Thomassimas | Page 2 | FerrariChat

Thomassimas

Discussion in 'Other Italian' started by william, Jun 6, 2006.

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  1. krasnavian

    krasnavian Formula 3

    Dec 24, 2003
    2,187
    Los Angeles/Paris
    The car is a one of a kind, though photos of it abound. Tom still owns his creation and it is not for sale.
     
  2. Horsefly

    Horsefly F1 Veteran

    May 14, 2002
    6,929
  3. krasnavian

    krasnavian Formula 3

    Dec 24, 2003
    2,187
    Los Angeles/Paris
    #28 krasnavian, Sep 10, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  4. 250lm

    250lm Formula Junior

    Nov 3, 2003
    339
    The Netherlands
    Full Name:
    Niels Schouten
    Okay,

    This thread has been silent for years know, I was wondering if someone could help me with the most mysterious car of Tom Meade. The 250 based car that was destroyed in a flood in Florence. Since I only see the same pictures here and there it looks like indeed it did flood in 1966 just after completion.
    However some sources name this car as the Thomassima I and some as the Thomassima '0' (basically not a Thomassina but a Meade converted 250). Can anyone tell me if that particular car (http://img141.imageshack.us/i/tm1s8da.jpg) is the official Thomassima I? And any info or pictures of that particular car are highly appreciated.

    Niels
     
  5. Nembo1777

    Nembo1777 F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 4, 2006
    10,147
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    Marc Sonnery
    Hello Niels:

    Yes that car was particularly fascinating to me from the moment when I first read about Tom and his creations in the late 70's to the very special day when I interviewed him for 5 hours in Santa Monica Ca. in May of 1996 for my articles. Amazingly no one had written about him in twenty years. That car was his first design, destroyed in the great flood of Florence.

    It is important to understand the context of that era to appreciate what these car were; things were simpler, more candid then.

    best regards,

    MS
     
  6. 250lm

    250lm Formula Junior

    Nov 3, 2003
    339
    The Netherlands
    Full Name:
    Niels Schouten
    Thanks Marc for the reply,

    I know it was his first design and want to do an article on this one for a club publication. If I take internet as a source I get several stories: Thomassima I should have gullwing doors according to some sources and others say this Particalar car is the Thomassima I. Since it resided for a short while in the Netherlands I would like to focus on this car, but can you tell if this is officially the Thomassima I (which according to some of the 'tricky' internet sources was indeed destroyed in the flood). It could make sense since I do have one Dutch article of it (which is posted in the Thomassima II thread) from Autovisie 1965 but after that (and before that either) I never read about the car again, which could fit the flood story. You somewhere mentioned that serial numbers where not important, so I think no one knows the s/n of that car? Or maybe a hint on what 250 Ferrari it was based? Can't find that in the article either but could make interesting eliminations on missing in action s/n :)

    Niels
     
  7. Nembo1777

    Nembo1777 F1 World Champ
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    Nov 4, 2006
    10,147
    opposite lock
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    Marc Sonnery
    Hello Niels:

    I don't claim to be magna cum laude in Thomassimanism but yes the car destroyed in the flood would be Thomassima zero if it had a name. Remember though that the word official which you use couldn't be further from the reality of the sixties and how these cars were born: it is important to see things in the proper perspective.

    I would assume the late Gerald Roush; Marcel Massini, Mike Sheehan and perhaps others would have an idea of which chassis number this car was: a shortlist of possibilities. It is also important to note that Tom who I really enjoy talking with once in a great while, already had a hazy memory in 1996.

    best regards,

    MS
     
  8. 250lm

    250lm Formula Junior

    Nov 3, 2003
    339
    The Netherlands
    Full Name:
    Niels Schouten
    #33 250lm, Jan 4, 2011
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2011
    Hi Marc,

    Off course official is not a well chosen term, but I'd like to know if this car is a thomassima or not since all the contradicting reports, but I think that I convinced myself it was. Today I received a copy of the 1971 Motortrend issue which featured a story on the Thomassima III and in the text there is a reference to this particular car and the time it had been in Holland (hence my main interest in this car and its history) and referred to it as ' Meade no.1'. In the Auto Afficianado article this car is also named as the Thomassima 1 and most interesting source could be FML of 1 August 2005 in which Gerald Roush had stated the following interesting stuff:

    " His first custom-bodied car was built on a Ferrari 250 GT chassis (unfortunately, Meade was never one to keep track of serial numbers) that he named Thomassima 1, which in Italian means "the maximum from Thomas." Every spare dime he had went into the car, passion for the car being more important than money. Unfortunately, the car was barely finished when it was destroyed in the flood that occurred in Florence in 1964, where the car was being shown to a prospective buyer.

    His second one-off creation was built for a Swiss customer who wanted a car that would be faster than the Cobras. It was front-engined with a Chevrolet V-8 and contained no Ferrari parts. It had unique removable gullwing doors and perhaps the first ever targa top. Named the "Anti-Cobra" this car is often referred to as Thomassima 1, but in a recent telephone conversation Meade confirmed that it was not part of the Thomassima series. He later bought the car back and still has it."

    Which could explain the different cars that turn up when you do a search on Thomassima I. It is a very intriguing story to do research on but unfortunately not much can be found on it. I would very much like to know if there are any more pics available on ths car that have not been posted on this forum yet.

    Niels
     

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