Three Lussos on ebay...

I figured I would be wayyy off with my guess and you proved me right

 

Looks like our own Mr. Niles deserves a good brow beating. But then again, the car's cockeyed smile can be preserved as Ed's legacy. That's not a bad thing.

Post 12:
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72281

 

Al S.,

John V. already has one in his garage .


Derek,

I think you are on the right track, John V. hates Talbot mirrors and that car has two of them .


John V.,

If you are suggesting the silver ebay car has a cockeyed grin like the maroon car, I think you are wrong. In my opinion, it is a trick of the picture - the way the shiny bits of the grille are reflecting light causing the illusion of distortion. Looking losely, it looks very uniform to me. Then again, maybe I'm wrong.

Regards,

Art S.

 

Art S.,

Two is better than one.

-Al

I guess this story has come to a close based on that old thread unless Erik comes back with different info from the current caretaker.

 

Here's another photo I have of 5073 - unfortunately its off axis as well, but I'm not seeing the same crooked face.

>8^)
ER
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Art,

If I'm not mistaken, is this the same car in the link that John posted? The thread was all about 5073, which is the same one as the Ebay car, right? John goes on in that thread saying his friend used to own 5073 and then "Ed Niles" posts saying he used to own 5073 and it had front end damage. Did I read that thread correctly? The maroon car is now the silver car?

-Al

 

Correct Al. It's the same car--- total tear down, fresh paint, new interior, but still the same nose. Who knows, maybe it was an honest oversight.

The car is still a wonderful classic, but it probably desreved a nose redo by a real metal guy. According to Ed, it's been walking around with that cockeyed smile for 30 years.

john

 

Unbelievable. I recall seeing that marroon car recently and thought the car had a grin to one side. Then this pops up, and I was looking at the silver car and thinking how it had a goofy grin like some other Lusso I had seen. Then you put up the pic of the maroon car, and im thinking, what, all these Lusso have goofy grins? But I was almost thinking it was to obvious, yet never put 2 and 2 together. I thought the way you guys were talking, the silver car was some "fake" built off a GTE or something. So whats the deal then, the owner couldnt get a decent price with it maroon, so silver gives it a new face? So whats a tatty Lusso with crappy history and a grin like that worth?? Guesses? I dont mean anything more than what its worth from one enthusiast to another, not to some idiot off ebay who thinks they won the lottery. I would imagine the motor and all was put together with the same love they doted on the nose?

 

Your determination from one Ebay photo, taken with a modest digital camera, that the car has "the same nose" was perhaps a bit hasty.
You can see from Peleton's post that the front end looks different in different photos, and though you state with certainty that despite all the work done that it is "still the same nose", you are in error. I can state with certainty, however, that you have not seen the car since it has been restored. If by chance you had, I think your judgment on this matter would be different, and perhaps be worth a little more.


Here are a couple of photos of the restoration. John, maybe you could teach this artisan how to become a "real metal guy".
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hey guys, on 5073 i did the mechanical part of that restoration and the paint and body work got done by one of THE BEST body shops in latin america, they have rebuilt lambo aluminun chassis and even repaired a modena that had a front impact, is a trick due to the car being on an angle, i can post more pictures of it, it got fixed properly. maybe the grill is not perfect but i will take a nice pic of it probably next week

 

I stand corrected. The imperfect grill gave the impression that the nose was untouched.

Maybe now the car desreves an unfaulted grill to fit that new nose?

john

 

The grill, as the heart of the coachwork, holds the highest sentimental value does it not? A piece to be spared the cold-heartedness of replacement if possible.
On the other hand, if it were to be replaced, perhaps then you would direct your attentions to the uncombed tail hairs on the chrome cavallino?

One more photo of some of the nose work.
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as the pics show, car got a GREAT DEAL of attention when restored

 

Hello Scott,

I wished I hadn't spoken up.

This car belonged to a friend of mine who lived in Virginia. He had no intension of fixing the front, so when he sold it a few years ago I hoped that it would find a good home and get its shape back.

I really want to let it drop. Please stop rubbing my nose in it or I will challenge you to prove that the front of the car is no longer asymmetrical.

john

 

John,

To make a 1964 Ferrari asymmetrical would definitely make it look odd. I assure you, as soon as the car started to look too perfect, all work was ordered stopped, and the metal workers were given a stern lecture!

 

EXACTLY!

The chrome grill looks odd because the reflection from the top edge on the passenger's is fully bright and as your eye moves to the right, the driver's side, it encounters reflecting shadows and dark portions. Look closely and you can see it.

As far as the fenders, the Passenger fender does look higher to me and I'm taking the parrallax of the photo angle into account. I actually inquired on this car as it looks nice to me, a little assymetry doesn't detract.


This is the third vintage car that I've seen in a number of years that has been restored in Costa Rica.
Does anyone know why?
Is it that much cheaper to have done there
or
is it because Costa Rica has a plethora of retired Americans and the owner finds it convenient to keep an eye on it while being worked on?


Thx

 

Is the inference that the market might have found its equilibrium between buyers and sellers and topped out?

I think this has happened with other models, like the Daytona, but another factor is that the Real Estate market is not accelerating as it once was and many owners had been using RE as an ATM to buy cars.

 

The Lusso had several honest inquiries, from the US and Europe. There is a deposit in hand for a sales price considerably north of the start price on Ebay.
As far as Costa Rica and restorations, you can get a good job done there if you go through my old old friend there. He owned the Ferrari dealership there for a time, and has been involved with exotic cars and restorations for over 25 years. My 250 PF cab is on a long vacation there now:
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why costa rica? becuase labour is cheap and good, plus the paint shop we use is TOP SHELF MATERIAL, we (me and my boss)have restored so far a Lusso, a couple GTEs, some maseratis,fixed crashed ferraris and lambos, and service some nice exotics like a mclaren F1, an F40, a 275 GTB wich we rebuilt the complete drivetrain, some lancias, lambos, couple nice porsches, etc
rigth now we have teak360s pf cab and is going thru a COMPLETE rebuild as the pics show

for a small country, population under 4 million, we have very nice cars and we service and restore most of them

and just for th record, none of our costumers are retired americans, just one is from the US, others from here, or italy o some other places