Drb 540 Kit Car - I Think I Need It.

[Slide]

The bug has hit.

This time it is not of the Nissan variety.

Anyone else undertaken such a task on here from scratch?

I will be looking into this kit car in particular strictly as drive car, security for the car would be terrible with no top...ever.

The chassis consists of laser cut aluminium panels, MIG welded in a jig to produce an immensely strong monocoque chassis. All the mounts are incorporated to allow the builder to simply bolt all the components from the donor vehicle directly into the chassis. The body-chassis unit is supplied with the body attached to the chassis, with the bonnet, boot and doors all hinged and aligned and windscreen fitted.

The body-chassis unit accepts all the components from the donor Ford BA/BF (2003 - 2008), XR8, GT or GTP Falcon, so the completed DRB540 has Power steering, Cruise control, Traction control, ABS, Climate control, Radio/CD sound system and the option of electric windows & mirrors.

Customers can buy a damaged BA/BF XR8, GT or GTP Falcon at auction, from about $10,000 to $15,000 depending on the amount of damage and mileage (usually between 20,000 and 70,000 km., the Boss 5.4 litre motor should not require major work until at least 400,000 km) Most of the cars have 5 or 6 speed Tiptronic (Auto/Sequential) transmission with a few 5 speed manuals (2003 - early 2005) and a 6 speed manual from late 2005. Once all the required parts have been removed from the donor vehicle, unused components can be sold to defray costs.

Site

http://www.drbsportscars.com/site/index.ph...4&Itemid=14

With the cost of the donor car and the kit car, painting, and miscellaneous costs and getting it registered, it would probably add up to around 55+ from what else i have read from those doing similar cars.

I hope they have a finished product up there in the flesh, the company is based in Yatla, they also do the Cobras and GT40 replicas.

Thoughts?

[axe s]

how much is it for the kit???

couldn't see it anywhere...

[lingeringsoul]

that looks hot!!!

[dori34]

The GT40 looks awesome, you dont want that?

[mid life crisis]

i built a ac cobra replica from sctratch not a brb kit tho cause they used torana front ends and diffs the kit i used had a jag front and rear end in it .

what ever ya reckon it will cost to build double it lol it;s all the small things that add up like on the cobra the windscreen frame and glass was $ 1200. bucks lol that looks like a nice kit but what does it use for running gear ?

cheers mid life crisis

edit just looked at link i reckon a falcon turbo 6 would move it along nicely :-)

Edited February 21, 2009 by mid life crisis

[N1GTR]

Thoughts?

Dont be a fag

You know the options;

1. What we spoke about

2. UltimaGTR Can-Am

[GTR R35]

I have had a look at the kit and it will cost closer to 80k to have a road registered car.

Putting GT-P running gear in would be great, or even better Typhoon gear would be much quicker.

From the discussions I had, most of the running and rolling gear is used from the Ford. This means ABS and stability control (BF>).

The biggest problem is time, it will take a very long time to build and you should also have a fair amount of mechanical experience.

They are selling a fully done one for $125k.

[KISIN]

i built a ac cobra replica from sctratch not a brb kit tho cause they used torana front ends and diffs the kit i used had a jag front and rear end in it .

what ever ya reckon it will cost to build double it lol it;s all the small things that add up like on the cobra the windscreen frame and glass was $ 1200. bucks lol that looks like a nice kit but what does it use for running gear ?

cheers mid life crisis

edit just looked at link i reckon a falcon turbo 6 would move it along nicely :-)

how did u go about registering it in SA ? any tips or pointers in kit building in general ? (which engineers to see etc)

[Slide]

The GT40 looks awesome, you dont want that?

The GT40 copy would make me a copy, I don't like people driving copies of cars they clearly are not.

Kind of like driving a GTST with a GTR badge lol

Everyone knows the GT40, this new cobra style ripped from the Shelby prototype is something special even if its inspiration came from something else.

how much is it for the kit???

couldn't see it anywhere...

The basic cost for the shell as you see in the lower pics is around $15k.

The cost of a donor car - falcon for all of the interior and exterior components i have access to for under 10k

Complete with Boss 540 it just happens to have water damage which doesn't matter to me as i can fix anything that may be damaged by it.

Then painting, lights, exhaust intake modification, stone guards, and the rest.

I'm starting to wonder what a carbon overlay of the whole car would look like.

