What's the Coolest thing that has happened to you while driving your GTM?

[The Stig]

I ran acrosss a thread in the ffcars forum, which asks: "What is the coolest thing that has happened to you since owning your Cobra?"

I read a few of the comments and quickly realized that I had to keep reading... Some of the responses are hilarious, and others are just plain cool!

After taking the cue from the original post in the previous Roadster Forum, I thought it would be cool to have a similar post in the GTM forum...

So, me being the curious type that I am, I wondered the same about the GTM crowd. I know that there aren't nearly as many GTM's running around as there are Cobra's, Coupes, and/or Spyders, but I would truly love to hear the stories that you guys can share with the rest of us!

What's the Coolest thing that has happened to you while driving, (or because of), your GTM?


The following, were replies that came back to this question. I'd really like to keep this thread going here in the New GTM forum.

**********************************************

6/27/2008
Richard Oben
Most people have no idea what it is, I have no badges on the car and will likely not put any on. Ferrari is the most common guess. People are mostly blown away at how low the car is. I currently have my front ride height up a little until I get used to how low the front is so it will be lower soon. Cell phone pix are constant, driving or when parked, even more so than with the cobra or the Daytona coupe. Many people are suprised it is a kit vehicle, that was cool, we tried to take the kit out of it. I had punk kid come up and say in a dissenting voice 'gee it is only a kit car'. I piped up and asked what he drove and if he could even change the oil in it? He shut up quick, pretty funny. Nothing really cool has happened but I thought I would give the thread a bump. Cheers Richard.
__________________
Richard Oben FFR builder www.northracecars.com

6/29/2008
65 Cobra Dude
One of my favorites is pulling onto MacDill AFB in Tampa, FL in the GTM for the first time. Security Forces snaps a salute and asks "What the heck kind of car is that?" I return the salute and say its a GTM and he replies "I knew I should have been an Officer." I just chuckled and went to work.

I have also had a few folks take pics while on the road with their cell phone. Funny part is they do it through their side mirror so I don't see them

Henry

7/4/2008
AllanFFR
Well it all started the day I trailered it to get registered...
On the way home I see an unmarked suburban flying up to me. The police lights come on, pull me over and this monster of a guy jumps out. All I can see is the cuffs in his hand and I wonder what I ran over with the trailer. Ends up of course he just wants to take a look and see if he can fit inside.

From there it's been endless pictures on the highway or anywhere I leave it. On the way home from the open house it took me a half hour to get out of the gas station becuase people kept stopping to talk about it. Then when I finally got on the highway a woman in a Mercedes circled me for 15 minutes taking pictures from all angles. I don't find that people try and hide their jaw drop open mouth wow when they see the GTM.

Then there was the time I "accidentally" was going 150...

8/05/2008
cob427sc
Having driven my GTM almost 3000 miles so far, I've had my share of stares, questions, pulled over by police 4 times just to look, etc., but last weekend was the craziest. I was driving down a divided highway (2 lanes each way) and all of a sudden a small Honda SUV comes blasting out of no where to catch me (I'm doing about 80 mph), he must have been doing at least 95-100. Once he catches up to me, he virtually locks up the binders and 4 college age guys all start taking camera photos (including the driver) while nearly running me off the road. I slow down, he slows down and nearly bumps me again. I speed up, he follows up to 100, thinking I lost him I back off. Sure enough here he comes again, this time with a video camera hanging out the drivers side window (yes, the driver is filming while driving at 100mph!). He nearly bumps me again, then passes as I slow down. Then the rear door pops open, and more filming from the back begins while the driver is all over the road. Protecting my life (and the GTM!) I pray for a cop, but duck out at the next ramp. These guys were nuts!


8/06/2008
taz25
While dining outside of a local café, there are couple of guys sitting one table over ripping on the “owner” of a nearly parked GTM, naturally not knowing it was me. Its not hard to make that assumption as I don’t looked like much. Apparently I had to buy one of those to get any action . Also I’m a sucker as all Italian exotics break all the time. Then the conversation went on… exchanging their automotive expertise. Not to ruin my lunch or getting my butt kicked, I waited until it was time to leave. On the way out I asked “are you getting any action with your Honda” ( keys on the table )


11/25/2008
Samurai41
Tower--request a fly by.....
I didn't think of this thread at the time, but last month- I got a fly by from an old US coast guard plane. Maybe it was because the car was in pink primer (I was hoping hollywood would come out with a Barbie remake, I would have been a shoe in for the Barbie Mobile) Had the body out in the sun bathing. they flew over a flew times and gave me enough time to grab my camera.

[The Stig]

12/11/2008
Richard Migliori

So far, it's finishing 2nd in the 25 hour race. We had everything it took to finish 1st. But, when the Prototype group, corveete group nd other top teams complained about pitting just before a red flag and being able to do a complete rehab on the car while they could only watch was a thrill! We were noticed not as just another entry, but a real contender! Seeing the car kick a$$ was a real treat for me and all the GTM builders that helped in this effort. My hat off to all of you out there.

