another 288 gto conversion question, yea or ney

Jim Carpenter has converted various 308's into 288 gto "clones". Some were just cosmetic and some were a comprehensive package. They, I believe, are all Ferrari parts and components mechanically. I have only seen one in person and that one also had considerable input from Caribou as well, but it was beautifully crafted and very cool.
I know some would rule this out w/o a thought but I have always reallly liked the 288. There have not been any "real" ones for sale for quite some time and even if there were, I could not afford one(just being honest, although it hurts!!!
Just curious to hear some thoughts from the board.

 

John,
I've got two of Carpenter's cars for sale believe it or not and they are both 288 GTO recreations. Super, blazingly fast and built very well. Click below to take a look:
http://www.ronsusser.com/vehicles.asp?t=n&v=746
http://www.ronsusser.com/vehicles.asp?t=n&v=591

Both are built using a 308 chassis and one uses a twin turbocharged 308 motor and the other uses a twin turbo'ed 348 motor.

Tons of Ferrari fun for a reasonable price.
Feel free to give me a call to discuss either one at
630 567-0066
Ron
www.ronsusser.com

 

It is identical! Then how could I be able to know if it is a genuine GTO and not a replica?

 

One good way to tell is if they are for sale, the recreations will be priced under $100,000 in most cases and the real 288's will be priced $250,000 +.
Since these are expertly built using Ferrari chassis, Ferrari twin turbo motors and exact bodies, they are a pretty good deal for the money.

 

None of the Carpenter cars had the increased wheelbase of 110mm - the panels were very similar to the real GTOs and a few have the correct engine orientation. The nicest and most complete Carpenter car was recently sold on Ebay and shipped to Spain, it had been "redone" by Norwoods b/c of average workmanship. That car is very nice, sorted and very fast (600Hp). Norwood was really the only one that modified the chassis to reflect the correct - I think only a couple were built and they had the EXACT body panels that were molded off a real GTO, if you want to know how much they cost to make... just look at the price of a real 288 and that will give to a general idea.

 

At this very moment, Jim Carpenter has one of his GTO replicas available. I saw it at this year's Concourso Italiano, at first glance I thought it was real. then I recognized Jim, and realized it was one of his.

 

That's what I'm worried about. If I got to see one how could I be sure that it is a genuine one?

 

Its pretty obvious once you start digging around one of them.

I moved to AZ back when Jim was knocking them out in Tempe here. I heard about him and his shop and visited it quite a bit facinated with what he was doing. Think it was called "Cable Productions, Inc." then. I also had some business dealings with him that aren't relevant to the conversaion. Needless to say I was there alot. Enough to see alot of these cars made.

All the cars I saw had a 308 wheel base and not a real 288 GTO wheel base. That right there is a giveaway. I can't see how he used exact 288 panels when the cars he was building were 4" shorter. The wheels that I saw were replicas too as I remember.

The paint on the cars was actually pretty good. But remember back then Ferrari paint kinda stunk. Most the interiors seemed to look pretty good depending on what the customers wanted.

The real negative that I remember..and this is my opinion here..is that the mechanicals were dreadful. I heard stories and even saw Jim's own yellow "288" in action at the track...mostly sidelined in the pits.

As far as I remember the only real 288 GTO parts I saw on the cars were the badges and mirrors. Rumor had it FNA shut him down for copyright infringement but when I asked Jim about it years ago, he said that wasnt true.

 

288 is my favorite Ferrari as well, and I've thought about this recently too: it would be fun to pick up a 308 with cosmetic issues and a solid drivetrain, do the body conversion, put in new seats, wheels and paint it whatever color I want, and then drive the crap out of it without the worry of damaging a real 288.

Maybe a color like one of these:
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I agree. Visually, a converted 308 just doesn't have the right look and those 4 inches make a big difference. Plus the roofline isn't the same. But having a 288 clone has gotta be fun!


This GTO might still be for sale
http://adcache.exotic.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/exotic/7/9/80786179.htm
http://images.traderonline.com/img//img/10/dealer/4616560/80786179_1.jpg

Below: Guess which is the real one
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Are you joking ? They are far from identical.

 

i like replicas / clones as long as they are done with an eye towards authenticity.

 

I have recently sold 2 of Carpenter's 288 Recreations. One sold for $56,000 and the other sold for $65,000. They can both be found in my "sold vehicle" section. http://www.ronsusser.com/inventory.asp?i=soldVehicle
I now have a third Carpenter built 288 for sale. This one is only a cosmetic GTO and not a mechanical conversion. It was built on one of the original fiberglass 308's. Click below to view:
http://www.ronsusser.com/vehicles.asp?t=n&v=767
I am in the process of acquiring details of the car.
If interested, please contact me at 630 567-0066.
Thanks,
Ron
www.ronsusser.com

 

The replica (top one) looks fabulous

 

They are both real and the same car (the Ralph Lauren 288 - which is no longer owned by Ralph Lauren).

 

This thread is making me have impure thoughts of adding a 288 conversion to my garage.

My 550 will probably punish me for thinking about cheating on her.

 

This thread is making me have impure thoughts of adding a 288 conversion to my garage.

Mike,
Take a look at this one that I have available:
http://www.ronsusser.com/vehicles.asp?t=n&v=767
Very cool car.
Ron
www.ronsusser.com

 

very very cool, i like it alot

 

You're evil.

 

I'm positively surprised about the general tone in this thread: Every time somebody mentioned a 288 GTO replica in the past people would stone that person.

Personally I'm still contemplating to upgrade my 308QV into a GTO replica. It is only a matter of saving enough $$$ to have it done as these conversions cost easily 30k.

And please nobody come with the worn out argument that for a base 308 plus conversion (around 60k) you could get a 348 or 355. Although that's true, what's the point in that?

To answer the question in the thread: definitely yea!

 

The other thing is that those conversions at the top are turning out 600+ HP!! That would smoke a 248/255 and come close to an f40/f50! That HP plus the 308's weight is insane, I'd say that if you have the money its more then worth it!

 

I guess the point is that the nay sayers have taken a back seat to the people who can appreciate a well built recreation. Sure we'd all like to own a 288 GTO but they are few and far between and costing in the $300,000-$400,000 range.

Clones and recreations seem to be getting hot nowadays and a 288 GTO built using a Ferrari 308 as it's donor car is obviously the right way to go. We're not talking Nissans Datsuns or Fieros here - God Forbid.

My motto is "why build it if it's already built and ready to go."
Ron

 

Understandable since you're selling them.

But I rather have a QV as a base (starting at the top of the 308 line rather than the bottom) and I prefer to use my own car that has already been sorted otherwise. Plus a conversion is a good opportunity for a paint refresh.

 

The one in the garden is not real. Only based on the racing seats which are unlikely to be found in an original GTO.

For those who have concerns about being able to differentiate between real and replica: If you know the GTO there are tons of differences. Most likely you'll be able to tell by looking at the interior. The 288 GTO has a unique mix of 308 and 328 switches. Few people go through the pain of trying to mimick that as well.

 

Times are a changin'...