More GTO chat

He somehow contacted Automobile Quarterly and they were doing a Ferrari themed story
and he knew I knew a free lance photographer and we had the time so Chuck handed me a list of owners and said "Go thou and photograph" and it was an eye opening adventure which included:

-riding in Matt Ettinger's breadvan
-visiting Dr. Hamm
-photographing the Bertone 250swb
-driving a new GTC/4 (which inspired me to buy one later)

and a few other cars I can't remember. I also began to attend the FOC high speed tours through the hills near the ocean, one time taking a Motor Trend Pontiac Trans Am which kept up for awhile until the power steering fluid boiled over...

Chuck also was owed some favor by Steve Earle and borrowed Earl's GTO for a whole week, driving it to work and took me for a ride on Sunset Strip in it. I remember the blue cloth upholstery and the engine sound. Another time he took on the task of schlepping around a 275GTB to be restored from the painter to the upholsterer, etc. and I got to learn how you can do a resto on a shoestring.

His paintings also influenced me, though when I became an artist 37 years later my style was not so consistent as his. Chuck also planned the layout for the first issue of CAVALLINO, I remember he himself made the prancing horse crest of bits of tile for the first issue's cover.

 

Actually, his then wife Carol made the mosaic.

 

A lot of miss information in the "bitzman" thread.

CQ

 

Cavallino 2015
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Which one is this? Copyright A/SP911, PPOTF
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Not much new info but pictures of it in a lot of fields
Updated: The Unbelievable But True Full Story of 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO #3589 | The Car Build Index

 

I personally still don't agree with the decision to rebody her. The original body should have been repaired and returned to where it belongs.

That is what I would do if I was able to purchase the car plus shell.
Pete

 

That's one expensive mistake. The new body is not identical and the saddest thing is that if the original body has been sitting all these years without paint to protect it, it probably is too far gone now.

 

Two things which will destroy aluminum are water and electricity.Mix the two and the aluminum can be destroyed in a matter of weeks.tongascrew

 

Where I first became annoyed with this don't-rebody argument was with the E-type lightweight Jag when the restoration shop said they would rebody it by ironing out the wrinkled panels (somebody was killed in it so it was pretty wrinkled). I thought why do that when they could use a replica alloy panels?
But the shop was adamant that the car have as much metal content from the original as possible. Maybe the GTO people are thinking that too, rather work with rough original metal being restored than new metal. But I still say (I know you're tired of this phrase, the important thing is the chassis that has the DNA and the body is of less importance kind of like Marilyn Monroe in a blue dress or a red dress, what's the differance, it's still Marilyn Monroe underneath.

 

The goal of any restoration should be to end up with as much of the original car as possible. Therefore even if they had to replace 25% of the original body during the restoration phase they would still be better off than by making a new body.

IMO the restorers of the lightweight Jaguar did it right by painstakingly repairing the original body and the restorers of this 250GTO took the easy and wrong way out.
Pete
ps: Note I do not think that that lightweight Jaguar should ever have been restored ... but ...

 

No question!

 

Brandon Wang's GTO photographed at Windsor Castle in 2012. Wang first bought this car in 1993 and it has been regularly entered in the Tour de France/Tour Auto and many other events over the last 20 years.
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Originally bought and raced by David Piper, this car was acquired by Anthony Bamford in 1974. It has regularly appeared at Goodwood Revival meetings driven by Bamford or his son with Alain de Cadenet.
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Can't tell if that's black or dark blue but that looks amazing.

Beautiful

 

Considering what Bamford did with some of his cars we may be fortunate that this GTO even exists. tongascrew

 

Very dark blue.

 

True, but he only picked on cars he didn't like or weren't worth as much ... just like replica makers. All for the mighty $.
Pete

 

I knew a free lance photographer and so was
given a list of Ferraris to photograph in my spare timefor Automobile Quarterly. I don't know what issue of AQ it appeared in but my name wasn't on the pictures, I was just the photo assistant.
As I recall some of the cars were
Bill Karp's swb250GT by Bertone
GTC/4 (new, they let us drive it)
250GTO (which I think we didn't shoot because it lacked headlight bubbles)
Swb in Inland Empire lacking bumpers, may have been alloy car, being driven by college student!
The others I don't remember.

That's one way to see the hidden cars, I guess, volunteer to be a photographer's assistant

 

This car was well known for some 'street' modifications carried out by Graber in Switzerland in 1965, which included winding windows, leather upholstery and - for whatever reason! - VW Kombi rear lights.

The first UK owner was Anthony Bamford, followed by Don Nelson who registered it with UK plates 6 GTO, and then Stephen Pilkington, who owned the car for around 20 years, frequently driving it at FOC test days and showing it at concours.

In 2005 it was sold to Lord Irvine Laidlaw, who had it restored by Mototechnique. At this time it's original Rossa Cina paintwork was changed to the present darker colour.

There has been a previous thread concerning the work done by Kevin O'Rourke at Mototechnique.
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I have found the link for anyone who has a problem.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/vintage-thru-365-gtc4-sponsored-vintage-driving-machines/427243-stumbled-across-250gto-restoration-4.html

 

That is stunning

 

Will be on the road, next week, IL has entered it in Tour Auto.