You guys remember the old Oil of Olay make up commercials on TV, “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful”? Well, please don’t judge me, I’m a purist. I like Ferraris the way they left the factory. I am not a fan of changing wheels or interiors. I despise non-factory steering wheels, seats, wheels.

I especially do not like re-colors or repaints in a non-original color. I don’t like mixing one Ferrari model wheels with another. This doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate the owner’s taste whether good or bad. Ferrari 348 wheels look very good on a Mondial T Coupe or Cabriolet. I think 348 wheels look terrible on any other Mondial. That’s just my personal opinion.

I love how a Daytona or Boxer look with the larger rear Campagnolo wheels. It looks fantastic, but it will cost you at the concours or possibly at resale. A mantra taught to me by the one and only Gerald Roush: “It’s your Ferrari that you worked hard for, make it your own”.

I’ve been following several F40 owners on Facebook and Instagram. Many of them have repainted their F40 into a paint color the F40 never rolled out of Maranello with. One F40 owner comes to mind where he painted his F40, S/N 89028, in Verde Abetone over tan and it looks spectacular.

Another one comes to mind is the GasMonkey F40 S/N 87589 that was wrecked hard in 2011 by a technician. Richard Rawlings bought the wrecked F40 in 2013 and I helped those guys with F40 parts when I was with TRutlands. They painted the car black after spending more than $290k rebuilding the car. It looked fantastic in black, very sinister.

You F40 and F50 lovers know that it is incredibly difficult to recreate and maintain the thin coating of primer and paint. Too much primer or paint on the car, the noticeable carbon fiber weave becomes hard to see or invisible. This detracts from the original appearance of the car and will most certainly count against you in an IAC/PFA concours. An accurate, proper repaint on a F40 will cost you about $50,000 to $80,000.

Let us delve briefly into Concours d ’Elegance events. I love Concours events. However, I do not prefer over-restored cars. I see cars all over the country that never left the factory looking this nice. The chrome was never that nice, the paint was never that deep and shiny.

I recently saw a Duesenberg that was so over the top restored that you could eat off any panel or system in that car. It was absolutely gorgeous, but it was never this nice when new. Same with Ferraris. Someone restoring a vintage Ferrari today practically has no choice but to use a newer painting system. The artists who used single stage, hand rubbed and polished lacquer paint are going the way of the dinosaurs. They almost don’t exist anymore.

I understand that when you are restoring a 250 TDF it will never look “original” again. Did it really come with that stripe? Original cars are original once. You want to see what original 1950s paint looks like? Take a long hard look at 250 TR S/N 0704 TR. The originality and patina of this car is astounding. Every crack in the paint, every door ding and chip in S/N 0704 TR tells me a story. I gazed at that Testa Rossa for over an hour and just soaked in its aura.

Gerald Roush always told me gruffly, “They were just old cars at the time, and no one wanted a clapped-out race car”. The fact that #0704TR survived this long without being touched or restored, is a tribute to an owner who knows it will never look correct if he did.

I am a car snob. I certainly appreciate properly but not overly restored cars because in lots of cases you are urged to restore every single part and system in the car. “While we are in there.” syndrome takes over, and sure, lets paint the wheel wells, door jambs, the inside of the oil pan, why the heck not?

My own 308 GTS Quattrovalvole, S/N 51665, does not wear its original paint. My car has scratches and minor dings, but I actually use my car. Thankfully, it was repainted in its original color, Nero Metallic 901/C in the 1990s and it is a lot shinier than it ever was when it was new. But who really cares? It’s a super cool car to drive and enjoy.

Would you paint a rare Ferrari to suit your taste, or would you leave it alone? Take this into consideration, the world-famous Phil Bachman collection that is at auction this week. His cars were custom made cars by the factory for a great customer and great marque enthusiast and marque racer. Phil’s taste won’t “fit” everyone. A lot of his cars are one-off cars with a one-of-a-kind paint job, a one-of-a-kind interior scheme and one-of-a-kind wheel scheme, etc.

I like odd color Ferraris. After the Mecum Kissimmee auction this week, his collection will be broken up forever. Will someone paint his eye-popping Giallo and Azzuro blue Ferrari 599 GTO, S/N 186565, to suit their taste? I know a quick re-spray in Rosso Mugello or Rosso Scuderia would look awesome.

How about his unique 125-mile 430 Scuderia, S/N 169969, painted in Giallo Triplo Strata with a Bordeaux and Giallo interior? Will the new owner keep it as it left the factory? Who knows! But we WANT to know.

The Ferrari Market Letter will be watching these cars and documenting them in the 52-year-old Ferrari database that Gerald started in 1974. The FML Database is one of the largest and most accurate Ferrari databases on the planet. Please email us your questions and thoughts. We thank you for your support!