250 GTO - the enemy within!

[boxhead]

I am not sure, but what state did you say your in? As that will make a difference with what you need to do to register vehicle.

Love teh build pics.
I would also be more than happy to see and watch your progress.

[suthol]

Originally Posted by PeterAllen

Dave - I went through all those Nissan diff options but I settled on the Holden for parts supply reasons. There were issues with the Nissan CVs.

The RTA has been telling me they will adopt the NCOP "soon" for the past 5 years. Actually it's easier for me me under NCOP but it passes the present RTA standards anyway (eng capacity, etc). My engineer has classified it as a modified and not an ICV and has allocated me a certification number. He tells me all I have to do is meet the requirement of that date, i.e. last September. Can people comfirm that is the case?

I hope to have it finished in 18-24 months, but I said that 3 years ago!

Some general project photos for those interested.

No worries Pete, I have been told by someone on their side of the fence that it will be this year and to get my car in the system ASAP which I have done by way of blue slip and request for Vehicle Identification Form.

The fact that I have been driving on UVP since late 2009 doesn't back date me to that time.

Looking at the pics of the car out the front of the garage I have a pretty fair idea of where you are. Not far from some corner shops and a soccer / cricket field that fronts the river

[PeterAllen]

[quote=suthol;1138874]... Not far from some corner shops and a soccer / cricket field that fronts the river...QUOTE]

Dave - That could be 90% of homes in The Shire.

Here is something that I covered in a Custom Kitcar article but might be of interest here: The Ferrari speedo and tacho cost a small fortune so I got a couple of second-hand Smiths gauges from a Jag wrecker and simply removed the dials and scanned them on the computer. Using plain old MS Word I made up Veglia (Ferrari) faces and stuck them on thin metal dial plates to replace the Jag faces.

There is a chap in the US who installs LSx motors into old Jags and he sells interface modules that wire up to the Smiths gauges.

Jaguar Specialties

[Gav]

They look great, it is amazing how the right gauges complete the look you are after

[Donunder]

Originally Posted by PeterAllen

My obsession is so bad I'm off to Pebble Beach next month for the Concours as there will be over 20 of the 36 GTOs ever made on display. I've never seen one in the flesh.

Now that is dedication. Pebble Beach is right up there on the drool-factor scale with the Goodwood Revival. Both are on my bucket list in positions One and Two.

I wonder if one of the well heeled GTO owners would be prepared to provide you with a set of those gorgeous Borranis for the right price?

[PeterAllen]

Don

I was planning the Goodwood Revival next year to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the 250 GTO, hoping there would be a few there, but then I discovered that Pebble Beach is celebrating the 50 anniversary 49 years after the car first made it's appearance - a bit like 'News of the World', never let the facts stand in the way of a good story. Anyway, Pebble Beach and Laguna Seca it is this year and I'll see what happens then.

I bought my Dayton (Borrani look-a-likes) a few years backs at $0.61 US exchange and I've been crying over the price ever since. I am very pleased with the wheel though and I've machined the knock-off caps to a Borrani profile and I'm having the Borrani logo engraved on them.

[boxhead]

I was at Goodwood in 2009, took these pics in the pits.






I still think these are prettier

[Bartruff1]

Thanks for sharing....when you get it finished, I will trade you my Superformance for it.....

[PeterAllen]

Update: In the last few months the project has gone backwards to go forward. Coming back to earth after seeing all those GTOs at Pebble Beach and Laguna Seca I happened upon a body kit on eBay. It was no ordinary kit but a ‘Puckett’. Californian Charlie Puckett built very few of what is regarded as the crème de la crème of GTO kits and to find one in Oz was absolutely amazing. In the last 5 seconds I bid my life’s saving on it but thankfully got it at a very good price. That’s the good news.

The downside is that while it was never fitted to a car some clown had cut it up in an attempt to make a Spyder out of a Berlinetta kit. I have been trying to locate the parts in their correct positions and re-fibreglass them into a single rear section. Unfortunately all the work undertaken on my original body kit has now been time wasted but I'm hopeful the finished product will wipe away all that.

This kit has the option to stretch the wheelbase the 100mm needed to match an actual GTO. It’s fairly straight forward really; you move the front cross-member 100mm and then unpick the front shock towers (spot weld remover) and re-weld them 100mm forward. A little cutting and patching of the inner guards is required but no big deal. As exciting as that sounds I’m not doing it at this stage as I’ve already seam welded the towers and it would probably mean taking the project from a simple re-bodied approval to ICV.

About the only issue remaining with the body is the higher waistline but I’m still working on new doors and sills to help address this.

The Spyder in the photo is a long-wheelbase Puckett.

[HealeyRick]

A well done replica can even fool an expert: Update: Ferrari 250 GTO Revealed as a Z? | The Smoking Tire

[PeterAllen]

Originally Posted by HealeyRick

A well done replica can even fool an expert:...

I think you mean a self-titled expert!

I don't pretend my car is a replica in any way, except perhaps overall appearance. It's merely a way of spending a lot of money and enjoying doing it.

[LJ47]

The sixtys when cars had style. Keep up the good work Peter we done.
LJ

[Gav]

Well done, it looks fantastic.

[Marco_S]

Ferrari 250 GTO is now considered as the world's most expensive car. And I was shocked when I read the news as its price has multiplied ten times since 1996. A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO has set a private sale record price for a vehicle, reports Bloomberg. A U.S. collector paid $35 million for the Ferrari. More information here: 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sells for record $35 million.

[PeterAllen]

Untimely health issues have brought a temporary halt to major work on the project but I am tinkering with a few bling items. I know some of you enjoy seeing photos of fabrication techniques so here are the headlight trims being made. Unfortunately the last photo (next post) is not my car.

[PeterAllen]

Some careful hand trimming and they are ready to install.

[Aussie Mike]

Nice work their Peter. I had always wondered how they made those headlight surrounds.

Cheers

[PeterAllen]

Can radiator hose be used as fuel filler hose? I am routing the fuel filler out behind the numberplate and all the donor car bits can be used except the filler hose. Can I just use radiator hose?

[grybrd123]

Radiator hose will be eaten by oil and gas. Don't try it!!!!!!

Get fuel filler hose instead. If you look through the catalogs you may even be able to find a molded piece that will work.

Cheers!

[PeterAllen]

I thought as much but sometimes my brain doesn't function all that well!

This should do the trick and being flexible will make installation so much simpler.

- Motorsport Connections