As for beaten down Ferrari stories: We have an owner in Ft. Lauderdale that owns a blue 250PF and that car looks very sorry. When you talk to him he just says: "Let someone else restore her. I drive her" Can't really argue with that. She is worth $30K unrestored and $ 60K restored so why restore her for $ 100K?
I dont know if this counts, as it is only part Ferrari, but there is a guy here in Sydney who has transformed a 400 into a ute (utility) and uses it as a work vehicle. We also have a couple of stretch limo Ferraris one 328 and a 355. Not sure if these are really beaten down Ferrari stories, but I do smile whenever I see them.
This year at the Shell Historic Challenge at Spa I saw 4757GT. A great car and it's nice to see in during a race. But the little spoiler at the back of the car was damaged, so not all 250GTOs are in perfect condition. But I'm sure that all the owners try to keep their cars in good condition, but most of them also like to race with the car.
I heard a recent story of a guy here in Indiana who had a 308 sitting in his half open garage for about 10 years. Same spot. No cover. Never moved. When it came time to sell the house he was just going to GIVE IT AWAY with the house because he did not feel like moving it!! ARGH!! Can you imagine someone saying, 'If you buy the house, you have to take the Ferrari that is in the garage,' and them being serious?? I told my coworker (who had seen the car and told me the story) to goto the guys house and tell him I would buy it right now, sight unseen. He went there and found out the guy had just given it to his brother in Arizona on the condition that the brother came to get it. Free Ferrari. Amazing. Word is there is a Testarossa in the same town that has not seen daylight in 10 years as well. Just sits.
375 Plus #0396AM crashed at the Carrera Panamericana Mexico in 1954 sadly killing Forbes Robinson in the passenger seat. Jack McAffee was in the driverseat. Image Unavailable, Please Login
If you want to hear about a ragged out Mondial, I can tell you a brief but sad story. I was traveling with some guys to go canoeing. It was morning and traffic was slow. We pass by this junkyard in the middle of nowhere. Sitting smack in the midst of wrecked cars was slightly beaten and dirty Mondial cabriolet. The top was straight up. The gate to the yard was chained and padlocked. My friends agree to swing past the place on the way back to get the phone number to see if it was for sale. We traveled a few miles, maybe 30, to our destination. We incurred a lot of problems, so the Ferrari had slipped my mind. (I had left on a note on the steering of our vehicle to remind the driver to stop there on the way back, just for such an occasion.) An hour or so down the river, the rain begins and pounds us. It only lets up enough for us to finish. As we get ready to go the driver reminds me of the Ferrari. The rain was coming down to the point of very low visibility. We all agreed that we would not stop, but he agreed to drive by very slowly and see if a phone number and/or name were posted. As we past by the junkyard, I could barely make out the red overflowing swimming pool. No name or number was visible.
I own flash couriers and sometimes when we are short of people I go and deliver packages with my 355 and have fun doing it.
As I rounded a turn very quickly today in my 355, I gave it just too damn much gas and the rear end just came all the way around!!!!! 2 broken wheels, collapsed rear A-arm, broken CV axle, busted front bumper and side skirt....just damn!!!! Cost to repair?!!! 15-25K maybe.... That's OK.... I think its time to add a F40 to my stable.... maybe I'll baby her a little more than the 355... Wait, now that I think about, naw, I'll probabbly drive the hell out of that also....
It was Ford Robinson who was Jack McAfees co-driver in mexico and was killed in that crash.... The Famous 250GTO in a field story is amazing. When Rosebud racing quit, I believe it was 1965. I am pretty sure the car was donated to the High School at that time. Sure it was probably still somewhat fresh... but if my memory serves Rosebud racing folded after a fatality within the team. Im also guessing that a pretty decent tax deduction resulted from this "donation". I was kicking the idea around of starting an automotive fine art print company about 12 years ago. I actually had a painting done of GTO #3589 sitting in the field and as it appeared at Pebble Beach in 1993. Bert Steiger actually sent me some neat photos of the car and Gerald Roush provided me lots of info as well. I wish I still had all my notes and the photos... there probably around somewhere, but its been a long time. Terry
I've got one for you... perhaps someone knows where this car is today. This is the story, as I know it.... When I was about 8 yrs old my parents lived in Novi, Michigan. A good friend of my fathers, Mr. E.B. was an engineer for Chrysler, (I know him as well, but I'll only use his initials), was traveling on business in Europe. He at some point saw a frame/chassis of a car while driving somewhere. Apparently it was the remains of a Ferrari. He eventually had the frame and pieces shipped to him here in the states. E.B. completly sealed the garage door closed and began the restoration. I do not know how long it took, but I remember him letting me into the garage once to show me the car. I was perhaps 10 years old at the time, which would have been 1979. A few years later, I remember Mr. B. driving the car down the street very slowly. He told me later that the car was almost complete, but the brake sys would lose pressure and he had to pump excessivly to stop, even at slower speeds. A short time later (1-2 yrs max) I heard Mr. B. had sold the car to "Ferrari." I'm not sure who actually bought the car, but I do remember pedaling my mongoose BMX (very cool at the time) bike as fast as I could to catch a glimpse of the car hauler with the huge Ferrari logo on it as it made its way through the streets of our subdivision. When I was 10 my father died and when I was 12 or 13 Mr. and Mrs. B. divorced and I never saw him again. I later ended up dating Mr. B's daughter for a while, but never saw him or spoke to him again. To this day I wonder just what model car did Mr. B. discover and restore, who really bought it, and where is it today? Moondog
I bought my 92 512TR already crashed after an FCA member stuffed it into the wall at Watkins Glen nose first. 1 1/2 years later she was reborn as 1 of the few 512TR or TR race cars in the US. You can see a pic in my profile. She is quite ferocious now
Heres a phot of my 512TR before & after. No wierd story, just a road car that smacked the wall at Watkins Glen that I rebuilt into a race car. She made her triumphant debut at Watkins Glen also, Nice irony there
I remember a short story in the back of Autoweek about a 250 series Ferrari that was found in Lake Michigan, photos were included of the salvage operation back the early 1990s. Does anyone else remember the article?
tell you the truth this is nothing compared to what i've seen. You guy's should check out a www.wreckedexotics.com. go to new pics or something like that and then you get loads of supercars lambo's,hummers,mercs and ya you guess it, this site's favorite car FERRARI.
We try to avoid that site when ever possible. Some F chat members cars have wound up on that site without their permission. It's in poor taste if you ask me.