It was dads, haha. E46 would be nice some time in the future though. Anyway, back to ferrarichatting...
Sorry to ask a dumb question, is this open to the general public? (No I dont have a Fezza cap or shirt haha). Can't find any public notices of it thats all, thought I'd ask beforehand or face the fear of being escorted by some tuffs.
I'll find out, just watch this site nearer to the date. We've hired extra tuffs for this event, to control the Perth contingent, who tend to become "tired & emotional" when they come into contact with the 21st century.
Going OT here, we had a track day at Oran Park yesterday with the Fiat and Lancia clubs - great bunch of guys. Not much of a FCA turnout, couple of 430's, 355, Scuderia and a brace of 308GT4's. No Mates Racing ran the GD Stratos, Mk2 Escort and GT40 recreation. I had my first track drive in a GT40 and had the throttle jam open twice. The first time scared me as I lifted for the tight uphill left hander at the back of the circuit and the car kept going, but I'd only had partial throttle on and the car went round. I jiggled it with my toe and got it released before BP, had a few test prods for half a lap and all seemed OK, so I got back into it. Next lap, exit of BP, pedal to the metal and it stayed there. 500hp of very expensive engine and no rev limiter. Oh sh*t. It released with another toe flick and I idled the rest of the lap then pulled in, hands still shaking. Turned out the accelerator pedal had come adrift and was fouling on the side of the footwell. Fleeting impression of the car: light steering, brakes and shift, oodles of "occasion", great soundtrack, car feels bigger than it is. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
That would have been super scary Ian. You did pretty good in that situation to keep calm and think about using your toe to release the accelerator. So is Oran Park remaining open now that the housing estate project fell through???
The benefit of attending driver training courses often lies in the little tips you pick up. When I did my circuit license a few months back, Peter Finlay spent some time talking about common problems that occur in stressful situations. I'm glad I was paying attention! Officially, the V8 meeting in December is the final event at OP. I'm sceptical of any other housing development getting financing in the current environment, so I think it will still be operating in 2009.
Ian, good to hear you saved the car (and yourself obviously). What's the difference between a GT40 "recreation" and all the other GT40 kit cars?
Did a similar thing as a 17 year old in a much better car (Triumph Stag ). Foot to the floor, accelerating hard(as hard as you could in that POS), lift foot, still accelerating, WTF!!!!, panic, pull gear lever into neutral, WTF!!!!!!!!!! car revving past redline, panic some more, pull lever back into drive, WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!! There goes the tranny Hardest phone call I've ever had to make was calling dad from the transmission shop with a repair quote Those were the days....................
Its a fine line...but this car is IMHO much better than a CAV or Roaring 40's kit. Tub is a rivet for rivet copy of an original, done by a restorer in NZ. The owner (who put it all together himself) scoured the world for original used GT40 parts, what he couldn't buy he recreated with obsessive attention to detail. Whilst the obvious things (wheels, uprights, control arms, brakes) are 100% genuine correct period GT40 parts, its the less obvious bits that make it special, such as fuel pumps, oil filters, instruments, switches, etc. Even the door number lights are period. It's not my thing, I just can't deal with the "is it a kit" question that absolutely everybody asks. Its also the first question that people ask when they see the 037 and it is such a nice feeling to say "no, its the real thing". But hey, few people in Aus would pony up for a real GT40 then run it at the track would they?
Interesting Ian, thanks. Maybe only Rob Sherrard in Queensland? He gives his a good run in Classic Adelaide every year although he seems pretty busy with his other toys at the moment.
