chelle

been a while since I peeked in, we had a fun thing happen yesterday our car was on a NBC segment shown on both the Today show and Countdown. Just thought some of you might get a kick out of seeing it. Today show here: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/#31121265 Countdown here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/vp/31132888#31132888 and as proof it's our car, when he pushes it here's a pic from another angle showing me pulling it back.

Tensorworld, another place I see them often is craigslist. If you search google for 'site:craigslist.org ferrari +gto' it will look at all the craigslist locations. Recently I found the Vanilla Sky one that way http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/ctd/1077594087.html

OOppss, yeah, I meant John... I haven't been getting much sleep lol

Welcome! and hiya Speedracer We did put a Simpson dash in the white car, does take a lot of work to get it in there. We got it from John Washington. Pretty sure he still sells both. The red car though I made the whole dash outa metal. I'm still tinkering with it but did also tuck a vintage air min a/c unit under both white car: The red car (shift gate in bottom pic it just a rough pattern):

Hey guys..... I'm working on a new project.. trying to decide but I MAY be selling the GTO, or the drivetrain.. I have a new V12 and lotta things I wanted to do do different... so I'm trying to decide if I just put the new drivetrain in the red car and make some changes or start over completely... I'll be deciding in the next two weeks but wanted to put that out there - that the red GTO is either gonna be for sale or it's drivetrain will be. If I sell the drivetrain it'll include everything, computer, engine, trans, exhaust, etc... PM me if anyone is interested in either the drivetrain or whole car Best, Michelle

that was just the unedited text from the 2007 auction. Perhaps he was referring to cutting back the drip rails because I agree with you - don't really see anything to indicate the door itself is cut. I made some sliders using the stock door glass frames. I had to fill in the top a little to level it, but would rather have new door glass frames entirely. Chelle

found it. It was in Elk Grove California and on ebay April 2007 Here is the description that was listed at that time and the email address of the original seller. It was being sold painted but not completed (no glass, interior, trim installed at that time) Just posting that in case anyone here is interested so they have the history car was listed at that time with a buy it now of $79k ebay seller ID "my4ree" I have pics of the car under construction if anyone wants them Best, Chelle text in original auction: "Item Specifics - Cars & Trucks 1962 Replica/Kit Makes : 250 gto 250 gto replica collector car vintage ferr@ri look Miles: 0 Body Type: Coupe Transmission: Manual Engine: 8 Interior: Other Warranty: No Year: 1962 Title: Clear VIN Number: HLS30131690 Condition: Used Exterior: Silver Fuel Type: Gasoline Inspection: -- Options Power Locks Vehicle Description PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!!!!!!!!! Up for sale today is a one off recreation of the infamous 1962 250 GTO. Many hours of blood, sweat and tears have gone into this car. Every item on this car has been stripped down to the frame. The frame is a 1973 Datssun 240Z. As seen in the pictures provided the car has been lengthened to authentic proportions. I had the car sold to buyer in Arizona who left me a deposit then could not come up with the balance ($96,000). So please, if you're bidding, bid with confidence. The vehicle shown comes with stock suspension, but to the winning bidder goes new suspension and brakes also shown in the pictures below. The reason being I don't want the car sitting on new suspension until delivered. Also to the winning bidder goes the interior of their choice. The previous buyer chose the interior in the picture below which is from a real GTO. The vehicle is in the final stages of completion. Windshield and rear window will be installed after interior is complete. Body: Great measures have been taken to ensure the body style comes close to original. 1- hood has been converted to smaller size like original 2- leather strap, hood clamps and air vents all custom made 3- front fenders have been lengthened (this car is longer and stronger than teh original 240Z!) 4- upper doors have been cut and set back further 5- new gas cap has been rerouted to rear of vehicle 6-fender, rear body moldings and spoiler all custom made to original 7- rear vents have been modified to original size 8- 3 coats of PPG paint, blue racing stripe with white accent (not pinstripe) 9- racing number plates have been provided on both doors and rear trunk lid in two different sizes 10- all stickers and logos are to the original 11- head lights also come with crome trim (not yet installed) 12- fog lights not yet installed but included 13- door, trunck locks and gas cap recreated to original 14- custom painted borani style rim with new Dunlop tires like original Interior: 1- custom blue racing seats 2- 5 point seat belts 3- roll bar 4- custom made dash all to original size 5- autometer carbon fiber gauges 6- authentic Ferrari steering wheel with center cap 7- custom made recreation shift cap to original design 8- key and push button start/LED switches on dash 9- custom interior to winning bidder 10- chrome fire extinguisher 11- custom lined doors with hydrolic locking system Engine and Transmission: 1- Chevy 350/312 hp 2- custom designed motor mouns 3- Ferrari red painted engine block 4- all chrome accessories 5- freshly painted engine compartment and undercarriage 6- custom installed radiator 7- T5 transmission 8- R200 rear end 9- Borla exhaust tips PLEASE NOTE THAT THE PICTURE OF THE INTERIOR IS OF AN ACTUAL 250 GTO AND IS ONLY AN EXAPLE OF WHAT I CAN DO. On a final note I would like to point out that this vehicle is nothing like the average cheesy kit car. Most other replicas do not come as complete as mine, they usually have 240Z interiors, the wrong back and front ends, wrong rims, tires etc.. This car is a real head turner and will be a great vehicle for someones collection, only it won't cost you 15 million dollars! Special thanks to Tom, formally the owner of Scorpion Z Cars. The man is a superb auto judge, extreamly knowlegable and over-all awesome human being. Many more pictures available!!!!!!!! Please email me at polopayk@hotmail.com thanks and bid with confidence."

