Where were 308 GT4 Built?

The assembly number is really still visible on the wheel arch liner... Wow! Very cool.

 

The assumption that "painted and trimmed" means that all of the wiring and interior were installed with Ferrari simply installing the drive train seems a stretch to me. Seems like a lot of detail work requiring a clean environment that would not be best done in a metal fabrication shop. That's also a lot of inventory part numbers to carry and restock.

 

The GT4's front hood is wide, almost the whole width of the car. That car back there seems to have a much smaller front opening.

 

From what I've heard, Bertone was one of the more diversified 'coach builders', so maybe they could or did assemble these up to where Fcar installs the drive train. They did a ton of work with Fiat and even built and assembled the last year or 2 of the X 1/9s at Bertone and even badged it Bertone. The drivetrain came from fiat but nothing else and fiat on the cars. I had rusty old bertone 850s in high school but somebody else here would know much more about how they worked together. It also helps that all of these cars were much simpler 40 yrs ago...the wiring for example isn't too too complicated. I don't know if Scagletti could do this stuff at that time though

Isn't the front opening smaller on series 1 GT4s than series 2 and 3s? Maybe that's a series 1? Still, I agree it's not real clear in the pic but damn that's a lot of stratos in the middle of the pic. How many of those survived?!

 

No idea. Even the number of Stratoses originally built is debated. They're were supposed to homologate around 400 I think but the old wives tale is that Lancia made far fewer and when the FIA came to homologate, They parked 200 or so in a field for inspection in the morning and then took the FIA officials to lunch. While they were at lunch, an army of drivers moved all the cars to a different location which the FIA officials were taken too after lunch. Homogolation done!

Probably just a story but cool none the less.

OK, so if that's an Urraco on the line at Bertone, which I think it must be, we still have no photographic evidence of were the body shells were assembled just two contradictory written sources.

 

Vaccari and Bosi has been a long time supplier of chassis to Ferrari; they supplied the châssis for the whole 308 and 328 family (= GT4, GTB, GTS). There are known published pictures of chassis piled-up in the backyard of the factory.

Rgds

 

Google via Pinterest.com. Alternate sources for the image as provided by Google:

https://www.google.com/search?tbs=sbi:AMhZZitwPBZXE0uyBby_1wmXeAGLtz51_14SgKIz2WI7Dq0Ozw7v0e671KC0PLfWZF2mM7fGDvFwZF7OKm62MG9GYU8DrCkbM25HdE8g_1b4RwdVgkgiMNKg0jfdIk2r9JCcU6Weia9WQKHvyDwlyBR8mqj6kKUxpbkZrK-ic2jo_1udNmx7AJu9fGFVlrB2eDGoZx16UwablHAqDZ492q2FyuZ87ZhciPCCx9k1v33TU4VI9YRFNn13F2js6z49Q5m2uFfKkPN8_1w2eYJVfozwjRxf9PUoCPbvf5vW3G9oENWd_1BS9Yi0JQmSyavgOcx07CP6wCMcZmvQd8zPHUGYT-VxYRUFIkM2IHRdRnCSXNOoKFTqw877WNguh3PoA-CBABLJ4dtJ7ZBRheFXx9gBas1BmefsN3zoIxLYE3wUTb9egU-3mk1Mnl6UoPRPLqUsUPUJlB34N7U8Ghlkbv5SxPxD_1XuiM5ZbR4iHLbmbFykt1An4d_1-swf0kW2jw3Bjis6zauWelIEzPiMQIuZ8UFRsF_1vfbm67a8ZTlYSuPSpQU9wWxAWXMHpFPYoRsqOJL5s0RaOPZDlg9zkLwYn4HIkhs8RqsLM5yCA6uIG9LSaocmnBmk6Ei1x3EjsZNmEG-jsP209q5LnQH_1ABAgP8aVWbay3bWSSc_1vpCXSU3gqw3MqhPZ_1S_1NzAVbm82AbqGHqU5y2bXjiTdk3UxS8mLECGX8Ee0bywCcjPoNHEzVKRvttj6mfkfJwD-A0xZCfcyciqHHf5FqU35xXedITANRBRdXt6AHk8KZNjddup_1EDGen3rf_1RFIJxGCGCng_1NCbUDlBIZwSzKqu1uEAGHxlfrI-15LZep8YZn1X3Brw6Ul_1eOv1rf7T8fcHMXJJa6zkWk8vyaJLLxNlrqDOKgDXCTDLry6g5bXf618q-NqLUFJxgd6g1IbuQO6gwLpKBw5HqO_1_1oGc0rPhyWGz3V9ZRIiPaoCQr4mKODaT03wyFrgh2xuXjb_1Ml81WpAL-_12u18KFwtRT5pReY9AbIvkmhJRZyjW_1IktTpoRmmeOItglQt2yXd2QGYxg7P0sqKozj-HgDViA-PVgYQMMH3RslWzlUBBTjoMIP88_1vmAIGsffVbMiYlwpG2sIUMHiFOXHok_1qE8NyZqGtlwHxtstyt4OflEW7RyvRCLi4qj9L5MWswY6RMPGVxzaMQ81PNLJsvsH4PPoQ3AjhQP5OkgmXvUMePzkrl16bTIBcB0qUJmst9wflBXi6eYR91jYeJs_1e07SyxluSbtqzPIB4v0i3MZz_14yMU3_1fMmJQIbDVTdAZG0DaK-bmm63rBlQjMo-DNLl_1i1hmtzem1kBn1SqnU6OcGj2KzdEca4q6JWTtc01WXfR9NJlrrNsGPuPbUGWTpM8xrgypOpZMgWQCwatlBy96uF_1ScYCoCSkGZZXYAVOTAFoFIiVvGUy9KNFnthObodUkPC4yA-rXOt-XLWl4UX8D-4TxfIs0mrTA1ceed04qnauPaQUe3hg6Em7XN-S2lvc0AeREijqXq8di9RRzUHGF52FRLWxMYkf82WrxS_1V_11-gGV5SG5sWUk-3RfVfk3YqnyTbxEKH0cLHNVIN3oAvU1TK0U_1OgrCWJU8eXvpLWOJ_1hImIqVBcCfsenzanZ1bqBKN4O74n6AxLCWJ7&hl=en


