Abarth Ferrari 166 062M, which fellow "rediscovered it" before Sparling? | FerrariChat
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Abarth Ferrari 166 062M, which fellow "rediscovered it" before Sparling?

Discussion in 'Vintage (thru 365 GTC4)' started by HistoryBuff, Aug 11, 2013.

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  1. HistoryBuff

    HistoryBuff Karting
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    #1 HistoryBuff, Aug 11, 2013
    I was always curious about the Abarth re-bodied 166 that had detachable body panels.
    Wayne Sparling sold it in 2008 at an auction. Apparently the car was raced in Italy first, and then went to Gary Laughlin (who was Shelby's partner in the Scaglietti bodied Corvettes later on)and then Gary McMullin in '56.

    Then still "in period" (the Fifties) it went through these recorded owners.....

    Paul Hill, USA
    Greg Miller, Lawrenceville, GA, USA
    Gerry Sutterfield, Lake Park, FL, USA

    then to Sparling as we vault forward into the '70s when old Ferraris were suddenly worth big bucks

    My question is: 1.)Could it be Phil Hill rather than Paul Hill?
    Which of those three, Hill, Miller or Sutterfield discovered it as a derelict racer?

    Was Enzo Ferrari at all interested in the conversion from Vignale spyder back in '53? I assume not, as there were no more Abarth Ferraris.

    Who put the Abarth body back on (presuming newly made version of the body?)

    I know Forza had a story on this but I don't have that issue. Begging your indulgence, can someone fill me in?
     
  2. miurasv

    miurasv F1 World Champ

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    #2 miurasv, Aug 11, 2013
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2013
  3. HistoryBuff

    HistoryBuff Karting
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    #3 HistoryBuff, Aug 11, 2013
    I read the auction description you so thoughtfully provided, but am still curious about where the car was sitting between 1956 when Lorin McMuller of Fort Worth raced it
    and 23 years later when Wayne Sparling, acquired the car in September 1979. Who discovered it? Was it still in Texas?

    Going back to Enzo's attitude toward Abarth, doesn't it seem they would have had a good pairing since Abarth was all for light weight, or did Enzo regard him as a potential interloper who might become "the tail that wagged the dog?" I am also interested in background politics of all these old cars, not just their prices when found.
     
  4. tongascrew

    tongascrew F1 Rookie

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    #4 tongascrew, Aug 12, 2013
    E.F was rightfully concerned when the final product from Abarth arrived and proved to be very quick. It had the competition 160 HP 166 engine but according to Forza of 4/2004 "the total package weighed in at 1160 lbs ,compared with 1763 lbs for the later...." 166 Vignale cars. Ferrari already had had issues with the Marzotto brothers over their home built special and later would have the same issue with Count Volpe over the home built breadvan. 0262 had some impressive outings but the main problem seemed to be the super light body panels which though easy to be removed being held in by aircraft type fasteners. were easily damaged and difficult and time consuming to repair or recreate. I would also hazard a guess that S.F was in no hurry to do chassis and engine work. The original body was eventually scrapped and it wasn't until Wayne Sparling acquired the car in 1979 that a reproduction of the original was laboriously created. The purests like to find relatively minor faults with this body.In my opinion he gets A for effort and his creation is a spectacular creation. tongascrew
     
  5. bitzman

    bitzman F1 Rookie
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    #5 bitzman, Dec 17, 2014
    I tried to translate the Russian article referred to on Fchat but GoogleTranslate wouldn't do it, tho there's a free Russian translation that does 1000 words at a time, will have to try them when I have enough time.
    Anyway on the owner list, back in the early days (can I say "golden years") of the Fifties, I'd like to hear the price advertised by or sold to any of the following. I will investigate further what other Ferraris Laughlin owned--never did find out much about the Chevy powered one called "The Pig" maybe a Monza 750 that he and Shelby might have owned together. I heard he got hornswoggled into the Corvette Scaglietti when one of his Ferraris broke and he was disgusted at the price of parts

    5. - Luigi Chinetti, NY, NY, USA
    55 - Gary B. Laughlin, Ft. Worth, TX, USA
    55/dec/03 4th Palm Springs, race 6 Gary Laughlin #82
    56 - Lorin McMullen, Ft. Worth, TX, USA
    56/feb/26 2nd SCCA Mansfield, race 1
     
  6. tongascrew

    tongascrew F1 Rookie

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    #6 tongascrew, Dec 17, 2014
    Hi I e-mailed him back and he sent me the code to enter for the translation. If no ,luck send me your P O address and I will send you a copy. tongascrew
     
  7. Ed Niles

    Ed Niles Formula 3
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    #7 Ed Niles, Dec 17, 2014
    Not much help, but (1) not Phil Hill; I would have known about it, and (2) Sparling was known to have hoarded some cars for a very long time.
     

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