Tag Archives: d’Elegance

Tom Meade Special – Ferrari 250 GT SWB NeMBo Spyder #3771GT

Today’s featured Ferrari started life as a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta with a steel Berlinetta body that was supplied to E Molozzi.

By this time a Californian Tom Meade had hitched from Norway to Rome in pursuit of a dream to own an Italian exotic car with his savings from a four year stint in the US Navy.

Tom eventually got to the Maserati factory at Modena where he managed to procure an old Maserati 350S sans engine and fit it with a Corvette motor that was surplus to Lloyd “Lucky” Crasners requirements.

Ferrari 250 GT SWB Nembo Spyder, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

With input from Gentilini and Fantuzzi Tom’s first special was completed and sent to San Fransisco where Tom briefly settled until some friends landed the car in a Marin County tree top.

With the proceeds from the sale of the wreckage Tom returned to Italy in 1963 where he bought two less than perfect Maserati’s and made them roadworthy before acquiring chassis #3771GT.

It is not clear why #3771GT needed a rebody but it may have been due to flood damage from the 1966 disaster that struck Florence, it appears that a William Dixon was involved in commissioning Tom to rebody the car to his own specifications which included fitting a Ferrari 250 GTO/64 windscreen.

Ferrari 250 GT SWB Nembo Spyder, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

My understanding is that Neri & Bonaccini got the car mechanically back on it’s feet by 1968 two years after William Dixon from Seattle bought it.

The contraction of the Neri Mead and BOnaccini names that gives #3771GT it’s NeMBo sorbriquet which coincidentally is also the Italian name given to the Superman cartoon character and equally coincidentally means ‘coat’ in Swahili.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing these photographs of #3771GT taken at Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance last year.

“Thanks for joining me on this “Tom Meade Special” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Intercooled IMSA GTO Racer – Porsche 934/5 930 770 0954

Two years after the introduction of the Porsche 930 street car marketed as the 911 Turbo Porsche manufactured a run of 400 Porsche 934 street cars mandated by a set of rules known as Group 4 in order that it’s customers could compete with a 550 hp race version of the 934 in 1976.

In 1977 Porsche built a further 10 white 934/5’s for it’s US customers who raced to the more liberal IMSA GTO series, aside from differences in the front and rear wheels arches and the rear wing which supplemented the tea tray spoiler the 934/5 was fitted with an intercooler which helped cool the combustion charge and raised the output to 600hp at 7000 rpm.

Porsche 934/5, Niello Serrano Concours d’Elegance

George Dyer took delivery of 934/5 #930 0954 in 1977 to supplement the non turbo charged 911 Carrera RSR which he had been racing since 1973 and co drove to victory in the 1977 Sebring 12 Hours with Brad Frisselle.

Records at RacingSportsCars.com show George raced the 934/5, which I believe to be today’s featured car, on nine occasions in 1977 with a win in the 250 mile Paul Revere race at Daytona being the cars stand out success.

Porsche 934/5, Niello Serrano Concours d’Elegance

Current owner Bruce Canepa raced #0954 once in 1978 finishing 7th at Sears Point before driving the car with Rick Mears and Monte Shelton to a third place finish in the 1979 Daytona 24 hours which seems to have been the cars final race appearance.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for arranging for me to share these photo’s of the car taken by Karl Krause at Niello Serrano Concours d’Elegance a couple of years ago.

Thanks for joining me on this “Intercooled IMSA GTO Racer” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Jaguar powered special that anticipated the arrival of the E-Type Jaguar. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Parisian Show Car – Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé #0295EU

Visitors to the 1953 Paris Motor Show will have no doubt been impressed by the sight of today’s featured Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé #0295EU.

Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

#0295EU has the lowest chassis number of any 250 Europa and is one of only two such chassis with a Vignale Coupé body the other being #0313EU which I looked at a couple of years ago.

Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

After the 1953 Paris show #0295EU was shipped to the USA where at some as yet unspecified date in the 1950’s race car driver George Reed from Midlothian, Illinois who ran RRR Motors, Reed’s Race Rats, which dealt in Ferrari’s and later Shelby Cobra’s acquired the car.

Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

By 1971 Gilbert Walton in Danville California acquired the #0295 and to date became it’s longest custodian, in 1986 Crockett Auto Restoration commenced a four year restoration.

Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

More recently Kentucky property developer Kevin D Cogan became the custodian of the car and he appears to have been the first owner to take #0295EU to a Concours D’Elegance event entering it a Pebble Beach in the Ferrari Grand Touring Class earlier this year.

Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

#0295 is seen in these photographs back in it’s spiritual home town Danville where the car won the Award of Excellence at the 2015 Danville Concours d’Elegance.

Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photographs taken at Danville Concours d’Elegance.

Thanks for joining me on this “Parisian Show Car” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at the last in the current series on Chevron’s. Don’t forget to come back now !

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2 Door 4 Seat – Mercedes Benz W142 320 Cabriolet B

In February 1937 Mercedes Benz launched the first two, of an eventual four, variations of the W142 Typ 320, that replaced the W18 Typ 290, with either 2,880 mm / 113″ or 3300 mm / 130″ chassis both of which remained in production from 1937 to 1938.

The new models were powered by enlarged 77hp 3,208 cc / 195 cui six cylinder side-valve engines that were fitted with manual all synchromesh 4 speed gearboxes.

Mercedes Benz W142 320 Cabriolet B, Dana Point Concours d'Elegance

As with the W18’s W142 were fitted with numerous Cabriolet options the long wheel base chassis cabriolet options included 2 door 3seat Cabriolet A, 2 door 4 seat Cabriolet B as seen in these photographs, 4 door 4 seat Cabriolet D and four-door 6-seat with three rows of seats Pullman-Cabriolet F.

With a top speed of 81 mph the W142’s had hydraulic brakes on all four wheels to slow then down and made use of the same suspension as the W18, transverse leaf and coil springs on the front and swing axles at the back.

Mercedes Benz W142 320 Cabriolet B, Dana Point Concours d'Elegance

The third W142 variant manufactured from 1938 to 1940 was for military use with 4 front hinged door, a canvass roof and off road tyres that reduced the top speed of the vehicle to 73 mph.

The final variant of the W142 built from 1938 to 1942 was powered by a motor enlarged to 3,405 cc / 207 cui, the power output remained the same thanks to a reduced compression ratio in anticipation of the increased use of fuel synthesized from coal which had a lower octane rating than the fuel refined from oil.

The military W142/III was also fitted with the larger engine in 1939 but tuned to give 79hp in order that the top speed remained at 73 mph.

Mercedes Benz W142 320 Cabriolet B, Dana Point Concours d'Elegance

4,326 of the W142’s were built with the smaller engine and 885 with the larger engine, additionally 1,806 military variants were built.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing these photographs of the 1937 320 Cabriolet B belonging to Mercedes Benz Classic Center taken at Dana Point Concours d’Elegance a couple of years ago.

Thanks for joining me on this “2 Door 4 Seat” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a three seat Talbot. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Ham Handed Texan – Ferrari 340 Vignale Berlinetta #0222AT

Allen Guiberson struck it rich in his early ’20’s and became a Ferrari collecting Dallas oilman who was once described in Time Magazine as a ham handed Texan.

Ferrari 340 Vignale Berlinetta, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

In 1952 he bought today’s featured Ferrari 340 Vignale Berlinetta, the first of three built for the Carrera Panamericana road race, sometimes referred to as a 340 Mexico Berlinetta.

Ferrari 340 Vignale Berlinetta, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Sponsored by Industrias 1-2-3 #0222AT was driven by Luigi Villoresi and either Piero Cassani or Franco Cornacchia in the 1952 Carerra Panamerica, but failed to finish after a gearbox problem manifested it’s self.

Ferrari 340 Vignale Berlinetta, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

The following year Phil Hill and Richie Ginther drove the same car in the event and retired after an accident, the cars only other known appearance was in the 1954 1000 km race at Buenos Aires where Phil shared the car with Dave Sykes until they retired with a clutch problem.

Ferrari 340 Vignale Berlinetta, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

After 14 changes of ownership during which time #0222AT had it’s original engine swapped out for a Chevy V8 in the 1950’s and then replaced by a larger 342 Ferrari V12 in the 1980’s the current owner bought the car in 2000.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photograph’s taken at Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance earlier this year.

