Jeremy Clarkson - Ford GT40

Jeremy Clarkson talks about the Ford GT40

Stay Cool!

Once all the rivet nuts have been fitted to the chassis the first component to fit is the radiator. The GT40 was prone to overheating problems but the 6 core bespoke aluminium radiator with twin electric fans seems to resolve this problem.

Rivet Nuts!

The next weekend I started work on the chassis. The first thing I had to acquire was a rivet nut gun. For those who don’t know what a rivet nut is, here’s a picture. It basically fits like a rivet but is a simple but very effective way of adding a thread to thin metal. The CAV GT has a number of Rivet nuts to fit so I decided to buy a good quality gun from Teng tools. Fortunately, the majority of the CAV is already drilled for all the rivet nuts, so it’s just a case of fitting the right size nuts in the right places. Some of the under panels need drilling and rivet nuts fitting which is a bit of a task when the chassis on 60cm off the floor on axle stands.

"Taking delivery of the chassis"

End August 2006, John Dryden from A1 Autocraft delivered the chassis and body components. The body and chassis were attached when it arrived on the back of a car trailer. We started to unbolt everything, HERE IS A WORD OF WARNING. However excited or rushed you are to unbolt everything make sure you mark all the components in relation to each other. Especially door hinges etc etc. I didn’t and during the build I probably spent about two weeks trying to line everything back up.

The chassis was lifted off the trailer and straight onto axle stand (six in total). The body was left outside under a tarpaulin.

"Wedding Bells"

Congratulations to James and Yvonne Gamble who got married on the 25^th August 2007.  Best wishes from John & Paula.

 

 

"Placing the order"

The visit to A1 Autocraft took place in August 2006. One of my colleagues from the office, James Gamble who is also a GT40 enthusiasts visited A1 with me. It’s always best to take someone with you when making purchases like this. They tend not to look through “Rose tinted glasses”.
We had a good look round a couple of car’s as well as looking at the chassis and body I was going to purchase, they are phenomenal pieces of engineering.
The kit comes in component format:
Body / Chassis
Suspension
Brakes & Clutch
Fuel
Steering
Plumbing
Windows
Electrics
Interior
As all the components were shipped from South Africa, which is where the kit is manufactured I thought buying the kits in single packs would take time for them to be shipped. Therefore I decided to buy all the component packs altogether.
John advised they would be shipped and with me within 4 weeks. In the meantime the body and chassis would be delivered for me.

"The Deal"

After lots of research on the internet the decision was made, it had to be the CAV! My main reasons for opting for the CAV were:-

Excellent build quality
Very little fabricating allowing for a quick build
Pretty exclusive in the UK
High turnkey build cost, therefore good return if I want to sell it.
Lead time short as A1 already had a chassis and body in stock

August 2006 - I called John Dryden at A1 Autocraft Gateshead to arrange a further visit to discuss what options were available.

Festival of Speed - 2006

Still undecided I visited the Festival of Speed 2006, as I knew that A1 Autocraft were exhibiting there. The weekend was fabulous, good weather, brilliant event with extraordinary car that would possible never be seen again in one place.
Bugatti Veyron
Striker
Saab Concept car
Ferrari’s
Aston’s
Mercedes SLR
Fabulous!
On the third day I eventually found the CAV stand and wow what a car. All in the GULF colours it looked brilliant, the guy’s who were with me were bowled over and I had made up my mind.

Looking at different GT40's

Throughout mid 2006 I continued to look around for what I thought was the best GT40 replica available on the market. As luck would have it Kit Car magazine published a piece on GT40’s discussing the various models that where available. The CAV GT was fast becoming the favourite kit to me, it was relatively new to the UK and from the write up's appeared to be one of the very best kits on the market.
I got in touch with A1 Autocraft-Gateshead who imported the kit and turnkey cars to the UK, the week after I was at their premises looking round the demonstration car. Very impressive I must say.