Unfortunately yes when all is said and done, one is looking at 40% duty, 14% VAT and various other duties which bring things up to roughly 60%. Add to this importing something LHD is even more difficult from a paper work point of view, not to mention actually trying to get the vehicle registered to drive on the roads here.
It's all rather silly, and the outcome of a strong lobby by the local manufacturers to protect their rediculous margins. We have to live with it. Jacques, I hope to see her in the flesh sometime soon. Perhaps we can have a shoot-out with the Daytona and the Khamsin (when I'm done) Best, Jack.
Went to fetch the car yesterday from the train station....had a short spin in it. I immediately understand what makes vintage Ferrari's so special, its hard to describe but they ooze character, the sound of the V12 even at idle. Will post more and some pictures later when I have my camera with me.
So the car arrived safely from it 1000 mile journey on the train. Let me try and paint and picture here, South African railway stations are pretty dirty places that attract a wide variety of people and its safe to say yesterday at 17:00 they all saw something quite different drive out of the dark train. The sound of the V12 as it was fired up, just magic, a growl. The car does need some work, not least the carbs need to be tuned for coastal conditions, it needs a comprehensive service. One the road its a truly unique experience, the smell of 40 odd years of fuel and oil in the cabin, the mechanical feel of the engine and the looks of people, the car attracted a lot of attention as we drove down the platform to exit the station. On the road the diff is quite violent in the way the LS works going around corners, thats going to be looked at but other than that it rides well, the V12 pulls quite well, thought again it will go better once serviced. All in all, sitting in a Daytona, its hard not to feel the weight of Ferrari history, hard not be seduced that for many years this was regarded as a truly titanic road going Ferrari, the feeling combined with the feel of the car creates something quite special. Some pictures, the car is going to be something of a project but everything is there and mechanically she is quite sound. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
She is gorgeous! I can imagine the stirr it caused at the station, must have been an out-of this-world experience. Get it mechanically sorted (carbs, all fresh fluids) and drive her before starting to pull stuff apart. A car is original only once. Envious! Best, Jack.
Idea is to sort the mechanicals and then drive and enjoy, there are body imperfections but nothing really serious. Wheels still have the Ferrari lettering on them, so clearly havent been refinished ever.
Had one plexi Daytona at some point. Question was raised whether or not, depending of countries where they were delivered, all the plexi cars had wood rimed steering wheel. This one seem to have a leather one. Does anyone know the answer for sure?
I can feel the excitement you transmitted through the pictures. Yes models like the Daytona now are a solid part of Ferrari history and it was a the fastest road going car at the time. Enjoy the raw V12 power of a largely still handbuilt car
I can't give you a definite answer to the question of wether a wood rimed steering wheel was fitted to early plexi Daytonas, but can say that 13701, for sale at Coys, 12913, the car in this thread, and 12749, my car, all have leather covered steering wheels. Can anyone comment further on this?
No, all the plexi cars did not have wooden steering wheels. My 14009 had a leather steering wheel (Dec 1970 build), and so did much earlier cars built in 1970. If you look at the 365 GTB/4 Owners Manual 34/69, the images are of an early 1969 Daytona, 12481, and that did have a wooden steering wheel. The change to leather was likely made sometime in early 1970.
where was it first delivered? odds are, a 1969 euro car had the wood wheel. thats what i would install. ed
Having owned 12 - 13 Daytonas, and at least one of each of the 275s except a real NART Spyder (275 GTB, 275 GTS, 275 GTB/4 and a cut 275 GTB/4), I do have experience with all the cars in question. The 275s absolutely feel lighter and are lighter. The Daytonas are an Italian muscle car in comparison, except they can turn (American muscle, not so much). Daytonas are torque monsters, reliable, comfortable, fast, a blast to drive, etc. Sure, the steering is heavy at slow speeds. That said, my wife drove some of mine without complaining. The 275 GTBs are also a blast to drive, once you got the brakes working. I still remember the first time I came up to a stop light with the 275 GTB/4 I just purchased and looked over to my wife and said "...I don't think we're going to stop in time...." Luckly no one was coming through the intersection. You learned to plan your stops when the brakes are cold. My Daytonas never had that problem. Bottom line, is that they are all pretty cool cars. Some people like Coke, others Pepsi (I'm a Pepsi guy). I will say I like the looks for the 275 GTB/4 the best. The hood bulge makes the difference for me. The relative values of the cars is all about production numbers. If they only built 200 - 300 Daytona Coupes, they would be much more expensive than they are. Kudos to the MBZ 300SL which is built in even greater number than Daytona Coupes and still commanding $1M plus. Steve
I've been a Daytona fan since the Gumball rally movie, plus it's appearance in AStar is Born sealed it for me. i was young and impressionable
After a very long restoration (nearly 4 years) the car was finished in around 2016. Took it on the show circuit a bit and it did very well against some decent competition here in SA. I also wrote a book on the car and its restoration, which ironically took as long as the restoration itself! These days the cars preferred environment is open road cruising with a picturesque wine far as a destination. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login