My CAV GT40

The CAV GT experience - Video

2008-08-15T23:10:00.003+01:00

See the factory where they are built - Video

2008-08-15T23:08:00.002+01:00

GT40 at Kilarney

2008-08-15T22:37:00.007+01:00

CAV GT40 Video

2008-08-15T22:17:00.003+01:00

Original GT40 at Festival Of Speed

2008-07-16T23:26:00.007+01:00

Fantastic visit to the Festival Of Speed last week. Picture shows an original GT40 #1084 as it screams up the hillclimb.

If you want something doing!

2008-07-05T22:22:00.000+01:00

On finishing my CAV GT40 I’ve always had a problem with the A/C System. I would switch the A/C on and you would hear the compressor clutch click and cold air would come out of the ducts. A few seconds later the compressor clicked off. This continued, compressor clicked on and then off again. I didn’t do the initial installation of the A/C system, I got on independent company to do the pipe fittings, wiring and pressurising of the system.

Anyway last weekend I’d had enough of “melting” in the car so I decided to fix this problem once and for all. My first thought was that the problem was low pressure so I called in at the local Halfords for and A/C “top-up” kit and tested the pressure with the gauge on the kit. To my amazement the pressure in the system was very high, great I’ve found the problem. So I proceeded to remove some of the pressure from the system. After retesting the pressure a test of the A/c was in order.

Unfortunately, the same problem occurred, but I noticed that the fan didn’t come on when the compressor clutch engaged. On closer investigation I found a bad earth on the fan wiring. Another test of the A/C system was done and this seemed to resolve the problem, however the air did not seem to be very cold. Anyway I had another look round the A/c System and noticed that the switch that shut of the heat to the heater unit was working the wrong way round. A/C On, hot water was supplied to the heater. A/C Off, hot water was shut off to the heat.

After sorting this problem I again tested the system and it worked perfectly.

The moral of the story is “If you want something doing right do it yourself”.

Couple of GT40 Pictures from Le Mans

2008-07-05T21:31:00.004+01:00

GT40's For Sale

2008-07-05T11:55:00.004+01:00

Your chance to own the very last Abbey Panels-chassised GT40 sold by JWAE. Yes, it’s the beautiful 1086, about as close to 1075 as you’re likely to get, and still wearing the Gulf livery JWAE gave it when new.
Not to your liking then have a look at J.S.Allen's web site for other cars for sale. John has written a number of books on the GT40 and his site is full of information and images.

My Car

2008-07-05T00:01:00.007+01:00

Finally got round to taking a photograph of my car. For the GT40 guy's out there sorry its in gulf livery and not a unique colour, but hopefully the detailing is somewhere near the original.

The engine is a Ford 396 stroker engine direct from Ford Motorsports in the USA. If you believe the spec from Ford the engines good for 420bhp. Fitted with Holley carb and mated to a new Audi Gearbox shipped in from CAV in South Africa.

If your going to the Festival Of Speed -Goodwood next week you might see it on the motorway travelling down from Leeds on Thursday and back on Monday. Hopefully should have some photos from FOS when I get back.

Holley Accelerator Cam Kit

2008-07-04T23:08:00.003+01:00

Ive been having trouble with bad hesitation during initial acceleration. After doing some reading of my Holley manual it appeared that the problem could be due to the profile of the accelerator cam that was fitted to the carb. I decided to purchase a cam kit and started to experiment with the different profiles. After a few blasts up and down the local carriage way to warm the engine up, I pulled into a layby and changed the orange cam to the blue one. Very simply job to do at the side of the road, one screw, remove cam and fit the new one.
Jumped back in the car and went for a test drive. Well the difference was amazing, the hesitation had gone completely.
For more information on Holley Carbs go to the Holley web site

New CAV Distributors in the UK

2007-11-23T21:06:00.000Z

GT40Supercars Limited have recently been appointed sole UK and Ireland distributors for the CAV GT40 and GTR racing GT40. Hit the start button on their web site and watch the video!

They can be contacted at
www.gt40supercars.com
info@gt40supercars.com
Tel:-01472 500330

Tanking Up part 2

2007-11-23T20:43:00.000Z

Seem to be having a problem with the Fuel Gauges not reading correctly. Fortunately, whilst at the Classic Motor Show, I met up with a guy from Speedy Cables who sell the gauges in the UK. After explaining the problem I was having he mentioned that the gauge needs calibrating to the VDO sender unit that are installed in the CAV. Monday morning the gauge was in the post to Speedy Cables for the re calibration. Any CAV owners with “dodge” gauges, get in touch with Speedy cables http://www.speedycables.com and they should be able to help.

