Tag Archives: Blackhawk

Centralised Chassis Lubrication – Packard Model 745 Deluxe Eight Club Sedan

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With sales plummeting in the wake of the Wall Street Crash Packard offered three top of the range Seventh Series models in 1930.

Packard Model 745 Deluxe Eight Club Sedan, Blackhawk Museum, Danville, California,

The 733 Standard 8 and 740 Super 8 powered models were built on a 140″ wheelbase chassis, and the long wheel base 745 with Super 8 power on a 145″ wheelbase chassis as seen on today’s featured Deluxe Eight Club Sedan.

Packard Model 745 Deluxe Eight Club Sedan, Blackhawk Museum, Danville, California,

New features on the Seventh Series Models included laminated shatter proof window’s, thermostatic radiator shutters for the 106hp straight eight engine, Bijur centralised chassis lubrication, Watson shock absorbers and hypoid rear axle for a smoother and quieter ride.

Packard Model 745 Deluxe Eight Club Sedan, Blackhawk Museum, Danville, California,

Today’s featured 745 is one of 3007 such models Packard built and has a body by Ray Dietrich who’s Dietrich Inc was founded in 1925, Ray likened himself to automobiles as an architect to a building.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing these photographs taken at the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, California.

Thanks for joining me on this “Centralised Chassis Lubrication” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for FIAT Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Narrowing Down The Options – Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet Series 2

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Playing the identify the Ferrari in the picture Geoffrey Horton has sent me has proved a fun challenge over the last 5 or so years and so it was with today’s featured 1960 Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet Series 2 seen at the Blackhawk Museum.

Geoffrey kindly sent me a photo of the information board which identified the model but gave no details over which of the 204 Series 2 Cabriolet S2’s built between 1959 and 1962 today’s featured cars is.

Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet, Blackhawk Museum

To give me a clue as to which car this might be I turned to the on line Register of Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet Series 2’s published by Barchetta, which indicates that only 4 of these cars has been seen with white paintwork in recent years and all have full width front bumpers.

Of those one chassis #2737GT has a hard top and bumper overiders and so can be discounted, of the remaining three chassis #1775GT has it’s fog lights behind the decorative front grill and a tan interior and so can also be discounted.

Of the two remaining white cars chassis #1805GT can be differentiated from today’s car only by it’s tan interior which points to the possibility this car is chassis probably #1779GT which ticks all the identifying boxes available to me short of a photo of the chassis plate.

Barchetta does not have many details on the ownership of #1779GT except that the original owner appears to have been Gianni Agnelli who was of course the head of the FIAT empire.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing today’s photo, if you can confirm the identity of the car please do not hesitate to chip in below.

Thanks for joining me on this “Narrowing Down The Options” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I will be looking at a one off competition car. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Finance Chairman’s Choice – Ferrari 250 GT Ellena Coupé #0807GT

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Today’s featured Ferrari is the 23rd of 50 250 GT Ellena’s to be built between 1957 and 1958, it is believed to have originally been delivered to Ferrari’s representative in Hollywood California.

Ferrari 250 GT Ellena Coupé, Blackhawk, Museum

It’s ownership trail is not known until Cy Yedor bought the car in the 1990’s and had it restored to regular Concours award winning condition by Gary Thieltges of GT Motors in Glendale.

Cy was best known as a racer, he Ken Miles MG Special R1 against James Dean in the 1950’s, race starter and Competition License Director of the California Sports Car Club, he later also became Finance Director of The Ferrari Club of America.

In 2001 Cy sold #0807GT to Mark Templeton in Florida and Mark in turn sold the car on to Ferrari Connoisseur Diego Ribadeneira by 2004 and a year later it was bought by Inventor Henry P. Camisasca.

#0807GT was sold for $687,500 at RM Auctions to a yet to be identified purchaser in 2013.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing today’s photo taken at the Blackhawk Museum last year.

Thanks for joining me on this “Finance Chairman’s Choice” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Wishing all GALPOT readers a prosperous New Year, don’t forget to come back now !

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Ferrari Friday – Blackhawk Museum and Danville Concours d’Elegance

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While participating at the Danville Concours d’Elegance last month Geoffrey also popped into the Blackhawk Museum where some of today’s Ferrari’s were also seen.

Ferrari 195 Sport Touring Berlinetta, Blackhawk Collection

Among the cars yet to feature at Gettin a li’l psycho on tyres is this Ferrari 166MM chassis #0060M that was fitted with a larger 2.3 litre 195 engine by the Ferrari factory and entered at Le Mans By Chinetti and later at Sebring by Briggs Cunningham in 1950.

Ferrari 250 GT Ellena Coupé, Blackhawk Collection,

The Ferrari 250 GT Ellena Coupé above was built in 1957 it is the 23rd of the 50 Coupés with bodies by Carrozzeria Ellena.

Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet, Blackhawk Collection

Built in 1958 the 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet above was the 30th of 40 Series 1 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet’s to be built which I believe was seen at the 1958 Paris Salon before being sold to Count Giovanni Volpi di Misurata in Venice.

Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet, Blackhawk Collection,

I have not yet I identified the chassis number of this 1960 Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet, if you know it please do not hesitate to chip in below.

Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

Outside in the Danville Concours D’Elegance Brian Hoyte’s 1953 Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé chassis #0295EU, another Paris show car, was judged worthy winner of the Award of Excellence.

