s and possibly video for those not in attendance. If anyone sees me walking around, please stop and say hi, I will be wearing a hat as ususal.

It seems to never end. Every time I pass a magazine rack you check out the cover car and they boast something like 590hp Civic, 670hp WRX, 800hp (YOUR BRAND HERE), etc. That’s cool, someone modded up a car and made some big hp. But now those numbers are starting to climb for the production cars. No big deal, but too many knot-heads driving them around and showing up at car gathering showing off their pride and joy. Fine, but make sure you know how to drive your car. Just because you have the bread to pick up a Veryon, Porsche GT, etc, learn how to drive your car so I don’t have a nice laugh when I see your car on the Wrecked Exotics Site. It is a bummer when you check out the carnage on that site. And it is not getting any better, cars are getting faster and have more HP every year. And people aren’t getting any smater or better drivers it seems. If you have one of these cars (you know who you are) and think you can drive fast because it handles like a dream, let me know when the pictures are going to be up on the Wrecked Exotics Site. Simple solution, take a high performance driving course where they let you drive YOUR car. Or find out about track event that offer the HPDE (High Performance Driving Event) where you can get an instructor and hit the track and drive as hard as you feel safe AND don’t endanger me. By the way, you can use BLUE tape to keep any rock chips from messing with your paint and I can assure you that the damage from that will be less they you plowing into my Excursion (You will lose).

Seems being slow to finish my Cobra might land it on TV. Not that I really give a crap about that, it was funny coming across this while reading a blog about Top Gear USA Style. Looking and going well at least the car has some good company as I do like Adam’s Challenge Stradale (with the exception that it has a stereo) and his nice collection of odd cool cars. I have not included this in the VSE Cobra build thread but if you want to see about it, that thread starts HERE or if you want to see the more static site Shift Here.

All this chatter about miles per gallon… You only hear about it when the price of gasoline goes up. Once it stabilizes we are back buying performance cars and SUV’s. On with the discussion…

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