Well looks like the seller is Tom, but it's not Scorpion body though - nose is a stretched Alpha1, note the large openings in front (grille, 3 cooling inlets, and brake cooling inlets) and the cowl panel where the wipers are. Pretty sure rear clip is a hybrid of Tom's taillight area/ spoiler and trunk kit with Alpha1 rear fenders. It may not be his taillight section though as it seems to me Tom's taillight section looked more accurate though. This car was listed maybe two years ago incomplete (but painted) nice to see it's closer to finished I like some of the interior touches quite a bit too I saved the auction page a couple years ago - will see if I can find it. Maybe he bought it when it was listed before and finished it. If so then I guess technically it is a Scorpionz car.. lol..

LOL< no no, please don't shush.. I posted here because I like getting input. Easy to imagine that guy has 50 in it.. it's easy to get in deep.. far too easy.. that's why I tend to not save a lot of the receipts, if I knew exactly how much we spent I'd be scared to drive it

Yeah I talked to them at Carlisle, those are nice, we got a set for the Lambo, for V12 I like the TWM throttle bodies.. Chelle

well with 2/3rds tube chassis the rear struts I'd probably leave as is, config. I keep looking at a later Vette rear suspension, even without using the rear mounted transmission the amount of cutting back there would pretty much necessitate going full tube chassis. problem is the cars are so narrow that most unequal length A-arm setups will need to have the mounting points moved inboard a lot, and not leave a lot of room for what goes in between.. up front right now everything barely fits between the stock frame rails, they are 25" apart, for a 53" track that only leaves 28"/2... so 14" on each side of the engine for the A-arms, mounts, and the distance from the ball joints to the flange.. not many are going to end up that narrow. The struts on it now leave enough room, as would a narrow setup mustang II inspired setup.. Con Brio, yeah, they are never ever done. I hafta make this one better, whether we keep it or sell it, keep it and I'll be lamenting things I want to work better, sell it and I'll have to fix those same things rather than have my name associated with something I feel isn't ready..

well, I wouldn't say it's exact... but it is pretty impressive, he widened a McBurnie nose, and has done a lot right. I have been following his buildup..I have thought a lot about using the Vette rear suspension and transaxle, problem is the thing goes awful far forward, with the front of the transaxle being right about at my hips if the seats were the right distance in forward they would need to be more than a foot apart. Plus the width hub to hub is a lot wider than a real GTO. An original GTO has a 53" track in rear and 53.1" rear. Which is super close to the Z, A C5 Vette is I think 62" Maybe I look at a Porsche transaxle... I need to make some decisions soon I spose.. Those intakes for the early engines are around, the set of carbs are what is insane money.. saw a set recently for $10,000, without the intakes. re the new engines, I know, bought one recently, saving for my ground up car, don't want to give up the strong running BMW 12 in the car now..

lol, well I don't want to get into manufacturing engines, or supporting China's economy. I did think of buying a kirkham chassis as a starting point, or maybe the suspension bits from a daytona coupe replica, problem with that is if I kick the butt of some cobras at run and gun they'll just say only reason it ran well was it was basically a cobra chassis.. no thanks. I can build a full chassis but think I'm gonna do the front 2/3rds tube chassis for this car to make it right, and sometime down the road do a complete one from the ground up, I just have to settle on suspension bits.. like do I do the rear 100% AZC and the front do I use vette stuff, AZC, or mustang II style.. and I want to make the aluminum body pieces this winter. Gonna buy an english wheel this weekend see how much damage I can do to a sheet of aluminum

With a half full gas tank ours weighs 2250 lbs, but engine is aluminum, and lots of stuff has been removed or changed to aluminum. I'm in a bit of a quandary at the moment as I've begun the preparation for winter modifications and can't decide how extreme to go. I'm planning on redoing the chassis to make it safer and better. This means going to round tube and lots of suspension mods. I want it lower, especially in the front, and stronger as well as more capable. Also want to replace a few panels with aluminum. I am stuggling to decide, should we sell this one (in the current weird market, either will go for a lot, because of the weak dollar, or for not enough because of weak worldwide economy) and build another the way I now want to, or do I cut this one apart and make it better. If I start fresh I know how I'll build it. If I cut into this one (which is more than likely what will happen) I can't decide how extreme to take it. I may go all the way with new front and rear suspension and a full tube frame, or cut out the floor and everything forward of the firewall and just make it tube chassis on the front two-thirds. Either way the resulting frame will be a lot stronger, so then I'm either putting Arizona Z car strut assemblies on all 4 corners or switching the front suspension to something else like mustang II style or new corvette pieces. The car is fun as it is, but I want it to be more. Regardless what I do to the chassis I am going to make the trunk lid and hood out of aluminum this winter. Depending on my time and patience we may do the doors too. That's a lot bigger job though so who knows, maybe I just re skin them.. Your thoughts? would you sell and start over, or modify the existing? And would you, if the opportunity presented, when switching to a tube frame arrangement use z car derived struts or switch to A-arms and coilovers? The cost is close enough to being the same either way to really make this a difficult choice. On the front it's $3000+ for the AZC stuff and that's in the same price range as a tubular A-Arm setup with big brakes. Even a Vette setup is about the same after buying and modifying one to work.. The body stuff I'm doing either way as I want it to look more accurate and the aluminum panels will resolve some fit issues and make for much better looking gaps in the panel openings.

