That picture was taken in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I drove it a bunch through that industrial neighborhood with the straight pipes (although, not necessarily when this picture was taken...), but I don't remember why. We were sorting it out, if I recall, getting ready for some show/vintage race. I remember the car alarms going off... Well, that, and the raw fuel smell, and the NOISE. It was the first time I drove it, despite being copilot and/or "steer it up the trailer on the winch" for many years.
Not a mystery. 844 and 854 pictures show modified front with flat radiators installed. Modification done by Piper etal. 850 has original fin and tube type radiator with aluminum surrounds to support duct work. at the time the 850 pictrue was taken, the front rad. configuation was pretty much as original. Since than, car has had a flat rad installed.
Also, I should point out that saying David Castelhano "restored" this car is a bit of a stretch. (I don't mean any disrespect, David). He did a LOT of work on this car over a some years keeping it running/prepped/sorted and all, but the main "heavy lifting" of the restoration was performed by Francois Sicard in the late seventies, including panel modifications back to original (see my previous posting about the Dino Martin car, no top, no trunk, mufflers, etc). When originally restored, the car was painted red by Eno Depasquali, and went off to Monteray and Pebble Beach. [EDIT] I remember the day we were riveting one of the aluminum belly pans on this car as it was being finished up. Francois was scratching his head, trying to figure out why there was one more rivet hole in the belly pan than there was drilled in the frame. Finally, he just drilled the hole, and put in the rivet. Problem solved, right? When we started the car, oil came gushing out of the head of the rivet. WHOOPS! [END EDIT] I used to sneak cigarettes with Francois when my dad wasn't looking. Besides my father, Francois taught me a good deal of what I know about car mechanics. I was a fixture in our race car shop, hanging out with him. You can use Francois' tools, but you'd better CLEAN them, and PUT THEM AWAY when you're done. Trust me. I still drop in on Francois a couple times a year, as he doesn't live far from me, and it's a nice ride to exercise my cars in the summer. He is a long time friend.
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May I ask why Red .... purely as a matter of interest ? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I don't really have an answer for you, other than we thought it would look cool painted red. It wasn't a resale decision, or anything like that. The car looks GREAT in Fly Yellow, and also in Ferrari Red. Maybe we stared at the Daytona 24 Hour "1-2-3" picture too many times. I really don't remember. Eventually, it was painted it's original (Francochamps) Fly Yellow again. Actually, when the car was painted red, it was painted TWICE, as the first time the color came out a bit off. Needless to say, we were NOT amused.
The white car has been known to frequently contain multiple bottles of yummy bubbly liquids as well as ice cubes and long stemmed glasses in the trunk...
Roadtripguy is correct in one respect, the car was restored by Sicard at one point. What has been left from the discussion was a serious accident the car had at Watkins Glen after the Sicard restoration and about the time Sicard left to start his own business. The car sat in the familie's garage for many years partially assembled and untouched. Two English panelbeaters working for Aston Martin were able to fit a replacement nose and finish a finned radiator I had started. The radiator carries both water and oil. The next major leap was done in Ft. Lauderdale by John Shapiro. John was crew chief for the Auto Toy Stores race team at the time. John found some major problems with the suspension set up from the earlier restoration and even believed the problems may have caused the Watkins Glen accident. John is a wizard with race suspension and a good friend. I was summoned to Florida to rebuild the tired motor and freshen the gearbox. The then owner had a very comprehensive spares department including several sets of cylinder heads. We had JE make a set of new pistons and went through the entire motor in preparation for one of the early Goodwood events. The end result was evry good and the car ran beautifully. I drove it, in my stocking feet, around those same streets in Ft. Lauderdale previously mentioned. I then delivered the car to Miami airport and flown by the Goodwood follks to England. I do not believe the car ever returned to the States again while owned by Roadtrip guys family. After Goodwood it went to Modena and had further panel work done to it, (the rear deck lid was difficult to open and close by one person), and then repainted yellow by Creminini. I believe that new uprights and wheels were made by Ferrari Spa. for the car before it was sold to a Canadian. First photo shows the car at Miami airport with cars from the Collier Museum and the second is the finished motor on my engine stand. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
In David's engine stand picture, also note the non-original water pump. The unit installed in the picture was fabricated out of aluminum in the 1970's, as the original magnesium unit had turned into an alka seltzer tablet.
Yeah it is ... and amazingly I created it, er without even me knowing that I did At first I thought I was loosing my mind through over work or something ... Pete
Er, not quite, Pete - even though your post is first in this (split) thread. Reckon it was really this post (#146) by 'Roadtripguy' which 'started' it - that Rob omitted to move: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=137255669&postcount=146
The Dino is stunning to see especially considering it was practically new at the time! Heck the GTO was only 11. Great shots and thanks for posting! If you keep up with these posts you will have to be made a consultant Erik
Actually, we also owned a red 246 Dino Coupe (among other cars) during this same period of time, and thinking about it now, I'm surprised it's not in frame. Maybe it was parked in front. Like I said, there are other cars from this party that are out of frame. Yeah, the Dino Spyder was sweet. It was a very attractive color combination, and, like you said, it was NEW then.
Here's a couple from 'way back when' it was owned by 'Roadtripguy's father, taken at Daytona in 1991 - Courtesey of and copyright Fred Lewis © www.fredlewisphotos.com Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here's another tiny one, that I found on the 'Net way back, of #0850 about to be 'gobbled up' by a McLaren M20 - Laguna Seca 1977. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I wasn't going to bother posting this, apart from David's mention of Watkins Glen. This (poor quality) B&W photo of #0850 at Watkins Glen in '77 came up on eBay about 3 years ago. Needless to say, I didn't bother bidding on it, but I did right-click and save the small image from the auction listing. Image Unavailable, Please Login
You and me both, probably - if the truth is known. Here's a couple of variations on the same photo (from the Monterey 1994 'Daytona 1-2-3' display): Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Even though #0850 (as a 412P, rather than a 330P4) wasn't strictly correct for the #24 car - that whole Monterey '94 display could have looked so much better (IMHO), if the other two cars had been more 'correct-appearing'. They were both P2/3's (not a P3/4 and a 412P) - The was 'N°23' was #0826 and the 'N°26' was #0832 - IIRC. What's more - the organisers even managed to get the display line-up (should be 23; 24; 26 Left to Right) the wrong way around !! Image Unavailable, Please Login
Mr. Moderator: If you could turn on the post editing function in this thread, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks..
I'll post some more photos of #0850 on track (in yellow - presumably in LS's ownership) later - if anyone is interested. Incidentally, I'm surprised that no-one has yet asked the question (or stated) that this is the 412P from the 'Victory by Design' video .... .... but I have another question for 'Roadtripguy' (or his father, if I may). It appears to me (and I may be wrong about this) that #0850 has lost it's original double curvature (quarter-spherical) windshield - only to have it replaced by an inferior (cheaper) single curvature item, like we use on the Noble P4 (and other P4 replicas). Am I correct ? At what point did this happen - after the Watkins Glen accident / rebuild ? It's hard to see in many photos, but these few show it quite well. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
