F40LM photos

engine drive train and base chassis..

The LM is way different in size then the street F40, hence why a LM hood wont fit on a road F40, but all LM,'s GTC's etc were derived from a built F40 Chasis and serial.

-a

 

I was quoting Cavallino according to them 13 LM, 4 GTE, 3 GTE-II (GTC).

 

well but remember there were more cars commisions to be built that are not in numbers any place.. this is why it is confusing, as Ferrari doesnt track it.

and there actually were to builders doing the conversions/mods on the same plans. Hence the ability for a private person to aquire them.

hell I think I need to book a ticket and go downunder to race with some good ole boys and chase some roo;'s around a track.

-a

 

Well, we have this track called "Phillip Island", one of the worlds great tracks. Valentino Rossi gets a 1.31 around here. My LM (not me driving it), got a
1.29 (not even set up properly). (Watch out for the kangaroo's.)

 

well, I don't know where they got the gear box from. The teeth on the gears (I've had the back off the gear box), are about half an inch thick. Bullet proof.
amazing gears.

 

maybe we can talk Chris into inviting me to the event , and we can all meet up and wear some tires down

-a

 

haha

Yea I know Chris has had his gearbox open a few times too

they are truley amazing cars !!

-a

 

I think that the description of Rolands car as an "LM" is appropriate. The description correctly describes it's appearance and performance. It does have one important detail in common with the Aussie F40 "LM". Both were rebuilt from wrecked cars. Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't the Aussie F40 originally owned by Benny? (somewhere there are pictures and video's of the crashed car) From the picture that was posted, the car has the incorrect rear bodywork. The Aussie F40 appears to have a street car rear clip with a Tubi wing. Since this car was never originally raced, it would be difficult to tell what is correct since it has no racing history. Also, the top specification for an F40 "LM" is 830 HP and only chassis no.s 2 and 12 have this modification from the factory. All other cars with this specification would be incorrect and are merely clones. All the F40 LM's started life as street cars so they all share the same DNA. If you do the research, the original F40 LM's were just plain street cars with open exhaust, not even a Tubi wing. If you follow the history of the cars that were raced, they almost never appeared in the same specifications or bodywork. As soon as modifications were available, they were added. Roland, you car is really the ultimate modified F40. In many ways, I wish I count have done what you did. I would love to have a bare chassis and start from that. The welding on the frame is disgusting. I would redo every one of those welds. Also, i would like to put a proper roll cage into the car as you did. You did a super job of building and tuning that car and because of you many people now know what an F40 LM is. I am sure that you are the only person who currently owns an F40 who has actually driven at LE MANS!

 

Gentlemen,
No matter what...this is a great thread and quite interesting! F40 and its derivatives are amazing cars and please do keep it going...

 

so you telling me that my car was once a burnt out road going F40?

Check Ferrari club usa MAG #110 (or 111). There is a road and track , type ,review of my car as it was when it was brand new. Bought new from Michelotta, by ED WETACHE. I am the second true owner of the car and I have no idea where you got all your idea's from. 850 horsepower is the qualifying mode (setting #1) on the turbo adjust boost. This is the qualifying horsepower of a LM GTC, of which mine is. Normal horsepower for racing is mode #8, 786 Horsepower. Michelotta built a total of 20 bodies and cars, due to the racing requirements. 4 cars, are GTC spec, of the 20. Mine is chassis no # 97881 16th car with gearbox 18. Just because it hasn't been
thrashed to bits at Le Mans, doesn't mean that it's not an LM. Mine is a purposly built LM, race ready for LE MANS, built by Michelotta and one of the 20 cars. I also have all the build sheets from Michelotta on my car. There is nothing on the car that could be assumed as being from a street car. You only have to stand next to my LM and look at it and compare it to my road going F40, to know that this is a very special car, built by people who have THE PASSION. A road going F40, converted to an LM is so far away from the real thing, that's it not funny.

 

Relax Gil, your car is the real deal. See: http://www.ferraris-online.com/cars/97881/97881b.html for details.

FWIW Benny C's two F40's # 85015 and # 84503 (both GTE's) now also reside in Melbourne Australia. So we are fortunate to have 3 of the total production right here.

 

Oh, I forgot to mention that there is one of the official racing F40's that DID start out life as road F40. My personal favourite, and perhaps the most recognised racing F40 # 74045 (Michelotto build 13 the french blue PILOT car) started out it's life as a pre-production prototype. It ran Le Mans and the BPR series in 1995 and 1996 and was converted to GTE EVO 2 spec.

This car was the only F40 LM built from a second hand car. All the others were apparently built from new chassis supplied by Ferrari.

This information is from an article by Michael Sheehan "F40's go racing". As there were a dozen historians contributing to the article, there is a better than average chance that it is correct. So no need for the xanax and prozac Gil !!

 

spoken like a true chemist

 

An LM is an LM. There are only 20 LM's anything else is a replica. period.

 

Do you class # 74045 as an LM, given that it started life as a road car?
It appears on the official list of S/N's.

 

OK gents,
I have been reading this for quite sometime now and have become upset with the whole thing.

If someone has a Cobra 427 and dresses it like a LeMans winning Cobra is it still a cobra? Now what if they put in today's technology to make the car a little faster?

