The Provenance of 0353 AL - 375 America (1958 to 1974)

BigTex,
Looking forward to reviewing the books. Your insight and background info is appreciated. I was hoping for additional insights from this forum, and certainly did not expect the caliber of the people listed in the "name drop memo" you've elaborated on. I'm sure the Harry Chambers chapter has much more to be written, and certainly Bianca Colizzi is still an open question.

 

Unrelated to 0353, thought the attached was relevant to the previous posts. It appears that during this era there was a relationship between Ferrari and TWA and the transport of racing parts and cars.
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Agreed. The presumption of a relationship is intuited from the context of the other TWA Skyliner articles. Before I discovered this archive, to me Harry Chambers was only a name, a previous owner of 0353, an employee of TWA and a friend of my father. It seems likely that with the start of operations of TWA in Milan in February, 1950, with Harry Chambers in charge, and references to his involvement with racing, there is a little more context for understanding his ownership of the car. Other questions for which I have no answer include when the original engine was replaced by the Ferrari factory, why was it replaced and who decided to have the replacement done. And, of course, who was Bianca Colizzi?

 

Background for the above. In regards to the Engine substitution, does anyone know how to obtain Ferrari factory records? If existing and available, the early history of 0353 might be clarified considerably if these were available.
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Thank you for the clarification. It appears I have also misquoted "The Ordeal By Auto" as well, it clearly states Harry Chambers acquired the car from a Doctor, not a Dentist. Do you have any information about Bianca Colizzi?

 

Excellent documentation, thank you for the post. As usual, your details are amazing. This certainly firms up the timeline. A minor correction to the historical record: My father was born February 21, 1910 in Clark County, Springfield, Ohio. I only know this because Ed Niles sent me a copy of his birth certificate on September 12, 2001. Maybe Bianca Colizzi's husband was a Doctor?

 

A belated response to BigTex (#125) "Those guys all in one room could have built a space craft, anything really."


They did...

 

Thanks for the heads up. After ± 20 years, it's good to finally see current pictures of the car. Not sure about purple seats though...

 

The waiting is over. A new chapter begins…

20 years ago, I asked a simple question: Who is the current owner of 0353? My intent was to reunite the “original documents (brochures, owner's manual, letters, pictures, negatives and books)” found in my father’s estate with the car.
10 years ago, I was informed by Marcel Massini that the current owner “is just not interested in any paperwork or documents.”

Now there is a new owner.

Needless to say (but I’ll write it anyway) it has been an enlightening experience to resurrect and preserve the provenance of this unique Ferrari from 1958 through 1974. I never imagined (courtesy of internet Ferrari forums and participants) that details of the prior and subsequent owners of the car would be brought to light. Although the post 1974 story is yet to be written, my hope is that it will continue with new pieces of the puzzle added.

I’d like to express my many thanks to those on this forum (and others…some still here and some not…) who contributed information, anecdotes and reminiscences about the story of this car. Not only did this enhance this particular post, but also helped me to understand the passion Ferrari engenders in its owners. Including my father.

This post would not have been possible without the input, advice and assistance of Marcel Massini. I am also indebted to Mike Daley with RM Sotheby’s for reaching out (in spite of numerous impediments) to inform me of the anticipated sale and perform his “due diligence” for his write up in the auction catalogue. I did not know of the involvement of Luigi Musso in the second sale of the car, or the back story of Bianca Colizzi. RM Sotheby’s generosity in providing me the opportunity to “reunite” with 0353 in Monterey (after a lapse of ±60 years) as well as publishing the first pictures seen since 1970 was both unexpected and appreciated.


All that remains is the disposition of the artifacts.


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Enjoyed meeting you in person as well. Good news on the restoration. In 2013 I found a Ferrari-Vignale enamel badge (crossed flags) in some miscellaneous artifacts, so naturally I posted a query (Forum: "Ferrari Club Badge Enamel Grille" 2013-07-27, Posts #236-#243) to find out where it may have been located. (Not sure how to post a link to the thread...) Thanks to Scuderia69, I found a badge resembling the one I had in a 1961 picture of the trunk. I've reattached a blowup of the picture to this post, and picture of the trunk from the RM Sotheby's collection of photos for the auction. I have no idea what the "I" shaped thing is above the badge in the 1961 photo, or whether this configuration was original or not. I have in a letter dated 1970-11-23 to Wayne Golomb a note stating "Body by Vignale, Believe was originally all aluminum but now has a rear deck of Steel. Possibly the result of an accident."
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Makes sense. Another piece of the puzzle (in record time), thanks Marcel...