While the BJA are more for American Muscle than Ferraris there have been some OK deals there in the past. Has anyone found a car worth paying attention to in this year's line-up? Best, Rob www.bridgemc.com The Finest Collector Car Facility on the Planet
Not a Ferrari, but I was curious how much the little Abarth was going to fetch. http://www.barrett-jackson.com/events/scottsdale/vehicles/cardetail_list.asp?id=178462 (listed under "fiat," lot 646)
That's a fun little car. I talked briefly with the owner. Car comes with spare motor and tranny, plus several boxes of spare parts. BTW, it rained hard on Wednesday, turning the preview lot into a muddy swamp. By Thursday most of the cars were in 1 inch of water, even under the tents.
It seems that the Ferrari and other Italian models at B-J and some of the lesser auction houses are mostly cars trying to be unloaded by dealers who were stuck with them. The lack of ppi and road tests are a plus to the sellers for obvious reasons!
Bingo! It sold for $34,560 (not sure if it includes the buyer's premium). http://www.barrett-jackson.com/auctionresults/common/bj05results.asp Wish I had $34,560 sitting around! (don't need no stinkin' twin cams!)
I bought two of them for $700, both in half way decent shape, back in 1966 or 67. I was happy to make a big profit of $300 a month later. I hate to think how many Alfas, Fiats and other inexpensive Italian cars I had back in the 60s and 70s that I sold for a few hundred diollars profit, thinking I was doing really well...
Yeah, anything Abarth was big bucks, esp. during the infamous "Japan bubble" and values still seem pretty solid. Still, you got to *own* and *drive* these critters, which is more than many of us can say. By enjoying them for a shortwhile and moving on to another car, you must have been able to enjoy a wide variety of cars. So, not to highjack the thread or anything, but can you tell us how they were to drive? Also, I guess it would depend on it's state of tune, but were they pretty street-able? (in having fun in the canyons on weekends sense?).
I was never into big engined muscle cars, although I did own a Pontiac GTO and a Firebord Tans Am back in the early 70s. I was always always more interested in sportscars. Maybe it has to do with the fact that my father was a pnel beater on the pre-war Mercedes GP team. As to the barths, the pushrod 750 and 850 double bubble cars were very streetable; the biggest problem being that most Abarth double bubbles had aluminum bodies. Quick, but not fast, with top speeds about 100mph. I don't think I ever paid over $3,000 for any of the more than 100 sportscars I owned ranging from Sprites to Alfas. All were fun in their own way. It's hard for me to justify buying a really nice Giulietta Veloce for $40,000 (for example), when I bought ones that nice for $2,000...and for me $40,000 is a lot of money to spend on a car..
I used a Fiat Abarth for an every-day driver for a while around 1961. It was a barrel of fun to drive, especially since I then lived in the Hollywood hills and had to take tight twisty roads. But as with a new bride, one starts to see the warts after a while. The thing that made me get rid of it was the feeling that I was driving around inside a bass drum. Outside of a pure race car, it was one of the noisiest I had ever used on a regular basis.
Wow, thank you for the speedy response! When you say that aluminum bodies were a problem, was the problem in the fact that it was fragile (ie, in parking lot situations) or structural/safety reasons? Also, do you know how hard it would be to get these cars looked after (ie, in socal? Do they command "Ferrari" pricing for parts/service?) I imagine that these cars can be pretty finicky. Can they be "sorted" to run fairly reliably? (for a 60's car...) [sorry for all of the newb questions!]
Anyone who purchased this fine ride paid High 30's Not Very Nice lot 1032 I believe Tom Shaughnessy San Clemente CA
One of my favorite all time road tests was by Bernard Cahier in Italy with 3 Abarths in the February 1962 Sports Car Graphic. 1. 850 TC (Turismo Competizione), Fiat 600 body, 847 cc ohv, 55 hp, 0-60 in 12.4, 92 mph top, $1,450 2. 1000 cc Monomille, Abarth designed body, 982 cc ohv, 64 hp, 0-60 in 11.2, 106 mph top, $2,600 3. 1000 cc Twin Cam, Abarth designed body, 982 cc twin cam, 95 hp, 0-60 in 7.4, 131.5 mph top, $4,500 (base Cobra was $5,995) The twin cam was uncompromising. You launched quickly without slipping the racing clutch, between 4,000 and 6,000 rpm. Under 4,000 it stalled, over 6,000 you broke a half shaft. Even Cahier admitted it was not really streetable, but loved testing it under the watchful eyes of enthusiastic Italian police observers. Regards, Jim Walker 365 GT 2+2#12451
Here are 2 shots of Abarths that Scuderia Bear raced in the early 60's Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ed, while living in the Hollywood hills, I also played around with the idea of buying a double-bubble for daily use (this was in 1998!). Logic prevailed, however, and I bought a new 911 instead.
