I was at Auto Fair on Sunday at Lowes Motor Speedway and there were some Ferraris and Austin Healeys up the path from where we were (Metrolina Corvettes).
So I see this very cool looking, pristine, 69 Iso Griffo (I thought it was a Ferrari) :


and I read the plaque in front of the car, and I see that it has some Corvette components, notably the engine and the transmission.




So the owner pops the hood, and sure enuf, it looks very familiar!



right down to that GF432 fuel filter with fuel return line! 68/69 only year it was used in corvettes (I think camaros also), and a clutch fan to help cool it.



And inside you have the sumptuous interior, hand crafted with fine leather and wood, and there sits the familiar shifter, just like in my 68!



I thought it was all very cool. Best of both worlds. I forgot to ask how much the car weighed.

 

It is also very unique! Me Like! Thanks for sharing

 

FIRST off I have NO claim as to the history of THAT particular car,....but interesting that it's on the east coast...and that it's not so very far from Wash DC area...where I grew up/got old anyway....for 53 years, now age 65....

in Kensington Md, just out Connecticut Ave NW from DC center into Monkey Co. Maryland was this hotrod shop owned by Gordon Tatum and his brother....called Modifications Unlimited....

it's the kind of thing they did to Ferrari, Lambo, or any other import car needing a AFFORDABLE engine transplant...

keep ONE thing in mind...the typical Ferrari/etc of the time would last maybe 10,000 miles of street driving, the engine would blast, and another engine was some 5 figgers...THAT was a LOAD of money in them daze, even by Wash DC standards....ten grand was a bit MUCH....

so Mods Unlimited would swap mostly SBC's to the cars...

I have a suspicion it 's one of theirs....

today everyone is into purity and resto crap, but in fact it was NOT the case for import exotics in the day....get it running...

recent decades surely the situation has changed from several points, but I used to be acquainted with the operation, which was the ONLY authorized service center between NYC and Miami for Ferrari/et al.....

45+ years ago....

candy took out the operation....too bad so sad....

 

The Isso Griffo was a car made by an Italian auto maker with this engine and tranny combo originally.
Tho I have also heard of inexpensive engine trades in exotic machinery.
Great pix!

 

I love engine swaps in European cars. I've always wanted to do a LS swap in a Jaguar E-type

 

Was the isso just a corvette engine/tranny swap, or was it built on a corvette frame...I have seen several Italian bodies on vette frames...

 

I recently did some work on a 68 Grifo. Definitely made with the Corvette motor/trans combo. It has an IRS with inboard discs. The chassis/body is not Corvette in origin.
Very pretty cars and rare now...

 

I wonder why they didn't use a 69 power plant.