Volume 3, Issue 6 - November/December 1996

FCA Wows the Festa Italia

as the words denote, this was a truly italian fiesta with your club providing the excitement of a fifteen car display for both saturday and sunday. this was a food fair and a promotion of everything italian. the ferraris added that something special and as always were a real crowd pleaser. we set up our booth of regalia and had exceptionally brisk sales, proving, once again, that enzo and his beloved cars have reached the hearts of everyone.

the fca southwest region rat pack conducts business at the festa. (left to right) marshall lieb, shin takei, don west, unknown, and michael lederman.

the fair was held in the area behind the santa monica civic auditorium and was free to the public. there were food and drink booths exhibited by many of the more popular italian restaurants with samplings of their best dishes to include; fried calamari, pastas, rack of lamb, pizza, salads, breads, specialty waters and coffees. all of it was great. and yours truly can attest to it as we all were treated by the promoters to generous samplings.

miss italia 1995 admires don west?s 246 gt dino at the festa italia (while tom brockmiller and marshall lieb admire miss italia 1995).

prior to the event the club was asked to participate in a fox channel 11 television spot at six in the morning. we wish to thank ferrari of beverly hills and ferrari north america for bringing out a new f355 spyder, as well as tino mingori with his beautifully prepared fly yellow 275gtb/4 and shin takei with his very special 365gtb/4. the three cars were on a live tv spot aired that morning. the club continued to get additional radio coverage throughout the weekend in the form of live interviews.

ferrari dealer ogner motorcars supported the festa with cars and tent.

there are few things that exemplify better the true mystique and excitement created by the ferrari marque than being at a public exhibition where you can feel the public pulse.

we wish to thank capretta communications, michael lederman and ogner motors as well as all our members who gave their time and brought their much appreciated cars.

linda brockmiller slaved away all day for the benefit of the club by selling ferrari regalia (you can buy some too...see page 20)

President's Corner

by: tom brockmiller

both clubs seem to be doing well. during the past year we have published each other?s events without many overlaps. that?s a step in the right direction, plus our levels of communications are more open than ever before. the next step is a merger of the two clubs.

why? it would enable us to provide a common cause in a club "united for the sake of preservation and enjoyment of the ferrari automobile" ? no other issue would be important. a fringe benefit would be that we would only pay dues once, a significant savings for some of our members. the reasons for having two clubs have changed and ferrari owners in california, as well as throughout the country, would be better served by combining the resources of both clubs to provide better events and publications for all our members.

over the past year there have been several conversations between the members of both boards in an attempt to merge the clubs but these didn?t fly. why? traditions don?t change easily, and while we all make excuses about "the other club having a different agenda" etc., etc., etc., i and others belive a merger of the two clubs would be good for all of our members.

how do you feel? i would appreciate hearing from you. call me at (310) 530-1004 and if you are a member of the foc tell a member of your board.

sincerely,

tom brockmiller

Upcoming Events

christmas party in beverly hills

the evening will begin at 6:30 pm, at which time you?ll be able to meet the new general manager, mr. philippe lancksweert, as well as mr. alan woodard, service manager and glenn weltz, parts manager. past model introductions at the beverly hills dealership have been spectacular, with lots of guests, great food, and fanfare.

ferrari of beverly hills is located at 9372 wilshire blvd. in the city of beverly hills. see the newest ferrari as well as a completely redecorated showroom and service installation.

please rsvp to tammy at the fca office (800) 477-7166 x107 or kathy at ferrari of beverly hills (310) 275-4400.

meguair?s tech session

bobileff motorcar co. is located at 9924 mesa rim road, near the mirimar area. this is a great opportunity for you san diego-area members to dust off the steed and meet some new friends.

for more information, please call judd goldfeder at the fca office. for directions to bobileff motorcar co., please call gary bobileff at (619) 622-1600.

