Today at TWO O’CLOCK!

Today November 8 at 2:00 PM, I will have owned my 330 GTC for FIFTY YEARS!
I bought it on that date from John Apen of FAF Motorcars (now Ferrari of Atlanta) in Tucker, Georgia.
I found it in the classifieds in Road and Track magazine, negotiated a price over the phone, sent a deposit and flew to Atlanta from my home in Rochester, NY. Test drove it, paid the balance, and took possession at 2:00 in the afternoon.
It had around 40,000 miles.
It was light metallic blue and I really didn’t like the color.
So, I had two choices: Have it painted a different color or leave it blue. I chose the former. Big problem - I spent my entire savings and didn’t have any money to have it painted.
Decision: paint it myself!
My favorite color is yellow and after researching, I could not find any record of a yellow GTC.
Decision made - I took the horn button to a paint shop and told them this is the color I want. Turned out to be 1975 Corvette Bright Yellow.
I returned home with a gallon of yellow, a gallon of primer and a gallon of thinner. Plus lots of sandpaper, putty and Prep-Sol.
Put the car on jacks, removed all the chrome, applied the Prep-Sol and then started sanding.
First realization: I didn’t have a clue what I was doing!
I sanded until most of the blue was gone. Primed, sanded some more until it looked and felt right.
Bonus - I found absolutely no sign of any bodywork. Big plus.
I bought another gallon of thinner, carefully wiped the car down, masked off the windows and interior.
Then came the yellow.
I used the entire gallon and when done, it looked really nice.
After letting it dry for a few weeks, I replaced all the trim.
VOILA! It looked like a brand new car.
Not bad for an amateur. I almost sprained my shoulder patting myself on the back!
Now, at close to 210,000 miles it still drives like a dream and is the perfect daily driver.
Of course, I’ve done quite a bit of work since the repaint but that’s another story.
Comments?
Bob Z.

 

First of all, congratulations! Second, some pictures would be good. Third, does that mean the paint job you did 50 years ago is still on the car now? Fourth, so your first 1,000 miles (of your 170,000) was driving it home? Apologies as you're probably answered those questions elsewhere here.

 

Must be a real gem to keep for 50 years. Nice story

 

Bob: Great story, we bought our 275 GTS from FAF in 1976, and still have it.

 

48 years ago when I first started working on Ferraris a guy buying a Ferrari model he loved and keeping it long term was much more the norm.
Today it seems flipping every 2 or 3 years for the latest and greatest is more the norm. I love clients who have a long term relationship with their car. You chose well. GTC is a great car.

Congratulations on the anniversary.

 

Congratulations, Bob! From reading on here I'm familiar with your GTC story, and it crosses my mind every time I see one of your posts.

 

DRW: who was the previous owner of your GTB?
Bob Z.

 

Very Happy you posted this, Bob. I talk of you and your yellow 330 all the time (oddly, my dream car is a cousin to yours- the 330GT 2+2 Interim as a family car), though I havent seen you or your GTC in many many years, always wondering what was happening with that beauty. Love telling your story to enthusiasts of how you had been daily driving your yellow GTC, though I didnt remember the story of you painting it. I think the last time we crossed paths at an event you probably had about 130k miles at that time so I am smiling right now in amazement at 200k+. What a great youtube clip you could make and how youve kept the spirit of this car thriving. All the best.