welcome and congrats on taking the plunge And thanks for the kind words on our toy Personally I prefer mixing and matching, with a little bit of making a few pieces yourself. Next time, or maybe on the current car I'm going to make the hood, trunk lid, doorskins, and rockers out of aluminum.. it will make for a lot more consistent fit best of luck! Chelle

Nice to see another RHD GTO repl and another unusual engine choice, congrats on a wonderfully interesting build!

looks great ConBrio! I'm curious about the wrapping on the exhaust. I just used header wrap close to the rear and fuel pump however over the winter I hope to redo everything under the car. The header wrap does seem to do the job keeping the heat back Maichor, what size rear tires are those? they look to really fill out the rear fenders! Sorry I don't post much anymore, no time with the work I'm doing these days

Con Brio, we will want a few items as well please let me know when you are ready to take orders. Sorry to those who were looking for me - I left Northrop Grumman and took some contract work that kept me away a bit. and wow - 500 posts.. Glad Speed posted #500, his pics inspired me to clean up ours.. I still wish our rear tires filled the wheel opening as nicely as his.. Stagger Lee, nice of you to say thanks for that, it feels nice to know I'm not a bad influence Chelle

NICE work guys! our Lambo has the radiator angled forward and is ducted to flow out through the front bonnet like some of you have and it has never seemed to get light in the front at speed. I never understood why they didn't keep the vents in the hood on the later cars.

Yeah well, the shop that made that was able to invoice the customer $600,000. For that money it had better be nice. Also they would argue it's not a replica, as they "don't do replicas". they said it's inspired by the 59 TR and Birdcage. Certainly it is a nice car but after reading the article about it in Robb Report and speaking with some of the people who supplied the parts I have other issues with the builders. They certainly are getting every bit of press they can out of it though. They issued press releases and it has been covered in magazines from the Robb Report to Maxim. John sorry I have been AWOL a while - left my job and have been unavailable on a contract. I will try and reply in a more timely manner. I'll have to measure he trans and driveshaft next time I get it up on a lift but I think the driveshaft is about 2 feet and the trans maybe 2 1/2 feet... just an estimate seems like it was about the same length as the engine. Chelle

well, least it wasn't a connecting rod pushrod is a quick repair! (assuming you mean a bent one an no valve damage)

Congrats!!! can't wait to see it!

I forgot to add to that in cost when using the BMW Getrag, the shifter pieces (can't buy assembly at dealer, you have to buy each piece separately), plus clutch, pressure plate, T/O bearing, and flywheel, even getting trade prices using the stock parts you can easily add more than $2500 to the cost. If you go with aftermarket pieces like we did you'll double that at the lowest. It can get scary expensive fast. With used parts or a salvage car though you can do it cheap, it's just hard to come by the 6 speed in a parts car. I know of one in Albany NY and they want $3750 for the trans (includes a $500 core charge)

Bart, Did you ever see the insane Opel GT with Allison V12? there are very few pictures of it and I fear when the builder sold it on ebay someone may have torn it apart for the engine Actually it was more like someone bolted the front 2/3rds of an opel to the front of an Allison V12. There was no firewall and the front of the engine was about 5" behind the drivers seat. I'll see if I can find some pics of it, when the car was auctioned a few years ago I saved the pics from the auction Goldfish, the stock oiling system is great, the only problem is it makes the whole thing a lot taller. Even with a custom crossmember it's hard to get it to sit low enough to go in a low car like the z-cars. If you just raise it up you'll need a bump in the hood shaped like a big box to have room The Lambo replicas can get by without a dry sump because at the back those cars are high enough to clear. Personally I prefer keeping the whole assembly as low as possible for the lowered center of gravity

I'll call him monday John, an nope - I should have bought it already, but I needed to modify the firewall to install it though as the left head is actually behind part of the firewall. That is finally done so now there's room to install an ITB setup. Do you know if the setup on the "Sport Speciale" came from Henry? I'm referring to the car pictured below. It uses a single fuel rail down the middle like Henry's. I have also seen one using TWM throttle bodies with a fuel rail along each side and someone was trying to convince me to use 6 of the TWM's that look like the old 2 barrel webers, but that will require a lot of fabrication to get the intakes right Chelle http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2008/02/ferrari-aston-martin-maserati-inspired.html