RM

[The Stig]

12/19/2008
LS MAN

Last fall our local high school (Linden, Ca.) had a career fair & asked if I could be a speaker for automotive tech. Having been in the trade for 35 yrs. (oh, that makes me old), I jumped at the chance to maybe inspire at least 1 kid. I needed a prop to grab their attention. I know, I'll borrow Yvonne's GTM! From the time we drove into the quad area in the center of school, and parked, a huge mob of not only students, but the faculty and every other presenter surrounded the car! It was totally the center of attention that day. The US Army couldn't compete with it. The poor other tradesman speaking in my group, plumbing contractor, sheet metal guy, local contractor, tried there best to promote their trades, but when it came to question time, all the kids wanted to know about was the GTM, How fast is it? What kind of car is it?, where did you get it?, It was great to explain that it was a kit car & that they could one day build there own!. One kid in the back even asked, How hard is it to steal it!! I of course implored the young man to avoid that career path & complete his education so he could someday have his own. The other speakers told me, We can't compete with that damn car! of course they all were checking it out too. I kept asking the kids, Why do you like it so much, it's not a tuner Honda? They all kept saying tuner cars are boring! This car is way cooler! There was one young Hispanic girl, a freshman, that literally could not keep her hands off the car. I love this car! was what she kept saying. I would turn around to talk, and look back at her, and she literally had her arms wrapped around the rear fender hugging the car! I told her Honey, please don't touch the car! I'm sorry, but ----- I LOVE THIS CAR!! She must have sat in it for 45 min, upsetting all the other kids who wanted a turn. She told me that she was going to take shop class so she could learn how to build her own GTM!. I thanked Richard & Yvonne & told them I hope there are no scratches, Yvonne said well thats why it doesn't have the expensive paint, so we can share it without worry. Thanks again for a great day.
Ted

12/21/2008
Richard Migliori

I must share this story!

While having our annual Christmas party with our friends on Saturday, Keith Drake made the trip and we all kind of recapped once again what a great time we all had at the 25 and what a great handling car we had put together. Keith works for a company that takes him back to North Carolina 4 days a week from his home here near the San Francisco Bay area. As all the drivers of the GTM, I found it amusing that they all have photos of themselves on their phones, passing someone or a cool "on the edge" cornering shot. Keith's story went like this and thought I would share with you:

I had just finished a corporate conferance meeting in North Carolina, and the executives all are ready to go their own respective ways. We all have chouffeurs that take us to the airports or to each location. As I am being taken to the airport to catch my flight home, I received a phone call and we had chatted alitttle about the 25. The driver leans back over the seat and comments about listening to the conversation and procceds to tell me about how he just completed a GTM build and how these guys in California have this race version of the car and how its so over the top with that huge wing. Keith listens to his babbling about the racer and his car. Keith thens pulls out his phone and asks the driver, " is this the car you are talking about?" The driver looks at the picture and goes crazy! Yah, that's the car, how did you get that picture?" Keith"COOL HAND" Drake replied, " Well, I'm one of the drivers and that's me in the car." The trip continued with a million questions about the racer and ended at the airport and we all got to hear the story and all the laughs about this guy and the trip to the airport. Such a small world indeed. I want to thank Keith for sharing this exciting story and reaffirms the hard work and fun we all have had building this car and most of all, friendships and lives we touch throughout the years.

12/23/2008
Stick947

Richard was telling me about Keith's story which was a really cool one and also asked it I had any stories from this past year. I have a many because racing with Richard is truly an adventure, but one sticks out. He eluded to it in his recap of the 25 but let me give my rendition of the trip to the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds.

I had flown out to run the enduro at Infineon and we had gearbox issues and no spare which in hindsight was a blessing in disguise. Thus, we missed the race and I wasn't flying till later the next day so we swapped boxes when we got home from the track. Richard comments as we are walking to the house from the garage finishing up that we should test it out before I have to go to the airport. I had been around Richard enough to know that he likes to mess with people so I just shrugged it off and went to bed.

Next morning after breakfast we are driving around running some errands (picking up so halogen lights for the pit stall), and we swing by the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds and he says this looks pretty good. I'm thinking he's really going to lengths to yank my chain on this one. So, we get back to the house and hook up the trailer and load the car. Now we are really going to do this or he's REALLY going out of his way to yank my chain.

Arriving at the parking lot we scope it out and there are some city workers practicing parking a dump truck with lowboy and some more city workers repaving a sidewalk outside the fence. We unload and we catch some glances from the workers and they go back to what they are doing. We start the car and let it warm up then Richard says just take it around and make sure the tranny is good go through the gears etc. So I start out for the first 3-4 laps just going through all the gears and it feels nice and smooth so I stop at the trailer and he says you can push it a bit we need to see if its good. So the next few I am pushing hard getting to the top of third gear at the far end which is probably close to 90 mph. At this point all the workers around have stopped what they are doing and there are some cars stopped along the fence. Now that I have an audience I am hot dogging a bit and getting it sideways and even loop it once (nice skidpad for a public place). Couple more laps and I see this silver Camry come into the parking lot and I think, uh oh, so I head for the trailer.

The fair director is a formidable 5'9" and she comes around the front of her car and gets right in Richard's face. What do you guys think you are doing? Did you secure permission to use this facility? There are city workers here and this is a safety concern. Richard says well we saw some guys out here the other day (auto-x chalk was still down from the day before). She erupts again, they have permission and insurance and take safety precautions and what you guys are doing is just reckless. Now neither Richard nor I expected this to go cleanly, but he could have won an Oscar for his portrayal of a clueless individual. Oh, we didn't know, we thought if we stayed out away from the workers it would be ok. We didn't know we needed permission. We won't let it happen again. If not for physically biting my tongue I would have been laughing and the situation would have deteriorated quickly because she was as mad as a wet hen.

