We love hearing from our readers. Especially when they send us one of a kind replicas that they have single handedly put together and engineered themselves at home! But what we respect more about Michelle and Haley is that they aren’t those kind of people that create a replica and try to convince others that their creation is 100% accurate -even though we’re 110% sure that 9 out of 10 passers-by would mistake this replica for the real thing. The reason for that is the passion that went into creating this car. Michelle and Haley bought the 1977 Nissan 280Z based replica from eBay in 2001. At that point the car was essentially a 280Z with a Ferrari 250 GTO outfit as everything else remained stock. The two gear head gals drove the semi-replica for about 6 years up until last February when they decided to take action and turn the 250 GTO replica into something more desirable.
As Michelle noted on her email to us, “Every single body panel has been changed. Some of it began as Alpha1, Scorpionz and others, but all of it has been extensively modified by me”. And yes Michelle, we’re all impressed with the result! But these two didn’t stop with the body. Not only did they replace the original 6cylinder engine and the 5speed gearbox with a BMW V12 powerhouse combined with a 6speed Getrag gearbox, but they also converted the replica to RHD just to make it more special! However, since it’s their master creation, we'll let one of the builders, Michelle, give the full description. -Continued: Click “Read More…” below
Thanks for the email Michelle!
I thought you might like this one, It’s ours, and we built it at home. It’s a conglomeration of several kits and a lot of custom parts. I like to think of it as more of a street rod version of a 250 GTO than a replica per se as it’s not 100% accurate, it’s more the look and sound of a 250GTO racer, but with a full interior and more modern drivetrain, suspension, and brakes.
It began life as a 1977 280z. About 16 years ago a father and son turned it into a Ferrari GTO replica. They installed an Alpha1 kit but left the rest stock, 6 years ago Haley (my best friend and co-owner) and I got it on ebay. We drove it until last Feb when we decided to essentially change everything about it.
Every body panel has been changed. Some of it started as Alpha1, Scorpionz and others, but all of it has been extensively modified by me. We reduced the size of the hood opening. There are a lot of things on our car you don't see on any other GTO replicas. The vents in the rear 1/4 are metal and functional, the three openings below the grill are present, trap door on the nose between the hood and grill is there and functional.
The rear hatch was discarded and a trunk was fashioned. A rollbar and race seats were intalled, we converted it to right hand drive (just to be different) A custom dash fabricated. A rollbar was installed however we are contemplating a more solid cage. The wheelbase was stretched 4.25" and the firewall was recessed to make it better proportioned and to make room to lower and move back the engine to lower and move back the center of gravity.
Out went the 6 cylinder and 5 speed, in went a BMW V12 and Getrag 6 speed (think BMW 850csi). The engine has been converted to dry sump, manual Dellorto throttles, and has no distributors. Fuel and ignition is managed by an Electromotive Tec3r computer. The weight is about 2200lbs, and it’s RHD in
We have a lot more planned, like slightly larger rear wheels (currently 15x 10 knock off's) and bigger brakes all around. As with anything it is a work in progress.
PS:
Michelle also sent us videos of her and Haley’s creation but due to lack of time we’ll post it tomorrow
