Monterey 1982

     Monterey 1982. It was the second time I had been there. I moved to California in July 1981 to work for Lyle Tanner Enterprises.

     This was way before the internet and parts for Ferrari were sometimes difficult to get. Throughout the United States there were only a handful of sources that could be counted upon.

     Algar was probably the best due to their direct line with the fledgling Ferrari North America. FNA opened a warehouse in 1978 and began to bring spare parts in to support the new 308s that were being sold.

     Previously parts were ordered directly from Chinetti-Garthwaite who imported from Ferrari. That relationship had been cemented by Luigi Chinetti who was the original importer of Ferrari cars and parts.

     FAF Motorcars was also a large player in the parts business. With a catalog, a strong mail-order business was built by purchasing parts from Algar and the west coast distributor Modern Classic Motors in Reno, Nevada.

     Modern Classic Motors was owned by Bill Harrah and had been the distributor of Ferrari automobiles since 1962 and the parts department was filled with bits and pieces.

     In an effort to reduce their inventory, crates of parts were shipped to FAF in the late 1970s at very reasonable prices. It was this inventory that helped FAF gain traction in the mail-order parts world.

     There were other players; Bill Rudd, in Sepulveda, CA, and GT Car Parts in Phoenix, AZ, also had a good supply of parts.

     Lyle Tanner had been involved with the Ferrari Owners Club and was known all around the LA area. He had started small but was growing fast.

     That’s where I came in. We met at the 1981 FCA Annual meet in Asheville, NC, and I liked the direction he was going. He wanted to become a larger player in the parts game and I knew everybody.

     Remember, this is before computers. Inventory was kept in your head. Who had what was kept in your head. When a call came in, if we didn’t have it, the quest was on to try and find one.

     Whoever could get the part to the customer first made the sale. There was a hierarchy for sources. New production cars were easy. Algar or FAF could be the first call. We also could order through the dealer in Newport Beach if it needed to come from FNA.

     The older cars were much more of a challenge. Again, knowing what inventory everybody else had could cut the phone time down to one or two calls.

     A little side diversion here. While I was at FAF Motorcars, I was sent to Algar to pick up a new 308 GTS. This was way before a covered transport with lifts inside to carry multiple cars was common.

     Cars were usually delivered on an open two-car wrecker or driven(!) to the dealership. While at Algar I was tasked with purchasing about five thousand dollars of parts to bring back to FAF. Today that amount would fit into a small suitcase but at that time I could fill the trunk of the 308.

     I spent the day looking into each and every bin box on the shelves. I pulled some parts to take back and the others I mentally stored away for future reference. For months I was able to recall rare and obscure parts hidden in the nooks and crannies of Algar’s parts department.

     I was banned for life from ever stepping foot into Algar again. Although, I don’t believe that ban still exists today.

     Back to Lyle Tanner Enterprises.

     Ferrari at that time was not so strict about their logo. That would come much later. At Tanner’s we had T-shirts and hoodies, sweaters and ashtrays made with the Ferrari name and logo on them. If it could get a Prancing Horse silkscreened on, we had it.

     In the early 1980s, Monterey week was still basically a three-day track event at Laguna Seca and a concours at Pebble Beach. There were lots of car club gatherings so there was plenty to see parked at hotels and on the street.

     Laguna Seca was the place to be. This is where Steve Earle’s Historics showcased all kinds of exotic racing cars. GTOs and Cobras mixed it up on the historic track. The sounds and sights were intoxicating.

     Lyle Tanner had secured a vendor site right next to the entrance of the paddock area. The crowds had to pass right by our tables stacked with shirts and trinkets filled with the Ferrari logo.

     Sales were good. There was still plenty of time to wander through the paddock and see rare and beautiful Ferraris brought on open trailers pulled by a Jeep Wagoneer or station wagon.

     Yes, there were a few transporters but mostly people had bundled their race car items into personal transportation and camped at the track. It all seems so basic now. Fun on a shoestring budget.

     All of this is the leadup to a couple photos I found in the files. The background is clearly Laguna Seca; there is a row of Ferraris parked in the dirt and scrub grass. The back had a notation “FCA parking 1982”.

     This was the special Ferrari parking area and what a neat row of cars are shown. The first photo shows a 250 GT LWB Berlinetta (TdF) parked next to a 275 GTB short nose that is parked next to a 250 GT SWB Spyder California.

 

 

     Another photo shows a 250 GTE next to 308 GTS, 246 GT and a 365 GTC/4. These owners drove to the track and parked their steeds in the dirt. I’m sure there were others but so far, I have just these two photos.

     The historian in me wanted to identify any of the cars shown. The TdF and 275 GTB, while low production, had few details that were identifiable. The California was another story.