I also found a photo of the left side of the same factory line... "Lambos to the left of them, lambos to the right" (Espadas)

The source for this image was an abandoned blog from 2015 with the same bricks and mortar address as a dry cleaners in manhattan beach, CA! (Note they are also a notary public!?!? LOL)
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Enzo Ferrari hated to be called the Commendatore (except by women), this has been said time and time again.
For instance, quoted in Hans Tanner 6th edition during an 1977 interview in Maranello:
"Listen! Do not call me the Commendatore! Except when at the barber, where they all are Commendatore. But here, in my factory, call me simply "Ferrari".

There is an inerview of his former personnal assistant, Brenda Vendnor, in the last issue of Motorsport Magazine; she never calls him "Commendatore", only "Ingeniere".

Chris Amon, who was team leader of the Scuderia from 1967 to 1969, and a favorite driver of Enzo: "he disliked to be called "Commendatore", but in the factory quite liked to be callled "Ingeniere"; but when he phoned me at home, he introduced himself always with the simple "Ferrari".

Rgds

 

Funny enough, years ago I remember seeing a photo that looked just like these photos that some how either had a GT4 in it or had some comments associated that pointed to the GT4. I guess that where the interwebs break down-I can't find it. I know it involved some discussion of a new stratos that Ferrari put the brakes on when the builders wanted to use a 430 platform, and I can't find that on Fchat any longer either. They didn't make many GT4s, but they sure made a lot less of the stratos or say the lambo espada. There's got to be a pic out there

 

Over lunch I have started searching my library of around 70 books on Ferrari. Not found anything conclusive yet. I did find a photo of the first GT4 coming out of the factory on a test... the styling was somewhat different from the production version. I also found out that Ferrari assumed manufacturing duties for the last Fiat Dino Coupes that had previously been built at Bertone. This was a factor in the renewed, closer ties between Ferrari and Bertone at that time and it is proposed, a factor in the design of the GT4 going to Bertone instead of Pininfarina.

Anyway... page 38 of "Ferrari V8", Beki Adam" states:

"If the debut was lukewarm, the reception was decidedly cool. The new body, built by Scaglietti, was angular and wedge-shaped..."

Not sure I believe it though but another data point. And still no photos of body production.

 

Photo from "Ferrari" Fitzgerald, Merritt and Thompson:

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Note they say "Bertone Dino"

 

I just realized I've been spelling Scaglietti wrong with only one I. It's looking like I should spell it correctly since they may have had a lot to do with my car. Funny how we have all this available digital info and technology avail but we still have to dig back into books to find out where over 2000 cars were made. Somebody didn't want this to be easy to find and I think their name probably starts with an E (a really big E in case he's on here)

 

i dont think the org was done in clay...

 

i recall it was plaster or wood?

 

Commendatore was a title bestowed on him by the facist regime. Not something to be proud of post war.