Hardtop Possibly for 250GT SWB California Spyder

Barrchetta has 0937,1217,1235,1283,1307,1497,and 2903 as all having hardtops.

 

I had thought of the seal coming loose causing the mis-shape so for awhile was wondering if it could be a cali top even though it seemed to be. Then when I saw the Alfa pics you come to realize that back then many manufacturers seemed to have made very similar tops.

But, If it is indeed A Cali top and there were truly only 6-8 made my guess is there is a good chance it is the Hershey top. Which I find to be a very cool story that it has survived and has been found this many years later.

But then hearing about the paint being so thick it makes you wonder? Not sure of the date when they were tripping out and left it on the side of the road but she did own it in the early days of the cars life so one has to wonder how many paint jobs it could have gotten? Could be that it was just a bad re-spray and the paint was put on extra thick.

Guessing a paint timeline of the car up to when she tripped out it is the best way to narrow down if it is the Hershey top.

Cool.

Possible moral of the story: Don't trip acid in Cali if the top is on your Cali Spyder. Take it off before you break on through.

 

Here is a photo from the web, nice side shot
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According to Kidston's website 4095GT also had a hardtop originally. Which is currently not with the car.

Kidston - 1963 Ferrari 250GT

I don't think the car was ever in the US though, she seems to have been in and around CH all her life.

 

Gorgeous! Is it wrong that I think it looks better with the top on?

 

The Kalikow car had it's hard top made at The Panel Shop in the last few years. So if it originally had one the one it has now is not the same one it came with.

 

I admittedly do not know a great deal about the 250 Spyders.

But, I thought it would be worth noting the Maserati 3500 Vignale Spyder hardtop looks very close.



Ciao and best!
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Also, 1795, 1963, 2383, 2561, 3163, 3245 and 4121.

 

So about 14 cars came with hardtops then.

 

Remember that 1795 is the very first Spider California SWB built -- all the earlier Serial Nos. listed are LWB, etc.

 

I agree! tongascrew

 

Look very carefully. There are differences between the front chrome strip over the windshield,the two/three chrome strips around the side windows are different,the shape of the curve at the rear of the side windows is different and the width of the B pillar between the rear window and the door windows is different.My guess is that no two hard tops were the same just as no two early Ferrari bodies were quite the same. Two Californias are missing their original hard tops. This may well be one. tongascrew

 

Look again. The side door window shape of the Maserati is quite different from the Ferrari and the rear window of the Maserati does appear to stretch around the corner. tongascrew

 

Would be nice to see a side by side comparison of the mystery top, Alfa, Cali, Maserati to compare.

I'd have to guess the mounting hardware/points are also another very valuable clue as to which car this came from.

 

George,

I posted it was worth noting: not that it definitely was. And there are differences, obviously.

It is nice to have something to compare something to, is it not?

Congrats on being "Master of the Obvious".

 

According to Stanley Nowak's book Ferrari Spyder California the hardtop was introduced on the California as an option in 1959 and made by Scaglietti from fiberglass. Thanks to Paul Harris (thepinkumbrella) for the loan of the book.

 

Hi, this is a new one for me. Ok point taken but really unintended. tongascrew

 

I wonder if he means the prototype was made from glass or the production tops?

 

The paragraph from Stan Nowak's California book regarding the hardtop:

"The California hardtop was introduced in 1959 and this was designed and produced by Scaglietti as a factory option. This was made of fiberglass and gave Scaglietti the opportunity to gain experience with this new material. In later years Scaglietti would make extensive use of fiberglass for interior panels."

 

So on we search for an answer ... it appears we have eliminated the SWB option. Very interesting.
Pete

 

0937's hardtop and glass show something that's been bugging me about this top. The OP's hardtop shows a curved radius at the top of the glass while every Cali I've can find shows a straight part of the side glass.

See http://files.conceptcarz.com/img/Ferrari/58-Ferrari_250GT_0937GT_DV_08-CC_09.jpg

Edit, hmm, there are a few cars that do have a very curved side window.

Example here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/carphotosbyrichard/5557831903/in/photostream/

Are you sure it is all steel? The photos of the unrestored top also show a steel window frame, while the skin may be part fibreglass. If it was early-days for fibreglass technology even Pininfarina couldn't do window frames and leading edge in fibreglass as it wouldn't be strong enough to hold its shape or the attachments.

 

The Spider California SWB hardtop I provided photos of is definitely, positively STEEL.

 

How so? Is this belief due to the possibility of these tops being manufactured in fiberglass?

I think an important piece of the puzzle will be to determine if the info about the tops being made in fiberglass is actually true?

If so where some also made in steel?

Would be nice to find out if any owners of Californias have fiberglass or steel tops on their cars.

Could? be that LWB tops were made in fiberglass and SWB were made in steel or some other combination that produced some steel and some fiberglass tops.

I'm assuming you are pretty certain that your top is an authentic steel top that came with the car when purchased.

Would be nice to figure out if this was a missing piece from a rare car.

MiuraSV, always impressed by how you find these obscure facts from books. Thanks for the knowledge.

 

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