Thanks for joining me on this “Ham Handed Texan” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at another open wheel Chevron. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Reflecting Good Taste – Lincoln Capri

From 1952 to 1959 Lincoln manufactured the Capri with 4 door sedan, 2 door coupé and 2 door convertible bodies only the first generation was manufactured from 1952 to 1955 the second from 1956 to 1957 and the third and final generation from 1958 to 1959.

Lincoln Capri, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Powered by the all new 160hp 5.2 litre / 317 cui Lincoln Y-block that replaced the flat heads in all Lincoln’s in 1952 the Capri when tested by Popular Mechanics reached 60mph from rest in 14.8 seconds, covered the 1/4 mile in 21.3 seconds and recorded fuel consumption of 21 mpg at an average speed of 40mph.

Lincoln Capri, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

To mark the Capri out from it’s competitors like the Cadillac 62 series, Chrysler New Yorker and Packard 400 teams of Lincolns were entered in the last three Carrera Panamericana races that saw them win the Tourismo Internacional class on each occasion with Chuck Stevenson and Clay Smith finishing 7th overall in 1952 and 1953 while Ray Crawford and Enrique Iglesias finished 9th overall to claim class honours in 1954.

Lincoln Capri, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

With the strap line “Everything about Lincoln reflects good taste” the 1955 Capri was offered with a 225hp 5.6 litre / 341 cui Y-block atop which sat a 4 barrel carburetor.

Lincoln Capri, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

There was no Carrera Panamericana for the more powerful Lincoln Capri to prove itself as a result of the 1955 disaster at Le Mans and so far as I know the model was never seen in contemporary competition again.

Lincoln Capri, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Today’s featured 1955 Lincoln Capri owned by Dick “El Flaco” de Luna was competition prepared by Dennis “El Gordo” Varni who fitted a modern 425hp 5 litre / 302 cui Ford V8 and all modern safety and handling equipment to the car which is now said to handle like a 4000 lb Porsche. The duo have competed on numerous resurrections of the Carrera Panamericana winning outright in 1999 alongside numerous class awards.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing these photograph’s taken at Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance in 2011.

Thanks for joining me on this “Reflecting Good Taste” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Ferrari that competed on the Carerra Panamericana in 1952 and 1953. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Giving Up Secrets – Ferrari 750 Monza #0462M

On September 4th 1954 Joe Kelly to took delivery of today’s featured 3 litre / 183 cui 4 cylinder Ferrari 750 Monza chassis #0462M in Dublin, Ireland.

This car was the second of the total 31 750 Monza’s built by the factory and a week after delivery Joe entered the car for himself and Desmond Titterington in Tourist Trophy at Dundrod in Northern Ireland where they retired with gearbox issues.

Ferrari, 750, Monza, Hillsborough, Concours, d'Elegance,

Joe entered the car for Desmond to drive in the Leinster Trophy a week later celebrated his second week of ownership with a win, Mike Hawthorn drove the car for Joe in the Goodwood Trophy and retired with a broken rear axle.

The cars next owner was the Jaguar Car Company who disassembled the car and repaired the damaged rear axle and then put it back together after closely inspecting it to see why it was so much better than the Jaguar C and D types which had been comprehensively thrashed by Ferrari in the 1954 World Sports Car Championship.

Ferrari, 750, Monza, Hillsborough, Concours, d'Elegance,

After giving up it’s secrets to the engineers at Browns Lane in Coventry Peter Whitehead acquired the car and it then went via Jack Brabham to Australia where it was raced by Stan Coffey in 1956 without any success and Norm Crowfoot in April 1959 who recorded a third place finish in a race at Bathurst.

Oliver Steel also raced #0462M in 1959 but retired from his race, in 1963 Geoffrey Davis bought the car and kept it until 1980, by the mid 1980’s it had found it’s way to the USA where it remained until 1998 when it returned to Italy where it stayed until 2012.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing these photograph’s of #0462M taken at Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance earlier this year. Don’t forget to come back now !

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