The Provenance of 0353 AL - 375 America (1958 to 1974)

This continues to puzzle me? Why would you not want these documents?

Oh well....

Thaks for putting this up here. Very cool to look back at a cars history.

I think as these cars age their ownership history will become more and more appreciated.

 

Sorry; the face looks familiar, but...

 

I agree that it's probably blue, hard to tell the difference between blue and black in the photo. I don't think that there was a mention in the Ordeal of having the car painted between it's arrival in the US (January 1959 per the freight bill) and the date of the next two pictures (June 1959). These are the last from the 1950's, and were taken in the same location as mentioned previously. Next will be the 1960's... If anyone can identify the person in the photo in response to Ed Niles please do. All photos Copyright Scott Fitch 2013
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what a contrast with the modesty of the house and the exotic car. a true enthusiast.
maybe back then a ferrari was very obtainable financially, just had to really understand and appreciate what they were and their specialness.

 

At the time the picture was taken my father lived in Los Angeles; this house was my Aunt's in the community of Clairemont in San Diego. The backyard of the house overlooked Mission Bay. These houses now are mini-mansions with great views of the ocean and the bay. This was a weekend visit. Most people at the time didn't know what a Ferrari was...the first photo I call the "Barney" photo; that was the first thing that came to mind, I'm amazed that I can't remember the ride to the house in the Ferrari, but the name of their dog (you can see his back end in the photo) immediately came to mind when I saw the scans of the original negative.

 

Next batch of photos is dated May, 1960 at an unknown location. All photos copyright Scott Fitch 2013.
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I had overlooked an English translation of the Owners manual, attached is the Title page (of 37). Trying to catalog all this material is difficult, and I've not even started on the restoration. In addition to the material organized in a three ring binder, I have 2 or 3 large envelopes of unsorted documents, letters, spec's etc. As it seems these forums are partial to pictures, I've attached scans of the 2" x 2" Black and White negatives from November of 1961, to be followed by the scans from the color slides, taken concurrently. I don't know where these pictures were taken, but some of the historic photos of 0353 AL I've seen before may be copies made from these first generation scans...All photos and documents copyright Scott Fitch 2013
View attachment English Translation of Owners Manual Pg 1 of 35.pdf
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Great and extremely clear photos Scott.

 

Wow...what a great thread. The vintage Ferrari group just keeps getting more treasures to appreciate.

 

Another batch of color slides evidently taken at the same time (November, 1961) as the B&W photos posted previously. The sign on the first picture may have been used when the car was on display. Still have the sign on my bookcase...Next set will be from the same time period, primarily of the engine. All photos Copyright Scott Fitch 2013
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why did your dad sell this car and what did he replace it with?

 

The short answer was that he was anticipating his retirement in 1973 or 1974 from employment as a Flight Dispatcher with Trans World Airlines (TWA). He would often state in his correspondence with suppliers and parts manufacturers that he could "drop in" to pick up or drop off a part, whether it was in Milan, New York or whatever airport TWA serviced. He didn't explicitly disclose that the reason he could do so was that the flights were free, one of the benefits of employment in the airline business. After he sold the Ferrari, he bought a Pantera, but I'm unsure of the year or model. His daily driver was a 1964 Ford Falcon with a V-8 truck engine. Basically a Hot Rod. He kept both the Pantera and the Falcon until 2001.

 

thanks for your reply. massive change to a pantera. seems he was looking for something simpler mechanically.
ed

 

I seem to recall that the early Panteras were designed as well by Vignale. That and the fact that they were fast cars. I had one drive in the Pantera, in 1979 or early 80's. As I remember, I was in second gear and going north of 120 m.p.h. when I ran out of road on Highway 1 south of Lompoc. My daily driver at the time was a Ford Fiesta. I don't think I was ready for a Pantera.

 

They were badged Ghia. Which was owned by Ford at that point as I remember.

 

Wow! what a real treat this thread has been. Thank you so much for sharing these pictures and documents. It really is like travelling back in time. I like how you remember the dog rather than the Ferrari- I love dogs and can fully understand that at that age you ofcourse remember the dog.

I look forward to seeing more pictures and documents. Again thank you for sharing. You have made many peoples day here I can imagine.

