You are correct – the GTM Supercar from Factory Five Racing has been out for years and comes from a highly reputable and established company. It’s sickening to think how much I put into the bodywork, but worth it in the end. I recall clear back then how picky I was (which carried through on my GTM as well).
I’m thinking to myself, good!
When the editor of Car and Driver magazine, Larry Webster, commented that the car handled the monster LS7 power “better than the Z06 Corvette”, it was due primarily to the design and strength of the space frame.Our welded parts are made in the USA with American labor.The Factory Five Mk4 frame is computer designed on Solidworks™ software using Hewlett Packard workstations.Carefully crafted by Design Principles, Inc. The major Corvette parts include the engine, front and rear control arms, suspension/brakes, and fuel tanks.
I think those are all that are used on the car, and everything else is new. I got it from eBay, described new and fresh, but it was a mess. It’s such a huge challenge, that a lot of guys give up and sell their project in midstream. I added a Trick Flow top end and custom intake from Spectre Performance, resulting in 440 horses to the wheels.
An all Audison system, great sound. Sitting in the car you’ll find a large and quiet cockpit with good front and rear visibility and modern temperature controls.
|.The performance and success of the GTM is dependant first and foremost on the quality and strength of the frame. Plus I used a CAN Bus system, Infinity Box, for the chassis harness. Sound comes out HDMI, then goes to an audio de embedder, from there to a digital amp. All I had to do was overcome these things, and I would have a supercar. It is a race car in street trim. From the proven 350 HP LS1 to the potent 430 HP LS3s and 500+ HP LS7s.The GTM has pure supercar lines. I basically finished the entire body, windows in, all doors hinged and latched, lights, mirrors. I have no buttons in the car, no key, so it’s all touch screen.Painting the thing was a nightmare, but of course I was going for perfection.
The GTM is our flagship supercar, and has come to symbolize our technological abilities. So I set the car on a level pad, started finding symmetrical points on the car. I had a run-in with a U.S. vendor, and called the company in UK, which graciously helped me out.While I’m leaving out many details about the research that I spent building this car, I did assemble the kit entirely by myself, in my garage. For me the wiring was the hardest part. As you know, a lot to consider. Many, many people know every little detail, every little step I took, from start to finish. Well, I did put a Race Logic Traction control in it, which took a lot of research to get it going. It is the only car that I would be able to sell for more than what I have in it—that’s amazing!Continuation, Reproduction and Replica Automobiles,Battling With the Buildup of a GTM Supercar—and Winning,Copyright 2020 ReinCarNation Magazine.
It’s not all fun and games; you see real emotion as I build, guys encouraging me. Seems like I was just born to work on things. One other thing my dad told me: “If you ever get into this business, I’ll kick your ass.” I asked why, and he said, “Have you ever seen a retired body man?” I said,”No.”.I had the opportunity to change careers, and I did.
My dad opened a shop and we worked together for a few years. I spent time routing brake lines, nothing special, but it is a safety thing. I had fisheye problems, and solvent pop problems.So many times I would set a finish date, and blow way past it. Like Factory Five’s Dave Smith says, “These kits are a test.” You’ll never know what he is talking about unless you finish one. The build-it-yourself kit costs $24,990. I have a Youtube channel called fastthings, and a folder with 80 videos spanning nearly four years. The new C5 parts include the radiator, AC Delco big-brake kit, and custom fuel tanks.As for all the used parts, I made them clean and new.
Build your own Factory Five GTM Supercar like this one that was featured the annual SEMA Show and on PowerNation's "Horsepower TV"! I knew I had found a dream.Frankly speaking, the kit is a challenging build, with a lot of hurdles that hang up guys from finishing it. It was awesome.A couple forum guys got really mad, claiming that if that’s what they have to do to make this car look good, they would never buy one.
This thing was hard.My cost to build my GTM?
I now need to balance life with my obsession—no more four-year long builds without coming up for air! Very fast, and has lots of traction.
This profession has set up a scenario that now allows me to work on cars at home, for fun. I did something kind of daring with this build: I filmed the whole thing from start to finish, the good and the bad, bright spots and blemishes, for all to see. My problem, however, is that I end up getting into builds that consume me.
Then I put the first video out there.
All systems are good, it drives so nice. I’m in! All rights reserved |.