chelle

Here's a pic of a black Alpha 1 car.. It was for sale a couple years ago ... I think it was in the southwest.. not 100% on the location though.. I'll buy a rear hatch "kit" if one exists Kim likely will as well I'm curious what glass you chose, I've been trying to decide on what to use there for some time. Tom, how soon before you expect to list prices on your site? Chelle

Sure you can see them. We go on drives with a really nice group of Ferrari owners and love car people.. I'm north of chicago and Kim is northwest.. The Urraco is a really neat car and because we did all the work ourselves we know it's right. She and I share ownership of it, I guess one day one of us will buy out the other or we'll sell it outright.. I'm still watching for a Miura project and have several other things going as well.. anyway - keep my e-mail - if you do make it up here and we're available we'd love to chat! That goes for any of you btw - I still would love to get a few dozen GTO replica's together for an afternoon.. My main e-mail is sysadmin@corecomm.net btw - if you clip off that url to just: http://members.core.com/~sysadmin/personal/Urraco/ there's lots more pics of the Urraco - I need to get around to making pages for the rest of the toys but in various pics you'll see everything from our Alpha cars to a RUF 930 Turbo to Kims' 3000GT VR4 to my other GTO project.... cars are fun, and not just for guys : ) Chelle

They were on many of the early competition cars, not just the GTO. The last set I bought came from a nice elderly italian gentleman named Georgio Ortelli. Sorry but I don't remember what they cost. He doesn't speak english so unless you do the phone is a bad way to try to contact him- I'll try and dig up his contact info - but if you don't hear back in a few days from me try sending me a direct e-mail as I don't really get in here often enough. Chelle sysadmin@corecomm.net http://members.core.com/~sysadmin/personal/Urraco/lamboallthree.jpg

I'll take at least two pair if you do it John. A pair for my driver and one to put aside for a spare.... Kim and I each have Alpha cars (among other things) we both need headlight covers as well - I'd take two sets Kim will take at least one ... shall I send a check today? I'm VERY serious on this Also I've been wondering about how easy it would be to cut apart one of your dashes to rework and put in the RHD car... Chelle nice Webers John, our Lambo runs em.... they make wonderful noise : ) you can see them sticking up here: http://members.core.com/~sysadmin/personal/Urraco/lambo031.jpg http://members.core.com/~sysadmin/personal/Urraco/lambo016.jpg here's a few of our toys http://members.core.com/~sysadmin/personal/Urraco/lamboallthree.jpg

I removed mine - couple important things though. There were I think three hoses that connected to it. I also removed the canister up front and all the associated lines. This meant plugging two vacumn lines on the engine. At the back of the car there's five lines that come off the fuel tank. The Filler is one, then there's one to the fuel pump, and a return line, a small line that goes to the expansion tank, and finally a large one. You can eliminate all the lines to the expansion tank but there's one that I messed up on at first. You need to leave one of the two that come out of the top of the fuel tank(preferably the large one). It needs to run to the neck between the fuel tank and the filler. This is a vent that allows air to escape when you are filling the tank - without this I got sprayd with gas that came shooting out the fuel cap. oops. On the plus side the car seemed to run better with all that removed.... which makes me think the system wasn't really working correctly anyway. Good Luck, Chelle

Let me know what you need and I'll get them locally for emblems. I have a good working relationship with the Ferrari parts guys and have bought quite a few emblems for less than ebay prices. Chelle

Congrats... I bid on that like a week ago and it didn't meet the reserve (and had a buy it now price of $6500) did he drop the reserve to $2000? don't know how I missed it.... guess I don't need more but it's always nice to have parts... I have an Alpha assembly manual if you need any info Chelle blonnde@corecomm.net

Hey all, remember me. Chicago area girl with Alpha-1 GTO on a 77 280z chassis, currently converting to RHD just to be different. Business partner/friend has a Alpha-1 on a 78. I'm trying to convince her to go with a SBC, but with me trying to squeeze in a BMW 12 she will probably try and outdo me lol. I also have been progressing slowly on a puckett body on a 62 250 chassis. there are some pics here of both her car and mine and the Lamborghini we have restored together here: http://members.core.com/~sysadmin/personal/Urraco/redwhiteandblue.JPG http://members.core.com/48/A3/sysadmin/personal/garage.jpg I have build a few of these cars and have a pretty diverse background in all things car and computer related - and love to see other people's projects.. Maybe we could try and get something going for a gettogether of GTO replicas : ) Chelle

Hiya Dick : ) Actually the blue one is a Lamborghini Urraco we just finished it. There are other pics in that directory if you explore some. I'll post to the other thread as well. Chelle

