Volume 8, Issue 4 - July/August 2001

President's Corner

with my position of club president now at a close, i would like to thank all members of the fca for their overwhelming support over the last two years.  it has been a great pleasure to serve the club and to work with such an extraordinary group of people.  as we start a new two-year term, led by bill inglis and his new officers, i believe the club will reach new levels of excellence.  i would like to recognize a few key members whose dedication and commitment continues to make our southwest region an ongoing success:

tom brockmiller - heads our event activities, contributes his time to every event and also co-edits our newsletter

wally clark - co-editor of the newsletter, is always involved and offering his assistance

bill inglis - active with all aspects of the club, contributes greatly with his leadership

marshall leib - helps plan and organize events and comes through when we need him

rose cogan - handles our advertising (which pays for sempre ferrari) and who comes to our events and board meetings

murray cogan - who has diligently provided the minutes for each board meeting, also contributes his leadership and dedication to whatever the club is planning

cy yedor - our guiding light, adds stability and economic influence which has made our club one of the most fiscally solid chapters in the fca

the quadts' - carolyn and brian - who manage our membership and offer their assistance any way they can

don west - adds wisdom in event coordination

demetri zafiris - manages the club office and treasury functions

gary schreiber - for his legal assistance

also, i would like to give a special thanks to tex otto for his work on the newsletter and creation of the 2002 event logo.

i would also like to thank a special group who show their support by attending club meetings and offer help, which adds to the stability and organization of club activities. just to mention a few of you: walter meyer, carlos amato, drew kelley and kevork hazarian.

as we count off the months and days until 2002, we hope all of you participate with the international meet on memorial weekend 2002. once again, it was a pleasure to serve the southwest region as president.

cordially yours,

marv landon

fca southwest regional president

Invitational La Carrera Panamericana Concours

unexpected pleasure

by  andrew levy

photos by tex otto

i'm no expert, not yet at least, however i can't help but think that at the invitational la carrera panamericana concours we witnessed a collection of multi-decade ferrari's unparalleled....  and unexpected maybe. just like attending a party in a tired,  cranky mood and eventually having ball, this show just blew me away, as i'm sure many others.  from gut instinct i believe this assembly of automobiles, the size of the show coupled with its rarities and verdant surroundings, will be remembered and reminisced for some time.  the first 1957 250 testarossa ever made - aptly numbered 0666, the 1951 212 export spyder - one of four with this body style, the 1953 342 america - one of only two of its body style and a '99 "best of show" at concorso italiano, the "first in class" 1996 pebble beach 1956 250 tdf zagato, and the demonic-looking 1959 246 sport spyder dino - one of two produced with 4-cams, to name just a handful of ferraris for now.  it seemed this show could have gone the whole weekend with worthy attendance, which on this day was dense from beginning to end.

  my day actually started very early given that i volunteered to spot cars at 7:30 am.  enroute, still a bit adrift from an unexpected late night, charles "skeets" dunn stopped along side of me at a light on crenshaw boulevard in his beautifully-blue 1964 500 superfast.  he smiled and gave me a wave; now i know a signal to dive down.  on green, he opened the throttle and we both gathered to full song for a nice stretch.  i positioned my 328 gts at his bonnet and listened to our duet, reminding me of the flower duet from the opera lakme that woke me that morning.  a pleasant irony considering the show took place at the delightfully appropriate botanic gardens.

my intention was to help don west with the line-up of vehicles as they arrived at the south coast botanica gardens, however the ferraris already present attracted my attention like lint on a freshly pressed suit.  since it was overcast, which i figured would burn off by 11:00, i took the time to examine the cars in their true colors and contrast, direct sun altering hue and shape.  i still helped spot a few on the grass as they arrived. their unmistakable throat being audible at the gate, but one moment took me like i had never been taken before.

