The linkages on a 250 GTE and the 250 GTO are probably quite different, so I suspect they had to fudge the slots to ensure gear engagement.
Bryan, I don't know of any Ferrari gearbox with two slots forward and four back. (The Boanos and such with odd shift patterns weren't five speeds.) I'd bet this is something like a BMW gearbox...and this wouldn't be the first time one has been used in a GTO replica (RIP, 635 CSI...).
Zach That's one reason why any of this is so expensive. Take the shifter for example. If you couldn't live with it you could fix it. How much 1K? 2K? Reengineer the linkage as Bryan noted. Test. Try again. Test. Remake that shift gate. polish etc. Dr. The defrosting pipes and the leather wrapped steering wheel are examples of the "improvements" I was talking about. Many of these cars are very, very different from what you're use to. (550) In a word they're vintage. Tires, brakes, wipers, defrosters, suspension. Basic. Simple. The feeling stays with you for a long time. Maybe this will help. After driving my MK-IV for the first time I got out and got back into my TR. I started to depress the clutch to start it up and my leg slammed the pedal down to the carpet. Compared to the MK-IV the TR pedal felt light as a feather. As for the 250 GTO I can still smell the Castor Oil in the Countess's hair as I opened the passenger door and she stepped out into the Monte Carlo night. As we sat sipping Baron d'L under the stars in the grill room I could still feel, taste and hear the sounds of her car as we wailed down the road that Princess G. failed to negotiate.
Pause for a moment while I pull up a chair and refill my glass of scotch... Come on, tell us, Old Guy, what was it like to drive one of these beasts? In their day, I'm sure they were cutting edge. But, compared to today's hot rods, it must be something to drive one of these cars in anger. I'm guessing very loud, very visceral, I'm sure that you probably couldn't hear yourself think. Did you pretty much drive them on instinct? Skinny tires, so-so brakes, BIG time motor. It musta been a hoot to get one of these babies in a 4-wheel drift. Dr "Waiting with baited breath" Tax
Can you hold up a sec... I need to run get another glass of scotch. This is getting good. I had forgotten the smell of castrol... ah, the day. Castrol with a hint of race gas. Best cologne the world has ever made. Don't stop now... Keep them doggies rolling.
Dr Tax, Your impressions are pretty much correct. I did have occasion to drive a friend's 250 GTO at a racetrack, but with my friend sitting beside me I made no attempt to discover what a four wheel drift felt like, for example. My impressions, somewhat dim after 25 years, are that the GTO was loud indeed -- there's almost no sound-deadening material inside. The engine turns lots of revs -- I used 8000 as I recall. The shifter is higher than it seems, and shifts are more arm than wrist. It's warm to hot inside, again due to little insulation (the three vents to the windshield, a crude defroster, are original to these cars). By contemporary standards the ride was reasonaby flat and harsh; after a 360 or 575 you'd probably think it was crude and rolled a lot. The car was relatively easy to place on a track; it did slide a bit, but was easy to control with the throttle. It made me look like a better driver than I was. The one impression which absolutely sticks with me after 25 years is the scream of the engine at high revs. There's nothing like it now. Old Guy