Volume 4, Issue 7 - November 1997

Newport Beach Concours d?Elegance

by: wally clark

on october 5, 1997 we had a great turnout of ferraris for the newport beach concours. french cars were the feature this year and what a beautiful display of "swoopy" bodied cars! best of show went to a 1934 voisin c27 figoni cabriolet which was also the poster car for the event. the field had many pebble beach winning cars, including the talbot lago t150c figoni and falashi coupe which won best of show this year. highlight of the french car class was general william lyon?s 1931 bugatti royale type 41 binder coupe de ville (ex harrah). this car is huge! other cars on display were a featured pre 1952 woody class and a display class of fat-fendered hot rods.

some special ferraris graced the field. symbolic motors brought the 1970 ferrari 512 s race car, chuck betz/fred peters brought their tdf and swb, and john clinard brought his beautiful 250 cabriolet series i. the organizers were ecstatic over the ferrari display and would like us to do more next year, perhaps as an fca club event.

a great day, a good crowd, an overall superb event!

President?s Message

by: wally clark

the best news for california car collectors was the passage of sb 42 which has been signed by governor pete wilson to be effective january 1, 1998. it basically exempts pre 1974 model cars from any smog checks, and in 2003, all cars over 30 years old will be exempt. will this have an effect on values of street driven ferraris? i think any 1967 to 1973 ferrari just got more attractive to california collectors!

we?ve had some very successful fun events in the last month, from the newport concours to the santa ynez ride and drive. see articles in this issue. newport wants to put more emphasis on ferraris in 1998, as they were really happy with the cars that were shown this year. the palos verdes botanical gardens picnic was fun. this event was done with the south bay pantera club. our joint efforts resulted in a check for $435 given to the botanical gardens.

the board would like to formally thank rose cogan for spending nearly all day at the los angeles grand prix selling fca club regalia. she brought in over $2,000 that day!

the board is working hard on the events calendar for 1998, and if anyone has any ideas, let me or michael lederman, events chairman, know.

our board meetings are open to all members. let me know if you would like to attend.

the ferrari owner?s club has invited members of the fca to attend their annual christmas party. see the ad in this issue.

"Farewell to Ferrari" at the Petersen

on saturday, october 25, the petersen automotive museum hosted farewell to ferrari, a dinner and auction event which signaled the close of the successful exhibition honoring the 50th anniversary of ferrari. the event attracted over 200 ferrari fans and guests who dined on a sumptuous buffet by renaissance caterers as they milled in the grand salon exhibition hall for one last look at the cars from maranello.

throughout the evening guests entered bids for silent auction items. mid evening, ursula hermacinski of christie?s conducted a spirited live auction of original and recreated ferrari art graphics ranging from a pininfarina ad, photo blowups of celebrity drivers and cars, to a set of double-sided 12-foot banners with ferrari motifs. net proceeds from the event, which benefit the museum, totaled $12,000. (there are still a few ferrari double-sided exterior banners available in red or yellow at $500 each if you missed the auction!)

the petersen museum gratefully acknowledges the enthusiastic support of ferrari club members for their assistance in producing a fabulous exhibition and its related activities. club members aided in assembling many of the cars shown in the exhibit. active community support enriches the museum and lets us have a good time doing it together.

see you all soon for dream cars! you won?t want to miss these futuristic cars of the 50s and 60s. also, opening november 22, is the may family discovery center, an interactive learning center for children (of all ages).

From the Editor

by: earl gandel

this issue is our third effort at getting out sempre ferrari. taking over the task from jeff littrell was not easy. jeff has been doing a remarkable job of writing, editing and composing a superb and award-winning newsletter for some time now, and it's never easy to follow an act like his. "real life" eventually got in the way, and jeff's business and family (and probably racing) commitments finally forced him to say "enough." the membership all owe jeff a big debt of gratitude for the time, talent and dedication he gave to fca.

we also owe him for the help he gave in easing the transition for new people and new systems on the newsletter. also due a big "thank you" is tammy miller, who has been the main contact, producer, organizer, printer and coordinator all along, and without whom we wouldn't have got out our first two issues. tammy continues to pull things together, even while we're trying to lighten her load. then there's rose cogan, our in-house advertising agency, who works very hard at selling - and collecting for - ads to pay the bills; gina keyes, (introduced by marv landon) who helped us get out our first issue in august; wally clark, of course, who writes, photographs, contributes, and pushes us to get it out on time; other recent and regular contributors like ed niles and tino mingori; and all the events organizers and members who give us things to write about.

