GNX ,Prototypes,Parts,Build Info, EXC

[MYSY 8U]

Tom A. :tongue:

We were all surprized when he pulled up to our last memorial meet with it and having it back under his ownership.

Memory serves, you only put 3-4k on it right?

The Marl pictured above is Toms....

 

[turbo39151]

xray: what is your opinion of clones? I know you made a white GNX, nut I don't know if it technically counts as a clone since you were part of the program and built it to spec at the factory. (from what I gather).

I was curious because I have white T that I was thinking of making into a GNX clone, not to compete with you or to pass off as a real deal, just for fun and to stand out a bit. (probably why you made yours)

 

[PaCemkr86]

subscribed

 

[GregInAtl]

Tom A. :tongue:

We were all surprized when he pulled up to our last memorial meet with it and having it back under his ownership.

Memory serves, you only put 3-4k on it right?

The Marl pictured above is Toms....

Yup, He sold it to a guy who did some mods, we bought it from him when he needed money. I advertised it, and when Tom saw the "Typhoon" on the intake manifold, (That he made) he knew it was his. We put about 1-2k on it... we had it many years in storage w/ 7 TRs, 90 ZR1, and Imp SSs.
Tom is a cool cat, tell him I said hello, and we missed him at slamfest this year.

 

[X Ray]

xray: what is your opinion of clones? I know you made a white GNX, nut I don't know if it technically counts as a clone since you were part of the program and built it to spec at the factory. (from what I gather).

I was curious because I have white T that I was thinking of making into a GNX clone, not to compete with you or to pass off as a real deal, just for fun and to stand out a bit. (probably why you made yours)

You are correct as the car has all the correct components. I made mine white so you would know it wasn’t part of the original group and to be different. As for clones, it is my opinion the more that are out there only makes the value of the real ones greater. The more people see them; new people get involved and learn about these vehicles. Thus bringing up the value. If you create a clone it’s not like you want your car to look bad, you want to improve the appearance. Again this is all my opinion.:biggrin:

 

[X Ray]

As shown in the first installment this is another GNX prototype badge. This badge shows the different layers of material that were added in the fabrication of the badge. The second picture shows the prototype mounting brackets that were made to secure the badge to the radiator grille. These parts that I fabricated were made out of steel. The third picture shows how they would be assembled when installed onto a grille. The fourth picture compares what was made in the prototype stage to the production bracket. The pictures of the Foose Stallion Mustang bracket show that I still use the concepts from the GNX program on new programs even today. (I am lead engineer on the Foose Mustang Stallion) Regards

 

[X Ray]

I probably should have told you at the beginning of this thread that most of the components used on the GNX were not designed or engineered on the computer or back in the old days on the drafting board. This program was done mainly in the process called reverse engineering. We would make master parts, have them shipped to our supplier and then have them mass produced. This was not the case for all the parts but for most.
The front wheel well housing is one of the parts I am most proud :biggrin: to have worked on, and some of you probably do not know it exists. This part is needed based on the offset of the wheels and tires that was deemed necessary to create the proper appearance of the vehicle. This new part was also needed because when you put the wheel assembly through its paces ( a jounce study) it hit :frown: the original outer wheel housing and the plastic inner wheel liner in the rear (I will get to that part at a later date). This new metal outer wheel housing gives the tire and wheel assembly proper clearance.
The original prototype part was made handed (LH /RH not shown) and would have required two separate tools. I believed that I could make a non handed part work and save the company tens of thousands of dollars in tooling expenses.
First I made templates of the design I thought would work, then a made my first prototype part to try on both sides. I was successful:biggrin: in coming up with a design. Now we needed to make several prototype parts and a master part for our supplier.
The first picture shows the fixture that was used in order to make the multiple components. This is a form and tack welding tool that we placed the seven individual components for making one wheel well housing. . The second picture shows the master part on the assembly fixture. The third picture is the part with the zinc primer surface that was applied on all the prototype parts to prevent rust. (Production parts e-coated). The fourth picture shows some of the templates that the parts were made from and some of the metal components that make up the seven individual components. Regards Rick

 

[jdpolzin]

pics of said poster!!

I dont know if anyone cares but since the PPG cars were brought up, my buddy I work with is HUGE into Fieros and has 20 or so of them including the only publicly owned Fiero PPG Pace Car. I believe he said there were only 6 made and all of them are owned by GM still except the yellow one, which is his. Cool story behind it actually, it was donated to an Automotive school for teaching purposes and then sat under a tree for many years. It was not supposed to be sold to the public but he knew the entire past of the car and where it was. He knew the school had it and after 10 years of trying to buy it, they finally sold it to him. Cool thing is he has a picture of him driving the car on the track at Indy back in the 80's with the other five behind him. He just finally bought it about 2 years ago! Even though it's a Fiero, I think it's probably worth some major $$$! ------Jeremy

 

[my85grandnation]

This is great, keep the info coming

 

[DOUNVME]

Do you have any idea what number the GNX was that you "spun" out on the ramp with? Just curious!:smile:

 

[X Ray]

Not exactly…buy it was one of the first thirty cars. Regards

 

[93Code86GN]

This thread should be made a "sticky" by the moderator to keep it at the top.
Rick, thanks for sharing this insider GNX related info with the rest of us. I know it takes time and effort on your part, especially in photographing parts and documents and lets face it as time goes on more and more of this information will "evaporate" and never become available to the GN/GNX community.

 

[X Ray]

Thanks for the kind words.....
This Saturday I will post some pictures of the master part suspension components. Regards

 

[budget_crx]

I read before that one of the GNX prototypes was stolen from the ASC grounds, is this just a rumor or did it actually happen? Also, have any pictures of the assembly of these cars?

This threads amazing, thanks for the great info!!

 

[X Ray]

I do not know of any vehicle stolen from the ASC plant….the ground were fenced in. I will be posting pictures from the plant at a later date. Thanks and Regards Rick

 

[GNX 233 485]

That article was in Hot Rod, it shows a GNX behind a chainlink fence that has its wheels missing. The article states they stole it and only took the wheels and probably did not know what type of car they had. I will try and look for the article, if you email me I will shoot a pic back of it.

 

[DCVING 6]

The GNX Files...Pictures At ASC

 

[BadAssGN]

Just thought I'd toss up a few pics I found...

 

[budget_crx]

haha, I used to get these in the mail, they were always horribly in-accurate.
I'll get mine out and post up some of the facts they said about the GNX

 

[my85grandnation]

I like how it says that they recieved special GNX badges on the fenders, grille, and trunk lid.