u-turn at irvine meadows - sccscc practice slalom

this event, presented by the ferrari owner?s club is a new type of event for us but promises to be loads of fun. here?s the deal:

sccscc is the southern california council of sports car clubs. this sort of slalom, also known under the scca name of solo ii, consists of a road course, laid out in the parking lot at irvine meadows/lion country safari, using traffic cones and chalk lines. the correct date, which has moved around a bit, is december 7th, with the first car out at about 10:30 am. and we care because it is a safe, fun, low cost way to drive the pants off our cars.

the course will be challenging, with many turns and straights ? basically a sea of cones for you to navigate in your ferrari. you?ll get an opportunity to walk the course and try to commit it to memory and then you?ll get to test your driving skills against the clock and other ferrari owners.

this is a great competitive event that offers no risk and is easy on the car. the worst you?ll go home with is possibly some "cone blood" on your spoiler. also, since this is a run/work event, you?ll get an opportunity to watch other drivers techniques and mistakes as you shag some cones.

all you need is a safe car, with normal seat belts and a secure battery. bring a helmet (snell or ansi approved) if you have one, otherwise there should be some loaners at the event. that and $25 gets you into the fun. for more information, contact diane millard at (310) 861-6992 or sccscc at (818) 249-5761.

all in all, it only takes about half a day and is loads of fun.

southwest region bbq & swim party

3rd Annual South Coast Botanic Garden Picnic

held on september 15th on a beautiful and sunny sunday in cooperation with the pantera club of the south bay. it just keeps getting better. the assortment of cars and the addition of music and operatic singing added a very special touch.

shades of trs, battleship gray and mercedes silver (just a joke tom), an f40, and the musician?s gazebo.

this garden show and picnic was created as a low key, get acquainted and casual on the grass event, twenty ferrari friends and about seventeen pantera members in a joint gathering. you can imagine the difference in the color assortment. ferraris - all red and one black. panteras - not one alike. i must say that the pantera club has some beautifully prepared cars and very nice members. they will be most welcome at any of our events. by the way, i read where pantera is the featured marque at concours italiano next august.

the gang relaxes on the grounds of the gardens (left to right) marshall leib, raphael, debra smith, and sharon stone.

after placing all the cars on the grass at around 10am we were able to enjoy violettas singing accompanied by italian opera. our one man band filled in during interludes. soft drinks and waters were provided by the fca. people renewed old acquaintances and enjoyed a beautiful day.

many models were represented at the gardens; 308 gt4, a 330 gtc, a 348 spyder, a 288 gto replica, and a daytona.

our thanks to all that attended and provided us with a great assortment of cars. the plans for next year are already in the works. they include the pantera club and jointly we intend to provide you with some "never before" show events. you will be surprised.

Santa Barbara Concours d'Elegance

by: john thayer

the weekend began with a friday night cocktail reception at the magnificent klinger estate in hope ranch. early saturday morning several club members met in front of the el encanto hotel for a scenic drive to the concours.

the santa barbara concours draws some exceptional and unique automobiles. best of show went to member steve tillack?s 1962 fly yellow 250 swb berlinetta! the setting for the event is spectacular. the cars were displayed on a grassy bluff with mountain and ocean views. the college and concours volunteer staff did an outstanding job of organizing and attending to details. a special thank you to executive director colette hadly for her hard work. saturday night we enjoyed an outstanding dinner at the el encanto hotel, presented by award winning chef vincent vanhecke. the service, hospitality and ambiance of the hotel and staff were first rate.

on sunday morning we enjoyed a spirited drive over the santa barbara riviera and through some twisty, scenic backroads in montecito to the majestic four seasons biltmore hotel. the biltmore brunch is world famous and certainly lived up to its reputation. after enjoying a leisurely feast of cuisine representing styles from all over the world, it was time to say goodbye and head home. if you weren?t able to make it to santa barbara this time, be sure to mark it on your calendar for next year. you can plan on enjoying beautiful cars, scenic drives, outstanding food, and great company.