[The Stig]

7/30/2009
Richard Migliori

Some of you may have read the post about the PDG group doing a video and car presentation at one of our valued supporters, America's Tire, Hammer Lane store. I single them out because Stockton has 4 stores. It all started when Ron Richmond brought over a set of front rims for our new tire deal with Hoosier. Now we needed rear rims for the set so I went over to see Justin at America's Tire. Actually he ran out to greet me. "I was just thinking about you" I said well then I hope you can help me out with finding some 12" rims to match these. "But wait, I have to tell you what happened on Monday". O.K., I'll bite. Justin told me of a phone call he received from the senior VP of AT from corporate and had come upon and read the PDG adventure at the tire store. He was very impressed as the pictures showed true professionalism and community involvement. That was pretty cool!
I think this is testiment of "you just never know who is browsing on the forum!

Richard


8/1/2009
JimO GTM#147

Last night in #147

So I take my wife out to a party in the GTM last night. She bumps her head getting in (bad). Things seem to get worse when on the freeway, a state patrol car comes flying up on me in the right lane. I think to myself, "here we go, I'm about to get hassled for the first time." reluctantly, I look over at the cop and to my amazement, he gives me the thumbs up! Pretty cool. But the best part came at the party. A guy I know shows up in a brand new (and stunningly beautiful) Ferrari 430. He walks into the party and announces to everybody, "I show up in a Ferrari, and I don't have the fastest car here." Ahh, that was beautiful!


8/20/2009
JimO GTM#147

Something's Rubbing

Wasn't sure where to put this thread. Could have been under "most embarrassing thing..." But here it goes.

Jim and I are out on the track for our first session. I'm driving and start noticing a smell as I exit corners, particularly on hard acceleration. It smells more like rubber than brakes. Being that it's our first time out, I want to make sure we don't have something rubbing and I have Jim checking the TPMS to make sure we aren't cutting a tire.

We come in after the session and look for marks on the tires-- find nothing. That's when my good friend Jim laughs at me (and has done so about a hundred times) when he points out that the rubbing issue is tires on pavement. Doh!

[The Stig]

4/23/2010
The Stig

Well, my car isn't near finished but I just had something happen that was pretty cool. At least to me.

Our air conditioners are looking like they're going to give up the ghost before long. So I've started getting estimates for what they're going to cost to replace. So today, the Trane Man shows up with his estimate. I had my 1930 Model-A Ford backed out into the driveway. When he walked up, he was all grins and giggles about the Ford. Then he rounded the corner and saw the GTM in the garage.

Automatically, he began to ask questions. Understand I only have the chassis in the Garage. The Body in on the buck, (under a car cover) behind our house.

What is it? Who makes it? Are you really building that yourself? That is so cool!... and so on. It hit me that this must be what you guys keep talking about, when you say that the questions start and they just keep coming. I understand now that people just can't help themselves.

After a 15 or 20 minutes of trying to answer his questions, we went inside. I happened to have the brochure for the GTM that I picked up at the Autofair a couple of weeks ago, lying on the table. I handed it it to him, and BAMMMM! His jaw dropped, eyes got really big, he took a deep breath, and the questions started again.

It was pretty fun to see someone who obviously sees the car see same way that I do. I had an extra Factory Five DVD, so I gave it to him and told him that this would answer a number of his questions about any of the Factory Five Racing Kits.

It was like watching a kid at Christmas.

Then he gave me his estimate... Oddly enough, it was pretty much the same as the cost for Jeff Collins to do the bodywork and paint for the GTM...

(Hmmm. Cool air or Paint for the GTM? Paint, of course!)

Now I know exactly how I must have appeared when I hit Jeff with question after question, the first time I saw this car.

[The Stig]

5/4/2010
SpyTech
There's a rumor going around my town that 'some crazy dude is building a ferrari in his garage'. It took me a few times of hearing this to realize I was the crazy dude.


5/4/2010
ealingj

Last weekend I was working on my car and had pushed it out of the garage and into the driveway. While I was trying to make my wheel gaps just right my little daughter said to me:

"daddy, why is that guy looking at your car?"

I looked down the driveway and saw a guy sitting parked in his BMW peering over his sunglasses almost leaning out his window hardcore staring at my car. I laughed and said:

"because your daddy's car is cool."

She smiled thinking I was just kidding (as I usually joke around quite a bit with her).

A few minutes later after cutting some of the aluminum to make the hood fit better, my little daughter said:

"daddy, there's another guy looking at your car."

I turn around and sure enough a guy rubber necking big time as he drove past my house. My car is not even close to being done. No paint, no windows. Just doors, hatch, and wheels. Can't imagine the looks after it's actually done!


5/8/2010
kbentzel

I thought I had posted this before….
About a year ago I had just gotten my car on the road and was out on a test/joy ride. I was about twenty miles from home when the car started to overheat. I pulled over and could see that one of the radiator line couplings was leaking. I should be able to correct this and be on my way. Then I thought ‘What kind of an idiot goes on a test drive with no tools?’ Hmmm so I limp into a 7-11 to get water and hopefully a screw driver. I‘m inside looking without success when a guy says ‘Man that’s a beautiful car’. I said thanks but I really need a screwdriver. He says he has one I can borrow so I walk out to the car and there is one guy taking video and another with a cell camera. The whole time I’ trying to squeeze my arm far enough under the car to get to the hose clamp I have people asking what it is, what powers it etc. I get the clamp tight I’m putting water back in when I notice across a six lane highway there is a car show and people are crossing that highway to look at my car at the 7-11. I’m about to fire it up and head home when a black Mercedes pulls up the window comes down and this lovely woman with a French accent says ‘Are you the driver?’ Yes, yes I am!


