Rear clam-shell

February 16, 2020

space constraints: With the low profile of the GT40 & mid engine layout, space is a limited commodity.
Exhaust: normally you have the whole length of the car to place headers/collectors, mid-pipes, mufflers,…on the GT40, it’s on display as it’s routed on top of the tranny and it’s only ~3 feet of length. This also leaves very little room for other components, and much needed thought in how to handle the heat.
Heat Management: early on I saw a few good ideas from other GT40s, where they fiberglassed in pieces of wood to the underside of the rear clam-shell…while this isn’t nescisarily “pretty”, it allows an easy place to screw in a heat shield, which hides any aesthetic concerns & more importantly protects the FB body and paint.
Fuel: normally the fuel tank is in the trunk and engine in front…so there’s plenty of places to put fuel tanks, surge tanks, and longer lines that help cool for fuel. In the GT40 it’s all right next to the engine, and there’s a Left & Right tank, so many items you need 2 of (2 pumps, 2 fuel level senders, …)

finnaly far enough along to test fit the rear body work…
Even at this height, the mufflers were just slightly too high and need to come down another 1/4″.
the coilovers are tucked against the frame, but that only leaves them 1/8″ clearance.
at full open, the rear just barely clears the tire; guess I won’t be adding mud flaps.
Heat management is the game…got some nice Accel spark plug wires w/ ceramic ends, which I then added heat sleeving to.
the OEM wire harness is built for typical front engine applications, which route the main harness through the back of the engine…but for a GT40, that sandwhichs the harness between the exhaust and block. I opted to tear open the harness and re-route through the front of the engine.