What a great story!
A little delay but now to catch up. Okay, so I wasn't quite working in a vacuum. Between the dealerships and two fantastic resources: The Design and Tuning of Competition Engines, by Philip H. Smith Racing and Sports Car Chassis Design, by Michael Costin and David Phipps I would also regularly review my work with my guidence counsellor, Mr. Kerr. So, call me impetuous, but at the age of 16 - 18, how difficult could it be to design the chassis, suspension and engine - without an engineering background.
Let me also take a little stop here. I was not aware of the 308 development or the BB. But if you go back to the original Gila concept, it was for a transverse mounted V8. Next stage was the design phases progressed with a V12 and finally in the design phases 5,6 and 7, the concept of a "flat 12" was used. This may be the crux of the interest from Ferrari in me. My design work was paralleling what was actually happening. I never thought to keep copies of the letters that I sent, but I do recall that I never mentioned my age,only my career thoughts.
Please forgive me if things seem a little delayed in being posted. I'm trying to get the sequence right. So, I left off at the design Phase 2. Here is are the Phase 3.... Image Unavailable, Please Login
Design phases 3 and 4 represented some basic body work designs and also to include engine intake and cooling. Also, as I mentioned earlier, the transverse V8 was now replaced by a longitudinal V12. I still wasn't entirely happy with these sketches and started to consider the advantages of a Flat 12 (given the Porsche 917 and Ferrari 312B and T series of F1 cars).
That's amazing stuff! Your drawings are so eerily 308 and BB-like, one wonders if the big cheese at Ferrari were worried that someone in the factory spilled the beans on their designs to someone on the outside.
Thanks for the compliment Husker. I don't know about any of the reality behind your thoughts, but the trend at that time was very much a wedge shape - Maserati Bora, deTomaso Pantera, Lotus Elite, ...... It would be stupidly vain on my part to even contemplate an influence. Much of the design work and tooling is done well in advance of the actual car launch.
Were you aware of Style Auto and/of Car Styling books? Style Auto, in particular regularly included the technical package drawings that would have been helpful.
Hi Jeff: No, I was not aware of either of those publications. I had looked at some general books at the library, but my main go-to was Road & Track (with a little bit of Car and Driver and Motor Trend). Here is the Design Phase 5 (and this was the major departure and where I included the suspension, chassis and motor concepts). Image Unavailable, Please Login
I had bounced back and forth between something a little more "pure" in terms of the basic design, but then pushed forward to the Design Phase 6. This marked the next submission to Ferrari (and Ing. Luigi Marmiroli). Before I post the Ferrari response, I'll upload what I had worked on with respect to the "mechanicals". Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi Tom Sorry I missed your message earlier. I have only recently come across his bio on Wikipedia but that probably explains why my last letter from Ferrari was not replyed to by him as he had already left. Not having any ability to follow up (for those not old enough (LOL) there was no internet in 1976!!), I had no way to communicate. Also, my Italian is very, very limited. Also, my path diverged substantially and it is only my recent Ferrari ownership that has brought this all back to life. Still, an interesting idea for me to consider. Thanks.
Hi Jeff: If I recall correctly, I did submit my drawings and was accepted into the Los Angeles College School of Art and Design. But tuition costs and living expenses in the US were not something I was comfortable with. I think that for my first year, the cost for tuition and books at the University of British Columbia was on the order of $500 - $600 CDN. Plus I could live at home!! I did think about Engineering but a concussion (sustained in a rugby tournament in high school meant that I missed three weeks of school - including the critical aspects of calculus!!!) put a stop to that. To further add, friends who were studying Engineering and Engineering/Physics showed me some their homework and it scared the crap out of me. (So, point on the side to those teaching STEM - encourage not discourage. Not related, but I taught Food Engineering at the post secondary level and I do not enjoy the sight of tears at a mid-term or final - that shows somehow there was a miscommunication, which means the instructor failed in some fashion). So, long story short, I also had an interest in biological sciences and a career towards medicine (my mother and my aunt were nurses, my uncle was a dentist). For what it is worth, my undergraduate degree is in Micobiology (and I had an interest in virology), but the graduate degrees are in Food Science (with an emphasis on Food Engineering). Probably more background than anyone on the forum wishes, but there it is. Also, please accept my thanks to those who have kept up with me. I appreciate your interest and support. Gary.
Not sure if the LA College School of Art and Design is the same as "Art Center College of Design". Depending upon when you would have applied it would have either been on 3rd St. in Los Angeles or Lida St. in Pasadena. The school moved to Pasadena in 1976 or 1977. Yes, it was definitely more expensive and, as we used to say, all it included was a stool to sit on and a teacher at the front of the room. No dorms, no meal program, although there was a cafeteria, and a large recurring amount in supplies was a given. They always said, at least back then, that the completion rate was 1 in 3 - no mid terms or finals just weekly critiques that were put on the wall for everyone to see. As in everyone in your own class and during breaks any other students that might want to wander in and out of the rooms checking on the classes that were both behind them and in front of them. We lived a caffeinated life just to exist.
Hi Jeff: I may have confused the two schools. However, from your experience, perhaps I made the more "economical" choice. But I am interested to hear of your area of study and your career. Did you specialize in automotive design (as I surmise you did)? Did that get you a carreer in that area? I'll get on with my story shortly, but need to go translate a couple more letters and take some more photos.
I graduated from Art Center in 1978. 3 semesters at the 3rd Street campus with the remaining 5 at the Pasadena campus. BS in Transportation Design (draw cars) was the degree. In the summer break going into the final year did a student program at Chrysler. 6 students from schools with a design program (Art Center, Wayne State, Long Beach, San Jose, Cleveland, and one out around Connecticut). Instead of Detroit I ended up with Winnebago in Iowa. Unfortunately about a year later came the gas crisis which decimated that industry. From that I ended up doing corporate/VIP interiors. There is a Car Design thread down in the Creative arts forum on F-Chat. There are some on there that are/have been trained in car designer with some of them that have car design careers.
Very interesting Jeff. One of the "hold-backs" that I had was what the career opportunities were like. For example, I had an interest in the music industry at the same time and in Canada, the average annual income was $3500!! I don't think it has improved significantly. So, I took a more pragmatic turn (made Mom and Dad very happy ).
With the Design Phase 6 somewhat setting the basic design of the car, I next moved to the mechanicals. After all, why not. As I mentioned 16 - 17 year old kid, who needs Engineering School . Seriously though, I had a complete concept in mind and wished to see it through in entirety. So, I present the chassis and suspension drawings - keep in mind this was done with simple drafting tools..... Image Unavailable, Please Login