0202 A – Bought on Ebay - Long Lost Even-Numbered Comp Ferrari Found

Not questioning the validity of Tom's find at all, but instead of merely calling my questions "stupid" and my contributions "absurd", why not offer up an explanation as to why a Devin bodied Ferrari that was wrecked in Texas in the late 1950s with frame number 0202A would be issued a title with the serial number U 17997 in Utah several years later? WHY wouldn't the Utah title list the serial number as 0202A?????????? Did somebody have a reason for NOT having the car titled as a Ferrari? Where did the number "U 17997" come from?

Of course it's all speculation 43 years after the fact, but if you can't offer up an easy explanation for this discrepancy then the question itself is not stupid or absurd. The strange serial number "U 17997" might even offer a clue that would help track down the elusive original engine.

(And stop worrying about my profile so much!)

 

His questions seem reasonable enough. There's no need to call him or his posts absurd. I, for one, would be interested to know why it's titled as a Devin.

--Dan

 

If I may.

There is no question as to EXACTLY what this is.
There has been FULL disclosure of what it is and isn't.
It's loving restoration will be fully documented.
If it ever were to come to market the market will study the above and make a bid in light of the above.
The good things in life remain the same and those who use their eyes are often rewarded...

Congrats Tom!

(BTW on page 39 of the judging manual it says that in the case of Ferrari's originally delivered to Hong Kong,to comply with the requirements of Feng Sui one of the screw heads is allowed to be "Misaligned" in order to have the Devil slip off should he try to drive the car. Does this require the original Hong Kong Plate to be affixed or is a Kowloon bill of Lading sufficient?)

Best

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH classic

--Dan

 

Sucking up to me does no good what so ever. The Buzz Saw King rules this kingdom.

I have known many "bird dogs" in my time but none with Toms knack. What Tom does with Ferrari, I do with old race cars and appriciate his ability more than anyone can imagine. I sign onto the computer at 3:45 AM to start my day and get an IM as soon as I get on. Mind you there is an hours time difference yet. What Tom owns, Tom EARNED (I still think Tom's son found the car on Ebay)!

Old race cars end up with bills of sale and jumped titles every day, there is nothing strange about this car. This sale on both the buyers and the sellers part is GOLDEN! The seller (and his attitude towards the annoucement of the findings) will be a big part of the history of this car, you can bet that Tom will see to that. I am proud of them both.

Dave

 

Arlie,

I have a simple answer for the title issue:

In the late fiflies, an old Ferrari racer was wrecked. A cool new Devin body was installed in place of the outdated and wrecked italian one. The owner decided it was better to title the car as a new Devin rather than as an old Ferrari.

Regards,

Art S.

 

as late as 2000, virginia nearly gave my 1968 Ferrari a "VIN" that had nothing to do with any number anywhere on the car because VIN "11199" came up in their database as a trailer that had been stolen. After convincing them not to arrest me and assuring them that my vintage Ferrari was not a stolen trailer, I also convinced them to make the VIN on the title reflect my chassis no, but simply adding a letter suffix to differentiate it from the trailer . . . .

I also just bought an MGA which at some point in its history got the motor number assigned as its VIN instead of its chassis number. I think this stuff probably happens all the time w/ older foreign cars and DMVs.

 

Agreed!

 

Dan, based on his assaults on Jim's car, Arlie is the self established sceptic on F-Chat. Even though he has no background as a Ferrari historian, this has not stopped him from opining on every Ferrari barn find.

The simple truth is this: Once upon a time, there was a land with no computers and, thus, no Internet. Everything was done by hand, and, quite frankly, nobody really cared.

For example, I used to work with a guy named Army Cook. Army didn't exist. He didn't have a birth certificate. He didn't have a driver's license. He didn't have a Social Security number. However, he did serve a stint in the Army, hence his name.

Army drove a 1964 Chevy Impala. When they came up with the rule that you had to have insurance to get an inspection sticker, this was a problem for Army because, again, he didn't exist. To get around this, Army put all the junk yards on notice that when an Impala came in with an unexpired inspection sticker on the windshield that they should call him right away.

BTW, Army was also a loan shark. He would loan you a dollar on the dollar. Army wasn't a real big guy, but you should have seen his nephew named "Baby."

