330 LM at 1963 Le Mans Test Day

As long as we are blowing up Ferrari history, I compared some photos of the 330 LM that ran the April 1963 Le Mans Test Day with other 330 LM photos in my collection. In the photo supplied by Boudewijn, please notice the leather and shift boot on the trans tunnel. Also, in the photo from Peter Coltrin at the early 1963 Monza test, notice the shift boot and the leather on the trans tunnel. Based upon this:

1. We are very sure that the Monza Test car was #4381.

2. We know #4381 ran Sebring on March 23, 1963.

3. The Le Mans Test Day was either April 6-7 or April 12, 1963. I have found two different dates. However, either date gives little time for 4381 to return from the United States, be repaired and then be hauled over the road to Le Mans.

4.You will notice the interior trans tunnel leather configuration, stitching and shift boot are different in the two photos.

5. As previously pointed out in my Post in the 330 LM #4619 thread, we know #4453 has a number of items in the engine compartment that match Boudewijn's photo from the Le M Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login ans Test Day car.

6. We know the interior leather in #4381 was Natural (Tan) in color. We also know from examining photos of
#4453 at the Le Mans race, the interior leather was NOT Natural or Black. It appears to have been Blue Connolly VM 3015. In Boudewijn's Test Day photo, you can see the leather is not light enough color to be natural nor is it black.

7. Based upon all the above items, it would appear that #4453 was the Le Mans Test Day car.

 

I hope you can read my above post. i am not familiar with adding photos to this site. My apologies.

 

Timmy: Great idea, so I checked, and found Time and Two Seats lists 4381 as the Test Day car. HOWEVER, the factory RED BOOK for 4381 lists the car's competition history and it DOES NOT show the Le Mans Test Day. It does show tests at both Monza and Modena prior to being sent to Sebring.

 

Lusso: I suspect the vent window handles are the same, but good catch on the inside door handles. I do not have a good photo from the correct angle of 4453 here, but the photos I do have seem to point to being more like the Le Mans Test Day car photo.

 

Timo: The triangular "box" had us puzzled also when we did the interior of 4453, until we realized it was the vertical portion of the door sill carpet that had come loose and was starting to peel up.

 

i might have found the "smoking gun". Notice the three warning lights (one is behind the steering wheel rim) on the instrument panel above the center knobs and switches in the photo of the Le Mans Test Car. To this day, only 4453 and 4725 have this set up, 4381 has no warning lights in that location even today. 4725 is RHD, so that leaves 4453 as the only possibility for the Le Mans Test car. 4619 MAY have the warning lights (it is hard to see in the old photos I took in 1977), but we have established it was NOT the Le Mans car in another thread.

 

Giotto: Very good observation!