John Delamater

Born Dec 16, 1923
Died July 22, 2013
John Delamater was one of the original eight men who met at Larry Nicklin's house in Fort Wayne, Indiana on Novermber 19, 1962 to discuss forming a Ferrari Club. This became the Ferrari Club of America that was incorporated October 24, 1963 with John as one of the six initial directors and the club's first Vice President. A resident of Indianapolis, John was a broker in Ferraris for decades, working from his apartment with nothing but a telephone. Noted for his low-key style and impeccable honesty, he had an encyclopedic memory and was able to paint incredibly detailed car descriptions over the phone, often in hour-long conversations. He advertised very little and had a following of loyal customers. He once explained to me, "I never sell a car for more than I would pay to buy it back." It was not unusual for him to handle the same car repeatedly among his cadre of customers. In the 1960's, he partnered with Kirk F. White and the two of them placed a stunning array of significant Ferraris into early collectors' hands. Among some of his sales were the 1965 LeMans-winning 250LM to the Indy Speedway Museum, former FCA president Fred Leydorf's first Ferrari (166 MM coupe) and significant cars to early collectors including Ken Hutchison, John Carmack and Norman Silver. Among these were the NART LeMans Dino, Superfast One, 4.9 Superfast, a 330 LMB, two 250MM's, two TdF's, one-off 250 speciales made for Prince Bernhard and Princess Liliane de Rethy, and many, many more. John continued in the business through 2008 when his health began to fail, but he never lost his enthusiasm. He loved cars and people, and was an influential pioneer who contributed much to the Ferrari world.

 

I met John 43 years ago. He was a neighbor that all us younger men envied. He was the reason I bought my 348. Good man.

 

I lived in Indianapolis in the early '70, John showed me a TDF which I coveted but would have had to drive to work in the slush of winter as I couldnt afford two cars at the time.
It was $7500.
I recall that he was a gentleman, and appreciated that he understood that I couldnt buy the car.
Malcolm