5/29/2010
ShawnB737

One cool thing - one Police thing

Last night I had to pull into the local grocery store and was with my wife on the way to a friends house. I parked 5 cars deep on one of the rows and left it running with the AC on and my wife stayed in the car. I am running the FFR stock exhaust and have a pretty nice "lopey" cam in it. As I approached the store I could still here my car probably 100 feet behind me. I was not in the store more than 5 min and I guess the word spread through all the baggage boys what was in the parking lot. She asked if they made a PA in the store that a cool car was in the parking lot? I said no, why? She said every bag boy in the store came over to the car and was walking around it. She had sent me a text to "Hurry up!" As I was walking up one of the boys said' "man that's an awesome car!" My wife doesn't like to be the center of attention and the GTM sure does put you there!!


Last night my wife and I were on the way home around 1am. I stopped at the one of the only stop signs in the town I live close to and there was a police officer at the opposite stop sign. My wife says I bet he pulls us over. I made a right turn and then the next left and sure enough the lights came on. I pulled over, turned my car off, turned the inside lights on and rolled down the window. Then the officer said the standard drivers license and insurance. Then he came back and said I pulled you over because you don't have a license plate light. "I don't?" He left again to check my record and then came back and gave me this whole BS story of how criminals turn off or unplug their license plate light and that is why I was pulled over. He was kinda rude about it. Then the other officer went to the passenger side and tried to open the door, which was kinda funny since there are no exterior handles. He leaves then comes back again and taps on the passenger side and my wife opens the door. She had two dishes of left over food in her lap and a six pack with 3 bottles left in it on the floor. The officer asked her twice: "Any open containers in here?" She answered twice - "No there are no OPEN containers in here." Then the other officer that went to my wife's side came around and said, "Hey man what kind of car is this, man it is awesome, how long did it take to build, blah blah blah.." The first officer said that this is a verbal warning and you can go...I told them to be safe and I slowly pulled away...My wife said that if they wanted to check out your car just say so!!

As guys have said before on this site: If you are needing to get in and out of somewhere quick - don't drive your GTM. It will slow you down with people wanting to know about it or talk to you about it!


8/20/2010
Pacific Grove Cobra

Got to bring this on back. Last weekend was one of the world's big car weekends on the Monterey Peninsula with the Pebble Beach Concours, Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca, 5 major auctions and the list goes on.
I had my yellow GTM out in one of the smaller events which is a car show and rally through Pebble Beach and Carmel. The crowds in Carmel were immense, one big street party. Some spectators had signs voting 10 or 9.5.
When the cars were on display, one guy with a 65 inch waist in a fleece warm-up suit with a Ferrari emblem pulled his kid, who wanted to look at the GTM, away telling him, "it's a kit car."
So you can imagine how I felt while going through Pebble Beach when I slowed for traffic and the car coming towards me, stopped, the driver rolled down his window, and said, "great car." Oh, by the way, he was driving a Bugatti Veyron! Made my day.

[The Stig]

8/26/2010
SpyTech

I've only had the GTM on the road a few times, but my first time out I stopped at a gas station. A lady next to me asked why the car didn't have a steering wheel, and then the gas station employees filed out of the building and stood there about 20 ft away gawking and smiling, some with phones out, but no one saying anything. I was nervous as hell, since this was my FIRST public road test with the car and hadn't tested my warm-start 'fix' that I had just implemented a few minutes prior. Luckily it worked and I got the hell out of there.


8/26/2010
Dalton

smile

About every other time on the highway, someone comes speeding up from behind, gets in the passing lane and takes a picture. Makes my day.


9/4/2010
Spytech

Going down the highway yesterday I pass a state trooper in the opposite lane. I watch him in my rearview as he drives over the concrete median making a U-turn, flies up behind me and gets nice and close. I get to the stop lights a mile down the road and figure I'll turn off the highway and pull into a lot and see what he's going to do. Light turns green and while I'm waiting for the arrow he creeps by me at 5mph, slowly looking the GTM over. Smiles and takes off.

10/17/2010
Jdpanero
Yesterday, the local "Make A Wish" chapter rounded up as many "exotic" cars as they could, for a boy named Mauricio.

The GTM was far and away the most popular car, and the 2 Ferrari Daytonas, F430s, and Ford GTs owners did not seem pleased. The Porsche and Vette guys were used to being overlooked.

But, just like everywhere the GTM goes, people can't stop staring and when you tell them that you built it, it blows their mind.






10/27/2010
The Stig

My wife and I stopped by Whitby Motorcars last week, and Jeff Collins tells me this story about a kid that was in the shop recently. Jeff's accountant stopped by the shop, and brought his Grandson with him.

From the moment the little guy walked in the shop, he was all smiles. Ear to Ear grinning. He walked around looking at all the different cars that were in there. (Cobras, Coupes, HotRods, Mustangs, and even an MG Midget for good measure). After a while, Jeff took him for a ride in his Cobra.

