Author Topic: Question about a Mustang classed in GT  (Read 9377 times)

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Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Question about a Mustang classed in GT
« Reply #15 on: July 26, 2012, 01:13:08 AM »
Can open - worms everywhere.

It's not a particularly tidy class, for either SCTA or ECTA.  It was easier when sports cars were sports cars - two seats, two doors - but there were always questions.
 
I believe the GT class was intended for vehicles marketed as sports cars.

Example - stated earlier - the '65 GT350.  Sold and marketed as a sports car.  Official builder was Shelby, and it was sold as a two seater.  They were Shelby Mustang GT 350's, not Ford Mustang GT 350's.

The Mk I Midget had a jump seat option.  That ended in 1964 when they grew door handles and lost the Conestoga wagon/circus tent top arrangement.  I opted for a '71, but I suspect if somebody made a stink about running a '63 Midget, an argument could be made that it needs to run in Coup/Sedan.

The Karman Ghia is another odd one - the convertible seats 2, the coupe seats 4 - technically.

MGB/MGB-GT, Jaguar XKE - same story.  Even the Austin Healey 3000 was available as a 2+2.  I would classify these as GT's because they are all based on 2 seat sports cars, not the other way around.

The 911?  Those aren’t seats, those are luggage pads with retaining straps, but it has to run coupe?

I always wondered about the AMX, myself.  American Motors advertised it and sold it as a sports car, clearly based on the Javelin, but the chassis was shortened.

I don't think a '57 Chevy business coupe could run GT - it had seating for three.

So did the '57 T-Bird.

The Geo Metro convertible is a two seater, but it runs coupe. 

It's an odd class, and the rules have received so many bandages over the years, due in part to the different ways cars are made today, that there isn't a clear cut, obvious definition.   

Joe says the Laguna is a GT.

I'm calling my Midget a GT, under the "comfortable, high-speed driving" clause.

Yup - it's a weird class.

"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

LittleLiner

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Re: Question about a Mustang classed in GT
« Reply #16 on: July 26, 2012, 02:57:48 AM »
 I opened this thread with a hunch that this might just have been one of those deals where the racer made an assumption about class and it sliped by.  However, Joe's answer indicated to me that a judgement was made based on facts about how this model Mustang is marketed and equiped and that it better fit in GT than in Production Coupe and Sedan.  I am satisfied with that. I think the simple answer is  "If Joe says it is a GT then it is a GT".  And I say that with all respect.

Milwaukee Midget's comments are right on about the issues of determning what cars do and do not fit in GT or Coupe/Sedan.

Last year (or the year before) SCTA changed the wording about what was and what was not a coupe/sedan.  (In general ECTA tries to echo the SCTA rules whenever possible.)  I suspect the change was to clarify the issue.  Maybe it had something to do with a honda CRX (generally considered a two seater) that was running as a coupe/sedan.  As I recall it had something to do with the fact that Honda apparently offered the CRX as a 4 seater in some international markets.  Perhaps someone with more accurate knowledge of the details can speakup about this.

Now with the release of the 2012 SCTA rules we see that imports may run in F/Classic classes.  What does that mean with the re-definition of the GT vs Coupe/Sedan rules?  Well, is is now possible to run a Porche 911 (up through model year 1981) as a Classic category car.  

Another grey area in GT is the inclusion of Factory Five Cobras in GT.  While I can see the logic of doing that, I wonder how the engine swap rule in GT will apply to cars built by outfits like Factory Five.  The rule says that swaps are allowed as long as they were originally used in an automobile produced by the same manufacturer.  (So you could put a Caddy Northstar V8 in a Fiero and it would be OK in GT)

So with Factory Five what is an engine "produced by the same manufacturer"?  Remember Factory Five also makes other models and some of those models are designed to use Chevrolet engines and next year they will offer a car (the 818) that has Subaru running gear.  Does this mean that a Factory Five Cobra can run a Corvette V8 or a Subaru Flat Four engine swap and still be legal in GT?

It is something of a mess to sort through.  There are so many cars that straddle the line between GT and Coupe/Sedan that I fear there is no simple answer.

« Last Edit: July 26, 2012, 03:01:17 AM by LittleLiner »

Offline Plmkrze

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Re: Question about a Mustang classed in GT
« Reply #17 on: July 27, 2012, 08:27:54 PM »
Ok, looks like that car is now and for evermore a GT.
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