Gorgeous 340 America for sale !

That is incredibly low mileage, but still isn't worthy of a 7-figure price, chiefly because it isn't a well-known model, and isn't a competition model. I understand very few were made, but extreme rarity doesn't always guarantee a high price. I'd say 800,000 USD.

 

Sorry, but that is a factory race car. Did you look at the serial number? Even in today's market I would think that it would fetch close to twice that amount.

 

0126 A never raced. It was sold new to Cavaliere Tommaso Sebastiani in Rome.
It lost its original engine in 1958.
Marcel Massini

 

The blue car featured in Forza was Jack Croul's 1950 Mille-Miglia winning 166 MM/ 195 S Berlinetta (s/n 0026M).

Paul

 

0026 M started life as a 166 MM (2-liter).
0126 A is a 340 America with 4.1-liter engine. Totally different animal.

Marcel Massini

 

Big engine for a 'small' car - it must go well in a straight line... Was that car at the RM Auction at Pebble Beach in 2005? I seem to recall seeing it there.

 

It has either found it again or something magical happened, of course not unheared of.

To me, the Touring Le Mans berlinetta body style is the most beautiful of all 50-ies Ferrari's, third most beutiful overall.

I have never driven one, nor had a ride, but with a 340 engine this car must be a beast.

 

I realize that, but does not the even serial number make it a corsa spec? Let's say you buy a new 333SP from Ferrari and let it sit in your garage unraced, is it still not a factory race car?

 

A good point

 

How do you work on a Lampredi engine? Do you have to fabricate any part that wears out?

 

With enough money anything can be fabricated. The Lampredi engines are money pits compared to the Colombo engines. The cylinder liners screw into the cylinder head. This assembly is then slid into the block. The only thing separating the liners from the crankcase are a couple of o-rings. Above the o-rings is the coolant and below is the engine oil. Expect to pay 2 or probably 3 times the price of a Colombo engine overhaul.

 

I remember looking at this car in the early 80's when it was for sale in NYC. This car seems to always be for sale in the last 25 years.

 

To a certain extent, it is considered a "race" car because of the even number, but that doesn't mean the owner had to race it! Take for example the famous 375 MM Spider, #0460AM, built for Mrs. Willametta Keck Day. An outright race car that has never been raced.

As for the "factory race car" title, that would imply that the car was raced by the Ferrari factory. An non-raced 333SP is just an non-raced race car (a.k.a. a museum piece...)!

 

Ok, my choice of words was bad. Let's call it a competition car, as opposed to an odd serial number road car. While there are some even number cars that were not competition cars (factory show cars, etc.), this is the exception to the rule.

Lampredi motor rebuilds do not cost 2-3 times that of a Colombo motor because of the design of the engine. They got a bad rap. It's just because they tend to be older, and have had more people working on them that shouldn't have. Given equal condition Lampredi and Colombo motors, the cost to rebuild them is roughly the same. Pistons, rods, and valves are all custom made for both motors, so their cost is the same.

However, some motors (both Lampredi and Colombo) can be absolute nightmares. Take the motor in this 340 America (0126/A) for example. It has reproduction cylinder heads on it, which were machined improperly. The location of the rocker pivots were machined in different locations from one cylinder to the next. This altered the cam timing on each cylinder. The cam timing would be correct on cyl #1 but there would be too little V/P clearance on another cylinder. Our engine builder had to determine the amount of error in timing for each valve, and then have special camshafts made to correct for the error.
This added considerable cost to the rebuild.

 

Did this car have a different motor in it at one time. I think I remember seeing this car at auction in NYC in the mid 80's and remember that it may have had a diferent motor in it and the car was not in good shape. I remember bidding on a yellow Veritas Spyder that I did not get. That was a long time ago and I spent too many nights at The Mudd Club and Danceteria to have clear memories of that time.

 

Here are the informations on the Historic Mille Miglia...

http://www.1000miglia.eu/inglese/home.html