Volume 2, Issue 3 - April 1995

Blowout in Beverly Hills

none of us ever imagined that our "board meetings" would become major events - but they have. following in the wake of such successful meetings as those at ogner motorcars and the marconi museum, the february event at ferrari of beverly hills set a new standard.

while the dealership itself is always interesting, the big draws were the unveiling of the new 512 m and the attendance of world champion race driver, phil hill, and his son derek, an aspiring race driver. and what draws they were! over 120 members showed up for the meeting, exceeding everyone?s expectations (including the caterer?s). contrast this with the last meeting we held at this location where there were only about 20 of us and you can quickly recognize the value of star power.

ferrari of beverly hills? cris vandagrif graciously provided not only the location and the 512 m, but also a fine spread of italian cuisine which everyone was able to enjoy.

the meeting began with a lot of socializing and milling around the models on the showroom floor. in keeping with the professionalism of the fine beverly hills dealership, all of the current ferrari models were there, including a 333 sp! even all of the popular colors were present with a yellow 348 spyder, a silver 456 gt, a black f355, a red 333 sp, and the 512 m which began the evening under a beautiful red car cover and later was unveiled in all its red splendor. members were able to check out all the cars firsthand and many took the opportunity to try on the seats (except for the 333 sp which had none but is guaranteed to fit since it comes with a racing seat custom-molded for the new owner/driver).

after dinner, a series of introductions were made. phil hill and his lovely wife alma were introduced, along with their son, derek. derek is just beginning a racing career and got his first ferrari drive at the ferrari challenge in moroso. his experience in carts paid off as he turned the third-fastest lap times of the weekend. unfortunately, he experienced a brief off-road excursion during qualifying which placed him 24th for the race. still, he was able to work his way back up to fifth before the race was over. also in attendance was the only american involved in formula 1 this season, elton julien, and his father arman. elton is a test driver for larousse this year and hopes to work his way up to a gran prix ride. both young men gave short speeches about what they?re doing. the club is proud to have them in our region and we wish them the best of luck.

after introductions a short meeting was held. the one downside of large meetings is that it becomes difficult to conduct business. most of the meeting centered around events because we?ve got a number of interesting ones coming up. tino mingori from the ferrari owner?s club talked about the furnace creek ride and drive that they?ve invited us to. this is a wonderful location which was first introduced to ferrari owners by tom brockmiller about 10 years ago. since then there have been many ferrari excursions out there and this year?s promises to be a lot of fun. mark dees spoke about the resurrection of another long-time ferrari favorite event - his santa paula ride and drive. this year he plans to have a big screen tv to watch the indy 500 on and then we?ll have a ride on the old railroad in fillmore after lunch.

after the formal portion of the meeting was over, derek and elton were recruited to roll the cover back on the 512 m while everyone watched. in my opinion, the car looks much better in real life than it does in pictures. everyone had an opportunity to get a picture with phil, the young drivers, and the car as the meeting wound down to a conclusion.

many thanks to cris vandagrif, the hills, the juliens, and all the members who came out to make this our most successful meeting to date.

Oldtimer's Corner - The Saga of 0195EL

by: ed niles

once sports car racing got under way in a serious fashion, there was a class for almost every car and driver. i can even remember seeing a 1955 thunderbird race at willow springs when the model was first introduced! it made it into the first turn, at which point a tire rolled under and lost its air, ending the racing career of this car in no more than 400 yards.

one of the more interesting racing classes was that of formula 3. this formula, which had its start in europe, was made for little cigar-shaped cars, with open wheels, powered by a motorcycle engine of about 500 cc?s. one of the drivers in this class was a guy who was known to everybody as "old harry." for all i know, harry morrow may have been born old. i certainly don?t remember him as anything other than the oldest guy doing whatever it was he was doing at the moment. old harry had other claims to fame, besides his abilities as a formula 3 racer. he was the proprietor of a wonderful old automotive bookstore in burbank called "autobook." (the store still exists, although it has gone through several major changes of merchandising philosophy, ownership and even location). and for a while, harry even managed the racing events at willow springs raceway.

but old harry?s biggest claim to fame, for our purposes, was that he owned a ferrari. most of us took it on faith that he actually owned the thing, as it was rarely seen. it was rarely seen because it rarely ran. harry?s car was a type 195 which, by a strange confluence of circumstances, bore serial number 0195el.

the type 195 represented a small stepping stone in uncle enzo?s climb up the engine displacement path. after having built a series of type 166 cars (two liters), a few were enlarged to 2.3 liters by the simple expedient of boring out the cylinders a little bit. this gave rise to a series of approximately two dozen cars bearing the designation of type 195. almost all of these cars were coupes or berlinettas, mostly bodied by ghia or vignale. with two or three exceptions, these cars had only one carburetor, and were clearly designed for boulevard use. there is no clear line of demarcation, either at the beginning or at the end of the series. some of the earliest type 195?s were being built while type 166?s were on the so called assembly line, while quite a number of type 212?s were built before our no. 0195, which appears to be the very last in the series.