GT40 Enthusiasts Club

2007-11-23T20:34:00.000Z

Made a trip to the Classic Motor Show at NEC Birmingham on the 10^th November. Fabulous day out and met some really nice people on the GT40 Enthusiast Club stand as well as a couple of original GT40’s. Hence I am now a member of the club (www.gt40enthusiastsclub.com) which seems very reasonable at £30 for the year.

Tanking On!

2007-09-23T20:52:00.000+01:00

Now that the stainless steel piping is installed into the sills and the sponge foam is wrapped around it, then it’s time to fit the fuel tanks in the sills. Two choices are available from Cav: Aluminium Tanks or bladder tanks. I opted for the standard aluminium tanks.

After making sure all debris was removed from the inner sill the fuel tanks were installed from the front of the sill, making sure that they didn’t rip the foam around the water pipes.

I know that the original car was fitted with fuel tanks in the sill and there is no other place to fit them, but fitting them in the sills for road going seems a little dicey to me!

Once fitted the fuel gauges are fitted through the access holes in the top of the sills.

STOP!

2007-09-03T20:35:00.000+01:00

Next on the agenda was the fitting of the brake pipes. The main pipe ran down the left hand inner sill along with the clutch pipe and air conditioning pipes. At the front, under the passenger footwell a brake bias switch was fitted. Copper piping was then passed through the left hand side of the firewall into the front boot compartment. The piping is then run along the top section of the boot and down to the servo units. I word of warning at this stage, the servo unit has to be juggled into place along with the front anti roll bar. It a matter of trial and error and sweat and swearing but it does fit. The piping from the servo to the front wheel arches pass parallel to the piping to the rear, but onto the front left wheel and the other pipe runs to the right wheel.

At the rear the pipe goes into the left front corner of the engine bay, one pipe runs round to the left hand side to the gearbox cradle and the other round to the right hand side of the cradle. The Stainless steel pipes are then connected between the copper pipe onto the rear calipers (when fitted).

A Bit Of Colour.

2007-09-02T22:45:00.000+01:00

Whilst I was busy putting the chassis components together the body was sent off to the painters. I built an AK Cobra some years ago and I have also restored a 1969 - Austin Cooper S 1275, on both occasions I used a local guy who I feel does an excellent job. He works by himself in a small lock up garage on the outskirts of Leeds. His premises are not totally dust proof, neither does he have a clinically clean paint booth, but in my opinion his work is “second to none” and prices are very competitive. Any body restoration you require then he’s your man.
What colour should I choose? Well this was a painstaking decision, do I paint in Gun Metal grey, Metallic blue or Red? I’d seen the car in all these colours and they all look stunning, however the colour that always stood out to me was the Gulf Powder blue and orange. I can hear you say “O’ no not another Gulf car”. Well I’m afraid so, what a superb pair of colours that compliment the curvaceous of the GT40. In addition I also decided to have the car marked with the same decals as chassis 1076. These I purchased from I Say Ding Dong Decals.

Plumbing!

2007-09-02T20:11:00.000+01:00

Once the radiator is fitted the plumbing can be started. Two stainless steel pipes are supplied that run under the front wheel arches and through the driver and passenger sills. The fuel tanks are also installed into the sills so the water pipes are insulated with pipe lagging, one to protect them and two to stop them rattling in the stainless steel sills. Once the pipes are “Teased” into the sills and through holes into the engine bay, the rubber hoses can be fitted that connect the pipes to the radiator. Make sure that you cover the open ends (engine bay) to ensure not debris goes into the pipes during the build. When using an electric water pump, you may need to modify the return pipe to create a heater bypass.

The heater pipes run down the drivers (right) side of the inner sill and the air conditioning pipes run down the passenger (left) side of the car. Whilst fitting the air conditioning pipes it is wise to also fit the clutch hydraulic pipe at the same time. (This is for the Audi Gearbox, if using ZF gearbox I think the pipe goes down the right-hand side of the car).

Jeremy Clarkson - Ford GT40

2007-08-31T22:13:00.000+01:00

Jeremy Clarkson talks about the Ford GT40

Stay Cool!

2007-08-31T21:08:00.000+01:00

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!

2007-08-28T21:05:00.000+01:00

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"

2007-08-27T22:05:00.000+01:00

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"

2007-08-27T21:52:00.000+01:00

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

"Placing the order"

2007-08-27T21:47:00.000+01:00

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"

2007-08-27T21:28:00.000+01:00

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

2007-08-26T22:55:00.000+01:00

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.