With this new thread I will be posting photos from my archive of over 15,000 Maserati photographs. As many of you may know I am a avid photographer. A hobby and sometime profession that goes back to my first photography class, way back in high school. During my tenure at MIE and especially during the 15 years that we were restoring and servicing hundreds of Maserati GT cars sent to us from all around the world I took pictures, lots of them. in the pre digital days, I used 35 mm black and white and color slides, and in the last years i began using a medium format camera with studio lights and all. I also took a lot of photos at our Maserati meets. I am now going through my archives and having selected photos digitized and will be posting them here for your entertainment and research. The photos here are of our 2nd Concorso Italiano known then as Concours Italiana at Quail Lodge. This is the year that we invited the Lamborghini club to join us and some 35 lamborghinis can be seen separated from the Maseratis by 80 yards of green lawn, in the upper right of the Ghibli photo. This was the night the sprinklers went off during our Maserati/Lamborghini dinner in the Quail tent. Can anyone guess the names and or identify the cars and chassis numbers in these 1987 photos? Standing next to his 5000 GT is none other that Bill Hilfiker and next to that Bora with trick wheels is a very slim Bob Staterman. Also seen in the Ghibli photo is Oscar and Martha Crovetto and Lowell and ____McGrane I hope you enjoy the trip down memory lane as much as I do.. Ciao, FGM Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Really looking forward to this thread, having already worked my way through the stack of MIE / VCM magazines provided by the prior owner of my A6. Thanks, Don
Here are 4 more from the same event. Can you recognize someone you know? The dark blue Quattroporte in the second photo is 107 034 the old Crovetto car now owned by yours truly. In the last photo we see a beautiful Black Sebring. Who's car could that be, and where is it now? The 3500 behind the Sebring looks like it could be the John Mirko car from Vancouver BC. Those were fun times on the lawn at Quail that ended up changing the course of car shows. Ciao, FGM Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Frank, I believe the black Sebring I in the photo is the one I currently own, AM101.01541. It was owned by Bob Rudinski back then. Larry
Five more from the same day. Who brought the Khamsin? Looking very good in European trim. Is that John Asmus next to the Indy? Ciao, FGM Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Frank, there was a guy from the early years that had a stunning red Khamsin with Borrani wire wheels. It was the best one I've ever seen. His name was Dennis Noonan. I think that is the one in the photo. Regards, Larry
Never been a huge fan of wire wheels on an "angularly" shaped car. Would definitely be interested in seeing a side view of that Khamsin.
I'm a bit confused by the first photo Frank. Is that Lowell? McGrane and his wife at the top? Who's Ghibli I'm not certain. You said the second year at Quail? This is definitely 87 if it's the sprinkler year. Remember in 88 I presented you with the polished Rainbird sprinkler trophy. Assembly & polishing by George Marin. 1986 was in Tahoe which is the first year I attended Maserati Days as it was called back then. I know you guys had been in Monterey before that with some activities on the track. I think Norm Milne wrecked his Merak at the track that year? So is that what you're calling the first Monterey event? That first photo looks is similar to 1990 or 91 when the McGranes had a freshly restored Ghibli (the market was tanking big by then) parked next to my Bora in the Super Concours class. And that does sort of look like Brian Moore who painted their Ghibli and was there that day prepping the car. Ah the 3rd photo. Yup, that's poundage ago ... That's Jim Johnson in the cap. He passed away a couple of years ago. Jim was a long time collector of lots of Italian cars. Bora, Countach QV DD, Miura, R5 Turbo, Biturbo "Kermit", A yellow RHD Mistral spyder and a several earlier Maseratis. Jim an I entered the Silver State race in his Bora in 1989. He is missed. We had a nice holiday lunch with his wife Sheila last year when she visited their son who lives in the Princeton area. On my left is Bill Follet and that's his Bora with custom 16" wheels which he had made to get better tires on the car. According to him it turned out that the 235&24560VR15 XGTs at that time were just as good. He raced that car a couple of times in a road race in Mexico and had a blast. I think he was a VP for Tower records at that time? The Bora is 117.986. We really drove the cars we didn't just wash wax and bring them to shows! The 4th & 5th photos are probably Gary Simeon's old Bora #1044. That car had nitrous installed but was disabled at the time. The 12th photo of the Bora I believe is my car #1048 with George Marin holding the engine cover. I think the other Bora is #1044 again? And OMG look at the size of those swarming crowds ... Dinner and a Free Car Wash oh yes! I wish I had video of the sprinkler incident and all of your guys sitting on champagne buckets trying to cover the sprinkler heads. Three Stooges eat your hearts out! Back then it was comical but if that happened at a show today it would actually be very dangerous with a size of the crowds and number of cars. The lawsuits might be fun too ... ;>) Bob S.
Bob, Your memory has survived all the years of sex, drugs and rock n roll. (I still have the Sprinkler Trophy in my trophy case back in Seattle. Everybody scrambled to protect their car form the "hard water" One can only speculate on what would have happened if there had been a sprinkler head "inside" the tent. I can check the date when we get home in May.) (I believe that would have been in 1981 when we first appeared at Quail and went to the Track on Monday AM. Yes, Milne hit the wall with his Merak and Sam Dibatonto blew Irwins Ferer's 4.9 Ghibli Spy engine. Not enough Hard Luck trophies to go around.) Ciao, FGM
Now I see why you never did track events again. Well there was Tahoe but it's really hard to blow an engine in a parking lot race. I did manage to spin out Johnsons Kermit green Biturbo. So 81 - 1st Quail lodge Then 82-85? After that it was 86 in Tahoe and the infamous hail storm concours with a parking lot race track. I think that's the year Al Burtoni was ready to kill who ever TP-ed his black Countach. Oh and I just remembered, I won a set of Maserati ladies panties at the raffle that year. I don't remember if the trident was on the front or the back. But does it matter? 87 - Return to Quail I admit to the sex and rock-n-roll. Also, I just naturally looked stoned. No drugs required ... Bob S. Bob S.
You got it! Track and road events can be litigious. I had forgot about the parking lot race track and yes Kermit was very fast there, if not the fastest. The sequence of events are not clear to me sitting here at this time with out the resourse of my library at home, so will need to get back to you on that. Perhaps others will know. I do remember Quail in 1981 when Bruce Qvale had a new Quattroporte nose to nose with the Crovetto Quattaroprte 107.034, (Walter) for a photo shoot. Burtoni was pissed and I can tell you now it was Thomas Mee, Frank and Janet and some Canadians who made use of the Toilet Paper. what a sight! I have the photos at home and will post them as part of this thread. The Logo Panties caused a real stir during a dinner meeting with Don Morressey, the new CEO of MNA, Joe Molina, and Janet and I. Morressey made reference to the panties as a poor use of the logo and it must be stopped at once!! We all looked at each other and thought don't you have more important things to think about? Here are some more photos The first clearly shows sea foam green 3500GTI owned by the Canadian John Mirko with his then wife Katy getting something out of the trunk. John was always pissed because he never received the fartherst traveled trophy because Colin Craig lived at Lions Bay which is 30 miles further than where John lived. How many Indy's can you count in the 4th photo? Also note all the Ghiblis. The 5th photo shows a very nice 107 QPort with wire wheels. Where is this car now and who owns it? Ciao, FGM Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