Needless to say the kid was bouncing off the wall when they got back.

When they got back, Jeff asked the kid what kind of cars he likes. The boy thinks for a second or so and says Ferrari Enzo, Lamborghini, etc... Jeff looks at him and says "come with me, I have a car to show you". He walked the little guy accross the shop and showed him a GTM.

Jeff said to the kid, "You know that Ferrari Enzo that you like so much?" The kid says, Yep! Jeff says to him, "Well this GTM is Faster than it and the Lamborghini. The kid got quiet, and the smile just kept growing across his face...

It's really fun to see kids get into the whole car thing. When he gets older, I'm sure that that he will remember that day when he flashes back to his ""Car Memories".

By The way... The GTM that he saw was mine. I think that's kind of cool!

[VD2021]

5/4/2010
SpyTech
There's a rumor going around my town that 'some crazy dude is building a ferrari in his garage'. It took me a few times of hearing this to realize I was the crazy dude.


5/4/2010
ealingj

Last weekend I was working on my car and had pushed it out of the garage and into the driveway. While I was trying to make my wheel gaps just right my little daughter said to me:

"daddy, why is that guy looking at your car?"

I looked down the driveway and saw a guy sitting parked in his BMW peering over his sunglasses almost leaning out his window hardcore staring at my car. I laughed and said:

"because your daddy's car is cool."

She smiled thinking I was just kidding (as I usually joke around quite a bit with her).

A few minutes later after cutting some of the aluminum to make the hood fit better, my little daughter said:

"daddy, there's another guy looking at your car."

I turn around and sure enough a guy rubber necking big time as he drove past my house. My car is not even close to being done. No paint, no windows. Just doors, hatch, and wheels. Can't imagine the looks after it's actually done!


5/8/2010
kbentzel

I thought I had posted this before….
About a year ago I had just gotten my car on the road and was out on a test/joy ride. I was about twenty miles from home when the car started to overheat. I pulled over and could see that one of the radiator line couplings was leaking. I should be able to correct this and be on my way. Then I thought ‘What kind of an idiot goes on a test drive with no tools?’ Hmmm so I limp into a 7-11 to get water and hopefully a screw driver. I‘m inside looking without success when a guy says ‘Man that’s a beautiful car’. I said thanks but I really need a screwdriver. He says he has one I can borrow so I walk out to the car and there is one guy taking video and another with a cell camera. The whole time I’ trying to squeeze my arm far enough under the car to get to the hose clamp I have people asking what it is, what powers it etc. I get the clamp tight I’m putting water back in when I notice across a six lane highway there is a car show and people are crossing that highway to look at my car at the 7-11. I’m about to fire it up and head home when a black Mercedes pulls up the window comes down and this lovely woman with a French accent says ‘Are you the driver?’ Yes, yes I am!


5/29/2010
ShawnB737

One cool thing - one Police thing

Last night I had to pull into the local grocery store and was with my wife on the way to a friends house. I parked 5 cars deep on one of the rows and left it running with the AC on and my wife stayed in the car. I am running the FFR stock exhaust and have a pretty nice "lopey" cam in it. As I approached the store I could still here my car probably 100 feet behind me. I was not in the store more than 5 min and I guess the word spread through all the baggage boys what was in the parking lot. She asked if they made a PA in the store that a cool car was in the parking lot? I said no, why? She said every bag boy in the store came over to the car and was walking around it. She had sent me a text to "Hurry up!" As I was walking up one of the boys said' "man that's an awesome car!" My wife doesn't like to be the center of attention and the GTM sure does put you there!!


Last night my wife and I were on the way home around 1am. I stopped at the one of the only stop signs in the town I live close to and there was a police officer at the opposite stop sign. My wife says I bet he pulls us over. I made a right turn and then the next left and sure enough the lights came on. I pulled over, turned my car off, turned the inside lights on and rolled down the window. Then the officer said the standard drivers license and insurance. Then he came back and said I pulled you over because you don't have a license plate light. "I don't?" He left again to check my record and then came back and gave me this whole BS story of how criminals turn off or unplug their license plate light and that is why I was pulled over. He was kinda rude about it. Then the other officer went to the passenger side and tried to open the door, which was kinda funny since there are no exterior handles. He leaves then comes back again and taps on the passenger side and my wife opens the door. She had two dishes of left over food in her lap and a six pack with 3 bottles left in it on the floor. The officer asked her twice: "Any open containers in here?" She answered twice - "No there are no OPEN containers in here." Then the other officer that went to my wife's side came around and said, "Hey man what kind of car is this, man it is awesome, how long did it take to build, blah blah blah.." The first officer said that this is a verbal warning and you can go...I told them to be safe and I slowly pulled away...My wife said that if they wanted to check out your car just say so!!

As guys have said before on this site: If you are needing to get in and out of somewhere quick - don't drive your GTM. It will slow you down with people wanting to know about it or talk to you about it!


8/20/2010
Pacific Grove Cobra

Got to bring this on back. Last weekend was one of the world's big car weekends on the Monterey Peninsula with the Pebble Beach Concours, Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca, 5 major auctions and the list goes on.
I had my yellow GTM out in one of the smaller events which is a car show and rally through Pebble Beach and Carmel. The crowds in Carmel were immense, one big street party. Some spectators had signs voting 10 or 9.5.
When the cars were on display, one guy with a 65 inch waist in a fleece warm-up suit with a Ferrari emblem pulled his kid, who wanted to look at the GTM, away telling him, "it's a kit car."
So you can imagine how I felt while going through Pebble Beach when I slowed for traffic and the car coming towards me, stopped, the driver rolled down his window, and said, "great car." Oh, by the way, he was driving a Bugatti Veyron! Made my day.

