BACKSTORY:
Grab the popcorn and a Snuggie, I'll try to make this interesting as it may get a little long-winded.
It all started when I was violently shoved into this world, blindingly bright and the air cold on my skin, covered in blood and viscera, screaming...wait, that's too far back.
Ok, so I'm an 80's child. Born at the tail-end of the 70's. I grew up with Knight Rider and the Hoff, General Lee and the Duke boys, the A-Team van and B.A. Baracus. I actually remember watching Group B on TV. My fascination for automobiles is unique in my family, there are no other gearheads. I just have an appreciation for machinery.
Remember how the 80's ushered in big hair, glam-rock and Alf? I do, vaguely. What I REALLY remember are box flares, TURBO badges and lettering packages plastered down the rocker panel, big wings and the rise of supercars. Specifically the Countach, followed by the 288 GTO, the 959 nipping at it's heels, then BLAMMO...the F40, Consulier (nee Mosler) Intruder, Raptor and later the MT900, XJR15, XJ220, F1...supercars were here to stay!
Now, I realize that I kinda lumped the 80s and 90s together...but that period was a blur for me. And I'm guessing for many of you as well. But it was a period of influence and tech achievement that made 707hp (ostensibly) family cars with 100,000 mile warranties a relatively common occurrence today.
I was in a literal funk (and might have actually cried) when the Ferrari 430 was the last manual-option car from Ferrari's mid engine line. That experience I craved hadn't just passed me by, it was rapidly accelerating away from me as I watched those cars appreciate at a stratospheric pace. Technically, I could afford an F430 Scuderia if I cashed out my 401k and resigned myself to eating cat food in my dotage, but practically I would never actually do that.
I became enamored with first the Ultima GTR, then the Noble M12/M400, then the Mosler MT900 and the Galmer Arbitrage. But I dithered. I was lusting after cars almost as expensive as the F430, without the pedigree or the support. There had to be an in-between option!
The next best thing? An FFR GTM! Yeah, a kit car, but it uses Vette parts and even Car and Driver said it was a helluva performance bargain. Did my due diligence, researched what I could online, visited the factory and placed my deposit.
This was right before the Great Recession. The world was running at a fervent pace, EVERYBODY was buying houses, oil and gas was BOOMING. I was walking in high cotton.
So my GTM arrived and I enthusiastically dived in. This was before the E-ROD was a tried and true package. Before the Mendeola SDR5 was a real product. (I was one of the first to place a deposit with Mendeola when they debuted this box in 2005-2006 at SEMA). Giving up on the oft-promised, oft-delayed Mendeola, I forged ahead. I purchased a high-mileage wrecked 1997 LS1 Corvette and a G50 from a 964. THE TRANSAXLE COST ALMOST HALF OF WHAT THE KIT COST! Adaptor plate, clutch, inversion mods, higher ratio 5th OD, the works.
I quickly became frustrated...not with the assembling part. With the worthless build manual. With the lack of quality and misshapen body. With the lackluster suspension mounting geometry. With the jungle gym of tubing and the ridiculous center backbone that every wire, tube, hose and cable was stuffed inside, that stole so much precious interior space. With the hack-mods that FFR expected their customers to perform to the factory Vette components. With the E36 M3-tastical shift rod linkage designed by Rube Goldberg's nihilist cousin.
I resolved to fix this mess! I steeled myself for a complete redesign of the chassis, fully ready to cut, glass and reshape the body to something worthy of supercar-dom. Then reality set in. I had paid $20,000 for a kit that was in poor fettle, disappointing asymmetry in the body, bodged suspension geometry, cramped quarters, mis-matched gear ratios and low-rent interior. I was disappointed...mostly with myself, definitely with FFR. I resigned myself to building what I had, realizing I would never truly be happy with the end result due to excessive compromises.
But then the Carpocalypse happened. Gas went from $4.50/gallon to $3.75 then $2.50 then $1.95 seemingly overnight. My 401k took a thrashing. My GM, Ford and Chrysler stock either dived or evaporated. Unlimited overtime was over. Then non-essential personnel were furloughed, then layed-off. Benefits and wages were cut. Finally, I was released into the wild with several hundred other oil patch guys, with only my savings to tide me over til I found work elsewhere. Fortunately I knew about and was prepared for the boom-bust cycle of the oil patch. I was pretty frugal aside from my purchase of the GTM. I drove a Corolla! (It was the cool one though, 2zz with 6 speed manual) I weathered the storm okay and found work with a company building compressor stations for the gas fields.
I had stopped working on the GTM other than what I already had parts for, spending no money on new parts. I built it as bare-bones as feasible, reusing, adapting and modifying what I had on-hand. Stock Vette wheels, stock kit interior, gel coat, the whole shebang. Drove it a couple thousand miles, never confident with the oft-slipping rear suspension kludge FFR had designed it with. Fortunately, I found a sucker (er, I mean buyer) and was able to unload it for minimal loss.
That's when I started formulating a plan for a build that would incorporate all my fixes for my bitches about the GTM. I looked at and REALLY fought myself to purchase an RCR SL-C. That aluminum chassis! That rocker arm billet suspension! That GTP bodywork! The body was ACTUALLY symmetrical! After a test ride in a car, I realized that even with some personal touches, it wasn't really for me. Not knocking the product, it just wasn't my style.
So what to do? I started formulating a plan. Had a few false starts along the way. What follows next will be the evolution of my daydreams, desires and ultimately, practicality.
Hope I haven't bored you to tears yet. Hang in there, it gets better!
This is from a Corvair build using the C5 4L60 for mid engine.
