tyoneal

Hello:

I've read that in restorations one should choose a, "Point in Time", in which the particular restoration should try and depict, otherwise it becomes very hard to know where the car needs to go for it's completion.

I have thought about this for a while, and seeing the very early Grand Sport that was sold several months ago, (The White with Red Strip #1, that had been sponsored by Gulf Oil) it dawned on me where I think I would like my car to go.

Le mans has ALWAYS held a special place in my heart, as when growing up as a kid it was my favorite race along with the great cars and the Movie by the same name with Steve McQueen.

With all this said, I try to imagine what the Duntov Grand Sports would have looked like, had GM not pulled the plug on his program, and the Grand Sport could have continued their sponsorship with Gulf Oil, and raced at Le mans.

Instead of the Ford Cobras getting the Gulf sponsorship it would have been the Grand Sport Corvettes with the Gulf Livery.

Here is the Idea I think I will paint my Grand Sport. I think it would look terrific.

Feel free to give me your thoughts.

The Spokes of the wheels and the stripes would be the proper shade of "Gulf Orange", and the stripes would have a black outline. This is unfinished, but I think you get the idea. The body color would be "Powder Blue".

I think this would have been what a Gulf sponsored Grand Sport would have looked like.

Thanks for reading.

Thanks,

Ty O'Neal

Chris at Race line digital was kind enough to put this together for me.
http://www.racelinedigital.com
He has been really helpful.

n1kon

I think it looks great and is a neat idea as to what could have been.

Only change I would make make is instead of doing the wheels gulf orange I would do them black presuming you are going with 15" and white lettering on the sidewall. AVON makes the best "15 street legal tire.

Check out this GT40 gulf with black wheels and you can get an idea of what I am talking about.

tyoneal

N1kon:

Neat idea.

It's Ironic a little to see a Firestone "Sponsor" sticker with Avon Tires, however it's such a stealthy look, I bet I could get some 17 or 18 inch wheels and tires, black them out as in the photos you have, make sure the wheel height is correct, Use the largest tire stencil that will fit, and run them on the track for better handling, and retain the good looks..

I really like the look. Thanks for sharing the ideas. At this point I am open to looking at anything that would make the car, "POP!"


Anything else you can think of please feel free to mention it. Paint isn't cheap so lots of forethought is a good thing.

Take care and thanks again,

Ty

Ty

groovyjay

Gulf paint scheme is something I was wondering about myself, but then I decided to do something else.

It would look awesome! DO IT!!!



I adjusted the ride height and wheel diameter...

vstol

very nice, hey its your car, paint it how you like it

tyoneal

That's Great!

Whatever adjustments you can do would be more than welcome.

This scheme has been in my mind for quite a while and the more it simmered, the more I liked it.

Thanks for adding your thoughts.

Ty O'Neal

tyoneal

===================
Chris:

You are welcome, and deserved it.

This type of customer help when making a large decision like this is extremely helpful. In this case it sets up the whole attitude, and and the direction the entire project takes.

Thanks again,

Ty

BTW: Did you get my other email about the Black outlining, the color on the spokes, and the, "Gulf Orange", color being added IF you can or have the time. If not, please don't trouble yourself. You've been a huge help as it is.

Ty

groovyjay

Orange wheels.

tyoneal

Jay:

Not only does that look T-Riffic, it's also very Groovy.

Thanks,

Ty

JohnZ

Just be prepared (after spending $15,000 for the paint job) for someone at a show, knowledgeable of Grand Sport race history to ask, "Why did you paint it like that? The Grand Sports never ran with that Gulf Oil livery".

tyoneal

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Every Classic car (IMO: Functional Piece of Art) is usually based on a theme or premise of some kind. Some Grand Sports maybe most(?) are, "Replica or Tribute cars", mine I guess will be a "what if" look at what could of been if one decision had been different.

I don't think the idea of this prospect is entirely without possibility since the Cobras did in fact get the sponsorship and livery for Le mans. If I was fan of the Cobra it definitely would be dressed like the cars of that period and that race.

Unfortunately, I think the Grand Sport was an early victim of what is now known as political correctness.

