Per Bonhams Press Release: APRIL HENDON SALE TO FEATURE THE A J LEES COLLECTION OF RARE FERRARI CHASSIS & RELATED SPARES An incredibly rare collection of competition Ferrari chassis and related spares from the estate of the late A J Lees is to be sold by international fine art auctioneers Bonhams. The Sale of Collectors' Motor Cars, Cycles, and Automobilia will be held on Monday 26 April 2004 at the RAF Museum in Hendon, London. The A J Lees Collection comprises thousands of items, to include: 58 DCO3A Weber carburettors, 250 SWB gearboxes, 500 TRC engines and Lancia transaxles, to 750 Monza Veglia instruments and Borrani Wires. Three articulated lorries were required when Bonhams' motoring specialists removed each item from five different locations across the UK. In total, the collection is expected to realise #600,000-800,000. Comparing the collection to an Aladdin's Cave, Bonhams' head of Collectors' Sales said: " The find is incredible, I have never seen such a vast and important collection of Ferrari competition chassis and related spares. To see the odd piece of 1950s Ferrari sports racing history is one thing, but to find an attic full has left us speechless. Once the Ferrari items had been removed from the buildings, there was then the job of clearing the remainder, which comprised Bugatti engines, Maserati 300s spares, SS Jaguar engines and spares, Frazer Nash parts and much, much more!" Amassed since the 1970s by Mr Lees and his family, the collection contains such rarities as two competition Ferrari chassis: - * The ex-works, Castellotti/Maglioli/Gendebien Coppa d'Oro delle Dolomiti Categoria Sport-winning 1955 Ferrari Mondial Spider fitted with 750 Monza 3-litre engine - chassis serial '0560MD' - assembled rolling chassis with engine and transaxle accompanied by restorable original body panelling and many subsidiary parts. This long-forgotten classic Ferrari began life in 1955 as a works 2-litre 500 Mondial Series II, 2nd Imola (Maglioli), 1st o/a Bolzano-Mendola (Castellotti), 1st in class, 2nd o/a Coppa d'Oro delle Dolomiti (Castellotti), class 1st Aosta-Gran San Bernardo (Gendebien), believed sold subsequently to Fernando Mascarenhas, Portugal. Estimate #180,000 200,000. * The ex-Franco Cortese 1955 Ferrari 500 Testa Rossa Spider - Chassis serial '0640MD/TR' - unassembled chassis accompanied by 2-litre 4-cylinder engine and gearbox and many subsidiary parts. Another long-forgotten classic Ferrari which began life in 1956 as a works-supported car driven by Maranello's veteran pioneer Franco Cortese; 1st GP Adriatico, Caserta, Reggio di Calabria and Sassari, class 3rd Giro di Calabria, 4th Pescara, Monza Coppa Shell and Messina 10-Hours, 5th Rome, believed sold subsequently to Antsnio de Borges Barreto, Portugal, 4th Oporto 1957. Estimate #140,000-160,000. Other projects include a 1960 Ferrari 275GTB 6C Alloy bodied car, a Maserati 300S project with replica chassis and many original subsidiary parts, together with a Maserati 8C 2600M replica chassis and a wealth of original parts. For further information on the competition Ferrari motor cars and other project chassis, please contact: Tim Schofield on +44 (0)207 313 3174, and for information on the related spares, please contact Toby Wilson on +44 (0)207 313 3147.
Unfortunately, not yet. From Bonhams' website: Catalogues will be available priced £20 inc p&p (UK). Call catalogue sales on 01666 502 200. Catalogue subscriptions are available at a discounted rate.
This is a rare pic of #0560MD in the 1955 Aosta-Gran San Bernardo with Gendebien at the steering wheel. He was not first but second in class in the category over 1100 cmc behind Maglioli in another Ferrari. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Boudewijn, increadable picture. You keep on amazing me with the pics you post. You are really a great value to this chat. Best, Kevin
TWO HUNDRED FIFTY SWB gearboxes??? Jumpin' Jimminy Christmas!!! One would be lucky to stumble across anybody with this many old Chevy or Ford transmissions, much less rare Ferrari hardware. This sounds like the equivalent of King Tut's tomb. Or should we say, King Enzo's tomb. And what about the "leftovers"? "Once the Ferrari items had been removed from the buildings, there was then the job of clearing the remainder, which comprised Bugatti engines, Maserati 300s spares, SS Jaguar engines and spares, Frazer Nash parts and much, much more!" I wonder what the "much, much more" included? Closest thing to this that I've ever encountered was a Corvette shop with several dozen wrecked 50s and 60s Corvettes behind the shop. The guy sold everything, and it took a 30 foot long cattle trailer to haul away all the NOS parts that he had stashed away for the past 30 years. So when is LWayne leaving for London?
Horsefly - suggest you temper your enthusiasm. I believe it should read "model 250 SWB transmission(s)," as in 250 cc per cylinder, not quantity of 250 gearboxes. Perhaps that is what you meant. I may have read your post incorrectly. Jim S.
