cannonball 2015 Cannonball 2015 build Ferrari 250 GTO 11/18/15 Done!

[Foxer]

I don't like that my build posts get lost in the huge Cannonball Community Build thread , so I'm doing what others have done and start a separate thread for the build ... more for my own ability to find it! These will be duplicates of posts made in the Cannonball thread and most likely more photos here.

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This follows the rules set for this Sleeperball Cannonball Run:

1. Take a car that is not normally considered fast. Make it fast without altering its appearance that might let on that it's fast.

2. If the car IS normally thought of as fast, it should be in such poor condition/appearance, that no one would give it a second glance.

There is no limit on, year/make or model, as long as it meets the above criteria.

The subject must appear to NOT be capable of running such a race. Sky is the limit on imagination. HOWEVER this time we won't be limited the parts used on the racer to this year, so feel free to use those modern drivetrains and rolling stock.

 

Monogram Ferrari 250 GTO

OK .. I'm committing to a group build .. I have trouble finishing any of these I start, but I have trouble finishing any build I start! I'm going to really try to get this one in the race.

(please note that this story is pure conjecture and imagination based loosely on fact)

This is the one out of 39 Ferrari 250 GTO's that has disappeared since it was rumored to have been sold in 2014 for $39 million. It was owned by the Violati family since 1965 and , again per rumors, to have resided in an old wine brewery in northern Italy. Found by Ricardo Violati who used the barn to house his wrecked Lamborgini's and newer Ferraris from his father after his drunken rides through the Itialian alps. Ricardo had no respect for the value of money. He was handed anything he desired by his wealthy family and cast all aside as he was given new toys. He also had no respect for the great engineering that created the automobiles that he so carlessly abused and cast aside. Yes, Ricardo was a spoiled rich kid.
Despite his disrespect for the automobile, his favorite movie was " Cannonball Run", not for the excitement of the various vehicles but for the way they were abused. On reading of a new Cannonball Run for 2015 he decided he HAD to participate in this American tradition and "show those amatures how to drive!". Reading rule two ...If the car IS normally thought of as fast, it should be in such poor condition/appearance, that no one would give it a second glance .. he decided he had many cars to chose from.
He ricochetedoff the the Alps to his winery cache and chose the missing 250 GTO he spent a night polishing the seat with the acidic heaving of his stomach. The winery rats had had their way with the seats and the leaking winery roof took it's toll on the body. The smashed right front fender he crushed on that last night could be replaced easily with a replica. Mysteriously one of the wire wheels was missing ... he wondered if it might have been that bothersome guy trying to buy this derelict. It would be cool to see a set of American mags on the GTO anyway ... nice fat ones in back! The rest could be fixed with duct tape and paint from the local ValMart.

This model is a glue bomb from an ebay jumk pile of sports cars I got for a Porsche 944 build. It had virtually no paint, other than the oddly used black in body panels. The builder had troubles applying the tube glue effectivly as it was sparce in some places and way over glued in others. The glue could be plainly seen everywhere. Looking at the car cloesly I could see why the Monogram Ferrari 250 GTO was released by many companies .. it is a very nice kit for it's age and nicely detailed.

So, I threw it in the freezer to see if it could be taken apart. It all reverted to it's "natural" stay pretty well .. many broken locator pins, but they are easily replaced. The only piece that remains stubborn is the glass ... it refuses to budge loose. I started to just grind it out but it still won't come loose. I may just leave it and mask off for painting.

No box art but here's the starting condition and what I've done to date ..

and now ..

 

Edited July 11, 2017 by Foxer

[Foxer]

Ricardo has removed the body from frame and sprayed it with red primer. Odds are it's going to stay like this for the Run. This guy has NO taste! The local Ferrari afficondos are screaming "SACRILEGO!"  Ricardo just laughs and throws the makeshift fuel tank into the trunk for a test fit.

 

The body was primed to check areas needing more bodywork .. or distressing. Been studying aluminum corrosion. There was a leaking wine vat above it during all these years in storage. Most of the other parts have been cleaned up too.

I started fabricating a fuel tank for extra capacity to put in the trunk, but. and knowing better, started it while the body was wet and inaccessible for fitting. My imagination went wild and the result wouldn't fit with the body .. no way-no how.

So I spent another half day cutting it down and now it fits.

I found a set of American style mags and tires for the rear to replace the missing Ferrari wheel .. pics next time maybe.

Edited July 11, 2017 by Foxer

[Foxer]

Rating himself as an "excellent" welder, Ricardo fired up the torch and laid down a weld that, if nothing else, sealed the aluminum fuel tank against leaks, if not a nuclear explosion of the engine.

 

I can't wait to spray some aluminum paint on this! This afternoon after washing and drying.

Ricardo says 'of course' when his "excellent" welds passed the leak test and can now be mounted in the trunk. That thirsty V12 will he happy too!

 

Edited July 11, 2017 by Foxer

[Ira]

Great Project!

[Foxer]

Ferrari 250 GTO

 

Ricardo found a pair of mag wheels to fit the back where he was missing an original wheel. Now he could slip the wheels on to see how the clearances were.

 

Up on wheels! Oh, the Ferrari people are going to groan!