Point is that things used to be a whole lot more relaxed back in the day.

Dale

 

I think Arlie's questions are perfectly valid. Nobody here is disputing the chassis (because, after all, there IS a serial number on this one), but rather wondering how having a Devin title helps, and wondering what happened to the original Ferrari title.

Can someone help here? Is there recent record of another car with this serial number? I think not, because of Marcel's intro to this thread

It's still a damned cool find. I'm happy for Tom, the seller, et al.

 

Ha, Ha, pretty funny. (Actually, it was the early 70s and life was good.)

The point being, however, is that who cares why a previous owner titled the car as a Devin. Would it have made any difference if he had called it a Chevy or a Lambo?

Arlie is just trying to stir up some ka ka because, well, this is what he does best!

Dale

 

Of course it requires the plate to be affixed with Ferrari's factory version of polident!

 

I am always amazed that so many people on the internet like to badmouth things ,
This was a great find , I was too stupid to notice the "ferrari" signs that were in plain sight on the Ebay photos,
Tom was the smart one , you can say lucky , but this knowledge of years experiance made that "luck"
Yes it will be expensive to put it back together as a car , but it will be a car again,

As far as the body , well Devins never had "body" numbers, you got a fiberglass shell shipped to you without gel coat so no color,
You made it into a car , it was not easy, if you look at the Ebay auction you will see all the handmade parts that were needed to mount the Devin body on the chassis.

No idea where the Utah number came from , anyone know if thats a Chevy engine number ? Many cars were registered by engine numbers back then.....

I am happy Tom found this one , hopefully I will be smart enough to get the next one or the one after that !

Dave

 

Some of the other posters are correct about nos. on titles. Even California (much more careful than a lot of the southern states) sort of took your word for the no. The title that I had for 0647GT (see other thread) had the tipo no. instead of S/N, because no-one knew what the hell "telaio" meant! That no. on the Devin could have been dreamed up, or maybe it was a no. from some other (wrecked?) car just to ease the registration process along. Fugetaboutit!

 

Thank you Tillman, that's exactly my point. To say that Tom "got the title" as if it meant something, is a meaningless statement. If the title did NOT list the car as a Ferrari and it did NOT list the serial number as 0202A, then legally speaking, that title means no more toward that Ferrari chassis that it does a 1953 semi truck or a 1947 Indian motorcycle. It's worthless paper.

 

Who freeking cares anyway besides you? Tom will pour a bundle of money into this thing. He will pick all the rare and unfindable parts out of his own bins and have a really great car when its done. Just let the poor guy go for gods sake. Personally I hope the thing is worth a bazillion dollars when he is done.

 

Personally, i hope he leaves the Devin body on it. It reminds me of 0030 MT.

Regards,

Art S.

 

All I can say is good on ya Tom, you are the man, and I bow in admiration
And now for an observation

A "Ferrari drag car" as mentioned by the seller of the car sounds kind of cool doesnt it especially if you were to do a quarter mile at Pebble Beach or another golf course in it. I can see it now - the grass, the white clothes, the tire smoke, even a chevvy or ford driver would admire that.

But as far as the restoration goes I remember reading in Classic & Sportscar about 10 years ago about the guys that restored a Bucciali somewhere in the USA, consider it a given but being 1 of 3 Bucciali's in the WORLD it was difficult to get a handle on what went where, they didnt even know the firing order. And... the main thing was, the previous owner had, kindly, totally dismantled the car all the way down to taking the carburetor apart and putting all of the parts in a VERY large box, now there was a puzzle, a 10 year long puzzle.

So all you need is a engine, a gearbox, a few body and suspension parts, JUST KEEP WATCHING EBAY ! they are sure to show up, ha ha.

Again good for both you and the seller, enjoy the project, if you will post pictures we sure will enjoy watching you complete it,
Tim

 

I must say I'm still amazed by what shows up from time to time. Luckely this one did find a new owner with the knowledge to save the car. Hats off to you Tom (and your team) for saving another one.
From the pictures I see the car is missing 'some' parts, so I was wondering how long it would take to get a correct car together? What time-spand are we talking here to see 0202A clothed, engined and running?
Regards and keep on saving them.
Jurgen