as i finished lining up a 60's classic, i turned around and suddenly lost the air in my lungs.  the breath just left me and i floated eastbound.  probably a function of my age, like a magnet i was drawn to john kiland's black 1984 512 bbi staring at me with wide awake orange lenses as if it were hypnotizing me.  the closer i got to it, the more i fought for air and at one moment practically shed a tear.  i couldn't help but think i was looking at the teenage ghost of the father that brought the 308 and 328 flanking it into the world.  if it could have spoken, it would have beamed like a proud parent introducing its young boys.

  the show filled quickly and steadily throughout the day.  the green of the grass making a wholesome stage playing off the reds, yellows and blues.  all ages attended the concours with some touring the whole garden complex.  my guests and i found a nice quiet veranda a bit away from the show for lunch and found it quite lovely.  once again, the food was very nice and filled the gap well, just like all other fer

Mineral Springs Getaway May 26-27, 2001

article and photos by walter meyer

this event was a weekend of firsts.

my wife pam and my first time chairing and planning an fca ride and drive; the first time this event expanded to include an optional second night's stay; and the first time many of our guests had been on a ride and drive. 

needless to say, new friends and a good time were had by all. 

i can't take too much credit for its' success though, because the original architect of this event, tino mingori, did such a great job master-minding the route and roadside activities. also, last year's chair, carlos amato, handed over copious notes and e-mails full of invaluable information.  (thank you!) 

the weekend began early on a saturday morning in valencia where twelve immaculate ferraris of various vintages, rebuilt and new, made the ihop parking lot proud. (five weeks later and i can still feel the adrenaline from the roar of the engines, setting of the suspension in the back to back, left then right then left s's along the ridge route of highway 166.)  we began our drive through picturesque frazier park and stopped at jocko's, an fca favorite spot, for lunch. there, we were met by rick cole who shepherded us through the weekend with his knowledge of local roads and scenic routes.  (thank you rick and jill for doing this year after year!)

we reached our destination, the beautiful sycamore mineral springs, mid-afternoon where we had a few hours before our evening program to relax by the pool, enjoy our own private hot tubs, get a massage or facial, or simply stroll through the gardens.  guests were welcomed in their rooms with gift baskets full of sycamore mineral springs goodies including aromatherapy candles, eye soothing soaks, hand-milled soaps, ferrari-clad wine, and a chocolate "cavallino rampante" specially made for our event!

at sunset, friends old and new to the club enjoyed appetizers and music on the terrace.  dinner followed, where we enjoyed a live guitar serenade and great conversation. thanks to rick and jill cole, our evening culminated with a discussion led by harold bratton who shared his experiences as a mechanic since the fifties working with such greats as phil hill and richie ginther.

it was especially gratifying when tino, the creator of the event, whispered, "look around the room. listen to everyone.  doesn't it feel good to see everyone having such a great time?"

it certainly did.

sunday morning, after bagels and coffee in our rooms, we were off again for a morning run through the back roads of santa maria ending with lunch and wine tasting at the sisquoc winery. unique to this year's event, those of us who wished to take advantage of the memorial day holiday, enjoyed sunday evening in avila beach dining out on the pier, san luis obispo, or morro bay.

i'd like to conclude with the following letter written by robert garven, a "first timer" and great enthusiast who rebuilt his own car.  robert posted this on ferrarilist.com shortly after attending this event.  the enthusiasm and appreciation expressed makes our efforts so worthwhile.  thank you to everyone who participated in this event.  if you haven't been on an fca ride and drive, i encourage you to join us on one of our many trips planned for the year.

side bar letter by robert garven

my wife rose and i went on a ride and drive this weekend with the fca southwest region to sycamore hot springs in central california. i cannot believe what a wonderful time we had. 13 ferrari's including 308's, 328's, several 348's including a beautif

A Day With Maestro Sergio Scaglietti

article by carlos amato,

photos by osvaldo divano

i first saw sergio scaglietti in person in 1998 when he was honored at pebble beach, automotive's most prestigious event. 

it was the first time mr. scaglietti had visited the united states. that afternoon at pebble beach, my father and i watched in awe the "maestro from modena" as he was honored by hundreds of enthusiasts from all over the world while surrounded by his best creations.  it became immediately clear to me that i would have to be content with just watching this man from a distance, as he was constantly surrounded by event organizers and reporters.