I forgot that I never posted the resolution to the phantom clunk! sorry! I found the trouble - after replacing EVERYTHING else and still clunking I replaced the adjustable (pricey!) rear control arm bushings with non adjustable poly ones... and no more clunk! Unfortunately that meant giving up on the adjustment, but I have a coilover kit on the car anyway - with adjustable upper mounts, so I guess the loss of that adjustment isn't critical. Chelle

Heya, Dick, it will fit. I've seen a few of these in z-car's. Someone wrote that it looked like a Dino engine - nope - the one on ebay was a lot earlier. but the power estimate was close enough. Those old inside plug engines were tall but the GTO hood bulge should clear. The big problem is the reserve on that engine was closer to $10,000 I know as the seller and I have sparred (amicably) over parts often. His Name is Tom and if you're serious about getting a Ferrari 12 I can put you in touch with the right people. Tom's business is selling vintage Ferrari parts and he is NOT cheap. But if you have the money he has pretty much anything you could need. Rolling chassis, engines, NOS trim you name it. For our cars I'd stick with a later engine - all the way up to a 1970 SOHC engine. The later 4 cam ones have sidedraft webers on the outsie and are just too wide at the carbs to fit between the shock towers. The closer to 1970 you get the better for power. I recently passed on a 1968 v-12 out of a 365 2+2.. the heads needed repairs but price was good at $12,000 If you want to find a 6 carb set up well, get in line - last I saw was Tom had one for $8500. Additionally a 5 speed to go with it can be had in the neighborhood of $5000. The weight isn't bad but expect to get a high of 350 or so horsepower (with a redline around 7500!). There are other options for a 12. I'm looking at a Dinan modified 12 out of a BWM 850 now- it will fit between the towers but I'll need to have a new crossmember fabricated. On the plus side it came with a 5 speed and I can have it all for $5000. : ) Ultimately I want to have two variations on the GTO theme - one with an eye for correctness, using a period correct engine and no creature comforts.. and another using the best modern components - suspension, either a engine from a 550 Maranello or the BMW 12 and luzury interior... sort of the way the street rod crowd does - vintage looking body with ultra modern everything else : ) We should get all the GTO's together sometime Chelle

Very kewl! I wish I had known this category had been created. Hi all, I could use a set of the door pulls as well. Tony - do you still have your car for sale? I'd like to come take a look. I'm in the Chicago burbs. Have a few neat toys : ) Chelle http://members.core.com/~sysadmin/personal/Urraco/redwhiteandblue.JPG

Hiya : ) did you see my post on the GTO's? http://www.hybridz.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000614;p=2 I'm a longtime fan/owner/builder of many of the GTO replicas. Currently I'm working on converting that car to right hand drive (just to be different) I have been an admirer of your car for some time as well.. it's beautiful : ) I'm in the Chicago area and am always open to visitors. Bring your car over the summer and we can take 3 of them out for photo ops.. I didn't build this one though I've done much of the modifying of it beyond the basic kit.. I'm also working on a few other projects including a chassis for a puckett GTO body and an original 1974 Lamborghini.. : ) Chelle

Hmm, thanx... I'll have to take a look at the rest of the lines - perhaps flush them out tomorrow. I've been wanting to replace all with new hardline anyway but was hoping that could wait till the engine swap happens. My projects are all kind of staggered to allow me to finish as much as I can and still have something to drive. Thanx for the insight though, I'd imagine there was a bit of negative pressure in the tank after that long at that high of RPM.. The car uses a big racing cap that flips open and it is not vented. Not sure how I could vent it either.. looks like I have a busy day Chelle