Newport Beach Concours d'Elegance

on sunday, october 6th, 18 pristine ferraris were placed at the top end of the pelican beach country club driving range where this year?s newport beach concours d?elegance was held. the ferrari "tifosi" gladly made the trek up the hill to see the wide model and color range of outstanding cars on display.

the ferraris assumed their rightly place at the newport beach concours, looking down upon all the other marques.

well, maybe it wasn?t that high, but cy yedor had an altitude nose bleed and several cars had to be re-jetted in order to make it up the hill.

the show theme this year was "german masterpieces" which resulted in a great showing of mercedes, porsche and bmw entrants. 300 sl?s and 356 porsches turned out in large numbers (15 of the former and 20 of the latter) as well as grosser mercedes from the teens, twenties and thirties. alas, not a single borgward, wartburg or fahrtskeller made the scene and they were certainly masterpieces.

a spectator complates steve tillack?s beautiful yellow 250 swb. "how can a car be that fast and that pretty?"

yes, judges, everything is in order here..

the ferraris were split up into two classes based on newer and older cars. first place in the older cars went to michael yedor?s 1964 250 gt lusso and in the newer group a seldom seen and rare 1968 206 gt dino entered by bill lemasters took the first place trophy.

a partial list of other trophy winners would include gary thieltges? 1958 250 ellena coupe and the beautiful 1962 250 swb shown by steve tillack. a special award was given to the 1957 250 testarossa spyder prototype brought by fred peters and chuck betz. the hard luck award must go to phil tripoli?s 1969 365 gt which had the only flat tire at the show. quite a few fca members spent the morning helping out with the judging duties.

the hard luck of phil tripoli and his 365 gt 2+2.

all in all, it was a delightful day of great cars, good weather and excellent crowd.

Tech Tip - 308 Lubrication

by: bill pound

to better understand the problem in 308 engines, we need to define what "surge" is. surge is the effect "g" forces have on anything with mass. the same forces that make loose items fly off the seat next to you under cornering loads also cause the oil in the oil pan to rush in the opposite direction of the car.

surge is a problem in 308s because the oil pump pick-up screen is offset about 2 inches (50mm) to the right of the centerline of the pan. what this basically means is that there is less oil to the right of the pick-up than there is to the left. therefore, hard right-hand cornering loads cause the oil to rush to the left, allowing the oil pick-up to suck air instead of oil, resulting in loss of oil pressure.

how long the pressure loss lasts depends upon the length of time the pick-up is exposed to air. in many cases, as the car exits the corner the oil surges back into the pan and pressure is established again, so there is just a momentary drop in pressure. an electric gauge such as the stock veglia unit does not quickly reflect changes in pressure so the driver may not even notice the momentary drop.

on an extended right-hand turn the resultant lack of oil pressure can be disastrous. as a general rule the first areas in the engine to show damage from lack of oil pressure are the rod bearings, and in some cases the camshaft tunnels in the heads. pre-1980 cars with carbs are interesting in as much as the "g" forces affecting the oil also affect the fuel in the fuel bowls. the end result is that, while the oil pressure may drop in the corner, the engine is usually suffering from fuel starvation so that it doesn?t generate enough power to do much damage. on the other hand, a 308 with modified cams and any decent fuel injection system can destroy itself in just a few seconds of hard cornering. so what to do?

i read an article some time back suggesting that a 3 quart accusump system would eliminate this oil surge problem and would be an inexpensive alternative to a dry sump system. accusump systems work by storing extra oil in a pressurized tank that evacuates itself into the engine when the oil pressure drops below a certain threshold. this works well in most applications but their capacity is far too limited to cope with the volume of oil the 308 requires. besides, even if the capacity were increased to the point of being sufficient, you?d need to deal with the problem immediately created by all this extra oil in the motor. tom?s car has an accusump and he was disappointed to find that he still starved for oil in long, high-g turns such as turns 2, 8 and 9 at willow springs.

the main reason the accusump system is not sufficient is the tremendous oil volume the ferrari engine needs, especially if putting out upwards of 270 hp.