Call me crazy.

i built a ac cobra replica from sctratch not a brb kit tho cause they used torana front ends and diffs the kit i used had a jag front and rear end in it .

what ever ya reckon it will cost to build double it lol it;s all the small things that add up like on the cobra the windscreen frame and glass was $ 1200. bucks lol that looks like a nice kit but what does it use for running gear ?

cheers mid life crisis

edit just looked at link i reckon a falcon turbo 6 would move it along nicely :-)

Falcon everything bolts straight in as above.

I thought about the XR6 turbo but then why not go 540 + 2 turbo's

Dont be a fag

You know the options;

1. What we spoke about

2. UltimaGTR Can-Am

This has nothing to do with the GTR or V35 plans, i want a project to keep me occupied when i cant sleep, bored, craving affection haha not another car that makes me want to pull my hair out and keeps me from sleeping. You are too far away for the last bit. Plus the other half would get into it with me.

Spinning bearings is so old. Sooooo so old

I have had a look at the kit and it will cost closer to 80k to have a road registered car.

Putting GT-P running gear in would be great, or even better Typhoon gear would be much quicker.

From the discussions I had, most of the running and rolling gear is used from the Ford. This means ABS and stability control (BF>).

The biggest problem is time, it will take a very long time to build and you should also have a fair amount of mechanical experience.

They are selling a fully done one for $125k.

Mechanical experience and time are not problems i am familiar with.

$125k i dare say would include a number of people's costs for weeks of labor + profit.

Everything will be done by me apart from the painting and that would be a job for Brent.

Would just weld up a rotisserie to make things easier.

So basically no labor costs, no mechanic costs as stated above and no electrical work costs.

A warehouse with a hoist comes in very handy. And not having it filled with customers cars anymore makes it my place of Zen.

Costs unknown would be getting the thing registered. If that becomes an issue - trade plate

[axe s]

I got an e-mail back from them saying $22000 for the body/chasis...

I thought of selling my skyline and getting one but i couldn't find a wreck under $15000...

So a starting cost off $37000....

[Medium Dave]

There is an article in Custom Kitcar issue 4 on this kit, it says they are developing a hard top and electric windows. Getting it registered shouldnt be too difficult, the biggest factor is the engine, in QLD 1998 or newer, NSW 2005 or newer, ViIC needs 2003 or newer (best to check yourself tho). Speak to transport about building an ICV - Individual Constructor Vehicle, they will give you a bunch of paperwork to fill out - I did mine for the clubbie ok with specs found on the internet and general guesswork, DRB will be able to help. Then get in contact with an engineer, transport will give you a list of local engineers, and look on www.ozclubbies.com for recommendations. Pick a good one you get along with, you will be asking many, many questions.

Its a big job, but very rewarding

[mid life crisis]

how did u go about registering it in SA ? any tips or pointers in kit building in general ? (which engineers to see etc)

no probs getting it regod in sa providing you have used a engineer along the way i used doug potts to do mine cost about 1500 bucks he comes out and inspects it at different stages . then he took mine too mallala to do the brake and lane change test if that comes up clean its then off to regancy for there inspection .

if all goes well straight to the rego office for your plates . biggest tip i can give double ya budget of what you think it will cost be prepared for the unexpected blow out in budget . do as much as you can to save cost .

i got a great deal of fun building mine and some damm bloody frustrations along the way mine took 3 yrs to do i thought i would have it done in 12 months lol

cheers dean

[KISIN]

no probs getting it regod in sa providing you have used a engineer along the way i used doug potts to do mine cost about 1500 bucks he comes out and inspects it at different stages . then he took mine too mallala to do the brake and lane change test if that comes up clean its then off to regancy for there inspection .

if all goes well straight to the rego office for your plates . biggest tip i can give double ya budget of what you think it will cost be prepared for the unexpected blow out in budget . do as much as you can to save cost .

i got a great deal of fun building mine and some damm bloody frustrations along the way mine took 3 yrs to do i thought i would have it done in 12 months lol

cheers dean

thanks champ !