I have to say that Kbentzel's is one of the best........

[The Stig]

Since we're now on the Factory Five Forum, maybe Dave Smith has a story or two that he can share, about his experiences with the GTM!

[sk7500]

Well I don't know if this passes as cool but it sure made me laugh. Every year for the past three or four years my friend and partner Frank, puts on this huge car people get together at his house. There are usually about 150 cars and 400 car people milling around. We've been working on our GTM for about for about a year and a half when this years event happened and I put our car together as best I could, mainly so the parts weren't scattered everywhere. Our GTM was in the main shop area and I overheard a couple talking about the car. The man was trying to explain to his wife that this was a kit car and what that meant. The wife looked at the car with a look of disgust and said "do you think they bought it all beat up like that" It made me look at our car from a whole new perspective and that saying about a face only a mother could love made a little more sense


IMG_0778.jpgIMG_0780.jpgIMG_0779.jpg

[crash]

Yes, one must be able to visualize the potential of something, as opposed to how they currently are, when building a custom car!

[The Stig]

These cars come with their own "Rock Star" statuses. Everywhere you go, it draws a crowd. When you look around, people have their cameras or cell phones out snapping pictures. Most just stare, with their mouths hanging open...

There are a steadily increasing number of these beautiful cars, making their way to the streets and highways. Surely there must be a few new stories to share...

[Dj_Seph]

I truly can't wait until my own stories can be told though I do get quite the good amount of attention with the 5.0.

[The Stig]

I created a thread that shows a photo gallary of finished GTM's. So far, I have 60 plus finished cars shown. But very few of them seem to have been driven... Because there don't seem to be any new stories that the owners want to share.

Come on guys!

[Pierre-Alexandre]

Let's de sunny warm summer days come back from their vacations and I think we will get more and more of thoses great stories will e shared with us.

[spytech]

I was at the gas station and an older woman was watching me pump gas. She finally came over and asked 'how do you drive that thing without a steering wheel?' (I get asked this a lot, btw). I simply told her that it has electrodes that I connect to my temples and I just think where it has to go. She said 'technology sure has come a long way' and just stood there looking at the car.

lmao

[comm4330]

I was at the gas station and an older woman was watching me pump gas. She finally came over and asked 'how do you drive that thing without a steering wheel?' (I get asked this a lot, btw). I simply told her that it has electrodes that I connect to my temples and I just think where it has to go. She said 'technology sure has come a long way' and just stood there looking at the car.

lmao

LMAO ! Awesome !

[spytech]

Took the GTM out tonight to one of my favorite twisty back roads. As I turned onto the road I noticed a group of people in lawn chairs sitting along one of the corners. They all wave and take pictures. "This is odd", I thought. I come around another corner and see another group of 10-15 people. This repeats 4-5 times until I come around another corner and see a line of cars approaching (over 100 at least). Turns out there was some car show cruise going through and I had no idea it was going on. I felt bad for the oncoming cars because as I would approach each group of people on each corner they would all turn and point and start taking pictures, with their backs to the long line of cars parading past in the other lane. The one-car GTM parade. Good times.

[The Stig]

That's pretty cool.
These cars draw crowds sitting still, much less driving down the road.
The fact that the onlookers were watching your car, instead of the line of show cars in the other lane, pretty much tells it all!

[afourcault]

Dont Own one yet but I was at the local 7-11 in a long line (as usual) and when I got to the counter I paid in some change cus the majority of my left over cash goes to my"GTM fund" the guy behind me was like "someone is saving for something big" when I told him what I was saving for he started laughing hard. When I asked him what was so funny he told me that he was saving up to by a cobra kit from ffr. Couldn't believe it. Small world out there and made a new friend. He even offered to help me assemble the kit when I get it. All thanks to the GTM I don't own yet lol.Said it before this community rocks and is very close knit. I love it!

[spytech]

Couple guys at the gas station were asking about the GTM tonight. As they were walking away I heard one say 'and I thought that new lambo I saw was the coolest car ever'.

Feels good, man.

[The Stig]

That's a cool thing... Thanks for consistently sharing your experiences with your GTM. I've seen the new Lambo. It's a very nice car. But just like your new fans, I think the GTM is cooler.

ALso, I promise to help you support this thread when I finally get my car on the road.

[The Stig]

GTMKris

Drove the car for the first time yesterday evening. Since I just got my tags I had to take it down the road even though I hadn't installed a radio yet. So, I went to Autozone to get a trim piece for my tags. First off traffic was slowing down and people were rubber necking like after a car wreck. It was so bad that I got embarrassed and had to put the windows up. LOL. I was in my work clothes. So I get to Autozone and walk in to get my parts and come back to the front of the store and there was a crowd around the car. There is this one kid there about 18 or so that has been rude to me twice before. He drives a cavalier that is three different colors. I'm not hating on him because I was there when I was his age. Well he was the only one that would not come outside and was there to check me out. He rang me out and when I went to leave he said... I used to have one of those...but mine had a VW motor in it. I said cool man and walked out the door into the paparazi. There was pic's being taken, people asking me questions like I was a sports star after a big game. 20 min later I got to leave. Everyone was still outside and watched me drive off.

