1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Replicar
I consider it quite an honor that my car was selected as the “Showoff of the Week” and I would like to thank all of you who voted for it. Of course I would also like to that thank CarDomain for making the final selection.
This is my 1971 Datsun 240Z based 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO replicar.
The 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO is famous for quite a few reasons. It was the last front engine race car Ferrari ever made and, due to its unique design, it is one of the most recognized cars in the world. It was also the last race car Ferrari built that you could actually drive on the road but it was truly designed for racing and won the World Championship three years in a row, 1962, 1963 and 1964. A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO also holds the record for the most expensive car ever sold. A few years ago, one was auctioned at Sotheby’s in England to a Japanese gentleman for $14.6 million. Part of the reason for the high price is that Ferrari only built thirty nine GTO's. Ferrari built thirty three 250 GTO's, three 330 GTO's and three 1964 GTO's.
The Ferrari 250 GTO is also famous for starting a trend here in the U. S. – Detroit Muscle Cars. The head of Pontiac, John Z. DeLorean, was looking for a way to increase sales of Pontiac’s compact car, the Tempest. During a trip to Italy he saw his first Ferrari GTO and got the idea to put Pontiac’s large V8 and big tires on the Tempest - creating the now famous Pontiac GTO.
By the way, GTO stands for "Gran Turismo Omologato." Omologato is the Italian word for "Homologation" which means that the car was classified by the FIA for GT competition. And the "250" stands for the number of CC's (Cubic Centimeters) displacement of each cylinder.
The car shown here was made from a kit that was originally designed by Barry Goldstein of Eagle Manufacturing and sold by Joe Alphabet as an Alpha 1 GTO. I originally purchased this kit from Joe at his Alpha 1 Engineering shop in Huntington Beach, California. The body installs on a Datsun 240Z to 280Z (except 2+2) so a rust free 1971 240Z was selected as the donor. The ’71 was preferred because it was prior to the bumper laws and would not have to go through the trouble of lowering it.
The real 250 GTO had Colombo designed 300HP V12 with six 2bbl Weber carbs. – one barrel for each cylinder! The cost of a Ferrari V12 was way outside of my budget but a 1965 327 Corvette motor wasn’t. The blueprinted 365 HP 327 SBC, has 64cc Trick Flow 23 degree aluminum heads, 1.5:1 aluminum roller rockers, new (but stock) 365HP solid lifter cam, .030 over 10.5:1 forged pistons and ceramic coated Hooker "Block Hugger" headers. The dual exhaust uses two 31” stainless steel glass packs with “Ansa” dual tipped outlets in the back. To save weight there is a Summit gear drive starter and aluminum water pump plus a Chevy 16lb nodular iron flywheel with a Hayes competition clutch. It’s topped off with a Tri-power setup that has 3 Rochester 2 bbl. carburetors sitting on a vintage single plane Corvette Offenhauser manifold.
The engine is bolted to a Camaro T-5 and installed using the “Jags that Run” (JTR) conversion method. A 1984 and later Corvette bell housing was used along with a 7/8” bore Wilwood (Tilton) master cylinder through a braided stainless steel line to the stock Corvette slave cylinder. Behind the T-5 transmission is a custom-made 19.25” driveshaft, which goes to a R200 LSD 3:70.1 rear axle.
To keep it cool there is a custom Griffin 25” x 19” aluminum radiator and a pusher type 1980-CFM electric fan out in front of it.
The entire car was rewired using an 18-circuit “Painless Wiring” kit and all the marker lights are real Ferrari units. A Ferrari GTO type dashboard was installed with custom Stewart Warner 5” speedometer and tachometer. Except for the dash and the Nardi wheel, the rest of the interior is all stock but almost every piece is brand new. Of course, the custom mats have the Ferrari shield on them and the horn button, as well as the gearshift knob, are genuine Ferrari parts.
The custom made Dayton real knock-off 72 spoke stainless steel wire wheels are 15x8” and 15x10" in the rear with the rear wheels having quite an offset. The “knock-off” spinners have had the Ferrari horse engraved into them. Dunlop P205R70’s were installed up front and P225R70’s on the rear. The rest of the suspension is stock except for the usual “trick” pieces, polyurethane bushings, Eibach springs and Tokico struts. Stopping power is provided by using Toyota 4 piston brake calipers on the front with a later model Z 15/16” master cylinder.
The car is painted Ferrari red using PPG Durathane Ultra without clear coat. After it was painted, all new weather-stripping was installed as well as a new front windshield and rear window. It has a full set of Ferrari emblems on the car as well as replica hood hold-downs and leather belts.
The car always draws a crowd and has managed to win many trophies in the local car shows making it worth all the hours and money it took me to build it.
It doesn't look like it but it's powered by a 365 HP 327 Chevy connected to a Camaro T-5 transmission. The engine is bored .030 over and upgraded with Trick Flow aluminum heads, Tri-Power carbs., MSD igniton and Hooker headers.
Another view of the engine compartment showing the custom Griffin aluminum radiator and electric fan.
Custom GTO type dash with large custom Stewart Warner gages, Nardi GTO steering wheel and Ferrari shift knob.
Right rear view showing racing type fuel filler cap, dual ANSA exhaust and 72 spoke 15" X 8" Dayton real knock-off wire wheels which are also replica's of the original GTO wheels.
This picture was taken at Meadow Brook Hall the site of the world famous Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance.
Another shot taken at the entrance to Meadow Brook hall.
Side view in front of Meadow Brook hall.
The final assembly of the 327 Chevy with the three 2BBL carbs., roller rockers and "block hugger" Hooker headers.
Engine and Tri-Power as seen from the drivers side.
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