Monday 20th September 2021

Southern GT GT40 | PH Readers' Cars

The Readers' Car forum is a gold mine. We've finally brought the video dynamite

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On August 20 2001, the very first thread was posted in our newly created Readers' Cars forum. More than half a million posts and twenty years later, we're finally bringing your contributions to life. Suffice it to say that for many of us on PH, this has been a long time coming.

Taking eight years to complete, Hoonigan's Southern GT GT40 build is legendary, and a fantastic place to start. Painted in the Gulf Oil corporate colours, with a small block Ford V8 sending 424hp to the rear wheels, it sounds as good as it looks. And it is unquestionably a labour of love - but we'll leave it to Paul to tell the full story.

For our part, we couldn't be more thrilled to deliver the inaugural Readers' Car video. With any luck the new series will prove as popular (and hopefully as long-running) as the forum. Let us know what you think of the video in the comments, and if there's a thread that you'd love to see us bring to life, we'd be more than happy to add it to our not-so-short shortlist. Enjoy.

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[dukeboy749r]

I like that.

Both the video and the car (and its story).

Well done to Hoonigan and well done, PH

[daytonavrs]

Now we're cooking.

[nickpan]

If in 20 years time, our roads are filled with EVs and all that remains from our ICE past are cars like these, occasionally gracing our roads on a Sunday afternoon, I am all for that, as a compromise.

[The spinner of plates]

dukeboy749r said:

I like that.

Both the video and the car (and its story).

Well done to Hoonigan and well done, PH

+1

Taken the words out of my mouth

[British Beef]

Outstanding; the finished car and the effort to build.

I would love to do the same (actually with the same car) but lack of time and lack of commitment, would have the project never finished!!

[Six Potter]

Wow, loving that. Forget all this EV nonsence, this is a proper car.

[Turbobanana]

Excellent effort - well done!

But please, PH, can we not have the musical crescendo just as he starts the enormous V8?

[Fastdruid]

Bah. Started after me, finished before me.

I need to pull my finger out and get it done.

[nismo48]

Hats off to him..!!
A real commitment to detail from start to finish. The car is just amazing to look at and the sound is something else too..!!
Great story

[MDifficult]

What a fantastic start. No idea how you'll follow that but I can't wait to see it

[LeroyLoser]

Fond memories

Best mate used to work for GT developments and the stories of them testing on the upton by pass were always amusing, always hankered for one and now building a 12 car garage for a collection and i cant see one of these NOT being in there alongside a Cobra.

Lovely to see, thanks

[Avenicus]

Great video - congratulations Paul

[andburg]

followed the build on and off through the years.

relaxed pace video is great, much more palatable than the over the top carwow/carthrottle affairs.

Maybe a bit short, could possibly benefit from an extended cut with a few key features explained for the anorak in me

[Volare]

Great car, great content.

[FaustF]

Yes finally!

About time PH started making mor euse of and interacting with the vast community it has. A great start. More of this sort of thing!

To also add, there is definitely space in the market for this type of content since petrolicious imploded into a generic channel.

Edited by FaustF on Friday 17th September 16:21

[TheMachMan]

Simply stunning. Hats off to you!

[Mr-B]

More patience than I have! Cracking effort.

How would you get a period plate for it?

[Fastdruid]

Mr-B said:

How would you get a period plate for it?

It's technically a bit naughty and should fail an MOT as well (but he's got another year before it needs one).

It's an "all new" build hence it will have received a current registration. Once you have that then you can buy a private plate for it in the "old" format.

Using the silver on black is then technically "wrong" as only vehicles registered before the 1st of January 1980 are allowed providing they have applied to the DVLA and are registered with the 'historic vehicles' tax class.

[jeff666]

Looks great,

A real credit to the builder, one of Lee Dawson's bodies I think, (original GTD moulds) and I may have supplied the headlights to Paul (fading memory)

[Gecko1978]

Great car, great story and the chap came across as a thoroughly likeable indvidual hats off to him and I hope he has many years of enjoyment with the car.