Hello all, A good friend owns 250GT Ellena 0817. The car has been fully restored but there are a few details that we don't think are correct. Ideally he would revert the car back to factory spec but we need to establish whether the details are special order items that make the car unique or are they after market modifications that we can correct? The details that appear wrong are the hood/bonnet (it has a scoop), the tail-lights (they lean forward rather than vertical) and the filler cap (it's external rather than in the boot/trunk). Can any of you knowledgable folk help us with this? Thanks, David Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I find it highly unlikely those Alfa lights would be original, even if 2000 Spider was introduced in 1958. Ellena was a series production car with very little room for such variation. The hood scoop looks like a very nicely done period mod and I'd leave it that way.
I would look for the proper tail lights. Not a priority, just keep an eye out for some. What does it look like under the hood? Does the scoop look proper from the underside? If it does, then for sure I would leave it. It easily could have been that way from birth, remember these were very limited production cars and customer requested modifications were often accomodated. Just because it doesn't look like all the others doesn't mean it wasn't built that way.
Could well be original buyer requested mods, I'd consult Tom S on this..... I agree with all the others, that is NICE!!!!!
Some interesting views! My opinion is that he should acquire a non-scooped bonnet and keep both just in case the scoop was there from new. Either could then be bolted on to suit. Personally I think it looks better with the scoop but I would sacrifice looks for originality. The lights and fuel filler are a bit trickier as obviously they would involve surgery - there's the dilemma, imagine if he did the work and someone produced proof they were special order items from new... expensive error. David
Maserati 3500gt convertible lights C. http://www.**************/Pics?viewCarPic=y&source=carGal&carID=1061&pgID=1&pID=953257
IMO removing the scoop - a period mod - would be a mistake. It is now one step from original, returning it back to standard would erase an important piece of history and even if you would be where it all started, you'd now be sort of two steps from originality... Besides, the scoop is of the type used in the 50's so it was likely added very early on and fits very well into the car. Just forget about it! It is very unlikely those rear lights are original. I think coachbuilder would have needed Pinin Farina's permission to alter his design and I also think Pinin Farina would never have approved putting in some random parts found at the scrappers. Besides, I don't think if Boano/Ellena was able to do custom work, they had to work hard to get standard steel bodies made as expected - that seems to be why they did fill in with alloy during early production. Best wishes, Kare
I couldn't agree more. I am a fan of the Lamborghini Miura and totally cringed at the rich guy who bought the one-off Miura ILZRO convertible and 'restored' this car to how it looked for about a year, erasing forty years as well as the most interesting part of it's history. I like the scoop, but am indifferent to the lights. Like the original but I also like the car as pictured. The original works slightly better, more mature in a way. Still my vote is on that this car is lovely as-is and doesn't need anything.
It looked better with the dark paint and zinc parts (which I hope he kept in boxes to keep for future use). I know the blue metal-flake paint was unique, but it really doesn't suit the car.
An update on 0817GT: I bought 0817GT from my friend earlier this year and have known the car well since he bought it from DK engineering in 2009 after its restoration. As discussed earlier in this thread, there are a number of non-original features on the car which appear to have been added over the years: bonnet scoop, external fuel filler, Alfa Romeo tail-lights and several other details. I have thought long and hard over what to do about these modifications, whether to leave them in place as part of the car's history or to return the car back to factory 'correct' specification. I have spoken to classic Ferrari people and I have concluded that the best route will be to return the car back to its original factory specification. The car failed the Classiche certification process back in 2009 due to these modifications so that is another motivation to return it back to 'correct' spec. I will post the progress here as we tackle the various features that the car has acquired over the years. These high-roof Ellena cars are pretty scarce now, I think only around twenty to twenty five of the original run of forty remain in their original body configuration as several have been converted into TDF, LWB California Spyder and Testa Rossa recreations. Best, David Image Unavailable, Please Login
The exciting news is that I recently found and bought the original engine to 0817GT. The car spent its early years with several owners around Italy before being exported to New York by Chinetti in the early seventies. At around this point the original motor went missing. The car spent twenty years in the Tunick Collection in New York and resurfaced again in 2005 at a Christies auction in Connecticut needing restoration. At that point the car had a similar motor installed from 0801GT (a 250 GT S1 Pininfarina Cabriolet). DK engineering bought the car from the auction, I think primarily for the engine for another deal, which then left the car engineless. DK then restored the car and built up an engine around a new correct-spec Classiche block and other bits they had in stock. The original engine had found its way into 250GT Tour de France 0899GT and earlier this year I heard that had 0899GT had received a new engine from Ferrari Classiche and therefore 'my' engine was available. Unfortunately the motor had been (badly) re-stamped to 0899GT, but the numero interno 0134C confirmed that the engine is correct to 0817GT. Best, David Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Was this car downstairs at the Penske-Wynn (Vegas) Fcar dealership a few years ago? If not, there was one with there same paint scheme. This thing stuck in my head like seeing a super model on a city bus-it def stood out next to the new Maserati for sale next to it (no offense Maser owners haaaa) Great story about the engine by the way