 

One of my tasks was selling the Pantera. Unfortunately, it was "incorrect" in several aspects, and had a poor paint job, so I had a hard time selling it. I don't recall how much it went for, but I remember that I was quite disappointed. Turns out that Pantera buyers are as picky as Ferrari buyers. I had to drive it back to L.A. from Lompoc, and my only recollection is that it was hot, very noisy, and not pleasant to drive.

Here are a few pix of the de Rethy 250GT, 0359GT, so you can see how similar they are. (First pic by Dean Batchelor.)
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0359 GT's proportions look markedly different (i.e. being as it's a GT 'short' chassis).

 

Note that DeTomaso owned both Vignale and Ghia and banked on Ghia name (which turned out good for him (bought it for 650K in May '67 and sold 80% stake for 2,8M in 1970, then repurchased DeT Automobili and relinquised Ghia's 20% in 1975 for another 5M.

 

Things are never simple with DeTomaso.

 

Great pictures. The cars do seem markedly similar. If I've learned one thing in reviewing all this material, it is that pictures of the car AND the driver are much rarer than would be expected. But I guess you have to find someone willing to take the picture. In any case, I've attached the last pictures from November of 1961. They seem to be focusing more and more on the Engine...The last picture I have posted previously, and used a high resolution scan of the negative to identify the Ferrari-Vignale emblem on the trunk, mentioned elseware on this forum. All photos copyright Scott Fitch 2013.
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So beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

 

It appears that the process of restoration was ongoing, as the Ordeal was written in 1963 and the documentation enclosed generally dates from 1965 through 1968. The scrapbook pages have a mixture of business cards, advertisements and what-not included. These are stapled onto the index sheets; I've scanned them as they are. I've attached two engine pictures from slides dated July 1966. I have some additional Color 2.5" X 2.5" negatives of the engine from what I believe is the same time period, but won't be available for a week or so. I reached the maximum of 25 files, so the remaining 2 scrapbook pages will have to wait. All Photos & Documents Copyright Scott Fitch 2013
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View attachment 1965-06-23 Letter to Geon Intl ( Weber) Requesting Carburetor Parts & Settings.pdf
View attachment 1965-06-25 Letter From Geon Intl ( Weber) Advising that they have Requested Carburetor Calibrati.pdf
View attachment 1965-08-16 Letter to Geon Regarding Carburetor Specs Supplied.pdf
View attachment 1965-09-22 Letter to Edward Astri (Wheels).pdf
View attachment 1965-09-25 Response from Edward Astri (Wheels).pdf
View attachment 1965-10-16 Letter to Ferrari Requesting Parts.pdf
View attachment 1965-10-20 Letter From Ferrari Regarding Parts Availability (Reduced).pdf
View attachment 1965-10-29 Letter to Guy Menoni Requesting Parts.pdf
View attachment 1965-12-02 Invoice from Luigi Chinetti Motors.pdf
View attachment 1965-12-03 Letter to Guy Menoni Requesting Rocker Arms.pdf
View attachment 1965-12-06 Letter to Ed Winfield (Cams).pdf
View attachment 1965-12-24 Letter to Maxwell Fassett Inquiring of Rocker Arms from Luigi Chinetti Motors.pdf
View attachment 1966-12-24 Letter to Dick Merritt.pdf
View attachment 1968-09-03 Letter to Edward Astri (Wheels).pdf
View attachment 1968-09-06 Response from Edward Astri (Wheels).pdf
View attachment 1968-09-30 Letter from Edward Astri Regarding Ferrari Wheels.pdf
View attachment Page 1 Scrapbook & Business Cards (Undated).pdf
View attachment Page 2 Scrapbook & Business Cards (Undated).pdf
View attachment Page 3 Scrapbook & Business Cards (Undated).pdf
View attachment Page 4 Scrapbook & Business Cards (Undated).pdf
View attachment Page 5 Scrapbook & Business Cards (Undated).pdf
View attachment Page 6 Scrapbook & Business Cards (Undated).pdf

 

Maybe it's just me, but I could easily see an enlarged version of the first pic in post #48 hanging on my wall. Great shot! Scott, if there's any way we can make something happen in that vein, I'm all ears. Regardless, thanks for sharing. Great thread.

 

Hi Scott...I am Stuart from Pennsylvania ...I just wanted to thank you again for these fabulous posts...back in the day more enthusiasts were able to own and appreciate these fabulous maccinas...I wish we could go back to those times as I truly love the vintage ferraris the most...I live vicariously through wonderful insightful and genuine posts like yours...I wish I could own and drive one of these cars!...thanks again