The Grand Sport for me IS the embodiment of what makes the Corvette, "America's" Sports car. It's brutal, brash and gutsy. I think the Cobra at the time had a similar theme. It as well as the Grand Sport didn't sing like he Ferrari's or Porsche's, it had its own sound that yelled move your *** we are coming through. We may not be as nimble as you but we have the Stones to stand on the throttle so look out.

I just don't see the Grand Sport in any other light other than this, and a Le mans connection makes me smile.

So I guess it will probably be a Love it or Hate it look, along with some explanation for those who are not used to seeing them painted in a different racing uniform.

In the end, I think it will be fun.

I seem to walk a different route routinely, and while it's not necessarily by choice, it is what it is.

In any case I hope to meet some great people who also are passionate about these cars.

My relatives will be stuck with what to do with it eventually, so I'm not really worried about this. I have wanted one since the first time I saw one back in the 70's. I drove one in the very early 80's and 30 years later I can't wait to plant my rear end into another. I figure anything that can hold my passion for that long will probably be a purchase I will enjoy and have a blast with.

CAR-pe Dium! <Seize the Car!> ;-)

Thoughts?

Ty

rasrboy

Waaaaaay cool Ty! Just like mentioned above, your car and you do what YOU want to do.

Dare to be different, thats what I do with my race cars. No one else has it and it was MY creation/idea.

When GroovyJay added the yellow wheels, that sealed the deal right there for me.

GO FOR IT!

Aaron @ Mongoose

Mr. Wizzard

You can always wrap the car and make it look like anything you wish.

DandyDon

Chris and Ty,

I too have been kicking around a similar "Gulf" pattern for my planned GS. It's amazing (to me) how unappealing the light blue is when it is the sole color of the car (ie. Mustang)---but it totally "pops" when you add the orange with black outline.

Chris--Do you have the paint codes?

I have seen the Ford codes for the 2006 Ford GT "Heritage" Edition which is close, but not original.

Thanks,
Dandy Don

robert miller

What he said.....

CMART

The color codes from the original production car record sheets specify:

Light Blue: P030-8013
Marigold: P030-3393

These codes were both British Leyland (Triumph) colors. They apparently correspond to the following:

Berger Ref 1125 Standard Triumph Powder Blue
Berger Ref 1456 Triumph Marigold

The dark stripe between the orange and blue should be dark blue not black, but I don't have a paint code for that color yet.


Chris

K2

I've always liked that paint scheme and it would look spectacular on a Grand Sport. Here are a couple of closeups of a GT40 I took at the Seattle Historics. The orange wheels really look good!

tyoneal

======================================
Chris:

Thanks for pulling up the paint codes.

Ironically, and with serendipity I just (Last Year) bought my wife a 1962 TR3B. She has always been supportive in my addiction for all things with wheels and during the last 30 years we have known each other, she had always mentioned this car that she had always liked, but never thought she would ever own one. After she was finishing up her last operation this last year and we were discussing how we wanted to spend some fun time together in the following years. Driving at ralleys and showing cars was one of the things we wanted to do.

I asked her what car, if she could have her choice of any that she has seen, would be her favorite car to show and enjoy. Again she mentioned the Triumph TR3 she had seen so many years before, but she had pretty much ruled out ever being able to own one because being a roadster most of them had rusted to nothing many years ago.

So I mentioned if I could find one, what color would she want? Powder Blue was THE color she had always wanted. So I spent about 6 months last year looking for an original "Powder Blue" TR3. I finally found one in Missouri the right color and in original unmolested shape. I picked it up and gave it to her for Christmas last year.

Looks like I got lucky, one good deed followed another. As campy as it sounds it's looking like we will have matching cars.

It will be fun to hit some cruises together.

I know I rambled a bit, but after my accident she was a real champ nursing me back to health. It was a dirty job that required an incredible amount of time, effort and patience.

I am a very fortunate guy.

Anyway again, thanks Chris and you will be hearing from me as I get this project moving forward.

Take care,

Ty O'Neal

tyoneal

============================
Thank you for the close ups. These will help with the final rendering.

Thanks,

Ty

sub006

Very cool "what-if" theme! I'll throw my monkey wrench in, also:

Who ever heard of a Chevy race car using "AUTOLITE" components???