You did read my post correctly. I thought that all early 60s SWB Ferraris were considered to be "of the 250 series", so therefore the term "250 SWB" would have been redundant. I therefore assumed that there were 250 different gearboxes. Knowing that many racers hoard vast quantities of gearboxes, differentials, axles, etc, as spares for each racing season, the possibilitiy of hundreds of gearboxes being stashed away for 40 years in a dark warehouse seemed "slightly" probable. I'm sure that the folks with DEEP pockets are already setting their sites on that auction.
I ran across Prancing Horse #152 with an article about 0560MD, a 750 Monza. I wasn't aware until I found the article that this was one of his barn finds. Does anyone know how he got word of it, and what he bought it for? I think it was disassembled but don't know if it had the engine and trans along with the car. I believe Crabbe is deceased so it's OK to tell tales out of school. He and I had a good conversation at Monterey a few years ago when he was racing a Jaguar, and he told me one theory of his is to go to islands and buy cars because if no one on the island wants it, the car just sits. quotes from Barchettacc.com 0560MD 55 *** 6th *** 500 Mondial Scaglietti Spider S2, RHD Chassis Tipo 510 Engine Tipo 111 Transaxle Tipo 509 Daaulo, BR "After his death Barreto's '0560' was lost to public gaze within Europe, and it was in fact sold to Portuguese-speaking Brazil. There it was owned and campaigned by Ico Ferreira, entered under the auspices of the Sao Paulo Automovil Club and was co-driven in the 1957 Buenos Aires 1,000 Kilometres Wolrd Championship-qualifiying sports car race by Herminio Ferreira Filho and Godofredo Vianna, finishing in a worthy ninth place overall." Note: Barreto died at 6h Forez race on May 30th 1957. The Buenos Aires 1000km were held on January 20th 1957, so something is mixed in this story. 57/jan/20 9th OA 1000km Buenos Aires Herminio Ferreira/ Godofredo Vianna #36 C162 p53 5. - tail fins removed, bodywork modified to more standard Monza appearance 5. - Gimenez Lopes, BR - for Fritz D'Orey, BR 58/dec/07 1st Circuito da Barra da Tijuca Fritz d'Orey #36 C188 p53 HERE IS WHERE CRABBE FITS IN 78/nov - Derek Lees, UK via Antique Automobiles Ltd., UK 04/apr/26 - S - Bonhams Hendon auction - PDS 353,500 + VAT 04/apr/26 - Jose Albuquerque, P
Pictures of what I believe to be 0560MD. (I quoted the following from my original post on the More Old Photos thread, as it might be better to post them here.) Taken in 1974, here in Brazil. São Paulo, I believe (and according to the license plates...). The car was supposedly fitted with a Corvette engine sometime in the 50's, and supposedly raced by Piero Gancia, then owned by Nilo Antonio Alves, from the Brazilian Rock n Roll band "The Bells". I believe Nilo had an auto shop where he kept the car at least until 1975, when it was supposedly sold to an engineer. I'm not 100% sure this is even a real Ferrari, but all the stories, plus the fact that there were a few Monza's racing here in the 50's, lend some authenticity to the stories. Obviously by 1974 the car was in a sorry state. After having one a little research, it could be that these are pictures of 0560MD. Barchetta (I know...not the most reliable of sources) mentions this car's body was "modified to more standard Monza appearance", sometime in the 50's. Considering the look of the car in these pictures, it could make sense that this is the same car Fritz d'Orey drove in 1958. He is a member here, so maybe he will chime in, if he finds his way to this thread. It is well known that Colin Crabbe bought many cars here in Brazil (& South America), and exported them back to Europe. This just may be one of them.... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
0560MD, as driven by Fritz d'Orey in 1958: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
And pics of 0560MD before, with the "not-so-standard" appearance: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Wayne, do you think the pictures I posted could show the same body as the pics on barchetta, which you used in your comparison? It seems to me that gas cap location and even the aperture of the 'lid' on the back looks like it could be in the same place. There is another picture of this same car, when it was racing, which I am procuring a copy of. In it the car has a big sticker on the side that says "Vinho Casto". The following are two pictures of a "Monza" Ferrari that was bought by Colin Crabbe in Brazil and is apparently the first car he dug up here and sold away. It's a different car from that in my original pics, and according to the author of the book had a matching number 4 cyl engine fitted to it when it was sold in 1978. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Sorry, Gendebien's car in the 10 07 55 Dolomiti cannot be 0560 since that car was long sold to Mascarenhas and raced by him at Porto on 26 06 55 with a "specially decorated" bodywork. BTW the photo is by Walter Breveglieri. Cheers.
Yes Antoine, I know. It has been 12 years ago. Since many years the Dolomiti car is in my "unknown SN" list together with quite some more with the Monza type of body. I'm waiting for your book since many years