the body on 0195 was built by ghia-aigle, which apparently was a small body shop in switzerland, licensed by ghia to use its name. while not unattractive, it is certainly not the most exciting body ever put on a ferrari chassis, and in fact, looks a little bit staid compared to some of the more exciting vignale and touring examples.

while harry morrow owned the car, it was bit of a mystery, because not too many people were privileged to even set eyes on the car. i think harry, with the best of intentions, hoped to get it all spiffied up and running well some day, but harry had a problem ? a drinking problem. in his later years, in order to make sense out of harry, you had to approach him fairly early in the day. now, with this kind of a problem, it was fairly predictable that harry would never really do all the things to old 0195 that he intended, or that the car needed.

mark dees, (another colorful character amidst a cast of characters) was able to cozy up to old harry, to actually see and lay hands on the car, and was eventually successful in prying it loose from harry. high excitement in ferrari circles! mark was actually going to restore the car to all its former glory!

there was a small problem, however. it seems that harry had sold car to someone else a year earlier! yes, harry had been paid in full, but the other buyer never picked it up. so mark bought the ferrari with the fear that, some day, "mister x&q

Willow Springs Review

by: arthur trejo

if you haven?t been to a fca track event, you?ve been missing out. our first track event of the year was held at willow springs raceway with the alfa romeo owners of southern california. not only was there plenty of track time, but an exciting race to cap off what turned out to be a beautiful weekend.

it was typical willow springs weather; cold in the morning, hot by midday, and a slight breeze in the afternoon. the overall turnout was good with a wide variety of cars in attendance, including bmws, porsches, corvettes. lotuses, and a pair of formula fords in addition to the alfas and ferraris. in the ferrari corral were 348s, 328s, 308s, an f355 that did not stay long enough, and a pair of vintage ferraris.

the arosc was in charge of the event and started the driver?s meeting promptly at 8:45am. the meeting was held at the start/finish line and was kept brief with the absence of the lengthy flag review that track regulars have grown accustomed to. that was saved for the novice/driving school. at 9:00am the race group was out on the track with the other 3 groups to follow in 25 minute sessions. the introductory group took to the track during the lunch hour doing several laps in a lead and follow session. while the other groups were on the track the novice/driving school as in the classroom.

since this was my first time trial event i applied for a license and was put into the novice group. maybe it was justified since this was my first time on the repaved track. i had heard that the track was some 3 to 4 seconds faster than before and i found out why. the track is a bit wider and smoother in places. i found i could go through turn 1 faster because the exit is much wider. turn 2 is also wider, but not much. it really has no line and is basically a car turn, which means use the the line best suited for your car. the short chute between turn 2 and turn 3 seems miles wide. turn 3,4,5, i found to be relatively unchanged, but from the exit of turn 5 through turn 9 the track has been widened a few feet. basically i had to learn new lines since all the familiar reference marks are gone, especially the infamous canyon at the apex of turn 9. the day concluded with a qualifying race for the race group. i was unable to attend the saturday night banquet but from what i heard it was quite an interesting affair, complete with a belly dancer.

sunday was a carbon copy of the previous day with things getting off to an early start. we had the same rotation of groups with 20 minute practice sessions and the time trials held after lunch. time trials may be new to some members so i?ll give a brief explanation. cars are sent out on the track at intervals in groups of five. you are allowed one warm up lap and five timed laps with your best lap recorded as your time. i found the time trials to be a lot of fun. it felt different than during the practice runs -- that competitive feel, just you and the track. to be honest i felt nervous because this was my first time trial event and i was the first group to go out. i felt like i was qualifying for the indy 500 with everybody watching me. that feeling was soon forgotten as i achieved my best lap at 1:43.

after the time trials the final race for the race group was held. you knew the race was going to be good as the field came through turn 1 three wide. i could not believe they made it through. an exciting battle for first developed between two leading cars. they traded places what seemed like every lap. if all the arosc races are like this them i don?t want to miss one. the day was brought to a close with an informal awards presentation for the winners of the race and time trials. it was a great weekend and the arosc did an excellent job of organizing the event.

the next time trial event will be held on april 8th and 9th at laguna seca raceway in beautiful monterey. if you have never been to laguna then i e

Tech Tip - Purchasing Pre-Owned, A Tech's Perspective

by a. claudio szyszkowski

having specialized in service, repair, buying, and selling of foreign exotics for the last 8 years, i am commonly recruited to serve as consultant, mechanic, psychologist, and hand holder by clients who are contemplating the purchase of a "pre-owned" ferrari. the following is a protocol i use when inspecting a vehicle being considered for purchase.

1) my first question to the customer is how they intend to utilize the car. will they be driving it only on the weekends, or daily? the second questions is the asking price of the car. the next step simply enough is an overall visual inspection and then the first of two road tests. when road testing the car for the first time, i pay special attention to the feel and sound of the car, listening for every noise possible. i also scrutinize how the car behaves in turns and whether the gear box is smooth or harsh, while feeling for clutch slippage, and making sure there is no differential sound. the road test acts as the pre-cursor for my examination, providing me with a point of origin.