unlike a great many engines which drive the oil pump off the distributor and therefore at half engine speed, the 308 oil pump turns at almost engine speed (90% of crank speed actually). couple this with the massive main oil galleries in a 308 (19mm diameter versus 12mm in a small-block chevy). add to that the many oil pressure points in a 308 motor -- the 308 has 5 main journals, 8 rod journals, 20 camshaft journals, and 16 holes (actually 1mm diameter) in the flank of each cam lobe. to top it off, the 308 has an all alloy crankcase and heads. aluminum has a hefty expansion rate which increases oil clearances and therefore requires even more volume to maintain the same pressure.

during dyno development of our 308 imsa program several years ago, we experimented with various methods of dealing with oil pressure loss. at the time, we measured oil flow through the cooler lines at over 400 gallons per hour

Monterey 1996

the ride up to monterey

by: wally clark

ferraris stop on the way up to monterey from the los angeles area.

after picking up a few ferraris on the way, we all made it to san luis obispo for a lunch stop at café roma in old town near the amtrack station. the lunch was fabulous and everyone enjoyed the atmosphere and the company! our thanks to maria rizzo and her staff at café roma for setting up a great lunch. we will have to do it again next year!

the monterey weekend

by: tino mingori

nevertheless, here are some personal reflections on monterey as we experienced it this year.

an f40 graces the picture in front of the tent of our sister region, the pacific region of the fca, at the councours italiana

after driving through smoke from brush fires west of highway 5, we arrived in the monterey area around 10am on friday in time to drive directly to the concours italiana and park in the (dare i say it) bmw paddock. we used the fact that bmw was the featured marque to justify motoring in the comfort and convenience of our ?91 m5. no worries about luggage space. just chuck it in the back seat if it doesn?t fit in the trunk. (if this admission bothers you, just ask our president, tom brockmiller, what he drove.) anyhow, we entered the concours area and after 5 minutes went back to the car for our jackets. the skies were sunny and clear, but the temperatures were decidedly cool. of course, with the bmw there was plenty of room to pack ample cool weather gear. lucky us. the concours contained the usual display of sparkling italian machinery surrounded by vendors with lots of neat stuff. i managed to find and buy an old issue of cavallino that our dog, vito, had eaten a few months back. it was one that was sorely missed because it featured a daytona like the one we had left back in la. the rest of the day was devoted to the very enjoyable activities of seeing old friends (both people and cars) and meeting some new ones (both people and cars).

a blue with yellow stripe gto holds of a silver 250 swb through the corkscrew .

after an excellent dinner served on the green (arranged by the pacific region), shin takei let me sit in the beautiful mercedes gullwing he had brought to the event. i had never been in a gullwing before, and it was quite an experience getting in and out. leaving quail lodge late and missing all the traffic was great.

a gorgeous red gto navigates down the corkscrew during the historic races. <

Oldtimers Corner - Out of the Barn

out of the barn

it was quite a special car, beautifully done in design as well as execution. the dash board featured a number of unusual and extra instruments not seen on most ferraris.

soon thereafter, one chester bolin, who went by the name of chet, showed up with the car at a few ferrari club events. by then, the car had been painted what we later referred to as "resale red". the style of the car was very much like the early tour de france berlinettas, but somehow different; more elegant. but in those days, most of the ferraris were different from all the other ferraris in one way or another, so we didn't assign any particular value to the car. it was just another ferrari of approximately 1956 vintage. then, when it came time to pay his annual dues, chet bolin dropped out of the ferrari club, and neither chet nor the car were to be heard from for a long time thereafter.

