Edwin K. Niles RIP (1924-2021)

sad to read
hey may R.I.P.
but he got very old. hope he had no pain

 

Mr. Niles had an enthusiasm for these cars and this hobby that seemed unparalleled. He was truly generous in the way in which he shared his adventures with the rest of us. RIP

 

A Ferrari life well lived. RIP

 

A way to summarize Ed Niles is "Ed Niles."

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

I communicated with him quite a lot about the Nembo Spyder 1777GT and the Breadvan but only met him in person once, in Los Angeles, at Stephen Mitchell's get together on Sunset April 2013. I was very glad he finally decided to do his automotive autobiography as he had been reluctant but I encouraged him to do so. I hope the book which he had said was nearly finished will still come out. What a life, 96 years, a very important, respected and well liked person in the classic Ferrari world: bravo Sir and RIP.

 

Ed and Dick Merritt are two of my heroes. Thank you for your fellowship, rest in peace gentlemen.

 

RIP...FERRARI LEGEND!

 

Very sad news. Was one of the nicest Ferrari guys.

 

RIP. The vintage section here is one of the few reasons I stick around and loved reading his comments. Big loss to the Ferrari community.

 

Ed,

You will be missed but you did have a great time while with us.

I first got to know Ed while a student at Art Center of Design in Los Angeles and hanging out with the Ferrari Owners Club. There are a lot of stories with Ed here are a few:

That issue of the Ferrari Owners Club magazine was done by Chuck Queener; cover watercolor and as editor. Chuck had been the president of the FOC but a club requirement was that the president had to be a Ferrari owner. At the time Chuck was the assistant art director at Motor Trend so that was not a reality Ed "loaned" him a 275 GTB so it could be claimed he was an owner.

By the time that that issue of the magazine was published, Ed had already sold that SWB.

There was a particular Zagato bodied 250 TdF that went through Ed's hands several times. His then wife (not Phoebe) told him that it could not come back again. He bought it again and there was a divorce. He allegedly told friends "but the car was so pretty".

On the West Coast the fascination with tracing Ferrari serial numbers was mostly non-existent even by the early 1970s. A notable exception was Ed.

 

Sad to hear. RIP, Mr Niles.

 

Sue and I were honored to call Ed a "friend" for over 50 years. He was one of the "good guys". Ed was lucky enough to be a part of the Ferrari World in a time when it was all so "new". Every event we attended brought us in contact with cars we had never seen or heard of. It was all so exciting. He was the "leader' of the California group and was very active in the FOC. The FCA, based primarily in the Detroit/Chicago area viewed the other club with some "competitiveness". However, Ed was the bridge the kept ALL the enthusiasts together. Very few enthusiasts of the older cars, in that era, had a lot of money, especially the "club" members. Ed's profession allowed him slightly more discretionary funds (not a lot more), so he was able to buy, import and sell lots of great cars which helped populate the States with many great Ferraris. In the Midwest, John Delamater filled the same niche, helping spread the enthusiasm and knowledge buy helping get cars to the people who loved them. Many of the great cars have one or both of these gentleman's names in their owner history. Ed was lucky to retain his mental capability to the end and his contributions to this forum are a treasure.

 

Had pleasure and privilege to have met Mr. Niles briefly on few occasions at various events. A cool, true old school gentleman.

 

A terrible loss to our community, but certainly a life well-lived. Godspeed Mr Niles

 

As a young guy when I first joined F-Chat, I remember being amazed by the cars that passed through his hands and reading about his experiences. I literally felt like I knew some of the California players from back in the day just from his tales. Also, his memory for details and items was incredible, I looked forward to all of his posts.

I occasionally sent him messages and asked questions, he always responded and was a true gentleman. Sad to hear of his passing.

RIP.

Erik

 

Spoke with Ed a few years back, maybe 2012/13, very nice gentleman. I'm a bit younger, but he was kind and eager to help with questions.

Rest in Peace

 

RIP Mr. Niles. Like some others here, I had the privilege of interacting with him a few times. I bought a few titles from his Ferrari book collection when he sold it off. He was a true gentleman and I always enjoyed his stories.

 

RIP

 

I never met Mr. Niles, but always loved his posts here over the years. What a life! RIP.

 

Oh, no. I’m very sorry to hear about this.

Sincere condolences to the Niles family.

 

As I wrote in the other thread, he was the definition of a legend. I will so miss his posts here, and like Marc I hope his book does come out in some form. RIP.

 

Ed recently emailed me that he would like to come over again to meet my new shopdog "Mickey Mentens"...

Yes, a Ferrari life well lived and the nicest man ever who easily shared his knowledge to us comparatively so green behind the ears. His interest was not only Ferrari though... When he heard my shop restoring Iso and Bizzarrini cars moved close to him he wanted to visit and reminisce about the Isos he owned. He had his hands on two important Sebring racers; Iso Grifo A3/C B0210 and B0214. Ed just knew and loved special cars.

My sincere condolences to the family. Thank you for the cool stories Ed, Godspeed to you - it was an honor to have known you.
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Ed truly was a legend. RIP.