Ferraris I've Known
A Personal Selection
I
figured it was time to get this out of the way before moving on in
this blog. The sheer magic of the name “Ferrari” evokes such
strong emotions, not always universally positive, that I think it
will just be the 800 pound elephant in the room until I provide more
detail than I have up to now. I will also provide photos where I can,
though the quality will be compromised by most of them being “photos
of photos” from my personal collection rather than stock shots
pulled off the internet. I'll resort to that when I cannot locate or
might not have personal photos of the specific car discussed.
It
seems logical to start with my own car...the LeSancey grey 1963 250
2+2 I owned for a quarter century.
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| Understated Elegance and Power |
Within
the 12 cylinder cars, other than the 250 and 330 2+2s, the only
models which came close in price were the conservatively styled 250GT
coupes...even the cabriolet soft top versions were out of reach. But
though they were good cars, they were too understated even for
me.
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| Early 1960s 3 liter coupe |
I only recall looking at one other 2+2 before buying mine...and it
was a cosmetic and mechanical “project” I was not comfortable
taking on. I bought my car off an ad in the paper from a guy in Santa
Rosa, who in retrospect was even more of a mechanical clod than I
was...the third time I drove the car the engine blew up due to lack
of oil, and I wound up taking a second loan on our house to fix a
car...not something which endeared me to Sherri. It seems the guy
changed the oil and somehow only got two quarts back in before being
distracted...never finishing the job. When I asked why the pressure
gauge showed zero he said “it always did that.” When Bill Morton
drained the shrapnel out of the sump there was less than two quarts
of the eight plus it holds. I'm surprised the engine lasted the 120
or so miles it did before it died.
When I finally got it back, some $8500 later, it was a joy to drive.
Oh yeah, and while in Bill's shop someone jacked it up and stole the
wheels off it...and Bill's insurance did not cover the theft-quite
shocking for a high end repair shop. To this day I'm pretty sure it
was an inside job by one of his staff. They gently lowered the car
back down on blocks rather than dropping it on the ground.
Considerate of them, no? And since these wheels would only fit
certain other Ferrari models I suspect they had a buyer all lined up
or perhaps used them on a car they were rebuilding to flip.
Oh yeah...one more. The judge who heard the case (had to be in Santa
Rosa where I bought the car) knew the seller personally, did not
recuse himself, and claimed that “you have to expect these kinds of
problems when you buy exotic cars.” Right?
This post will not go into details about my car...that will come in
another edition. But it was the first Ferrari I actually drove so it
does belong in a blurb about my personally known cars.
The next one which pops into my head is John Lewis's 365GTB
“Daytona.”
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| John Lewis's 365 GTB AKA "The Beast" |
The 365 was the “world's fastest lumber truck.” I could barely
turn the steering wheel if the car was standing still. (Power
steering? Hah!). I had to be careful about the clutch as, when the
release point was reached, if I did not keep enough pressure on the
pedal, it could snap back hard enough to risk breaking my leg. I got
it into a parking lot at Longs Drugs (now CVS) in San Carlos and had
to wait for the car next to me to leave before I could back it out
(the space had been empty when I parked). On an outing through the
Santa Cruz mountains with the club I was covered in sweat and my arms
ached by the end of the day.
What a gorgeous beast! It “woke up” at about 90. The steering got
much more lively, the scream was cold and delicious, and it just
flew. This was, after all, the car which Road and Track
featured running through Nevada with a shot of Bill Harrah's hands on
the wheel and the speedo crossing 175..the first road car to reach
that. I don't think it is a car I'd like to live with...but what a
joy it was to drive it.
I had the Daytona on that Santa Cruz outing because John was driving
his “other Ferrari,” a yellow 275GTS, shown here on the track at
Laguna. That's Sherri in the red helmet. Wouldn't ride with me, but
would with John? WTF? But her logic was that with me, if something
went wrong the kids would be orphans. Logical, but....
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| John's "Other Ferrari" at the time In case one was in the shop? Note the family resemblance to the Fiat 124 Spider |
The 275 was another lovely street model. Like the 330 described next,
it is refined and very easy to get along with. There was also a 330
variant which is even more rare. The only one I have personally seen
was owned by Deanna Schworer.
Deanna was one of those mysterious and magical women...soft spoken
and just sort of...special somehow. Smile like the Mona Lisa...like
she knew something special and really important about living. I
dunno, maybe she did. She wound up flying a rented plane into the
side of a mountain in Oregon or Washington, killing herself at the
age of 38 along with a local family of four up for a ride, while her
11 year old son sat behind waiting for her because there was no room
for him in the plane.
