Plus, open-air motoring with T-tops!
While searching for the right parts for the first assembly of the Valkyrie, I stopped by a small sports car accessory store to see about ordering a Momo Prototipo steering wheel. A few years earlier, a friend had taken delivery of a new 1973 455-SD Trans Am, and I really liked the flat 3-spoke steering wheel that car had. While discussing my Valkyrie project with the store owner, we got on the topic of how the Fiberfab Valkyrie looks similar to a Ford GT40. To increase that similarity, I asked if it would be possible to order headlights like the ones used in the GT40 race cars. I ended up buying two significant items from that small shop, a pair of Cibie rectangular H4 bulb type headingts, and a Momo Prototipo steering wheel.
It took a fair amount of fiberglass work to create a new mounting panel for the Cibie headlights that had unusually deep housings. If I mounted them on the same flange as the existing round light buckets were on, the front tires would contact the back of the Cibies whenever I made a turn. So I had to move the mounting point forward by about 2.5 inches. It was also necessary to flatten the “floor” of the headlight recess. Once I had the basic structure created and could test-mount the headlights, I rounded off the corners on the recess. I think the conversion turned out well.
After about 25 years, I had to replaced the first set of Cibie headlights when one of the chrome reflectors (inside) tarnished and became quite dark. Thankfully there are enough GT40 race cars and replicas around to make these headlights still in-demand and readily available.
After completing the headlight conversion, I next modified the roof to create removable T-tops, making a graceful cut that follows the existing body features. The remaining 4″ wide fiberglass strip between the T-top openings is reinforced with a 3/8″ thick x 2″ wide x 27″ long steel bar. Provisions were also made to bolt the T-tops back in place whenever they are needed.
Next: The first major rebuild (1985)
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