larry reynolds is our new secret weapon. larry has much experience with cars and newsletters, having worked with the petersen and l.a. county museums for years, and brings new eyes and technology to the task. to help larry and me do the best job possible, we'd now ask for your help. contribute stories, pictures, ideas and comments freely, please. if you'd like to see something you now think is missing, say so. if you don't like something that's here now, say so. if you have an interesting story to tell, old or new, let's hear it. (how about a tech column? travel ideas? race stories or reports? you get the idea.) thanks for everyone's support

Ferrari/Pantera Picnic

by: don west

sunday, october 12th was columbus day. to celebrate this famous italian's accomplishment, two equally famous italian auto makers came together for the annual ferrari/pantera or pantera/ferrari* picnic and social outing.

a cloudless day, balmy 70 degree temperature and lush green lawns provided by the south coast botanic garden in palos verdes made for a great outing.

over 30 assorted ferraris and panteras were on display along with their enthusiastic owners. this year all the cars were mixed together in order of arrival so we didn't have a "them and us" mentality. the ferrari owners all seemed to strive for originality whereas the panteras were all equipped with various modifications and upgrades resulting in some very interesting cars. all the cars were immaculate in appearance and made a fine display. red was the predominant color as befitting their italian heritage.

the clubs provided complimentary iced soft drinks and water. many members imbibed in adult beverages originating in italy and california. as there was no judging involved, it turned out to be a very mellow outing, without a single fist fight or stabbing.

look for the date of this affair next fall and plan to not miss it, as a good time was had by all.

Oldtimer's Corner - Strange Car No. 1

by: ed niles

all rights reserved

i call this column "strange car no. 1" because i have had a number of strange cars. some more strange than others.

up through the 70?s, when almost all ferraris were powered by a v12 engine, we all gave lip service to the notion that we were driving our ferrari because of that great v12 engine. but in truth, we all wanted to be seen driving something different. we wanted to be the only kid on our block with a ferrari!

and for some, it wasn?t enough just to drive a ferrari. it was extra slick if we could drive a ferrari like none other!

so it became popular in the 50?s and 60?s to re-body a ferrari that might have had some unfortunate cosmetic event. around 1967, the famed east coast importer of ferraris, luigi chinetti, commissioned two similar cars to be re-bodied by michelotti, a small body builder in italy. if you were at the los angeles grand prix concours d?elegance, you saw the very interesting michelotti 330 gt owned by gary thieltges of gt motors. gary had done a masterful job of restoring this interesting one-off coupe, and it caught everyone?s eye.

but did you know that there was a sister car? with a convertible "targa" top? yes, this car was another of my "children", and bore serial no. 6109. the convertible or targa version of this body design was originally painted yellow and black, and was pictured in the landmark book by fitzgerald and merritt, "ferrari-the sports and gt cars". this interesting ferrari eventually found its way to the los angeles area, where it lived for a number of years. a real estate broker (let?s call him "jerry") had owned the car, still in its original gawdawful yellow and black colors, when it was involved in a serious front end-rear end collision. jerry had the car repaired, and painted in pretty much the same combination as before, but the yellow was replaced with what i can only describe as a pearl chartreuse color!

it was early in 1976 that i received a phone call from jerry, asking me if i would like to help him sell his car. he was calling from newport beach, and we agreed to meet "half way", in long beach. i had no intention of buying the car, as i was, at the time, sitting on 5 or 6 other ferraris. i needed another car like i needed the proverbial hole in the head. but jerry, true to his craft, was a salesman par excellence, and when i left long beach, i had written jerry a check for $1,000.00, with a promise to pay another $11,000.00 in the next few days.

let it be said that jerry was not a car nut. he had enjoyed the car only because it attracted attention, but had fallen down miserably in the maintenance department. before i got the car home, i had compiled a mental list of defects, small or large, that needed attention. as soon as i got the car home, i started attacking the many problems of the car. every electrical system, and sub-system, needed attention of one kind or another. the paint had started to fade, but i had already decided that the car would look much better in a conservative paint job of one color. the interior also needed to be replaced, and the valve guides needed replacement a well.

i ended up painting the car rolls royce regal red, a dark metallic red, one of my favorite colors. the interior was replaced with light tan leather and matching carpet throughout. i spent an entire weekend scrubbing the wheel hubs and spokes with my favorite bathroom degreaser/deruster. three different electrical experts worked on various problems with the electrics of the car, at one time or another.

at the end of the year, i had a pretty decent looking car; much more pleasant to look at than when i had acquired it. but it still had its share of problems. not the least of these was the fact that it had been built on a first-series 330gt 2+2 chassis, not one of mr. ferrar

