Daytona in body shop fire Colorado Springs late 1980’s ? | FerrariChat

Daytona in body shop fire Colorado Springs late 1980’s ?

Discussion in 'Rocky Mountain' started by bighitter2, Jan 14, 2019.

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  1. bighitter2

    bighitter2 Formula Junior

    May 7, 2005
    486
    virginia usa
    Full Name:
    chuck coli
    Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login i have owned this car for 20 years now and trying to fill in some holes on its history...i have spoken to Dave Nelms( who worked on this car during the restoration) and also spoke to David Donner who remembered the car and actually had some photos after an accident before the car went into the body shop ( which caught fire burned and collapsed on the car melting or warping the body panels,thus converted to a spyder..from what i am told the car was purchased by Jim Robinson ( the Donner family ‘restorer/mechanic) after the fire and he rebuilt the engine and transaxle...i have a list of other’s who owned the car afterwards...if anyone has any info,remember anything about what happened or where,maybe where Jim Robinson might be? The car started out as a european coupe sold new at Motor Bologna in Italy..now looks like this...any help or leads would be appreciated..Chuck Coli
     
  2. bighitter2

    bighitter2 Formula Junior

    May 7, 2005
    486
    virginia usa
    Full Name:
    chuck coli
    Forgot to say the body shop was in the Colorado Springs area..
     
  3. willrace

    willrace Three Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Oct 21, 2006
    32,908
    North Tay-has
    Full Name:
    Kurt
    Serial Number will expedite any/all information.
     
  4. bighitter2

    bighitter2 Formula Junior

    May 7, 2005
    486
    virginia usa
    Full Name:
    chuck coli
    Vin # is 12883
     
  5. barchetta

    barchetta Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 5, 2003
    859
    I would also post this request in the vintage section.
     
  6. davehelms

    davehelms F1 Rookie

    Jan 3, 2004
    4,629
    Full Name:
    Dave Helms
    Robinson to Karl Dedolph to ????? to Dan Lahrue (sp?)
    Kirby McLaughlin and Randy ? both had a hand in the body and paint work while at World Ferrari in Long Lake MN, I think Randy finished the cosmetics on his own after we closed that division.
    The body was actually quite straight and I remember no outward signs of things being melted... but it stunk up the shop for years from the fire damage it had. Even once the chassis was gone to our body shop, the removed roof section stored in the loft, kept the odor alive and intact, I remember that quite distinctly.
    I had the chassis and parts all laid out covering our entire showroom floor, to identify that we received everything as it was stripped to a bare chassis and everything with a fastener on it, was disassembled.
    Photos of that layout exist somewhere, it took months to do and I used the showroom because it had a balcony where overhead photos were made possible. Did the same on one of the tear downs of the GTO and we thought adding a Daytona to that photo file would be cute... the odor just got to be too much as my office was right next to the chassis layout. Never taken to the point of good advertising, they proved quite helpful over the years none the less. Several rolls of 35MM and then a 3M friend/client got ahold of one of the very first digital cameras and took a great deal more photos in that format.
    Robinson was doing it right, all the hardware come in metal bins and was separated as to its type of plating. I remember being astounded that I found every needle for the steering shaft ujoints after digging through several metal bins of freshly Parkerized fasteners. Monumental job being it was completely disassembled before being shipped from CO to MN
     
  7. bighitter2

    bighitter2 Formula Junior

    May 7, 2005
    486
    virginia usa
    Full Name:
    chuck coli
    Hi Dave,thank you for the info,can you get any of the pics? Can you elaborate on Jim Robinson,where is he? I found reference to him as being the race mechanic for the Donner family vintage Ferrari race cars on their site ...and can you elaborate on “World Ferrari” who where they and what did they do,where are they now? There was an owner, Mossimo Columbo (sp) that may have brought the car over from Italy do you have any recollection of him? Thanks for all you help,Chuck
     
  8. Ricambi America

    Ricambi America F1 World Champ
    Sponsor Owner

  9. davehelms

    davehelms F1 Rookie

    Jan 3, 2004
    4,629
    Full Name:
    Dave Helms
    Daniel is correct, World Ferrari was reopened a few years after closing as Donnybrooke Racing, I worked at both. As World Ferrari we did regular service on local Ferrari's and maintained and raced the owners extensive vintage Ferrari Race car collection at various tracks around the country. Later sponsorship from Coors Silver Bullet Racing extended the Vintage racing further yet.
    World Ferrari and Donnybrooke Racing were in a shop in Long Lake MN and later as Donnybrooke Racing, it was at a shop in Wayzata MN, that after my departure to head to Colorado in the mid 90's. As Donnybrooke Racing we did Vintage Racing, Regional and National SCCA Racing and later as a Pro SCCA team, Bob and a number of our clients were exceedingly talented drivers.
    Bob Bodin (owner of WF and DBR) is still active in the Ferrari vintage racing with a TdF, out of Florida, he would be a good source of data as well.
    I lost track of Robinson several years after starting the restoration effort on the Daytona.
    I do recall Mossimo's name mentioned but don't remember in what context.
    Several years back I found a box of photos of our racing jaunts as both World Ferrari and Donnybrooke Racing, a few were posted on our website by my daughter Jenni. Pre dating digital, they would be in a box stashed somewhere, I will look for them. I recall there being a great many 250GTO, 250TR, TdF and SWB photos from us racing those, those would always be saved as proof my hair was once brown.
     
  10. bighitter2

    bighitter2 Formula Junior

    May 7, 2005
    486
    virginia usa
    Full Name:
    chuck coli
    Dave, any idea on how to get ahold of Bob Bodin? Please keep me in mind if you find any pics of the This Daytona... thank You Chuck
     

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