A few more taken by my wife. She asked what I thought of her images. "Much better than the ones I do" was my reply. Ive learned. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ryan, I have noticed a speck of dust on it Seriously though, I fired it up this morning, barking megaphones and all, and took my oldest son for a quick breakfast and we filled some premium gas on the way back. Total distance traveled: 14 miles. The odometer tripped 1,201 km (750 miles). Pathetic I know, but I had to be back home to take care of a bunch of other things *sigh* but at least we got all systems and components warmed and operational, and had a blast, till the next time I use it who-knows-when... I sold the latest F40 that I had last year, but it wasn't a personal car as with the GTO, it was a purchased-to-sell car which is exactly what I did.
I have about a Dozen of them in my stores somewhere, they were the same fixings as Alfa Romeo used on similar vintage cars.. However, they are, or they go, very brittle with age, one has to be so careful either screwing them in or out, (Tip to Detailers and Boiled sweet owners) i find its best to pour boiling water on them first to soften them before even attempting to move them.. Very OT.. i actually once did sell some and a rear set of Alfetta lights to a guy, ended up on a Countach Replica my bad...
Correct, and for the 288 GTO, they are from the FIAT parts bin, together with the rear number plate illuminators which are embossed "FIAT"...
I'm very impressed Joe, i never knew you had a GTO. I knew you were passionate about them but i respect your taste, Miura, Countach, GTO those really are the crem de la crem. The exact top 3 cars i would own if i had the means. Although i could easily have 30 or more in my dreams!
As was the starter motor.. oh and not to mention the Indicator column stalks, one headlamp motor, an electric window switch (and quiet a few other bits that i had to scavenge off a rusted out Fiat X1-9) to get an old Mondial decent enough a few years ago !!
Or how about those unobtainium Weber fuel pumps? God bless the Maserati Bi-turbos being parted out around the world. They use the exact same Weber fuel pump as in the GTO. (Of course, they use one, and we use two.) I've already taken advantage of MIE's parting out of Bi-Turbo engines to snag a few. Putting in Bosch fuel pumps would just be to darn easy..... The Weber fuel injectors, though, are unique to the GTO. Steve
Steve, Accel makes a pump that is nearly a twin. I have used them in 288's, it is very nearly a bolt in and they are a far better part.
Yup. The various injectors, either Weber or Bosch, that are installed are better parts as well, but not original. Steve
The owner tells me that this is the ex-1984 Turin Auto Salon 288 GTO, here in the USA. @ 10,000 km in very nice condition. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I recently had a pair of new Weber fuel pumps installed, and had the injectors re-calibrated and the car flies compared to how it ran before. The fuel system in these cars (filters/pumps/lines/tanks) needs to be looked at very carefully if the car has not been used over great periods of time... Image Unavailable, Please Login
Our 56331 was supplied new to Jacques Swaters of Ecurie Francorchamps fame, best known for his yellow-liveried racing Ferraris. According to Piero Ferrari: "When my father introduced me to his freind Jacques Swaters, he specified that he was a great Ferrari collaborator [from the celebrated Gianni Rogliatti book which documents the racing exploits of Ecurie Francorchamps]. 338.X.3 was a Belgian registration that belonged to Jaques Swaters from the early 60s. It symbolizes an era when race cars were driven on the street to the race track, raced, then driven home again. Swaters registered this plate on several of his important race cars, including 250 SWB #1965, 250 SWB #2053, 250 SWB #2179, 250 GTO #4153, 250 GTO #4757, 250 GTO #5575 (the last GTO built), 250 LM #5483, and 275 GTB/C #9027, as they competed at Le Mans, Spa, Monza, Nurburgring etc. The aforementioned Rogliatti book details some of Swater's adventures on the road such as stopping in Paris in GTO 4153 to celebrate in a nightclub after finishing 4th overall/2nd in class at Le Mans registering several sleepless nights before completing the trip back to Belgium! In June 1985, Swaters registered 338.X.3 on 56331, and drove to the Zandvoort 288 GTO meeting, as documented in a period image graciously supplied to me by Marcel Massini. Just for fun, Ive kept the historic number 338.X.3 on the car... Image Unavailable, Please Login
Slightly OT but here are some of the famed cars that carried 338.X.3 in the 1960s in action at celebrated venues... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hmmm.... What turn is the first picture? Funny, I should know since I was clearly there. I would have thought the only right turns that would put that kind of attitude into the car would be 3 or 4, but it doesn't look either of turns from the asphalt. But, that could just be a camera thing. The car should be at Thunderhill on April 10th. I did drive it in the pouring rain down the coast of California to Carmel for lunch with some like minded individuals the other day. Steve
