SpeedRacer

What the???? Is search broken???? Listen to Miles and here is a link to JTR for you http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Datsun_Z_V-8.html Pictures are of my 327 CID Small Block Chevy (SBC) w/ T-5 trans in a 1972 240Z

Tokyo Drftr - those are the sad excuse for hood hinges. They bolt to the front of the body where the Z car hinges were and the you drill a hole in the fiberglass appendage sticking down from the hood. A loose fitting bolt with a locknut serves as the pivot point. DON'T USE THEM! The best solution I have found is to make a pair of brackets that you can mount old Corvette hinges on.

Yeah Boy from Oz, a legend in my own mind LOL. Tokyo Drftr, based on your photo those are genuine Ferrari lights (although your are missing one rear turn signal). The guy in Italy that used to make those lights for Ferrari passed away some time ago and nobody took over his business. Therefore, new ones are pretty rare and worth more money every day - like over $200 to $480 EACH!!!. http://www.ferraripartsexchange.com/turnsignals.htm I don't know why you are not going to use them but I would not "give" them away.

John Washington from Reaction Research http://www.reactionresearch.com/automotive.html has been making and selling the VeloRosa (Ferrari GTO spyder) kit for the Datsun Z car for years. Give John a call. Not only is he a great guy but he knows a great deal about convertible Z cars. I believe he sells a reinforcing kit that fits entirely within the cockpit and does not require a roll bar.

Boy from Oz is right on with the 2 large panels as they fill in the blank opening when you remove the tail lights. The other 2 curved pieces should be bonded to the rear of the front fender panels. They sit up against the Datsun body and seal off the area between the rear of the front fender and the body. I am glad you have a pair of the third item because they go on the interior of the car and close off the space made where the rear side windows were removed. Good luck with your build.

The distributor did not free up that space. Its the fact the engine is mounted so far forward and not in the "JTR" position. Here is what the very small MSD (8570) looks like when its in the JTR position (PLUS another 1/2 ich further back).

Hey Kaiserser and welcome to HybridZ! You have come to the right place. First, get youself a copy of the Jags That Run (JTR) manual. http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Datsun_Z_V-8.html You will need to determine what method and/or kit was used to do the SBC conversion. If it was the JTR method, with the engine set back, then the T5 or T56 shifter will come right up through the original hole in the tunnel and console. If not I highly recommend that you remount the engine using the JTR mounts. I have a Camaro WC T5 in my car and it is a great transmission with good ratios and smooth shifting. My Z car was originally an automatic but it was easy to add the manual stuff. The bracket is already in the car for the clutch pedal so go to a junk yard and pick one up along with the rubber stop, linkage and clutch master cylinder. The rest is in the JTR manual. When you are done it should look like it came from the factory that way!

Hey Rob240z - They are Kurtco Rockerboxes but I am sorry to say that they went out of business quite some time ago. BTW they are in this car.

I think we did this before but here ya go.

I am a firm believer in the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) method when it comes to engineering changes and a sticking throttle is something that you don't want to deal with. Even though I have a Tri-Power setup on my car you can very easily do the same basic installation. Buy yourself the shortest Lokar universal throttle cable and appropriate carb bracket. http://lokar.com/product-pgs/throttlecables-kickdowns/tc-kd-pgs/throttle-cables.html Depending on your carb you may want to buy the whole kit which includes the highly recommended dual return springs. Don't worry about the length when you buy it is as you will end up cutting it to the correct length. Next, remove all the old throttle parts including the throttle bracket and bell-crank. Install the new Lokar throttle bracket on (or under) the carb depending which one you purchased. Remove the cable from inside the housing and the measure and cut the housing to the right length. Keep the bends wide and remember that the engine will rock on its mounts so do not make it to short. Remove the clevis from the gas pedal end of the cable and reinsert the cable in the housing. Now insert the new cable through the original hole in the firewall. Hook the end of the cable onto the stock pedal by inserting it through the original slit. Next mount the other end of the housing onto the carb throttle bracket. Measure and cut the cable and install the end and ball on the carb. Be sure to install the redundant set of springs. I think you will find that the throttle will operate very smoothly and you will no longer have a problem with sticking. I have been running mine like this for over ten years and never had a problem.

