How I bought a 330 in Canada...kinda long

I had toyed with the idea of getting a Series II 2+2, but there were none around and that doesn’t seem to have changed much. Tho’ they are less expensive than the GTC, after the purchase, parts and repairs are the same, essentially giving a “50% discount” to the GTC. I’d been sorta looking for about a year, and in Sept or so, there was a black/black 330 GTC (#8995) for sale in Windsor, Canada. At that time there was also a silver/red GTC with Borranis in Columbus, Ohio; I thought it was priced a little high for its alleged condition. I was in touch with the seller, but believe it was purchased by Shaughnessy for significantly less than the asking price of about $95K.

The general lack of interest in the black car stemmed from several issues that concerned me as well. 1) The car was in Canada, making it seem like it was big a deal to get there. 2) Few of us have a clue about bringing an old car to the US and getting it through customs. 3) Black is rarely a popular color and then, only if the paint is perfect, which by description this wasn’t.

I was pretty ambivalent about the car from the get go...a good psychologic place from which to operate I suppose. Since the car was described at being in excellent mechanical condition, I did have some interest. I finally discovered someone who knew vintage Ferraris to do a PPI. Finding Terry Myr outside of the Detroit area was pure luck: an internet friend from a vintage ‘Vette list had owned a GTC and knew Terry Myr 25 years ago. Myr agreed to cross the border and do the PPI. Tho’ he found the car to be in reasonably good shape, he was disappointed when he saw it. Like Ferrari less than a concours example, this car needed a myriad of little stuff including a repair of the upper radiator tank and some time consuming carb adjusting, as well as front and rear windshield gaskets. I blew the car off and was prepared to buy a GTC/4, of which there were several, and, they were 40-45% less. As you can see, I really wanted a Ferrari, but the strongest desire was to have a 330 GTC.

Somewhere in the 10 weeks of elapsed time, I began to wonder if the black Canuck, tho’ not perfect, might not really serve me well. Afterall, I was looking for a car that was solid, drivable and under $100K. The seller, Bruce Snowden, was a very pleasant guy, quiet, honest and friendly; he had done virtually all of the mechanical work on the car, including a complete engine rebuild. In order to put this issue to rest I needed to fly to Canada to see the car for myself.

I flew from my home in Houston on a Saturday afternoon, arrived Detroit that nite, slept a few hours in a flea bag hotel and was at Bruce’s house Sunday, 8:30 AM. I spent about 3 hours looking over the car, checking a plethora of receipts and of course, the obligatory test drive. We also flittered away some time comparing notes on a shared enthusiasm for Aussie shirazes and petite sirahs! The car was about as advertised, and I was still ambivalent when I arrived back home in Houston Sunday nite, tired and confused.

Ultimately, I made an offer which Bruce accepted and he drove the car to Terry Myr’s shop outside of Detroit. Once there, Bruce picked up his cashier’s check which I’d forwarded to the shop, and the car was mine....sort of. Myr did a bunch of stuff on the car, some unexpected (water pump seal, some wiring issues, a couple of leaks, etc.) About 6 weeks after purchase, the car was ready to be transported to me here in Houston. Upon its arrival, I took a single, simple form to the US Customs office here in Houston, along with the bill of sale, paid my 2.5% share to our Uncle and I was ready for the Texas licensing procedure. As the car is a 1966, no DOT or EPA stuff was required, nor did they need to see the car itself.

In this state, one must first have a “State Inspection” (wipers, lights, some sort of brakes, and the usual....no emissions testing) before they’ll issue a Texas tag. Once I had that piece of paper, I submitted all the paperwork to the State and got my tags the next day. Really much easier than anyone would have thought.

Now that the dust has settled, I am delighted with my purchase and all the buyer’s remorse I had felt while the car was still being looked after in Michigan, has evaporated. I think I got a pretty “good ‘ol car”, at a fair price and it looks much better than I’d remembered it from that whirlwind trip I’d taken several months before. What at first blush seemed like the biggest hurdle, getting it registered, turned out to be a walk in the park.

 

Thanks for your interest. I've (tried to anyhow) attached some photos of the car taken by the previous owner. I want to give it a good wash and wax before I take any photos my self. steve
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Let me try one more time, not sure why other pictures failed to show. s
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thanx to all for the kudos and confidence. i've tucked the Ferrari in for the night, along with sundry dogs and cats, and now it's bedtime for the boy...probably too late to get lucky. s