Thread: C5 gto
View Single Post
  #1  
Old 12-12-2010, 01:20 PM
heinke's Avatar
heinke heinke is offline
MetalShaper of the Month Jan 2018
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Prescott, AZ
Posts: 487
Default C5 gto

This is a build story about a car I refer to as a “C5 GTO”. It’s a hand built replica (sort of) of a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO. If you’re not familiar with the GTO, here’s a picture of one while I was making templates and taking measurements. While GTO’s are rare (only 39 ever built) and quite expensive, this GTO is still used actively in vintage car races and the rear axle was out for repairs when this picture was taken.





What’s the C5 part you ask? I’ve made extensive use of 5th generation, C5 Corvette parts in building this car. I sourced the engine, transaxle, suspension, steering, and brakes from Corvettes of model year 1998 through 2004.


The reason I say it’s sort of a replica is that in addition to the C5 internal parts, I also had to re-style the body shape to account for a difference in track width of 6 inches. I wanted to use the complete unitized front and rear Corvette suspensions so the track width couldn’t be narrowed. The wheel base is same as original but the C5 GTO is wider. I personally think the ’62 GTO is one of the best styled car bodies ever made, so my basic challenge was to not “screw it up” while making the body 6 inches wider. The most succinct description I’ve heard on the visual difference is that the C5 GTO looks like a real GTO that’s on steroids. I use a picture of the C5 GTO as my avatar if you are wondering what it looks like.


I’ve been working on this project for about 9 years now. If this is the first time you’ve heard of it, I’m starting the story in this thread not from the beginning but somewhere in the middle. If you have an interest in kit cars, you might have read about the C5 GTO in either Kit Car Illustrated or Kit Car magazines. Word got out to a magazine editor when I decided to do the project and they convinced me to write a recurring build article which I called, “Last Chance Garage”. I’m not a car building professional or professional writer but just a car guy who likes cars not made in a factory. I won’t repeat here what I wrote in those articles but if you’re interested, here’s some links to a few of the magazine articles that just happen to still be on the web:




In this final article I explain more about what I am trying achieve with the C5 GTO project. I never received any reader response as the magazine just happened to print this article in the last edition of the magazine before they went bankrupt. So if you have an opinion to the questions I ask and want to voice it, feel free to send it to me in a private message. I don’t want to side track this thread but I’d love to hear what people think.



If you read any of the above articles, you probably figured out I elected to build the C5 GTO body out of fiberglass. That’s a decision that may have been different if made now that I’ve become very interested in metal shaping but never the less it’s water under the bridge. I didn’t know anything about metal shaping at the time so it seemed like the best alternative. I have been thinking about remaking the doors, hood, and trunk in aluminum but that’s another decision for later. What I plan to post in this thread is information about the metal shaping I am doing on the car.
__________________
Joel Heinke
Be original; don't be afraid of being bold!
Reply With Quote