on tuesday may 29, 2001 my uncle and i arrived in dallas after driving two days in our ferrari from los angeles for the ferrari club of america annual meet.  we decided to stay at a hotel across the street from the event host hotel.  our original plan was to drive the 1600 miles in three days, but ended up getting there in two.  this was a problem:  what we were going to do in dallas in may for a whole day?  we wanted to drive and see cars.

early the next day we decided to go to the host hotel for registration.  we did an l.a. thing and drove across the street and proceeded to park in the parking structure.  we were surprised to see only a few ferraris, and it was extremely quiet considering the "importance" of this event.  as we exited the garage towards the hotel main entrance, i saw a man standing outside smoking a cigarette.  he was wearing a tie and a blue jacket with a ferrari scuderia emblem. his face looked familiar.  as we got closer i told my uncle, "this is sergio scaglietti."  silence.  then i asked, "signore scaglietti?"  he immediately acknowledged us and said, "yes, join me," and shook our hands.  it was around 10:00 a.m.  what came after is a ferrari enthusiast's dream come true:  mr. scaglietti was there alone, just killing time, with nothing else to do and no one around.  just for us....

scaglietti had traveled from modena as a special event guest with his grandson stefano who later joined us for part of our gathering.  the reality of the situation still had not sunk in.  for an 82-year-old man, he immediately struck me as an extremely animated person, and in very good health.

  he asked where we were from, and my uncle, who speaks fluent italian, said he was from buenos aires, argentina, and i said los angeles.  i  had been carrying with me a map of our route from l.a. to dallas. he looked at the map on which we had annotated the total mileage (2700 kilometers) and total driving time (22 hours) and said to us, "you drove your ferrari 2700 kilometers from los angeles to come here?  bravo, bravo!!"  he gestured and grabbed me by the shoulders.  "bravo!"  he turned and told his grandson who had just arrived what we had done.

we started talking about his trip and he told us this was his third time in america.  he was scheduled to meet forza writer winston goodfellow later in the day.  after lighting up another cigarette the conversation began.  "....i started working with enzo ferrari in 1937 when he was working at alfa romeo....., we were together until he died in 1998.  we used to go to lunch with a small close group of friends every saturday, for  29 years...."  he told us about ferrari's funeral, and how he buried his old friend on a sunday, the day after he died, in modena, at the family cemetery, as his eyes got a bit glassy.

reality was slowly sinking in:  we were talking to the man who had designed and built the

Ferrari of Beverly Hills Hosts Election Meeting

by tom brockmiller

thanks to giacomo matioli and all the crew at ferrari of beverly hills for accommodating our group for its 2001 election meeting on june 21st.

we, also, would like to thank robert petersen and dick messer of the petersen automotive museum for the loan of their f50 as a centerpiece.

an italian buffet was offered to our guests as our outgoing president, marv landon, presided over the meeting.  we thought it important to display for the first time our new banner for our upcoming "2002" international meet in century city, the theme being "racing ferraris of the 1950's."  

marv showed the group our professional digital presentation used for sponsorship and our national board.  it defines each area of the five day event in a text and pictorial manner. as of this issue and forthcoming prancing horse and national newsletters, you will become acquainted with how really special and important the meet is to your region. this is the first time that we have had a fca annual meet in southern california.

without further words let me introduce to you your new board of directors. they are:

marv landon -        chairman of the board
bill inglis -              president
don west -              vice president
carlos amato -        secretary
demetri zafiris -      treasurer
craig ekberg  -       board member
kevork hazarian -  board member
marshall leib -       board member
walter meyer -     board member

we all want to thank the outgoing members who have served most unselfishly of their time and effort.  we would also like to thank those who offered to run and are still doing the work whether they are members of the board or not. their effort is especially appreciated.

photo caption: from left - carlos amato, craig ekberg, kevork hazarian, don west, walter meyer, bill inglis, murray cogan, demetri zafiris, marshall leib and marv landon.