progress shots of 0556(0446)MD Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Very cool. How long did it take? I'd hurry up and get on with the rest, though. You can almost feel the rust worm starting to work. Thanks for sharing. Dale
Those hammer marks tell tales. It's beautiful! How long did it take... and how many gallons of Jasco? john
truly a work of art - aesthetic and mechanical. i have loved following your restoration - although it's more of the next chapter in a continuing history - as it should be.
awesome project.. hahahahahahahahahahahah sorry, I just looked at your profile and your interests is hilarious!! I think it is the greatest one I have ever seen!
Hey....Bryan, weren't you saying stuff about the value of original paint in the over restoration thread??? Soon I'll be the only one left with a non mirror finish Ferrari! Besides my protest, the body shell looks very cool! Regards, Art S.
I am sure that there are many professional restorers out there who would replace this body as it is "too far gone". I am also sure there are many owners who would follow this advice without noticing there is a hand in their pocket. Best wishes, Kare
how I wish we had the original paint! Since (1) the factory painted it french racing blue for Picard in 55, it has also been (2) dark blue by Chinetti for Rubirosa, (3) a medium blue by Robert Davis, and (4) red by my father in 1961. We found a few areas of original FRB undamaged by UV underneath the instrument bezels, so we have an exact match for the blue. We're bringing it back to its original blue, but it will be far from mirror finish. We are essentially doing nothing to the body except for filler (as Scaglietti did) at the panel seams and the rivet and tack weld points to the frame. Hammer marks and assorted imperfections will remain. There were some panels, such as the hood and the tonneau, that had absolutely no filler at all. As I have mentioned in another thread, the only serious crash damage to this car occurred at Nassau 56 when the car spun and was hit from behind by Arnolt in his steel-bodied Arnolt Bristol. A picture of this damage is on p.59 of Cavallino 144. Although in 1961 my dad did a remarkable job remanufacturing that rear quarter in his novice attempt at body-work (thin gauge aluminum at that), we will probably do a bit more on it now.
Bryan, I was trolling and you bit. The car is great! I look forward to further progress reports. How is the drivetrain coming? Regards, Art S.
Fabulous pictures. You write that 0556 (0446) MD was dark blue with Rubirosa. Was that during the 1956 Sebring 12 Hours race with r#33? Thanks for sharing the pictures. -Kevin
you are correct, Kevin (BTW, I see Jan is selling 0536?). Rubirosa and Pauley drove it to first in class for 2-liter. The funny thing about the dark blue paint job is that it was sprayed directly over the FRB livery you see in my avatar for the GP of Venezuela. The car wore the SF shields for that GP since it was a factory team entry (Castellotti/Schell). The dark blue paint that Chinetti sprayed on did not react well with the SF shields, so it appears that they peeled themselves off, leaving a FRB shield in the middle of the dark blue - you can see this if you look carefully at any of the 56 Sebring pics (or any of the pics when Hassan subsequently owned the car and was part of the "Cincinnati Gang"). Art - I bit - I just want to be clear re: what we are doing and what we are not doing w/ the car. I will post some drivetrain pics a few minutes.
valve/spring assembly; clutch discs; first motion shaft. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Great pix--I love 'em. Just thought I should mention that there is a new book out about Rubirosa which includes a little bit about his racing efforts. It seems to be mostly about the size of his "member". Book ("The Last Playboy") says he had a 166MM, a 166MM Series 2 (picture shows a Vignale sp), a 375MM berl., and of course he died in a 250GT Cabrio. There must be a couple more; the book says he had 6 F-cars. It also mentions that he was just a fair driver. I would have to agree--I saw him at Santa Barbara ( I think) and he took every corner in a series of little straights, sawing away at the wheel but not going fast enough to break anything loose. Sorry if this is what you call a highjack! When you get old, you ramble! S/Ns, anyone?
Besides our car, Ruby also owned Series I Mondial 0464MD. Ruby ran our car for the first two races of the 55 Nassau, but let Ebby Lunken drive it for the third race becuase he wanted to fly back to Miami to play polo . . . definitely the playboy. p.s. in the photos above, the tranny pic is of the third motion shaft; not the first.
Yes Bryan I’m indeed selling the Mondial. I did everything with the car I ever wished: The Mille Miglia, 2x Le Mans Classic and three times the Ferrari Challenge season with two times third and once first in class in 2003. With the 275GTB , the Stanguellini formula junior and in future the 156 F1 (for which we hope to get FIA papers) I have already to much to drive for the whole year, and as you know I’m not a guy who only wants to look to his cars or do concours d’elegances but like to drive and race them. Although I have to admit that if I’ll sell the car it will be with pain in my hart, especially as I discovered so much of it’s history also with a lot of help of experts (including your dad). So I’ll finish with 3 pictures of the Mondial with his “modern racing” body and jig and original body signed by Olivier Gendebien (was this coincidence ?). Happy new year to you and your family. Regards, Jan Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ed, I got the same book for Christmas from a friend. Haven't read it yet, but it does look interesting. It also seems that when you get old, you get books about guys like Rubirosa (Rubberhosa). Not sure what that means. I owe you an e-mail with some comments. Tomorrow...for sure. And I still (proudly) have my pin. O.G.
Dear Dinosaur followers, Who would have believed it? Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the Petrolicious video of the blue car at: http://tinyurl.com/hsd2fdl It has had over 169,000 views which is about 8 times more than I would have guessed. Looks like the fifteen minutes has gone on and on. The car has just been confirmed as a participant in the Arizona Concours in January 2017. If any of you plan on attending, stop past and say Hi. Best regards,
Great. The more people get to see and hear these wonderful cars the better. Will you drive her there? There are back roads so you can avoid the boring I40. A sort of homage to the time you drove her coast to coast. Maybe even just drive her part of the way through the hills near your place or along the 60 or 260. That would be fun.