It was a blast, but don't take this car if you are in a hurry.

[Kempo]

LOL, that kids Gtm must have Been a fast one with all that power from the VW engine. He should have asked him if the engine was from a 60s or 70s beetle.

[The Stig]

The GTM was delivered today. It's not finished, but it's home!



We rolled it out of the trailer and into the cul-de-sac in front of my house. I eased it up the driveway to make sure that the RamLift Pro would allow it to clear the initial angle to get up to the garage. Then I drove it nose first back down the driveway to make sure that I could clear the ground when driving out. (Otherwise I'd have to back out). When I got back out onto the road safely, I decided to take it down to the end of the street and back.

As I made my way down the street, I passed a home where a man was watering the bushes in front of his house. He heard the car coming and made a quick glance in my direction and turned back to his bushes. And then he quickly swung back around to take another look as I went by. When he did, he dropped his water hose and sprayer. The sprayer nozzle hit the ground and sprayed him in the face. He stood there getting sprayed while I drove by, and then moved after I passed by.

I sort of thought that was funny.

[kabacj]

So how long did you stand and stare at your car in the garage? At the end of a days work I'll often stare for a while. I bet it's nice to have her back running and driving.

John

[The Stig]

So how long did you stand and stare at your car in the garage? At the end of a days work I'll often stare for a while. I bet it's nice to have her back running and driving.

John

LOL, I stopped when I got into the car to drive to the airport to come to Columbus for the week. Otherwise, I'm sure I'd be finding more excuses to be outside in the garage...

[VD2021]

So how long did you stand and stare at your car in the garage? At the end of a days work I'll often stare for a while. I bet it's nice to have her back running and driving.

John

LOL, I stopped when I got into the car to drive to the airport to come to Columbus for the week. Otherwise, I'm sure I'd be finding more excuses to be outside in the garage...

Gentlemen,
I find myself just starring too. Only I can't stop thinking while I do it. John Maxwell says a successful person’s greatest resource in difficult times is "good thinking".

Mike,
The second from the last picture is extremely cool (even with the Ramliftpro up). The stance, paint and that driver looks serious..

[Nitetrain]

Some cool stories and a little update on the progress.

I have finished most of the major stuff and just have a few details to finish like polishing the clear coat, realigning the steering wheel, and installing the windshield wiper. Besides that, she is registered and I have been driving her to work on nice days with no mechanical problems or over heating (knock on wood).

My theme has always been to build a car with a small budget so I do not have to worry about making it a daily driver or parking it where ever I want…so that is what I have. The finished product cost around 32K and is putting 405hp to the tires through a G50-05 gearbox with LSD. All I can say is “holy buckets, she is fast.” I drive her to work and speed into parking, then close the door and just walk away…acting like I did not notice the other two other cars that followed me all the way to my parking spot.

The wife and I work on an Air Force base. She is the commander of her squadron, and has the best parking spaces…so I take one for the GTM. She said that she was busy with some paper work one day when she noticed someone out her window with a camera. When she got up to see what was going on, she found a few guys around the car trying to figure out what it was. “Is it a Ferrari?” Well… it is kind of like a Ferrari, but faster and about 1/10 the cost.

Last week I was driving home, and noticed a black mustang following. When I finally got to the house the mustang pulled up and two High School kids jumped out. “We were doing 90 and could not catch you.” I mentored them on the importance of staying within the speed limit then gave them a tour of the car. They loved the lines of the car and were amazed you could build something like this in your own garage. I guess one of the coolest things about the GTM is showing some of the young guys what they can do with their hands if they put in the time.

About driving the car…I am about 6’1” and fit just comfortably. This is kind of funny…while working on the car I probably climbed into and out of it a thousand times. It become fairly failure while in the garage, but when you are in a parking lot and you know people are watching, it just feels like you are laying down on the ground since the car is so low. The car accelerates like crazy and drives really nicely over smooth roads, but when the roads get bumpy, there is a bit of bump steer. You really have to keep two hands on the wheel. While I am comfortable with most mechanical stuff, I could use some advice on setting up the suspension for the best ride and control. Whoever said, don’t spend too much money on a nice stereo, was right. I have some sound reductions material around the interior, but it is just a loud car. The gear box could use a taller final gear. I would be around 3000rpm to get 80mph. I have an extra G 50-20 that I may swap out to get the rpm’s down a bit.

Here is a pic of how she looks right now. I will try to get a few more around the car.

Huge thanks to everyone on the forum that helped with advice. Not to intentionally leaving anyone out, I would say a huge thanks to Vidal, Shane, Crash and the guys at Factory Five Racing.

Live to fly...

Dave

[crash]

Looks really good, and I love red on these cars!

[dm65]

Man I love that story. Can't wait to get mine finished!!!! It will be RED too!!! Thanks for the picture.

[VD2021]

Some cool stories and a little update on the progress.

I have finished most of the major stuff and just have a few details to finish like polishing the clear coat, realigning the steering wheel, and installing the windshield wiper. Besides that, she is registered and I have been driving her to work on nice days with no mechanical problems or over heating (knock on wood).