2) now it?s time to place the vehicle on the rack. providing that the car passed the road test and there were no discernible problems, first i will look for frame damage caused by accidents or some kind of off-road encounter. while under the car i will inspect for rust and or corrosion, and fuel line punctures. then the wheels are pulled off to inspect the condition of brake, rotors, pads, lines and i?ll check end play of wheel bearings. the next details of the inspection include the front end evaluation, looking for wear and tear of ball joints, suspension arm bushings, tie rod ends, rack and pinion or steering box. if the particular car being checked is front engined then i check for oil leaks, condition of the cooling lines and motor mounts. i then check the external condition of the gearbox or transaxle, determining if it has been previously taken apart, and then remove the oil filter plug and take some oil samples. all of the above is done visually.

3) it?s now time to inspect the engine, starting by pulling the spark plugs and checking for unusual carbon deposits. a compression test is used as a partial indication as to the condition of the engine. it is used concomitantly with a leak down test to evaluate the condition of the piston rings, valves, cylinder head and head gasket. the next step will be to check the oil pressure. if there is suspicion that the gauges are inaccurate, then a shop mechanical gauge shall be used. while the engine is running i look for abnormal vibration or sounds. also noted is the color of the smog generated through the exhaust. then inspected are all the engine components including power steering pumps, air conditioning, smog devices, fuel injection or carburetors, hoses, belts, electrical harnesses, etc.

4) the step following the engine inspection is to check aesthetics of the vehicle. within the interior, i first check window operation, heating and air conditioning function, and other accessories. next i view the general condition of the interior including seats, door panels, headliner, dash, etc. evaluation of the exterior will include checking for paint condition and body work, looking specifically for cracks and rust in an attempt to determine the originality of the car.

5) the second road test is now performed to clarify any original doubts since i am now familiar with the vehicle.

throughout the inspection i take into careful consideration the service, maintenance, and repair orders previously performed on the car. it is crucial to verify the originality of replacement parts in order to maintain the value of the vehicle. original parts used is also an indicator as to the quality of previous repairs.

customarily, the inspection aforementioned takes approximately three hours. it?s a cheap investment to have the car thoroughly evaluated for wh

Great Roads - Los Angeles to Ojai and Back

by: nick paris

here?s another enjoyable drive from the los angeles area north to ojai and back. the entire distance can be completed in three hours but there are a few stops worth making which can add an hour or two. leave around 10 a.m. to enjoy lunch in ojai.

• 101 freeway to 23 north to new los angeles st.
• exit at new los angeles which continues under the freeway to moorpark avenue (23). turn right and head north. after 1/2 mile, turn right and detour through downtown moorpark to find luckys hot dog house which is a nice stop for frank aficionados. an alternate route to moorpark from la is to take the 118 freeway west until it ends. north on moorpark ave. (23) until it turns into walnut canyon rd.
• walnut canyon rd. to broadway rd.
• continue north on walnut canyon. follow the main road as it turns left and turns into broadway rd.
• broadway rd. to grimes canyon rd.
• the trip so far has been on route 23 since leaving the 101. follow broadway until the main road heads right (north) and turns into grimes canyon road.
• this is an area of orchards, eucalyptus trees and the largest egg farm you?ve ever seen.
• about 6 miles north of moorpark, grimes canyon traverses through a sandy canyon that is quite a sight. enjoy the curves, but keep your eyes on the road!
• grimes canyon rd. (23) to ventura st. (126)
• continue heading north on grimes canyon (23) past elkins ranch public golf course to fillmore. turn left at ventura street, highway 126, and head west to santa paula.
• ventura st. (126) to 10th st. hwy (150) santa paula
• head north from highway 126 through downtown santa paula on 10th street, highway 150. note the santa paula union oil museum. a few miles north on 150, you?ll understand why santa paula has an oil museum. at mile five the smell of sulfer creeps into the car as you pass beneath sulfer mountain, at mile eight, on the hillside off the left shoulder, oil can be seen oozing from the ground from nature?s own superfund site!
• highway 150 to boccali's pizza and pasta
• continue north on highway 150 to ojai. this section of 150 includes a spectacular look out over ojai valley and the second and last section of curves of the trip. just after reaching the valley floor, 14 miles from santa paula, you?ll reach boccali's at 3277 highway 150 (m&tues 4-9, w-sun 11:45-9) for a classic italian rest-stop or final destination.
• highway 150 to ojai
• continue on 150 to ojai. ojai?s downtown district features a number of distinctive shops, galleries and tasty eateries. a favorite lunch stop is the ojai valley inn and country club for lunch (try the tortilla soup!) or golf on the same course popular with the senior pro tour.

there are two options for the return trip from ojai; continue through town and follow the main road as it turns into route 33 or turn around and reverse the original trip. highway 33 heads south from ojai and connects with 101 in ventura. take 101 south to los angeles.

if you leave early, skip lunch and stay in your car the whole trip, this drive can be finished in about the same time as going to the movies. but forget it. not all ferrari drivers pass up a meal or an occasional game of golf.