250 gt s/n 0425 gt -- note the similarity to the 250 gt "tour de france" berlinettas

fast forward to the 80's. everybody and his cousin was a "ferrari broker". a favorite pastime was researching the older ferraris, trying to find one that was still "hidden in the barn". i was caught up in the fever, right there with many of my friends. i use to pore over my book of serial numbers, trying to refresh my memory about cars that i might be able to find and buy. remember, the market was climbing wildly, and in the mid 80's it hardly mattered what you paid for a car. if you overpaid on that day, just wait a day! in other words, today's retail was tomorrow's wholesale.

in poring over my notes, i kept coming across chet bolin's name. no one that i knew had seen the car in many years, and most of the newcomers didn't even know the car existed. i had a strong feeling that chet and the car, which bore serial no. 0425 gt, were still together. but various attempts to locate an address for chet met with failure; the telephone directories and the dmv, the l. a. county registrar of voters and other inquiries all came up blank.

as we reached the mid 80's, i finally decided to invest a little money with a private detective. sure enough, he came up with an address for chester bolin in murietta, in riverside county! when i got this information, my friend john starkey (to whom i had sold a tour de france berlinetta) was visiting, so i said to john, "how would you like to take a drive to riverside county with me?". i had no telephone number for chet, only an address. so there was nothing to do but to drive out to murietta on speculation. when we got there, we pulled into the local gas station, to ask directions to his street, which we discovered was a street of mobile homes. as we rounded the corner we saw, parked in front of the mobile home, a tattered car cover, hiding the unmistakable shape of the ferrari we were seeking!

it was a sunday afternoon, and both chet and his wife phyllis were home, and delighted to receive some visitors from out of the past. they confirmed that no one had approached them about the car, and they apparently had little idea of its value (then, over $100,0

What I Did For My Summer Vacation - the One Lap of America, Part 2

by: jeff littrell

day 2

i?m more than a little intimidated by the idea of unleashing this ill-handling monster on a wet super speedway but it turns out to be really fun. really fun! the wet ground turns the understeer into power-on oversteer and the slow infield section is a blast to throttle steer through with the back end hanging out. the 18 degree banking on the oval keeps the car stuck and i?m able to look down and see 170 mph before braking for the turn-in to the road course (which one corvette just plain missed and ended up blowing through the cones). the high g forces cause the boost gauge to come loose on the dash halfway through the first lap but i?m able to ignore it and we finish 6th! no time to celebrate, we have to pack everything back up and drive 266 miles to putnam park, indiana.

again, we are fortunate to have some fellow rx7net enthusiasts meet us at the track with fuel but we?re running late so there is no time to chat (we spent time in route epoxying the boost gauge back on and fixing a loose headlight cover). hurry up to grid and try to be a quick study. the car still has severe understeer and i push too hard through the last turn on lap one, causing me to lift and spin the car about 320 degrees but i stay on the track. i gather it up as fast as i can and go on to finish 15th. this puts us in 12th overall, just shy of our top 10 goal. not bad, all things considered. pack up the car, talk with some folks, wonder out loud how to cure the suspension woes, and hit the road for a 328 mile jaunt to road america.

we make a couple cellular phone calls enroute and determine that we?ll try bumping the tire pressures up from 37psi to about 41psi. so far we?ve averaged about 3 to 4 hours sleep but tonight we get to stay at a hotel. at least that?s the plan. in reality we waste about two hours searching in vain for race gas and then get lost in the heavy fog trying to find elkhart lake, wisconsin. at least we didn?t hit a deer ? one of the other competitors did.

day 3

amazingly, we get to blackhawk with enough time for me to walk the course before we start. it is small and tight but i think i have it memorized. the increased tire pressures work wonders and the first lap goes pretty well as i almost catch up to the corvette ahead of me. there is a kink near the last turn that i think i can take much faster so on the second lap i keep the pedal down. whoops! now there isn?t enough ti

Buying an Older Ferrari - Part 9

by: chris kantarjiev

we were taking s/n 9161 out for her weekly constitutional; it was the first trip of the year, since the weather has been rotten on the previous thursdays this year. felt nice to be in her again. we were headed up king?s mountain road, as usual. i know this road fairly well, am getting to know how the car behaves on it pretty well, too it?s twisty and wooded for most of the way up. there?s a straight stretch about a mile from the top where the trees open up and the road widens to almost four lanes - it?s a good place to let her breathe a bit, gain some revs, and then brake again for the last five or six turns and then a quick run to the top.