Old post so just an FYI but it looks like a company called Carrera CoachWerks in El Cajon, CA 92020 purchased Thunder Ranch back in July of 2012. http://www.carreracoachwerks.com/ I don't know anything about them even though they use a lot of pictures of my car on their web site. http://www.carreracoachwerks.com/250-gto/

Hey Michelle, I can not believe you are really selling your 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO replica after all the time and money you have put in that awesome car. I noticed this list out on eBay today http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/?cmd=ViewItem&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649&item=280913367388&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT so I guess its true - and its a no reserve auction!!!! Speed

I have often thought about and looked at buying a 308/328 Ferrari as well. They are great looking cars that are a lot of fun to drive. The bumpers are funky on the some US versions but absolute stock versions will probably go up in price some day. BTW, GTS versions are generally worth more that slick top GTB versions. Unfortunately they do rust but, if this one has spent its life in California, then it’s probably OK. Check the bottom of the doors, sail panels and bottom of the rear quarter panels for rust and/or repairs. And, it’s very important that you get all the maintenance records. First, make sure that the timing belts have been replaced. Scheduled belt maintenance is at 30,000 and 60,000 miles. It is an interference engine so you MUST get them changed on schedule! If you have it done the price on average will usually be between $3,500 to $4,500 dollars depending on the local labor rate. BTW, most people change the clutch at the same time because you have to drop the engine to change the belts anyway so a $6,000 bill for the 60,000 mile service is not unheard of. At 56,000 miles it’s just about due for the belt change. Also, if maintenance records are available, make sure they are genuine. The transmission synchronizers (especially second gear) are a bit on the weak side so make sure there is no grinding of gears on fast up and downshifts. You didn’t say what year but the early versions had four two barrel Webbers that are difficult to repair and keep in tune. And yes, parts are VERY expensive! There are very few substitute parts available but sometimes you can use FIAT parts (FIAT owns Ferrari) which are identical and about on quarter of the price. If I was buying it I would have a local Ferrari technician check it out for me. Hope this helps and good luck.

A lot of people use the Camaro bell housing but I used a 1984 and later Corvette bell housing along with a 7/8†bore Wilwood (Tilton) master cylinder through a braided stainless steel line to the stock Corvette slave cylinder. It may be more expensive but it is a much better solution.

Obviously the throttle cable is very important and has to ALWAYS work correctly so the KISS (keep it simple stupid) is usually preferred. Yes, as Mayolives mentioned, Lokar makes excellent universal cable setups. I used it on my car and found that it adapts easily and works very well.

Ahhhh...since the distributor drives the oil pump I think you need a plan B.

Welcome TensorWorld. People seem to have done their own thing with the interior of their GTO replicas. Some use stock and others changed just the dash. There are two replica dashes available - the original Alpha and the later Simpson dash. To the best of my knowledge, Tom Edwards (Scorpion Z Cars, now OM Sportscar) used the Simpson dash and blue replica seats to make his interiors the closest to the real thing. Keep in mind that the real GTO was a race car and had a very sparse interior. Chelle used the Simpson dash but converted her car to RHD. I used the Alpha dash but kept the rest of the interior pretty much stock Z car. As for the 250 California Spyder the original builder, Precision Builders, built them as turn key cars so there was little customization.

I agree Montezuma, as I don't think Tom McBurnie built this one because it has the high Scorpion Z Car type spoiler on the rear even though it has a hatch and not the trunk kit.

According to the documentation, the dark blue Ferrari 250 GTO replica driven by Tom Cruise in the beginning of the movie "Vanilla Sky" is listed for sale. http://www.ecarlist.com/cgi-bin/showroom.cgi?mode=show&d_id=1176&id=249556 He has a lot of Alpha 1 GTO information but the car isn't an Alpha 1. It looks like it might be a McBurnie.

Yup 280zcar, just like you said, mine is made by Alan Grove bracket too. Great design but you have to use a long water pump.

Always happy to provide some inspiration ZZZeeee. Just keep working at it and it will happen. And yes, I agree completely agree with you, the GTO has one very sexy and very distinct body. Pharaohabq, don't believe everything you read. You would be hard pressed to prep the car and body in that time.

Most of you have seen it before but, since you asked, here ya go.