Ferrari 250 GTO, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

While the Ferrari 250 GTO chassis #4757GT, another ex Count Giovanni Volpi di Misurata car, now belonging to Tom Price turned plenty of heads, but on this occasion was awarded no prizes.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for once again sharing his photographs.

Thanks for joining me on this “Ferrari Friday” edition of “Gettin a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a diminutive Chevron GT. Don’t forget to come back now !

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What Goes Around (Slight Reprise) – Ferrari 250 MM Vignale #0260MM

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I first looked at today’s featured Vignale bodied Ferrari 250 MM #0260MM in June 2011, but since Geoffrey Horton was kind enough to send me some more recent photo’s of it I can indulge you with a few snippets of additional information that have come to light.

Ferrari 250 MM Vignale, Blackhawk Museum

Phil Hill sold the car after he had raced it 5 times from new to Charles Brown of Monroe Los Angeles. While the car was in Charlies care he entered it for William Jarnigan to drive in a couple of races run at Bergstrom Air Force Base (AFB) in March 1954, William repaid his owners faith with 2 class wins coming 4th overall on both occasions.

Ferrari 250 MM Vignale, Blackhawk Museum

In July 1954 Charles finished 3rd in class at Offutt AFB coming home 8th overall. In October 1954 the motor was recorded as having been rebuilt at the Ferrari factory.

Ferrari 250 MM Vignale, Blackhawk Museum

The next recorded owner is Ernie Miller of New Orleans, Los Angeles who is known to have raced the car on at least one occasion in the Hammond Grand Prix where Ernie is recorded as having finished 3rd overall in what is thought to be #0260MM’s last in period competitive appearance.

Ferrari 250 MM Vignale, Blackhawk Museum

Allen S Bishop is credited with restoring #0260MM between 1972 and 1975, after which original owner Phil Hill was reunited with the car for a classic race at Monterey in 1984 from which he car was retired.

Ferrari 250 MM Vignale, Blackhawk Museum

It is believed that #0260MM fetched US$ 1.2 million from an anonymous purchaser in 1995. Phil Hill was reunited again with the car at Monterey in August 2001, though no race results for that particular reunion appear to have been recorded.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing these photographs taken at the Blackhawk Museum late last year.

Thanks for joining me on this “What Goes Around (Slight Reprise)” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at a Crusader built in Washington…. Co Durham. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Formula One Cabriolet – Ferrari 342 America, Vignale Cabriolet, #0232AL

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Between late 1952 and early 1953 Ferrari built six 342 America chassis powered by a 200hp 4.1 litre / 341 cui version of Ferrari’s latest atmospheric induction V12 designed by Aurelio Lampredi and raced with success in the Ferrari 375 Formula One cars.

Ferrari 342 America Vignale, Blackhawk Museum

Five of the 342 chassis went to Pininfarina where 3 were fitted with coupé bodies and two with cabriolet bodies, the first chassis #0232AL, featured in today’s photographs by Geoffrey Horton taken at the Blackhawk Museum, was sent to Vignale where it was fitted with a cabriolet body.

Ferrari 342 America Vignale, Blackhawk Museum

Upon completion Herr Otto Wild of Muri in Switzerland. Before the end of the 1950’s were out the car is thought to have made it’s way to the USA, from 1971 until at least 2000 the car was kept in single ownership.

Ferrari 342 America Vignale, Blackhawk Museum

The 342 America was said to be capable of 115 mph, not quite on a par with the contemporary Jaguar XK120 in it’s original aluminium bodied form.

Ferrari 342 America Vignale, Blackhawk Museum

The Lampredi V12 motor would continue in production until the 1960’s powering Ferrari’s large engine America series cars up to and including the 500 Superfast of which the last was built in 1966.

Thanks for joining me on this “Formula One Cabriolet” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be loocking at the first of this months big banger Formula 5000/A open wheel racing cars.. Don’t forget to come back now.

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Rare Spyder – Ferrari 365 California Spyder #9985

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At the 1966 Geneva Motor Show Ferrari revealed two new models the Ferrari 330 GTC and today’s featured car, thanks to Geoffrey Horton’s photographs, the Ferrari 365 California Spyder of which just 14 would be built.

Ferrari 365 California, Danville Concours d'Elegance

The 365 California Spyder is fitted with a 320 hp 4.4 litre / 268 cui V12 which is fitted to a 5 speed synchromesh gearbox and is covered by Pininfarina coachwork which features a split front bumper as first seen on the 500 Superfast Coupé and rear vents behind the front doors which would become a feature of the mid-engined Dino 246.

Ferrari 365 California, Danville Concours d'Elegance

Being equipped with Right Hand Drive this car is easy to identify as chassis #9985, the 10 th of the 14 built and the only one to be so equipped. The expired rear UK plate RPE 909 E which was registered to Mark Tippets when he owned the car in 1986 is also a bit of a give away.

#9985 was sold to Paul Kay in June 1967 painted Blue Sera with a biege interior over the next two years the car had 3 further owners with the registration changing from “NJD 8E”, “L11” to “MNV258E” before Mark Tippets ownership. Since then the car was seen with the number “2UAE” from July 1986 to July 1990, a number still available to the owner if the car ever returns to the UK.

The car was first painted red during a restoration carried out in Florida between 1983 and 1985.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for his photographs of this rare and magnificent vehicle.

Thanks for joining me on this “Rare Spyder” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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