Stewart Transport delivered the GTM last night.  Finally! Ken did a real nice job. The color is phenomenal and is exactly what I hoped/expected it would be. It fits the color scheme and ‘impression’ I have in mind perfectly. Thanks to my wife for taking pictures, ST for getting the GTM back to me safe and sound, and Tim and Brian for stopping by and helping unload and push! The fun begins NOW.

Next Tuesday/Wednesday!

It’s here! The beast has arrived. Stewart Transport took only a few minutes to unload it and get it placed in the garage. Very smooth delivery. The body quality is very impressive. Nice fitment on the front and rear glass (the rear glass has been a problem in the past), and the frame is a work of art. Getting into the car was not as hard as I thought it would be; the seats are very comfortable and I really like the cockpit design (the dash, console, and seats were taped into place).

Tomorrow the body will come off and I will get the frame traced onto all of the aluminum and get everything drilled out. Panels go out for powdercoating on Monday and will be installed later in the week, and then the fun begins!

The rest of the braking components arrived today. Baer DecelaRotor’s and Hawk Pads from CorvetteGarage.com, and the Z06 calipers from YourCorvette.com. The ‘corvette’ text will be ground off of the front calipers, and then repainted.

This is a pretty moderate brake setup. I have a very similar setup on my sc’d Z06 and I haven’t had braking issues for what I have used the car for the most (street and SCCA autocross). The GTM will be roughly 800lbs lighter, so braking shouldn’t be an issue for a while.

This week should prove to be ‘thrilling’ as various parts for the build start coming in.
Today saw the arrival of the C5 donor pallet from FPARTS Salvage, along with stainless steel braided brake lines from DB1Racing.com, and the BeCool High-performance radiator from YourCorvette.com.

The donor pallet includes just about all of the electrical, fuel, cooling, and suspension components needed for the build. Suspension parts will be cleaned and repainted. Brake components that were included (rotors and calipers) will be discarded for shiny new Z06 calipers and drilled/slotted rotors. The donor side mirrors were black…good sign.

In the quest for more power and more speed, in a more exotic package, I have decided to take a big leap in building my own supercar. The Factory Five GTM Supercar is a work of art, and brings along extraordinary performance with its aggressive styling.

This log will detail everything involved with the build process – from start to finish. I do not have a timeline for this project, but reaching go-kart stage by spring is the primary goal. Spring here can be read as ‘May or June’.