The last 250 GTO believed to be auctioned off was through World Classic Auctions, in Las Vegas in 1991. The total came up to $5.5 million. A legend states that a 250 GTO exchanged hands to a Japanese collector for approximately $15 million.
I created this site to not only document build progress but also as a resource for anyone interested in embarking on such a project. Please feel free to contact me with questions you have.. I would love your feedback and insights. Email Eric
In 2003 my friend Sam and I decided that we wanted to build a Ferrari GTO replica convertable. We looked around at different kits available but we were not fully satisfied by there design and craftmenship. So we decided to take some ferrari GTO fiberglass body molds and alter them to get the design we wanted.
I am standing in front of my father's GTO he made 15 yrs ago. He created molds off of an alpha kit then modified the hood and doors. We found his old molds and started making our own body pieces. The molds are seen in brown in the backgound laying on the grass.
We wanted to make a convertable that had matching curvature on the rear tub unlike some kits for sale that square off the rear wheel curvature.
I also noticed that the front end of the fiberglass body had a lot of incorrect features including a square nose, large circular openings, missing underside scoops and poorly shaped top air scoops. Along the way I decided to make a GTO replica dash with removable Nacelle, replica chrome hood pins, plexi clear hood air scoops and retro fit an LS1 V8 with a six-speed transmission.
Mold and Part Making
The first thing Sam and I did was to make fiberglass body parts from the existing molds available to us. Here are the original molds laying on the Datsun uni-body, pretty rough! They comprise the nose and rear tub. When Sam and I started with these molds they were in very poor condition. It took some time and effort but we were able to get them cleaned up and straightened out.
Above right: Me pictured with the front fiberglass section. This section took a lot of time and patience to get right,
Dash. Using urethane foam to sculpt the shape, I created a buck. From this buck I created this two part dash mold. The center Nacelle was a separate two piece mold using the same method.
Using CAD software I am able to create 2D drawings with accuarte shapes and symmetry as well as allow for easy manipulation and scaling.
Nacelle Part
Here on the right us a picture of the removable Nacelle. I wanted to simulate the original design. This bolts directly into the dash. The holes for the steering column, lights and gauges still need to be cut. The face plate is also removable.
The most challenging mold to create was the rear tub top fender wells and trunk section as shown below. We stared with the hardtop fiberglass body pieces then cut them down to size. From there we used bondo, fiberglass, and wood to shape the buck. It was a painstaking process that required a lot of patience and skill. Thankfully Sam and I had my father Van there to coach us along,
One mold not shown is the hood mold. Van made a custom hood years ago, but did not have the mold. I believe it burned up in a fire. So to get the mold I had to wax his newly painted GTO replica and roll on some fiberglass to make a mold. Fortunately the paint held up pretty good.
Picture showing rear tub section piece.
To the left shows the front body piece.
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