No matter what Roland does to his car it is still a Ferrari F40.
if he wants it to look like a F40LM then he can do that.
if he wants it to be faster than an F40 (Johnny and Chris take notice) he can.
if he wants it to be more comfortable to drive he can make modifications.

The point is that the F40LM was just an improved F40. I personally can say that i have not seen a true F40LM but I have ridden in Rolands car and it gave me all the satisfaction i desired.

The problem I have with this thread is that you are trashing his car, and I don't know why. He made his car better for him. He isn't trying to gain any value in the car, but it probably is more valuable than a normal F40. The modifications to Roland's car have been made to pay tribute to the F40LM. It looks different than a normal F40, it rides different from a F40, it is faster than an F40 and is on Speedvision more than anybody elses F40.

Roland is a good guy and he has made a buisness out of his car. It is a great promotional tool for his driving school and his sponsors. If you own a true LM i don't think you would have driven in the Player's Run. I don't think you would change sponsorship logos like he does. And I am sure that you wouldn't put it out on the track with people in Miatas, Subarus, Minis, and VWs.

A true LM owner would not risk the dangers of what Roland faces at every track event. I remember riding with Joe Grasso in St Louis in his WRX Sti, and the smile on his face was ear to ear when he was out there driving between the 2 F40s.

For the general public, Roland's car gives a good image of what an LM is. Maybe it isn't a true LM and doesn't meet all the specs, but it is close enough. Lets just leave it at that.

The only suggestion I have than that is to saddle up the cavillnos and let them run on the track, that is the only other way to settle this dispute!!!!

-m

 

I have not read a single word on here that says Roland's car is not a nice car, that is not the point at all.

I have not trashed the car or Roland.

The point is that there are only 20 LM's in the world and Roland's car is not one of the 20. Period.

Does that make it a bad car, certainly not, is it beautifully prepared and something he should be very proud of hell YES, (hell I am proud of Roland's car!)

But does the work Roland has done make it an LM, certainly not, it does make it a very nice track prepared street F40 and what is wrong with that?

What is wrong with calling it what it is?

Is he trying to make a business from promoting the car as an LM, certainly.

Do I feel it is misleading calling it an LM without calling it a replica, certainly!!!!

Is the car a F40 certainly.

So should he at least call it a LM replica, IMHO yes.

It is either one of the 20 or its a replica, am I correct?.

LM is not a generic term for any F40 that has been modified.

 

It is my opinion, that the only way to have an "LM" designation is if Michelotto built the car, otherwise it is simply a race prepared F40.

If I took my F40 to Michelotto today and he converted it, it would then be a "LM" but it would still not be in the same class as the origional 20 cars and I would feel it would have to be described as a continuation LM. It would certainly never be worth what one of the origional are worth.

This is like Carol Shelby building new Cobras from phantom chassis he claimed to have rusting in a warehouse. Yes they are Cobras, yes he built them, but no, they are a continuation car, not to be confused with the origional.

 

This is where it gets interesting IMO. There is no doubt whatsoever that
# 74045 is one of the original Michelotto built LM's. It is one of the best known cars, with one of the longest race histories. There are dozens of road F40's that were modified by Michelotto that are NOT listed as genuine LM's.
What's the difference?
Easy, # 74045 was modified IN PERIOD by the original manufacturer at the same time as the rest of the genuine LM's. FWIW, # 74045 is the ultimate specification, an EVO 2 GTE with all the modifications except the inboard suspension.
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Finally, someone besides me understands this!

I may have to move downunder before this is over with!

I totally agree with everything you just said!

 

ps: More power to Roland, great car and you should be commended for your efforts. Not an LM; but who cares!

 

Of course your car is a real F40 LM. Was Benny the original owner of your car? I believe that he was. One of his cars was "thrashed to bits" by having every corner knocked off of it. However, your car does not have the correct rear clip. That is not a "no stories" car. Roland should not have been dragged into this in the first place. As they say at Monterey, "the car is the star". In Rolands case, he shares celebrity billing with his machine. The are both equally famous. Attempting to gain celebrity status through the promotion of your ownership or modification is exactly why people loath "Ferrari" owners. If you ran a few laps aroung Le Mans, you would be quick to tell your friends that you were a " Le Mans" racer even though you have have never run the entire 24 hours. How many of you describe yourself to your friends a " racer" when running open track events is not racing at all. Get the picture? Gil, nice car, but wrong rear clip. As the documentation states only 2 cars have the highest specification motor and yours is not one of them. (unless it recieved an unauthorized modification) Do you have the push rod suspension and the xtrac 6-spd? Any modifications to an F40 willl only decrease the value of the car. The sales history shows this to be true. Hot rod F40's will always be on the low end of the scale at resale time, no matter how cool the modifications seem to be. The more you modify, the less it's worth. Chris, that video of your car on Dream car garage clearly shows that your car is not set-up properly. The car is too high and your shocks are trashed. That car is squatting and diving allover the place. Put some proper dampers in that car. The low speed compression and rebound settings are way wrong. Perhaps Roland can show you his Penske's!

 

If you are going to start attacking others, at least have the courtesy to read the thread responses first before mindlessly repeating ill researched statments. Sort of makes a mockery of your user name.

 

Real AC Cobras were built in England........so unless the car comes from AC its not a real cobra even if it is marketd by Carol Shelby