250 GTO question

Front arrangements where different on the earlier cars.

The first one (3223GT) had a small oval air intake, drive lamps bout no circulair cooling ducts for the front brakes.
Same with 3387 GT, but both cars received updated nose arrangement with 3223 GT still with a small oval air intake.
3413 GT had small airintake and narrow vertical brake cooling intakes like on 3505 GT.

From 3527 GT on the oval radiator intake was wide, with driving lights and circulair air intakes next to it and sidelights semi-recessed in the frontwings.
This was the standard arrangement from mid 1962 and throughout 1963.

From 3757 GT on the cars received a integral tail spoiler instead of a bolted on type. English cars often received a third airduct on the sides of the front wings.

In those days holes in the body where cutted whenever and where ever they liked...

Kind regards,
Wouter Bekker

 

Speaking of that, I heard of an incident with a Testarossa where the brakes were running too hot at a certain track, so a hatchet was used to create cooling ducts on the spot! I have no idea of the validity to that story, but such an action would not surprise me.

 

In those days they cut holes in the bodywork whenever and where ever they liked... (apologies for bad english...)

 

Ton,

It was a good question about the different fronts of 250 GTO's. Wouter's answer was also adequate.

Too bad that your 2 pictures show rebuilt Ferraris and not original GTO's...

If you want more details I would definitely advise to read the book about the GTO by Keith Bluemel - every (real) car is described.

Kind Regards,

Joop van der Meer

 

3987 had them originally. For a time they were removed to make room for more air intake. Finally, the lamps were replaced.

 

Some of these ad hoc mods lead to some interesting aerodynamic discoveries. Story is that Bruce McLaren noticed that a loose piece on the nose of his car was being pushed up against the air flow instead of down at speed. He then cut a hole in the front to relieve the pressure and found that it planted the front end.

 

That actually happened to Preston Henn's 275 Comp, # 6885. A large hole was cut in the nose to accomodate better cooling. There are photos on this forum that show the car racing with the hole. I think you can still see evidence of the hole in the car today.

 

Quick pic i found online...
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Take a look at the book "I Love GTO" if you can. This was a photo record of the 1982, 20th anniversary of the GTO event in France. There is a great picture across the noses of some of the cars present, and they were all different !
I was there on the trip with #3757. Those were the days- -Drive to Paris, drive down to Mas Du Clos, race, drive back to the UK and then take the kids to school in the GTO on Monday morning.
Don Nelson

 

Absolutely!

 

If you had more than 1 kid, you got to run the schoolrun twice, thrice or more. Best incentive to start a decent size family!


Onno

 

Very interesting to me is the front of 3705 at Le Mans 1962.
The differnt openings are arranged very close. There is almost nothing of the body between them.

Today the front of 3705 looks more like we are used to...

Regards, Till.
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I truly enjoyed meeting you Don!

 

Very god point, Till. Thank you.

 

Don
WOW That is fantastic but it does make me sick with envy. However please keep posting stories of the "good old days" as we do get great vicarious enjoyment from them.
John

 

Don has enough stories of the "good old days" to last a long time. If you could see the photo of Don with his four Ferraris at one time (GTO, 250 LM, 166, Vignale Bumble Bee), you would feel the same shock as I did. Incredible!

 

Just a couple of digit typos I'm sure. You were on the trip with #3527.

 

Steve, Don hasn't been on Fchat for 3 years

 

Yes, I know. Perhaps he will come back.

Now where did I read about how he came to buy 3527, which he said was in much better condition than another GTO he was considering? Perhaps it was in the book I Love GTO which disappeared from my book collection recently.

 

I didn't find the reference in I Love GTO Steve.

 

Thank you for checking.

 

If memory serves it was in the late, great, never to be forgotten/never to be topped Supercar Classics magazine.