Kurtiss' GT-R

[Rufus C Mathews Jr]

I've been to see Kurtiss' car in Palmdale. Beautiful build and a very nice shop. Met Kurtiss, his wife and son---very nice people.

 

[Larry J Kishel]

Rufus that's what makes car building so enjoyable the men and woman who put their heart and sole into something they love to do and don' t mind lending a hand, sharing an idea, giving you a part you so need to finish your project. I am 55 and have been involved with cars since I was 10 with dad, it's been my passion and now I am trying to steer my son in the same direction with my next build the GTR, it's a hobby with no social or political views that would cast a shadow on it's true intent people creating their dreams

 

[Charlie]

Began working on the shifter installation. I discovered there wasn’t enough clearance between the top of the fuel tank and the tunnel to install rivnuts (check out the photos). My install is like Dean’s, using a mounting plate that is attached to the tank tunnel. I used twelve ¼”-20 x 1/2" fasteners to attach the plate to the tunnel then four 5/16”-18 fasteners from the plate to the shifter. The heads of the 5/16” fasteners easily fit into the large holes in the tunnel and do not contact the fuel tank.

You’ll notice I drilled a new fastener location on the shifter since one fastener hole is covered by the shift cable. I plan to paint the plate and use a sealant between the plate and tunnel for final install.

Looks great. What is the thickness of the plate you are using for this application?

 

[Kurtiss H.]

Thank you Charlie. I had some left over .190" thick plate. I know it's overkill but it worked well for the fastener length and it's solid.

 

[Charlie]

The fuel tank is located in the center of the car directly above the radiator and heater coolant lines. Insulation is needed to keep the radiant heat from frying the occupants. I lined the bottom of the fuel tank with Sticky Shield from Heatshield Products and covered the radiator and heater lines with heat-dissipating sleeving (fiberglass sleeve covered with silicone rubber from McMaster Carr).

Hello again, do you think that door edge guard would work on the tank flanges to keep it from rattling? Also, looking at your build I thought it was difficult to find someone as precise as me. Seems I was mistaken, if it's worth doing - then do it right, your quality of work is outstanding.

 

[Kurtiss H.]

Hi Charlie,
Again, thank you.

Yes, others have used the door edge guard (edge trim seal) to provide a cushioned interface between the bottom tank flanges and the chassis. The edge trim will raise the tank a little and I didn't have hardly any clearance between the top of the tank and the tunnel. Each chassis and tank is a bit different and yours may have more clearance. If not, remove 3/16" from both tank flanges and install edge trim seal the length of the tank.

I did install rivnuts and screws to hold the tank as noted in post #16. If, in the future, I notice rattling or abrasion between the tank and chassis, I will remove material from the tank and install edge trim seal.

 

[Rufus C Mathews Jr]

Kurtiss,

Where did you get the "T" for the oil pressure sender?

 

[Kurtiss H.]

Hi Rufus,
I machined it in-house. I had to modify it when I reinstalled the Ford oil line adapter due to clearance issues.

 

[Larry J Kishel]

Kurtiss good afternoon, I hope my car gets delivered by the end of this month, so I can join you guys in the build process.

 

[Kurtiss H.]

Oh, how I have missed working on my car. I haven’t posted in a long time due to summer vacations and supporting our local fair. Now that the fair is over and the family is back to work and school, I can concentrate on my car.

 

[Kurtiss H.]

Due to Dean’s unfortunate engine oiling issues, I decided to remove the stock coolant/oil heat exchanger and install the Ford Performance remote oil cooler adapter (P/N M-6881-M50A) and a Setrab series 6 cooler and Hamburger’s 3347 remote oil filter (all with -12 AN fittings). The oil cooler aligns well with the side scoop.

I will add the oil lines after the exhaust system has been built.

 

[Kurtiss H.]

When my car was delivered, Fran agreed to supply a set of rear window frames from an RCR GT40. I fabricated a new rear firewall from 1/8” sheet and sandwiched a piece of Polycarbonate (Lexan) sheet between the window frames. I also added two small brackets to the roll bar to secure the assembly. It’s mounted a high as possible and it fits surprisingly well.

 

[Kurtiss H.]

The NRG steering wheel adapter (P/N SRK-170H) and quick release (P/N SRK-280BK) allows a clean installation with the supplied column plastic trim and allows the use of the factory horn wiring. It also eliminates the annoying play in the RCR supplied quick release. Unfortunately, the nice GT-R steering wheel cannot be used due to the different mounting bolt patterns so I installed the NRG RST-009S-RS steering wheel that includes a horn button. You’ll need the Billet Specialties replacement horn wire P/N RP2510 to use the column wiring. I installed two Hella Sharp Tone horns as shown.

 

[Kurtiss H.]

Not sure why the Superlite body didn’t include fog lights to begin with but H came to the rescue for us fellow motorheads with fog light buckets. H’s thread photos helped a lot with the location and installation.

I began with cutting holes in the front piece to match the shape of the lens (found on eBay). Then centered, shaped and bonded in the fog light buckets. I also bonded on the light mounting rings (Hella P/N 157659007) and assemble everything. Instead of installing fog lights, I installed high beams (Hella P/N 008191057) to provide more light when driving through the California and Arizona desert. I obtained two more Hella electrical connectors P/N 87193 for the wiring. Lots of work but well worth it!

 

[Rufus C Mathews Jr]

Nice work Kurtiss. Again a nice road map on the oil cooler and remote filter mount. Yours is probably similar to Ken's. The rear window looks great.

 

[Larry J Kishel]

Kurtus I agree with Rufus's nice work and I also like the rear window look when you revised your front spoiler and raised it the cavity you created for the coolant pipes did you use a router for make the pocket just curious

 

[Rufus C Mathews Jr]

Larry--I used a cutoff wheel on my dremel tool and cut through the glass and pulled it away. Then sanded the foam down then glassed it back up.

 

[Kurtiss H.]

Thanks Rufus! Thanks Larry!
Larry, the cavity for the coolant pipes was cut using 3M Roloc sanding discs with a pneumatic angle die grinder and a sanding block. As Rufus noted, I then glassed it back up. The photos show the cavity before and after I bonded on the aluminum plate but before it was glassed.

 

[Larry J Kishel]

Thanks for the info

 

[Lee Patterson]

What adhesive did you use for bonding on the light rings. thanks