     While the photo only showed a small portion of the rear, the taillights and rear fender line could only be a California. The PF Cabriolet has the same taillights, but the fender line is different.

     The photo also showed a hardtop fitted and since there were only a few Californias that had the hardtop option how hard could it be to find this chassis number?

     Search the database for hardtops, open the photo files and see if I can find the same shape and contour. Several cars later I run across S/N 4121 GT. The hardtop matches and the car was owned in California at the time.

     The next photo has cars that would be impossible to identify. One 308 looks like the next. Clearly it is a USA carbureted car, but nothing identifiable. The same with the 246 GT, USA model, but there is no way to gain more information. The 365 GTC/4 can only be partially seen, but the front fender line gives it away.

 

     Then there is the 250 GTE. Since this is in the foreground there are many details seen that could make it identifiable. It has a Series III front end with fog lights set in the fenders. It also has chrome fender vents. The most interesting feature is the frenched headlights.

     The Series I and II GTEs had a headlight that was set almost flush with the front fender with a thin dished trim ring filling the gap between the headlight and fender. Later cars had the headlights mounted slightly in front of the fender necessitating a rounded trim ring like seen on most cars.

     The fenders on this GTE had been extended out well past the headlight to the point where the headlight was a couple inches or so set back into the recess. This customization might be just the anomaly I was looking for.

     Back into the database again. Searching for chrome fender vents yielded nothing. Searching for extended headlights or fenders yielded nothing. There was no way to find this chassis, short of opening every GTE photo file and searching for the right car.

     It was all so familiar, I’ve seen this one in person, maybe it was that time at Laguna Seca. So, the mystery continues. One day I will run across the file and be able to place this photo into the right folder.

     Isn’t photo forensics fun?

     Sunday was THE big day. Pebble Beach contained some of the most beautiful Ferraris and other cars on the lawn.

     Ferrari was not as much of a big deal at that time. Pre-war cars and their elegance were regarded more than the beauty of post-war designs. There were only four Ferraris on the lawn that day.

     While the representation was small all four cars were significant in their own way. John Casado brought a 500 TRC, S/N 0702 MDTR. He had driven it at Laguna Seca the previous two days and now it was displayed in all its glorious yellow paint on the lawn.

     Not to be outdone with the dual usage of track and field was a 1959 250 TR 59 Fantuzzi Spyder, S/N 0766, brought by Joel Finn. He had also spent the previous two days thrashing the Testa Rossa around the 1.9-mile track.

     By the end of the day Melanie Finn, who’s name it had been entered under, won Best in Class for Postwar European. Quite an achievement!

     Gil Nickel had also driven his 340 America Vignale Spyder, S/N 0140A, around the track and was now showing it for the first time on the grass of Pebble Beach. The yellow exterior shone in stark contrast to the normal Ferrari red.

     Nickel was presented with the Hans Tanner Memorial Trophy. This Trophy was originally presented to Hans Tanner by sculptor Greg Melton. In 1974 Tanner chose to present this award to the best Ferrari in the show.

     Tanner had written several early books on Ferrari and was highly regarded within the Ferrari circles. He died in 1975 and the award has been presented each year in memory of Tanner.

     The fourth car of the group was a 250 GT SWB Berlinetta; not just any SWB but the one-off Bertone, S/N 3269 GT.

 

     Back to my time at Lyle Tanner Enterprises.

     Lyle Tanner was in an industrial park and his space was right next door to Steve Tillack. The symbiotic relationship between the two was so close we didn’t even have a wall between the two.

     The mechanics and specialists doing restoration could come right up to the counter and order parts. Every project Tillack was involved in required much in the way of tracking down obsolete and obscure parts and the Bertone project was one of them.

     While Tillack was stripping down and restoring this one-off, I was involved in every search for parts. To see every intimate detail while this unique Ferrari was being rebuilt was interesting and a challenge.

     When working on a large project like this it pays to stay ahead of the needs. I had to plan on what might be needed next. It felt like I lived with this car throughout the entire process.

     Now to see it on the lawn at Pebble Beach was a fantastic accomplishment. I was proud to be one small part of a team that made it to the top. I knew how much blood, sweat and tears went into this project.

     Monterey 1982 was special because it was all so small and compact. You went to the track and a concours. You got to see rare racing cars and rare beautifully prepared antiques and other historically significant cars displayed next to the bay.

     Today Monterey takes a week. There are multiples of car events covering all different makes and auctions to fill your stable. Even with a plan it is impossible to see and do everything available during the week.

     The best you can do is decide what important events you wish to do, fight the traffic, do the best you can and sleep when it’s all over.

     Fortunately, there is still racing at Laguna Seca and a concours at Pebble Beach. Have fun!

 

         S/N 4121 GT at the 2015 Cavallino Classic. Nearly the same view with the same hardtop!