Hi all, I have been digging through the archive as I'm new to this list and was thrilled to see this subject line. I've had a lot of experience with the various 250 GTO replicas. My friends and I assembled 3 in the past, and currently my roommate and I own one of the Alpha1 cars I'm building a chassis for a puckett car and another friend has another Alpha1. I wanted to chime in on some of the points made here because I've had exposure to most of the 250 replicas made. I don't bother with ebay for the decals or emblems as it's rare you actually can get them for less than you can elsewhere. For decals and valve caps (with little tiny ferrari emblems) I go right to the dealer. the emblems, well, I get wheel emblems at the dealer and the rest come from http://www.kitcaraccessories.com/ferrari.html Tom Mcburnie's shop does seem hard to get on the phone these days. I have talked to Tom 3 or 4 times in the last year and he was always open to making odd things I needed. Honestly though Tom was about the only one who was able to answer individual questions I had. The woman I talked to was nice, but knew little about these cars. I do like the nose on Tom's better than the earlier Alpha1 cars. Particularly the hood, cowl panel, and grill. I feel just as positive about the look of the Stable front end, however I have called the Stable guys three times in the last 6 months trying to buy parts and NEVER have gotten a call back. Bad move by them considering what I spend on toys like these. Tom has been in the business a long time... and I think you might have caught them on a bad day - just try to get Tom on the phone. works for me. Nezzie76, you said that the thunder ranch stuff doesn't seem to fit but really I wouldn't be too hard on them, you chose to put panels made by two different companies on your car. It can be made to work but it's going to take work. I like the roadster back halves, but prefer a hood to a tilt nose too, and I know if I want a roadster with components from different suppliers I'm going to have to sort out the differences. This isn't a flame, just my opinion. One solution might have been to have bought door skins from Tom as well so the nose could sit where he intended. The front edge of a door is generally a lot harder area to fit than the rear due to the way doors pivot. I had a mako Shark Corvete replica years ago that we never could keep the tilt nose from chipping paint off the front edge of the doors because the doors were stock and the tilt nose was of course not. I know you're not using the tilt nose but you are using a nose made by a different manufacturer than who made the doorskins. Mr Puckett I agree has the most accurate bodies out there if you are willing to go the distance on prepping your chassis. His kit requires adding 4" to the wheelbase and shortening the doors and cabin a couple inches. I spent an hour talking over options with him. He does offer a nice kit that uses the stock chassis as well. His kit gets rid of the hatchback and uses the stock rear glass repositioned 4" forward and a trunklid like the originals. I don't like what he did with the taillight panel however making it look more original is not a big job. I have pictures of his cars scanned and will e-mail them to whoever wants them. Racer X I tend to take those consumer alerts with a grain of salt. He has had alerts about "shoddy work" by IFG for years and it's my understanding that the big issue he has with them is they wouldn't advertise with his site.. I could be wrong about the advertising but I know for a fact that IFG makes the best Lamborghini Diablo bodies out there - there are a few dozen companies making diablo replicas who merely buy IFG bodies and assemble them. I build a diablo and a countach from IFG and their quality FAR exceeded pretty much everything else on the market. The Prova countach was a better car mechanically than the IFG but the fiberlass work on the prova was horrible. The vella Rosas I've seen all looked great, but I never put one together. I plan on finishing my Puckett car chassis this summer, It's not on a Z (my choice was to build a complete chassis out of tubing)It's been a work in progress for a while now. currently I'm kind of tied up converting the red car to right hand drive. If anyone is in the Chicago area you are welcome to come take a look at any of the cars. My newest toy is a 1974 Lamborghini and is almost ready to sell. No I'm not making this up - lol.. the current collection of 2 alpha1 GTO's and the Lamborghini represent an investment of under $30,000.. tho that amount is kinda going up by the day .. lol anyway here's our red one like Dick's Chelle http://members.core.com/~blonnde/new/0127_002.jpg

Thanx Mike- I'll check that tonight! Chelle PS:there's pic of the car here: http://members.core.com/~blonnde/new/0127_002.jpg

Hey all, I was hoping for more suggestions. Per messages I read here in the archives months ago I replaced the front differential mount insulator. While I was at it I replaced the moustache bar bushings and sway bar bushings/end links I still want to replace the control arm bushings and plan on doing that soon when I replace the wheel bearings and install coilovers in place of the struts. The problem is there is still a clunk that sounds like someone it hitting the floor with a hammer when I go over some bumps in the road. It doesn't happen with all bumps and I cannot duplicate the sound in the garage bouncing the back of the car. Railroad tracks and expansion joints are by far the worst. I'm ready to take out the carpet and subfloor and get in back with a stethascope to try and corner the source of this sound. hmm, that or ride behind it on a creeper... nah, that won't work.. it's driving me crazy. The chassis in question is a 77 280z, the car is now like Dick goodmans 250 GTO Thanx for any input! Chelle

Hiya, Yesterday I had an odd problem happen out of the blue and hoped someone might have some insight. I was driving our 250 GTO replica for about 20 minutes on the highway at 4000 rpm in top gear. Oil pressure, temp, volts, all was fine. When I took an exit and got to the first stop (tollbooth) the idle was a little rough, I checked the gauges, nothing seemed amiss so put it in gear and tried to pull away - I had to ride the clutch and over rev to get it to the side of the road. I pulled over to the side as much as possible and the idle seemed a little shakey still so I popped the hood to check everything out. No fuel leaks, no wires off injectors (it has a 77 nissan fuel injection system) Two weeks ago I replaced the plugs, fuel filter and air filter. Nothing seemed amiss and I got back in and yet it was still having trouble - the idle smoothed out however off idle it fell on its' face. zero power. The gauauges all indicated fine so I though I'd nurse it to a safer spot as there was no shoulder to pull off to (and it wasn't really a safe place). I drove it about 10 minutes and after that it seemed fine. Today it runs as fine as it ever has. The fuel tank was about 1/4 full. My initial guess says it's fuel related however I though about spark as well. The road was smoothe however coming into the offramp at speed and stopping as fast as I did certainly could have shook up a lot in the tank. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanx in advance, Chelle