The Donor Car

The GTM is a Factory Five chassis with parts from a Corvette C5 (1997 - 2004) bolted on. The major systems that require donor parts are as follows:

1. Front Suspension
2. Rear suspension
3. Rear CV Joints
4. Emergency Brake Assembly
5. Fuel Delivery
6. Cooling System
7. Brakes

Plus miscellaneous parts (e.g. wiper motor, steering column, mirrors, power windows). There a couple of ways to get these parts.

1. Factory Five has a donor parts list complete with part numbers. You can go to GM Performance Parts and purchase each part. This could get a bit tedious.
2. You can purchase a C5 with a salvage title and pull the parts off yourself. The idea is to sell off the rest of the car that you don't need once you have picked the carcass clean.
3. You can purchase a GTM donor parts kit. FPARTS provides a donor kit based on used parts. They tell you what they do not provide. SMC Performance provides a complete kit of new parts. They also sell kits for smaller subsystem (e.g. front suspension).

The donor parts are the first things I intend to purchase. My plan is to go with the FPARTS kit, clean it up, and replace anything that seems marginal with new parts from Gm Performance Parts. 

I am going to see if I can get a few things n the donor parts kit:

• Telescoping steering column
• Fuel tanks from 2003 or newer C5.

Since I am going with the big wheels, I plan to add the Z06 brake upgrade kit to the build. (Some builders have ground off the Corvette letters on the Z06 upgrade kit.) So brakes from the donor car are not a big deal.

First Things First: Kit Detail

Once I decided to build the GTM (not something I came to overnight), then I had to figure out how to cash flow the project. If I had the ready cash to purchase all the components needed for the build, then I have the ready cash to buy the Ferrari and handle the maintenance. Since I concluded I didn't have those kind of resources, I needed to come up with a preliminary budget. I want my GTM to be unique (or as close to unique as possible). Let's be honest here, I want the final result of the build to be a rumbling, roaring beast capable of 200+ mph speeds and exceptional handling (the big grin kind of car).

The kit is the single most expensive component for the build, with engine and transmission coming in second and third respectively. Over the next couple of posts, I am going to detail the process of coming up with a budget and a purchasing order for the build. As it turns out, the kit is not the first thing I plan to purchase. However, we need to start with the kit (and options), due to the dependencies generated by the kit's composition.

Factory Five has an on line order form that details the base kit plus options. At this point, I am undecided about the carbon fiber splitter and rocker panels. I do not want a racing wing and I don't know if the donor will have a telescoping steering wheel. Since the Big Yellow Toy has one, I am inclined to get one here as well. The cost break down for the options I do want are as follows:

1. Base Kit - $19,990
2. A/C Unit - $1,350   (There is no way I am not going to have A/C as this will be a summer car)
3. 18 inch Wheels - $1,299 (This is a no brainer. I can't put the big brakes on the car without the big wheels)
4. Fender Louver - $199
5. Roof Scoop - $199
6. Logo Floor Mats - $115
7. Car Cover - $275
8. Cold Air Intake - $399  (Power! Power! Power!) 

This totals out to $23,826 plus shipping and handling. Let's just say it is $25,000 for round numbers. Granted I don't need all of these things right away, however, I want to optimize shipping costs by purchasing the major components in one shot.

The Build Task List

The idea of a kit car build is daunting. Professionally, I am a database administrator. I wrench on my Corvette and Boxster as a hobby. The idea of a tubular chassis, boxes full of parts, an engine and transaxle getting dropped off by the Fed Ex guy should be enough to make me reconsider. Let's start with some givens:

1. The GTM will probably cost more than the Ferrari 355.
2. There will be times of great frustration.
3. Things will break or get messed up during the build.
4. It will take time.
5. It will cost more than I think.

So how do I figure out if this is even possible? Buy the build manual. For $10 Factory Five will sell you the GTM Build Manual in PDF format. There are lots of pictures. The first 200 pages deal with salvaging parts from a donor C5 (more on this later). The next 500 pages explains how to build the GTM. Here is the break down:

1. There are 142 tasks defined.
2. Some tasks are much more involved than others.
3. They cover everything from attaching the suspension, mounting the engine, running the brakes lines and wiring the car.
4. Less clear is the build order for these tasks, and dependencies between tasks.
5. There are no considerations provided (e.g. LED lighting options, dash board gauge packages, powder coating exposed parts).

There are many things listed in the build manual I have never done. There is nothing in the 142 tasks that I think are beyond my modest capabilities. Here are my conclusions:

1. The wiring, drilling, riveting and wrenching are straight forward enough.
2. I don't have to build the engine or transaxle. I just need to purchase them, get an extra pair of hands and mount them in the chassis.
3. The GTM is based on a Corvette C5. I already have a C5. Many of the parts are familiar to me. I get how they attach to the car.
4. My familiarity with the C5 makes the GTM seem much more accessible. I get the technology, and I understand how to maintain it.

There is one other thing, it will cost more than I think.

Are you crazy or something?

I didn't go to bed one night and wake up the next day with the dumb idea that I am going to build a car. This is one of those year long conversations that results in waking up and saying, "Yeah, I think I can build a Factory Five GTM super car."

Build a car or buy a car? Of course, it is much easier to buy a car. I had my eye on a Ferrari 355 Spyder. I could probably swing the purchase price, somewhere between $45,000 and $65,000. I did not have qualms about purchasing a used sports car. I already had purchased a Corvette C5 Convertible and a Porsche Boxster 986. The prospect of digging into the car and mapping out modifications did not daunt me. However, the idea of a $10,000 engine out service every 3 years gave me pause.

I can come up with space for one more sports car. My preference is a Ferrari, however, my wallet is not quite up to the task of Ferrari maintenance. So if not a Ferrari, what kind of car compliments a Corvette and a Boxster. It has to handle like a Boxster, roar like the Corvette and have the Ferrari's wow factor. The performance specs for the GTM are as follows:

• 0 - 60 in 3.0 seconds
• 0 - 100 in 6.6 seconds
• 1/4 mile in 11.0 seconds @ 132 mph
• Curb weight 2350 lbs
• Corvette suspension
• LS Series engines
• Either a Porsche G50 or Mendeola transaxle
• 245/40/18 front tires
• 335/30/18 rear tires
• Z06 Big Brakes
• Koni coil over shocks

The GTM looks fast and drives fast. It is exotic and fits the current definition for a super car.

So it begins.