Her husband Bill was at Laguna with their daughter that weekend. When
we were at the funeral home all still in shock, Bill walked up and
said something I will never forget and which has colored my life ever
since.
“Why all the long faces? Am I mad at her for doing something stupid
(getting into t blind canyon she could not climb out of)? Sure. Am I
hurt about being left alone? You bet. But she was doing exactly
what she wanted to do, and living as she wanted to live. We are
here to celebrate her life. Let's go inside.” And we did just that.
Bill at one point had a 206SP Dino...the car which placed second in
the Targa Florio in 1966 and was also a Road and Track cover car. He
held an “unveiling” to show off the car one evening at his
place...a unique one bedroom condo at Mariners Island, built sort of
like a ship. Bill Morton was bummed out by the fact that, as I slid
behind the wheel, the car fit me perfectly but he could not sit
upright without tilting his head and could in no way get in wearing a
helmet.
The Florio was a brutal race run over open roads in Sicily...though
“roads” is being generous. These were closer to goat paths, with
buildings built right to the edge of the pavement even outside the
villages, and a course length of 40+ miles. To be successful you had
to have a small, nimble, yet responsive car...monster horsepower and
the attendant bulk that implied was a handicap. The 2 liter SP was
perfect...but of course did not show well in US vintage racing,
lumped in with other FIA championship cars. Bill's ego did not deal
well with that. I'd have been ecstatic to take the car off his hands
for a few quid.
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| Body by Drogo A Tiny Jewel |
Bill Morton had two Ferraris...the road car was this silver 330GTC.
(pic). This model has the reputation as the best all-around
model built through the 1970s, though Ernie Mendicki thought it was
the worst Ferrari he'd ever owned...and I would guess a dozen or more
had passed through his hands. But I think his comments related more
to a certain delicacy and “fussiness” to work on rather than the
driving experience. Like my own 250 they are easy going, light on the
clutch and steering, and don't tend to overheat in traffic.
John later had a 365GT 2+2 “Queen Mother.” This was a 4000 pound
monster with a hood that seemed longer than most other cars. (pic).
When driving it I was never quite sure where all of it was or was
going. But in the hands of Gary Kuntz his silver one could be flung
around Sears Point in ways that scared the bejeezus out of me...but
maybe that was because I was still recovering from a serious racing
incident and make a lousy passenger in the best of cases.
Sherri once drove John O'Boyle's blue 2+2 to Redwood City from one of
the early Monterey events, though I don't recall why. I followed in
the 250. When we got there I asked her how it went, and she mentioned
a weird vibration when braking. We mentioned it to John, and when he
checked he found a cracked front rotor. She was lucky it did not
explode and send her crashing into someone.
Nah...the former doesn't explain it. I once rode around the same
track with “Crazy Bob” Epstein in his 250LM...with exactly the
same level of panic. But though Gary was aggressive as hell...Bob was
truly crazy. The LM should have outhandled the big 2+2, but while I
had confidence in Gary's control of the beast, Bob was never in
control of anything, least of all his driving.
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| Behind the wheel that nose looks a lot longer |
David Love, on the other hand, was a delight to follow, learn from,
or ride with. David had one of the nicest 250TR “Testa Rossa”
models in the world...but then is there any such thing as a “bad”
one? He was a smooth and polished driver, and was one of my first
instructors when I got into vintage racing. After one “follow the
leader” session he asked me if I had learned anything. Hell, I was
mesmerized by the car, so I responded “Yeah, that bloody car is
gorgeous.”
David never felt he was able to drive to the car's potential...a
respectful and likely honest assessment. On another occasion I rode
with him for several laps. As I got in and sat there, I pointed out
to him that the bracket in the center of the windshield was so
delicate and lovely it looked like jewelry. The I noticed that he had
a brass coin slot from an old pinball machine fastened under the
dash. In addition to the slot and “$.25,” molded into the metal
was “Insert coin to begin game.” Indeed.
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| David's 250TR on display at Sears a couple of years after he died I still can hardly believe I rode in it |
I'm sure I could dredge up more personal memories, and there are and
will be others scattered through past and future blog posts, but this
is a good place to rest. I got to experience Ferraris built in a
special time, at a special time in my own life and that of the sport
and hobby. I treasure every moment of that, and it was fun digging
into my past to relate some of it here.
I couldn't resist putting this in.
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| Yes, it was silver...twice |
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