Josh, There are so many cool stories regarding Tom and how and what he did. It amazes me how he simply moved to Italy and went to work. I have heard lots of stuff, and there are so many unbelievable stories that we happen to know are true. I have to ask, any truth to the rumors of Tom and a "Chase"? Shawn
Tom kind of reminded me of "Lucky Casner", the Pan Am pilot, but without a race team. Both American's ended up in Modena at the right time it seems.
Was this car ever in a movie? I have this faded memory of an Italian movie with a brief scene on a country road where a car with these spaghetti exhaust headers appears. But I have not been able to track it down. Also attached is a photo of a 1968 Corvette with similar side pipes. This one was tricked out by its owner with a body kit from a speed shop called Motion Performance. Motion itself built about ten turnkey versions, that were sold as Baldwin Motion Phase III Corvettes. But these side pipes were fairly common on C3 Corvettes in the 70's. Sorry for the almost-highjack. My main interest is with respect to a possible movie credit for the Thomassima III. I would love to see it again, this movie with the car with the side pipes. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
For one man, alone, Tom Meade is unsurpassed in his accomplishments in the Ferrari world. He took on the big shots and outdid them at their own game. That took balls of titanium!
Well Lucky was a Maserati man anyway and he did just as much as Tom with that companies cars, with very little of his own money.
The bottom half of my eyes hurts now... That Corvette has no place here. Thomassima III was completed in 67, I believe. Corvettes were poor attempts to imitate Ferrrari. Tom told me that he learned his lesson with his Thomassima II being used as a movie car and was adamant that I never let them use my Pangea or any other car I have built. He told me that they damaged his TII. I highly doubt he would have let any movie company touch the Thomassima III.
Its no wonder that they hit it off from the start. Tom spoke very highly of Lucky and was proud to know him. These two Americans were pushing the envelope in Italy. Tom had to be charismatic to get Enzo, Fantuzzi, Bertocci, Casner, Scaglieti and on to help him out and become his trusted friends. Ferrari, Maserati and Fantuzzi employees converged to help Meade build his masterpieces after their work days. That was an amazing accomplishment on its own for a guy who arrived in Italy with just over $400 dollars in his pockets.
Thank you all for contributing and stay tuned. There is so much to this story which needs told. For Tom and for us.
One day while we were working away, Tom told me an amazing story about a "wild" Ferrari police chase that he had when he was out in Texas. Here it is... Tom Meades Wild Car Chase by Josh Lange © Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved. It all started on a test drive in Texas after Tom, his mechanic friend, and trusted german shepherd, Meccanico, loaded into a 246 Dino they had had just repaired. The 246 Dino was Toms favorite Ferrari of all to drive and he was about to push this one to the limits. Tom told me that the weight, size and mid-engine configuration made this car unbelievably fast and fun to drive. On this day, all of that would be put to the test, as Tom caught a glimpse of the flashing police lights behind him, pulling him over. Tom was getting pulled over and being the rebel that he was, he decided that a 4-door police car was no match for his Ferrari 246 Dino. Tom looked over at his mechanic friend, who had Meccanico on his lap, belted out an expletive and then proceeded to smash the gas pedal to the floor. An epic Ferrari chase had just begun, and Tom was right at home in a Ferrari, driving fast. Tom looked to take the first turn he could find, and then the next, and continued to do this through town. He was comfortable driving on the left or right side of the road, just as he was fluent in Italian and English. The police were pretty close at first, but with each hard turn they started to drift back. Tom challenged the police to a few games of chicken by leading them into on-coming traffic briefly, then he started to go fast. Very fast. By this time, the police had set up a roadblock on the highway out of town and Tom had every cop available chasing him. In the distance ahead, Tom saw a roadblock and the eye of a needle, glistening, as a possible escape, on the side of the road. Tom knew that the police had shot someone in just such a chase the day before. But he also knew that they had not had the advantage of a Ferrari 246 Dino. The police were all behind their cars with guns drawn waiting. Keep in mind, this was Texas and you dont mess with Texas. As Tom approached at 120mph, and accelerating, the right hand side of the roadblock had an opening and Tom knew his little Ferrari would just fit. So once again, he floored it, to the surprise and terror of the waiting police. They started running and I squeezed between the police car and the fence, in the dirt, with inches to spare, at over 120mph, said Tom as we worked away one afternoon on the Thomassima IIII. The police could not believe their eyes as the Dino disappeared down the open highway, out of sight. Unfortunately, Tom was on a test drive when this started and the tank was not full. Suddenly, the car ran out of gas, and Tom coasted to a stop. He figured that the police would surely shoot his dog, so Tom led Meccanico to a hiding place in the nearby bushes. Tom had bought five precious minutes of space between himself and the whole police department by the time he ran out of gas. When the police arrived, Tom and his friend were waiting patiently. After Tom was put into the back of a squad car, the officer turned around and with a smile on his face, said to Tom, That was the coolest car chase ever! and that they all had fun pursuing him. The other officers transported Meccanico, and his friend, safely to the police station. © Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thank you for the thread. I spent a lot of time reading about him when he died last year. You have to admire his work which was outrageous at the time and the polar opposite to what Pininfarina was doing.
Please read my article,"Tom Meade, The Legend Lives On" about Tom Meade, Enzo and the 330 P3/4 0846 on the P4/5 Competizionne website, Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus ? Ferrari P3/4 0846
Neither. I screwed up by asking the question of post 20, foot of page 1 of this thread, failing to appreciate there was already a page 2 and subsequent posts. Having asked the question, and having recognised that I should have included the original quote of post 20, I then found I couldn't delete it. Ah well - long answer to a short question. Just goes to show that a very infrequent contributor to this place ought to know his place, and keep out of it... Sorry. DCN
When I was in Italy at the Ferrari Museum last month, they had the car there on display. It was cool to see it after reading the article in Forza. Scott
Quite a few purists said the same thing about the Thomassima. No need to disparage Corvettes, early Ferraris took a number of design cues from other marques as well. I always found Mr. Meade's creations to be beautiful.
...eh....? Since when is a 246 Dino a fast car?? I drove one that belonged to a friend and was quite disappointed! Best on the Dino is the great look and the noise. But thats all IMO!
