0233 EU - 212 Inter Cabriolet Ghia - COMING SOON

Wow cool!! This is going to be a great thread!

 

Hi Marcel,

Who was the lucky garage picker?

Thank you,
Jason

 

great thread!

 

Yes, almost 3 years ago but 0191EL is still wrongly called called "0233EU"...

 

Well done but, for all the reasons exposed earlier, can't be anything else than an over-stamping, 0191EL remaining at least on the PRA document (post #24)!

 

Hey Touringgarage, anything for sale?

 

Engine number will tell the whole story. Best wishes, Kare

 

This is well covered in FML 0f 4/29/1995. The car went to the Turin show as a convertable and was probably later sold to Giannini Manocchi. His name does not appear on the ACI papers but he may have had the car officially owned by Editorial Domus...[?] For what ever reason the car went back to Ghia and the body removed [possibly damaged] and the coupe body installed and shown at the Paris show. In addition the steering was changed from RHD to LHD. The body we see today is an "exact" repro of the original created in a resto done from 1989-1994. Some where there is a 20 page booklet covering this resto.It would be great to see a copy of this.In any case this car was always 0191EL and never renumbered. just one man's opinion tongascrew

 

Sgt.Schultz

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What would have been the point of converting the steering as Ferrari was just chancing whole production from RHD into LHD? Do you have any idea how many Ferraris received new serial numbers in period of 1952-55. MANY!!! Renumbering cars was part of their shop practise back then and it is such a mess that it is best denied. I prefer trying to get into bottom of it all.

Best wishes, Kare

 

Kare,
There is no doubt anymore IMO that both 212 Ghia cabrios (0191>'0233' and 0205) were RHD so the switch from RHD to LHD is not relevant in this thread.
You are right that what you call "renumbering" was frequent in these early times. But this is more fun to discover in my "historian" opinion than driving or styling considerations.
By the way I would bet that engine numbers would not change that evidence. Provided they have been altered.
Best

 

Sorry, please read: "provided they have NOT been altered".

 

0191EL was stamped 0233 as well but 0233EL.
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Wow.

 

All good questions and like so many may never be answered. In part I post this stuff to generate interest and comment. The FML article makes no mention of why these changes were made though there is reference made to "damage" to the original body and a concern for safety with convertables. One theory could be that the car with a coupe body and LHD would be more saleable or had been ordered by a buyer as such. In any case there is no mention of the chassis going back to SF to be converted to LHD or assigned a new s/n. One can only assume all the changes were made by Ghia. Let's see who else enters this conversation. just one man's opinion tongascrew

 

According to M.M. in post #31 this car has only one stamping which is 0233 and no evidance of any other. I believe that 0191EL was the only stamping this car had. juist one man's opinion tongascrew

 

I was only talking about the stamping of the Ghia Coupe, now 0191EL, which would be 0233EL, not about the Cabriolet 0233EU. No one so far has denied or confirmed this.

 

Do you mean that 0233EL and 0233EU would be 2 different cars? This never happened.
What seems clear to me is that the stamping 0233E? on this cabrio (post #31) is a rough and wrond restamping. Necessarily 0191EL has disappeared in the process.

 

I do agree that no definitive conclusion can be pulled from these dies, fonts or whatever. That's why I rely on logics:

1- The first LHD 212 being 0231, the "Peron" Ghia coupé is totally illogical as 0191.
2- Both Ghia cabrios being RHD i.e. anterior, they can't be numbered above 0231. They are actually 0191 and 0205.
3- The Peron car is 0233
4- There has been a swap with overstamping or restamping between 0191 and 0233.

 

Geneva Show in march 1952

Odd s/n cars shown, all s/n in 019x range :

Ghia Cabriolet 212 Inter, the one of this thread

Ghia-Aigle Coupé 212 Inter 0195EL

Vignale Coupé 212 Inter 0197EL

Ghia Berlina 2+2 212 Inter 0199EL
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