A New Leaf. "Carbon on the Valves."

Hilarious film starring Walter Matthau and a 275GTB/4. On youtube in 8 parts: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=a+new+leaf&oq=a+new+leaf&gs_l=youtube.12..0l10.212.3067.0.5365.5.3.0.0.0.0.204.401.1j1j1.3.0...0.0...1ac.tSvyX5E5yIIin Click on the 'Watch on Youtube' part of the link to see the first part here as embedding has been disabled.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SWI6v8dqFs[/ame]

 

That was a really good movie...Matthau was one of my alltime favorite actors. "Charley Varrick" was a classic.

Does anyone have details on the car, including current ownership?

Jack

 

Jean Guikas in France had the car for sale in 2004, later with Lukas Huni in Switzerland. Car has been in Germany more recently.

Paul

 

Funny movie ....but the exhaust sound is definitely a V8 not a V12

 

Thanks, Paul.

 

Stupid question but what caused carbon on the valves back then? Asking because I'm currently cleaning off the carbon on a direct injection engine but the cause is completely different.

 

I find it amazing that this marvelous film was directed by Elaine May who was also its costar.
Somehow I find her making this movie incongruous with her history.

A biography is here:

Elaine May - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

I just saw this recently on Sundance? Turner? Not sure but great fun. Matthau driving that GTB around Manhattan with a crash helmet on is classic Matthau. As I recall E M never liked the film and dropped all association with the film during editing and before it was released. tongascrew

 

in opening sequences, hood shown is that of a 4-CAM CAR!
Once on the LIE(?), the hood is smooth and appears as an early longnose car

am i correct here?

thus they used more than 1 car in filming? what of the "other car"

 

It's a movie.

 

You're right. It has a chrome strip on the nose too which isn't on the car when it pulls up being towed though I can't see the bonnet bulge here either.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4UhOeYYXAA[/ame]

 

go to when they close hood, clearly NOT the same car as later...bulge clear as the day is long

 

Yes, I can see the bulge where you said but not at the end of the clip where the chrome nose strip is not present when it's pulled up by the truck.

 

Remember the "old days' when we always pulled into the Amaco station to fuel up.Why? The only lead free gas. tongascrew

 

Henry may not have had to "take the car in every time he drove it" if he'd have run it with the air filter in place. According to Ian Webb's book Ferrari 275GTB & GTS the Webers on the 275, especially the 4 cam, need the air filter to align the air flow. Without it even the best technicians can spend days trying to re jet the carbs and fail to get the excellent throttle response available with the filter in place. If any of you 275 owners are running your cars without the filter, put it back.

 

That, plus making sure that the framistan is serviced regularly!

 

Ok, it is a two cam but without the air filter the car runs fine, and I can't think of any reason why the airflow would be better with a filter.
Just listen to all the gto's and gtb's with velocity stacks, hard to believe they need a filter.....

Ciao
Oscar

 

To "align" the air flow and make best use of the air available in road cars that use air filters in the interest of durability/longevity? Perhaps because the Webers on the road cars are designed, set up and jetted to run with an air filter where the flow and quantity of air is restricted to a degree, the alignment or direction of that restricted air flow is more critical? It could be just a question of set up. The aerodynamics of the flow of air must make a difference as TdFs, Competizione SWBs, some GTOs and the LM used a (cold) ram air tray/box.

 

On engines with carbs with open filterless inlets it may look like they are free to breath but the flow of air underneath the bonnet at high speeds may be pushed away from the inlets making the carbs/engine difficult to suck in the air. An air filter may help the supply/direction of air, especially on a 4 cam as it has snorkels. I am no mechanic so the above could be complete nonsense.

 

Regarding the big air filter that has the snorkels on the side, the snorkels control the flow of air into the main air cleaner which acts as a plenum chamber creating positive pressure around the carb inlets aiding throttle response. Some 2 cam 275 GTBs also used this kind of air filter, not just the 4 cam.

 

A New Leaf.

Does anyone know the chassis number of the long nose 2 cam alloy 275 GTB that is seen in the film as well as the 4 cam car (09445)?

 

Yeah, Yeah. Elaine May started out as a stand up comic with Mike Nichols in San Francisco. They were a very funny team.

Her making this movie is mind-shattering in view of her history and especially in view of the FACT THAT SHE WROTE THE SCRIPT.

The first scene looks like an operating room with Matthau asked if he would rather go outside to have a cigarette to clam his nerves rather than watching what the 'doctors' were doing is really funny.

May wanted the film to have a dark ending that spoiled the fun.

 

I love when he's told he's broke and goes around saying goodby to different people; maître d' at Lutece, his tailor, ect. It's just so perfect.

I have not seen it in many years.