My theme has always been to build a car with a small budget so I do not have to worry about making it a daily driver or parking it where ever I want…so that is what I have. The finished product cost around 32K and is putting 405hp to the tires through a G50-05 gearbox with LSD. All I can say is “holy buckets, she is fast.” I drive her to work and speed into parking, then close the door and just walk away…acting like I did not notice the other two other cars that followed me all the way to my parking spot.

The wife and I work on an Air Force base. She is the commander of her squadron, and has the best parking spaces…so I take one for the GTM. She said that she was busy with some paper work one day when she noticed someone out her window with a camera. When she got up to see what was going on, she found a few guys around the car trying to figure out what it was. “Is it a Ferrari?” Well… it is kind of like a Ferrari, but faster and about 1/10 the cost.

Last week I was driving home, and noticed a black mustang following. When I finally got to the house the mustang pulled up and two High School kids jumped out. “We were doing 90 and could not catch you.” I mentored them on the importance of staying within the speed limit then gave them a tour of the car. They loved the lines of the car and were amazed you could build something like this in your own garage. I guess one of the coolest things about the GTM is showing some of the young guys what they can do with their hands if they put in the time.

About driving the car…I am about 6’1” and fit just comfortably. This is kind of funny…while working on the car I probably climbed into and out of it a thousand times. It become fairly failure while in the garage, but when you are in a parking lot and you know people are watching, it just feels like you are laying down on the ground since the car is so low. The car accelerates like crazy and drives really nicely over smooth roads, but when the roads get bumpy, there is a bit of bump steer. You really have to keep two hands on the wheel. While I am comfortable with most mechanical stuff, I could use some advice on setting up the suspension for the best ride and control. Whoever said, don’t spend too much money on a nice stereo, was right. I have some sound reductions material around the interior, but it is just a loud car. The gear box could use a taller final gear. I would be around 3000rpm to get 80mph. I have an extra G 50-20 that I may swap out to get the rpm’s down a bit.

Here is a pic of how she looks right now. I will try to get a few more around the car.

Huge thanks to everyone on the forum that helped with advice. Not to intentionally leaving anyone out, I would say a huge thanks to Vidal, Shane, Crash and the guys at Factory Five Racing.

Live to fly...

Dave

Dave,

Outstanding! And you're driving it often. Great job.

[The Stig]

Dave,

That's a way cool story, and awesome to hear that you're able to drive it as often as you do.

I think you've won the prize for lowest cost build. You certainly can't tell it by looking at it. You've built a very nice looking car!

Take care Buddy!

[LCD Gauges]

Today I was working on my daily driver (replacing front, left LCA) and the kid across
the street came over to introduce himself.

He saw me working on the GTM the day before and was curious to learn more. After the
cliche, "Ooooo, ahhhhh moment" he began to tell me about some of the neighbours.

Apparently there are two Porsches, and one Lamborghini on my street.

I knew about one Porsche that burns up, and down the road quite frequently. It belongs
to the son of the Lambo owner (that's 944(?) you hear in my last video upload).

It appears I'll have some stiff competition waiting for me! I will have to introduce
myself, and find out which Lamborghini is hiding away.

[The Stig]

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...anks-NiteTrain!!!

I wanted to add this link to this thread, because to me, it was a very cool thing. And it came about as a direct result of my meeting Dave "Nitetrain" Pryor, here on the GTM Forum.

Enjoy,

[Kempo]

Bump for a new story.

[LCD Gauges]

\You asked for a new story, so here's a decent one (from my point of view):

If you recall from one of my previous posts, I'm in a new neighbourhood and getting to know my neighbours. Yesterday as I'm working on the car,
I'm checking out the "noise" happening up the street. My garage is open, and the GTM is within view. As he's driving down the hill, I wave and give
thumbs-up to the boat.

He rolls down the passenger window, and starts yelling...couldn't hear, so I walked to the road. We had a quick conversation about the GTM and his
absolutely amazing spped boat. This is the dude with the Lambo, Porsche, Ford Raptor, Suburban, 28 ft. trailer, Merc. SUV., ummm need I say more?
I want his money, and all of his toys. Eventually, I will sleep with him, and become best friends to earn the right to drive his cars, and borrow his boat.
That's just how it works around here.



Afterward, the neighbour across the street came over to introduce himself. He's a GM engineer, and owns the only red special edition Pontiac Solstice in Canada.
I think he said it was #3 off the line? We talked for what seemed like 20 minutes, and there's quite a bit in common between us. For the next auto show, I'm getting
some tickets on the house, and VIP pass to some private showing. Apparently the 2014 Vette will be on display. New headlight design, and killer engine boasting over
650 HP naturally aspirated. No camera's will be allowed unfortunately.

He says he can help me source some stuff for my car too. My new neighbours are freakin' much cooler than my old Cambridge neighbours! :P

I don't know if the GTM is a result of these cool deals, but it certainly is a great ice-breaker, and perhaps opens some doors to conversations that might not have happened.

P.S. Saw this cool custom bike on the way home today. Wicked airbrushed art on the side. I have a video if anyone wants to see it.

[crash]

The 2013/14 Vette is rumored to have direct injection. This will not only be a high HP engine, but also very efficient as well.

[LCD Gauges]

DI would be an excellent step forward for the 2 valve, push-rod technology that GM continues to pound out. I'm betting the new motor will bolt-up to the same transaxle which means a direct-injection engine may eventually find its way into a GTM without much modification.

[Edgeman]

Bump