Motoring and Mineral Spas Mix On the Central Coast

by: rafael roges and debbie smith

motoring and mineral spas mix on the central coast

on the weekend of october 18-19 our group of ferraristi embarked upon a relaxing and refreshing weekend expedition to the sycamore mineral springs resort just north of the santa ynez valley. naturally we were looking for back country driving, so early saturday morning, we gathered at the valencia ihop, where tino mingori unveiled our 3+ hour driving route, highlighting those areas where the local highway patrol had been active on previous runs. with more than a dozen ferraris assembled, dating from the early 60's to the mid 1990's, we attacked the secret back roads where wonderful scenery and light traffic brought out the best in our prancing horses.

rumor has it that certain 30-year-old models motored through twisting turns and over undulating hilltops with such gusto that their hot smoking brakes produced an aroma reminiscent of fine cuban "monte cristos." the pine-crested mountain roads twisted into beautiful california-golden meadows where straight stretches of road were exploited. after several hours of this "accelerating" experience, we were led by richard and joanie cole to a delicious italian lunch under the canopy of famous cafe roma in san luis obisbo.

new and old friendships were enjoyed as we relaxed in the tree-lined patio and reviewed each curve and vista so far encountered. this was an occasion to get better acquainted and find out how others spend their time when not held in the snug grip of a ferrari bucket seat. the " v-12 vintage club" was well represented by richard and joanie cole, bill & bonnie inglis, malcolm & nola schneer, michael and elizabeth favorite, tino & lynn mingori, orwin middleton, mike higgs and ken wollesen (visitors from carmel) and ourselves, rafael roges and debbie smith. driving ferraris of the modern era were murray & rose cogan, brian & carolyn quadt, peter & maggie noce, ken & diana ciszek, tom & dorothy elerding and alex kovach & michelle walker. the mix of cars was nice to see with at least 10 different models represented out of roughly 14 cars. (a 308 tied with several other models as the rarest example) some of the owners

of newer models wondered aloud how theses "old" cars could "rumble" with the turns.

after lunch richard & joanie led the pack from the restaurant to our mineral spa destination with locals michael and elizabeth sweeping up the rear. (fortunately there were no problems on any part of the trip, so the "sweeping detail" didn't have much to do but enjoy the ride.) upon our arrival at the hotel we were surprised to find vail shelton and ellen jacobs as well as chris and chris aber already indulging in the inn's amenities.

you name it, we had it! from body massages that made you comatose to private spas in every suite, walks through the floral-filled forests and private mineral hot tubs scattered up the hillside, we all were fully detoxed from the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. some even let the resort pamper their "favorite gal," with a fully enclosed private garage for morning polishing.

that evening tino, lynn, bill and bonnie hosted a beautiful wine and cheese party in their private two-bedroom suite. fine italian wines -- including a special bottling of old fca brand -- were served as we watched a comical video of the day's adventure.

included in this article is a reproduction of the label describing the unusual qualities of our fca vintage wine.

an elegant dinner was prepared by the inn in a private room, where friends shared anecdotes of the day's adventures and pleasures. to complete the evening and inspire a little energy for the next day's drive, we all watched the 8 1/2 minute documentary, "rendezvous." the volume adjustment was set up to "11" so we coul

Letter from Colorado

following is a letter received by judd goldfeder from ferrari owner and former fca southwest member glen burton.

september 17, 1997

hi judd:

glen here. denver?s most enthusiastic s. w. supporter.

thank you for continuing mailing info and s. w. newsletter. i really appreciate it. we may return to arizona in 1998. more on that in nov./dec.

june is car month over here for sports cars and classics. i made two of three. june 8 was the 14th exotic sports car show and concours d?elegance. we had the ferrari and the mercedes entered. rained out at 1:00 p.m., plus a nice tornado. fascinating to watch. it didn?t touch the ground and was about five miles south of the event. the charity supported was united cerebral palsy. june 29 was italian only, called automezzi 7. yes, last year was 6. we had about 30 ferraris on display. ferrari of denver had about eight cars and they were the prime sponsor. charity was american cancer society. one of f.o.d.?s cars was a 550 maranello. the people?s choice award for ferrari was a 250gt lusso; super car. there was also a 330gtc, dark grey.

this info is just to let you know we?re still here, we appreciate the s. w. region and judd, and to let you know of some of the activities over here. in a few months i?ll hang up the keys to the ferrari and lament the weather until april.

be seeing you again in the near future.

your friend and mine, glen burton

308gtb

silver/black

!escondido!

p.s. spring, summer and fall are the best in the west in colorado. better than california. yes!! it?s true, and i?m a california native! but winter is the pitts -- pittsburgh? definitely the pitts. hey, i ski every year, but keep that snow in the mountains, not down here during our work commute. telecommute! ok ? that?s enough. see ya. keep those f cars truckin?.