[NZM.031]

old boy is doing a drb gt40... has been for nearly 15 years.. the only thing original from when it left drb is the body... he has completly redesigned the chassis several times and has many hand made billet parts..

dad is a do it once, do it right kinda guy.. hence why the build has taken soo long, hes in no rush... however this is where it bit him in the rear. he cant use the engine he was planning to, a nicely worked 5L with trickflow heads, individual throttle bodies, etc. etc. but due to the age of the engine, he cant get it complied to meet the new adr's so he has to go for the 5.4L... so far the whole show has cost him close to $100000 and it only just touched the ground last year.. that is with all the work done by him, the engine building, the machining of parts, the fabrication of the chassis.. only handful of people have even seen it, let alone done some work on it.... its on the ground.. but no paint, no wiring, now no engine. he has to modify the chassis to fit the engine, modify the one off bellhousing to fit the engine, make a new flywheel to fit the engine... and so on and so forth.. if you were to pay someone to do all the calculations and time and effort setting up the suspension angles etc. like he has, it would cost a motza. the susprog 3d software itself was freaking expensive.

so heres what i have to say... get an engine, put it in, get your lights wired up, get the car working as a car asap... roll it over the pits, unpainted, with stockies and falcon brakes etc. if you have to... get your compliance plate... then strip it down and do what you want to do for the next 10 years... once you have the plate, it doesnt matter what you do... it will always be a 2009 model and have to comply with 2009 adr's... who knows what stupid laws they will bring in in the next few years.

speaking of engines... i know a guy with a viper motor if you want it...

as for the remark of it being a gtst with a gtr badge.. its a bit different... given that there are only a handful of genuine gt40's in the world and all are priced well over a million if they are for sale at all, and you cant buy a fwd v6 version of it now can you.... most of the replicas ive seen are still worthy of appreciation, alot of attention to detail and getting it as close to the old style as possible... they may not be the real deal, but they still have a mid mount V8, 395mm rear tyres, and are only 40" high... replica or not... they are still worthy of respect as a sports car, they havent changed... they arent a VW with a dodgy fibreglass shell placed on top.

that said... is this not just a copy of fords attempt to bring back the cobra?? which is a late model car that can be bought?? not a 1960's racing legend that hasnt been made for 40 years and is near impossible to attain.

also, theres a mob in the central coast the old boy has been talking to about getting around the security system of the falcon management.. they also make custom wiring harnesses to suit... you get it complied with the stock computer then go get a motec.. i can get the number and pm you if you need it.

good luck with it mate.

Linton

Edited February 26, 2009 by NZM.031

[SLY-25T]

seen this for a while in the Justcars magazine and i must say that i love the look of it!!

if u do buy one u gotta post pics!!!

[Slide]

f**king appendix had to come out so have been in hospital for over a week due to previous operations in the same spot making recovery more difficult so am in and out of hospital still.

Will get up to the factory as soon as i can.

Regarding the GT40, i love the car, it is undeniably one of my favourite cars made of all time. It is though always going to stand out as a car that is a copy of a very expensive car.

The 540 is appealing to me as its a full time convertible and the engine doesn't require a Porsche or similar gearbox, cooling lines run, cable/hydrolic linkages from the pedal box, gear stick etc, and a number of parts under car that unless you make yourself will cost as much as a new Honda Jazz.

Its all relative to cost and at the end of the day it will still be a kit car that looks like a million dollar super car.

The 540 i have much more freedom to modify it the way i see fit and one of the things i would love to create is a bolt on hard top for it that doesn't look woeful like the cobra ones which stick out like dogs balls.

What is also more appealing to me is that the interior of the car what you are looking at is something aesthetically pleasing in a road going cruiser using the Ford interior.

I'm on 300mg of morphine a day, race seats are not as appealing to me as they used to be.

The GT40 typically uses thin lined bucket seats.

As you have sad the plan would be to get everything in it as bare as possible and get it on the road.

It just looks a lot easier with the 540 with all of the easy bolt on items from the donor car.

I would rather have a car up and running and then engineer things for it in my own time and be able to enjoy driving it sooner rather than later then having something sit in the same place for 15 years and get sick of the money pit, i already have enough of those and want to start enjoying things then tie up all of my time on a never ending project.

Will get more details as soon as i can move and not eating plastic foods.

[KISIN]

just bolt that shell over a R32 GTR

[Slide]

Then i can use $15k of stock to do a rebuild when i spin a bearing.....HA... Zing!!!

[KISIN]

Then i can use $15k of stock to do a rebuild when i spin a bearing.....HA... Zing!!!

as if you would put in a non rebuilt engine into pretty much a brand new car anyway

[Tangles]

do it dude !!

one thing, promise me a joyride when its all done - sweet

now let me order a complete bottom end and some twin turb's from you, so you can afford the Drb