Edited July 11, 2017 by Foxer

[Foxer]

Ferrari 250 GTO

 

The plastic hinges have been replaced with "standard" brass ones. I really like how well the hood fits on this.

I decided to try some ferrules to replace the thick kit intake pipes after some suggestions on a thread here. I was able to order some in the exact size of the largest and smallest diameters of the kit ones but they will have to be shortened. I'm debating how I will do this as they are very thin, but they look more realistic than the kit ones. I think I'll have to flatten the bell which seems to have been done on the 1:1 according to photos online.

I did use the knife to cut the ferrules and it worked beautifully. Being "crushable" they must be softer metal than I had assumed ... thanks again guys for kicking me in the butt to do this. I never was a fan of cutting tube this way.

Edited July 11, 2017 by Foxer

[Foxer]

The ferrule intake tubes are in and not the best work but they will do. One thing I did that could have been left was file the flange where the tubes almost touch .. the 1:1 has this done and it is very obvious. The copper color is showing through now. May do a little silver touch up. I really didn't have to do this with the small flanges.

Edited July 11, 2017 by Foxer

[Foxer]

Ricardo sent the engine to Ferrari to be rebuilt and he wanted a Hot Rod bore and stroke. Ferrari replied that they didn't know what 'Hot Rod' meant and they don't change engine specifications. So he had the engine shipped to his friend Luigi Marioski who was fired from Ferrari after getting caught selling Ferrari Badges on ebay. He told Luigi to get him 100 more horsepower from the engine no matter what the cost or modification, as long as the modifications didn't show externally. We won't go into WHAT Luigi did.

 

The engine is coming together slowly as it gets painted. The distributors have three .04 square strips added to the top for the coil and 2 ignition wires with the other four drilled below. The will pass through the black tube on the valve cover to the plugs between the header pipes. I'm going to use yellow wires .. something else Ferrari refused to do.

What a rats nest of wires! I had one yellow wire and have a half inch left over after these .. whew! The ones out of the distributor all go into the end of the tube on the valve cover. The plug wires go into holes spaced along the side of the tube. I'm glad now I went with the yellow wires.

 

Edited July 11, 2017 by Foxer

[bobthehobbyguy]

Great start. Love the back story that goes with it. Keep up the good work.

[Foxer]

The Ferrari went to mock up stage this morning to figure what's next. Engine is wired and wheels are painted aluminum and fit well. It looks like the hood hinges need adjustment to clear the fan belt .. hopefully just some bending of the hoops. Everything needs washing and aging and decades of neglect and miss use. I wish this was a steel body car so I could rust up to show some signs of neglect. The aluminum body is going to be tough to abuse ... maybe a story of replacement steel fenders, nut there seem to be no body seams on this car!

[Foxer]

Ricardo has commenced reassembling the GTO in the Winery barn after receiving the rebuilt engine from his friend Luigi.

The chassis is going together well considering the shape it was at the start. Everything has been test fitted and I'm putting it back together following the instructions I found online. Everything will get dirty and greasy at the end.

 

 

 

[Foxer]

The engine, chassis and interior are done except for a little paint touch ups noticed in these photos.

 

 

The body needed some rust, but being aluminum I decided to try some corrosion on an unpainted door. It's not perfect but I think it will do. I used flat aluminum first on the door them some steel dabbed around. Some very light grey in lower corroded areas with some actual dirt dropped on the wet pain. Finally some flat white dry brushed on the grey.

What does everyone think of the look?

Edited July 29, 2015 by Foxer

[Brizio]

Looking good.

[cobraman]

Recardo is doing a fine job here. : )

[slusher]

Real nice work...

[Foxer]

Recardo is doing a fine job here. : )

Recarrdo says, grazie

[Jantrix]

I'm diggin it. 

[MeatMan]

Nice work.  

[vintagercr]

Nice work on the door!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Loving the build and the story

embarrasingly I googled the Violati family at the start of the thread to see who Ricardo was and the history of the car....don't tell anyone

[Foxer]

Loving the build and the story

embarrasingly I googled the Violati family at the start of the thread to see who Ricardo was and the history of the car....don't tell anyone

Do not be embarrassed ... the Violati family is for real and they own the one missing 250 GTO. Just Ricardo is a figment of my imagination .. ehhe.

Here's a link to this Ferarri with the Violati's mentioned

Edited August 1, 2015 by Foxer

[Foxer]

wow .. first test fit of body to chassis and with the window tape off since the beginning! There's an interference with the hood hinge and the fan belt ... just going to cut the belt as it will be very unnoticeable in the end. The body isn't tight down but looks good with a slight 'press down". I'm pretty happy with how it fits with all the mods I did after disassembling. The body paint needs some touch up behind the driver's door ... my fingers picked up some metallic paint somewhere .. that's not the door paint.

[TFchronos]

Awesome build and story.

[Foxer]

The Ferrari chassis and interior are done. Just another taillight to cast as there only 4 lights from this glue bomb that are passable. Have to come up with replacement front turn signal lenses too.

[Foxer]

Just a few "instrumentation" to add to the interior .. a Garmin Nav System, an Iphone. The front side marker lights I had to make from an aluminum tube and Bondic casted lenses. The dash in background is from my TR4A build .. added the radio and keyhole.