Error building installing on Redhat Linux Server release 5.3 (Tikanga)

I downloaded the latest tarball (git-1.7.0.2), configured it, and
make'ed it.  When I did a "make install", the build seemed to work and
most of the install, but I got an error when the installation tried to
use gtar:

make -C templates DESTDIR='' install
make[1]: Entering directory `/users/e477610/exptool/src/git-1.7.0.2/templates'
install -d -m 755 '/home/e477610/exptool/share/git-core/templates'
(cd blt && gtar cf - .) | \
        (cd '/home/e477610/exptool/share/git-core/templates' && umask
022 && gtar xof -)
gtar: This does not look like a tar archive
gtar: Skipping to next header
gtar: Archive contains obsolescent base-64 headers
gtar: Error exit delayed from previous errors
make[1]: *** [install] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/users/e477610/exptool/src/git-1.7.0.2/templates'
make: *** [install] Error 2

When I try to run "git clone
http://www.kernel.org/pub/scm/git/git.git", I get the following error:

$  git clone http://www.kernel.org/pub/scm/git/git.git
Initialized empty Git repository in /users/e477610/exptool/src/git/.git/
fatal: Unable to find remote helper for 'http'

I assume it's because I didn't finish the install properly.  Any ideas
why the install of the build failed and what I could do to make it
complete?

Michael