the first turn at the end of this stretch is a blind decreasing radius right hander; then there?s a quick left and a very sharp right. there?s a gap in the trees where the sun almost always shines through and tries to blind the driver, just as you need to crank the wheel over harder. it?s a fun corner. since it?s blind, i never take the proper line of swinging out before turning in; instead i slow down enough, trail brake in, turn and then let the rear slide around.

today, we didn?t make it around the corner. i still haven?t figured out exactly what happened. i don?t think i was going too fast, and i don?t think i panicked and froze and locked the wheels (more on that in a second).

what i do know is that a volvo appeared from around the turn and we hit it: left front corner of ours scraped along the two driver?s side doors of hers. at some point, the cast campagnolo wheel broke; 80% of the outside circumference is sitting in pieces in the trunk. all i remember is the feeling of very suddenly being out of control.

damages: her doors and probably the fenders are not in good shape. the driver?s window shattered and showered her with fragments. the left rear tire got a slit in it. volvo side impact protection works.

our car: the impact was right on the corner, taking out that end of the bumper, pushing in the headlamp (damn, we just found those marchals!) shearing off the sidemarker lens and trashing the turn signal. the shock waves went across the front valence, top and bottom, but the last wrinkle is before the right side fender bulge. the hood appears fine. can?t tell about internals - the engine was still running ("both feet in"!) but there was a tick - maybe the electric fan that?s in front of the radiator. suspension seems fine. i didn?t see any fluid leaks. the fender was pushed into the tire, and i?m guessing that the tire jammed and either the bead broke and the wheel dropped onto the pavement, or the whole thing shattered from the torque.

"330 gt s/n 9161 after being "colocated" with a volvo on king?s mountain road"

everyone is ok. that is clearly the most important thing. we?re not hysterical. the car isn?t drivable; we towed to a body shop. i have no idea, yet, where we will find parts. the sheetmetal can be repaired; it?s just a matter of time and money. the paint on the front end of the car was in bad shape anyway; this metal has all been repaired (very well) once before, so it?s not like we damaged the work of the factory. (now we get to decide whether to repaint the front or the whole car, and whether to use lacquer or not.)

aside from being annoyed and sad, i?m concerned about my reaction and what it says about my current level of driving ability. at first, i thought i had simply gone into the corner too hot, turned in too late, exceeded the capabilities of the old xzx tires, and crossed the center line into her. i also thought that i panicked and froze, locking up the whe

Classified Ads

note: these may be out of date. be sure to check for the latest issue of sempre ferrari.

for sale: testarossa s/n 72411 (1987 usa model). red/tan. all tools, books, service history. 4200 miles. absolutely as new condition. $80,000. call tino (310) 474-8769 or bob (317) 463-6406.

for sale: 1988 tr. white/tan. 7,600 miles, mint condition inside and out. $82,000. please contact private party at (714) 253-4700 days or (714) 569-8998 pager.

for sale: 1981 ferrari mondial 8 coupe s/n 35857, primered, interior and glass burned out. engine, trans and body in good condition. easy to build into a track car or cut off the roof and make a motorized flower pot. $11,000 or trade. joseph alphabet, (714) 650-1322; fax: (714) 642-2963

parts for sale: for 330 gt 2+2 series i: transmission $3,000; tailight assy $150 each; headlight assy w/ rim $250 ea. for 308: front and rear bumpers, very nice $500 ea; distributor (complete) $400; exhaust system (early non-original $350. joseph alphabet, (714) 650-1322; fax: (714) 642-2963

memorabilia for sale: ferrari at rodeo drive heavy canvas banner from 1993 showing the 348 spyder. 78" high x 41" wide, double sided, seven colors, very decorative, very historic. $1,500 obo. joseph alphabet, (714) 650-1322; fax: (714) 642-2963

wanted: leather wrapped momo steering wheel with a diameter of approximately 14.5-15 in. (365gtc/4 or similar vintage ferrari?) i would also be intertested in information on having such a wheel recovered with new padding and leather. call tino (310) 474-8769.