By: Ed Niles

That having been said, it also needs to be said that, in the Italian way of doing things, building the body was not the most expensive part of the proposition. A car could be "re-bodied" in Italy, in the old days, for as little as $1,500.00! For instance, in an earlier episode, I told you about the two "Nembos" both bearing serial number 1777 GT. Those cars were simply Ferraris that had had the old bodies removed (perhaps after a wreck) and new bodies built and installed. This was not a terribly expensive project.

American Tom Meade, who lived in Modena in the 60’s, was responsible for quite a few of these re-bodies. These were legitimate cars, bearing (for the most part) serial numbers from the original car. They were not purporting to be anything they were not: An older Ferrari with a newer body.

The "re-body" game probably started as way to make a usable car out of a piece of junk. But as the older Ferraris became more and more valuable in the 70’s and 80’s, the game took on a different complexion. An example is the series of "fake" 250 GTO’s built by William Favre of France. These cars started with frames from prosaic models such as 250 GTE 2+2’s, the frames were shortened, the engines were moved rearward and modified for dry sump, and completely re-bodied to replicate a 250 GTO. Although a Ferrari expert could easily tell the difference, to the lay person’s eye, they were dead-on ringers. In fact, they were so good that the Ferrari factory brought suit against Favre, obtaining an injunction restraining him from further production of these models. The factory no doubt felt that the potential for deception was simply too great.

As a matter of fact, the Favre GTO’s were built in the Giordanengo shop, in Cuneo, Italy, South of Milano. While these cars were being built, someone sent me a photo taken inside the shop of Giordanengo, and I was interested to see a 250 GT California Spyder in the photo. It seems that a California Spyder on our East Coast had burned to the ground, and after the owner collected on his insurance, the burned-out chassis was sent to Giordanengo’s shop. Eventually, a 250 GT California Spyder emerged, bearing that same serial number. But oddly enough, the original burned-out chassis remained in the shop. So the question becomes that of whether any of the original parts ended up in the rebuilt car.

This, boys and girls, is where we get into an area of great difficulty. And this is but one example. For instance, many years ago, I purchased a wrecked 250 GT Berlinetta, Serial No. 0647 GT, that my friend Peter Helm had managed to roll over in a fit of pique. I sold off all the usable parts, and the bare chassis frame remained at a friend’s shop for years. When I was selling parts, I sold the engine to Dick Merritt, then I closed the book on that particular project. At the expense of a lot of work, I had turned $1,000.00 into $2,000.00. I swore I would never do it again.

But years later, I received a call from someone dying to find the original chassis frame. I couldn’t remember what happened to it, nor could the mechanic at the shop where it had rested, nor could the mechanic who ended up buying that shop. We simply didn’t know. But by then, the frame was valuable enough that it warranted some effort. In desperation, I visited a hypnotist, but even the help of a third party couldn’t dredge up the memory of what happened to the frame.

Recently, (wouldn’t you know it?) I received an inquiry from Europe, asking about the legitimacy of a 250 GT Berlinetta bearing serial number 0647 GT. I could only answer that I didn’t know what happened to the original chassis, and for all I know the car could have been built around that chassis, or another chassis entirely. Likewise, I did not know whether the car now being offered for sale in Europe has the engine that Dick Merritt bought from me or not. So how legitimate is that car? Honestly, I don’t know. It may be a complete "bitsa" (bitsa this, bitsa that) or it could have a few of the original parts. Perhaps even the complete engine. I just don’t know.

As prices sky-rocketed in the 80’s, it became quite popular to search through books on Ferraris, trying to find one that had been "completely destroyed by fire", and then build a replica, using that number. One example that comes to mind is a 1957 250 Testa Rossa, serial number 0720TR. I remember receiving a letter from its former owner, Jim Johnston, in which Jim stated that the garage fire was so fierce that, when it finally burned out, there was nothing left on the garage floor but "three lumps of metal". The remains were completely unusable to anyone and were buried on his property. But years later, a car has surfaced, bearing that serial number. I doubt that any part of the original car is incorporated in the remanufactured automobile, given Johnston’s remarks.

There are several peculiar 250 TR’s around. Bob Baker used to own 0742 TR, a well known car that Dick Merritt had acquired from Pierre Bardinon. Bob Baker got rid of this car when he discovered that there was another "0742 TR" floating around out there, a car that had been built by Fantuzzi for Sarti, and later sold into Germany, which had none of the original parts other than the number 0742 stamped on the engine timing case.

Similarly, a 250 LM with serial number 6045 was burned out, and the engine sold off to the owner of the 250 GTO as a spare. The remains were pretty much useless, and were destroyed. I have personally spoken to a gentlemen who ended up with the chassis, who tells me that he took a hack-saw to the chassis frame, and cut it into four pieces for disposal. But somehow, that car was resurrected, and at last report resided happily in Japan. Again, I don’t know how many of the original parts ended up in the remanufactured car, but it may or may not have enough original parts to give it an air of legitimacy.

I remember once being offered a Cobra in exchange for a Ferrari, with the remark that "the serial number is stamped on the trunk hinge". Further inquiry lead me to the understanding that Cobras have their serial numbers stamped on a number of different parts of the car, and that it was quite common, in the Cobra world, to find cars with the original part number in only one small part, like a trunk hinge. So was that a legitimate Cobra? The seller was pretty frank to tell me it was not. But he felt that little trunk hinge gave the car some added cachet.

Oddly enough, although not widely known, many of the parts on older Ferraris also bore the serial number. Any restorer will tell you that he has found the serial number marked in chalk in bottom of the seat, on the back of the door panel, or has found it stamped on the inside of the bumpers, etc.

And it wasn’t too long ago the Italian police, with the support of the Ferrari factory, arrested a "ring" of remanufacturers in Italy, which included the Ferrari dealer for the Cremona area. Among the cars built by this ring was another 250 TR, which, according to the Ferrari factory, had never been built in the first place. I think that the serial number was 0760 TR, but don’t quote me.

To bring this tale full circle, there are a couple of cars floating around that are "re-bodies of the re-bodies". More accurately, they are bodies that became famous in their own right, then were removed from the chassis on which they became famous, to be reinstalled on a more prosaic frames. Try to follow me on this: One such car is a 250 GTO, serial number 3445 GT, that was re-bodied by Drogo for Ulf Norinder around 1965. It was a beautiful car, in its re-bodied form, and was used by Norinder for quite a few years for fast touring, until someone decided to put the car back to its original 250 GTO shape. The Drogo re-bodied shell was removed, and installed on another car, 2067 GT. Many years later, 2067 GT was placed in a Kruse auction, being passed off as the original 250 GTO. Gerald Roush was called in as an expert witness to straighten the Kruse gang out.

A similar car exists, and is presently for sale, and that is the Drogo re-body of a short-wheel-base Berlinetta, No. 2735 GT, owned for many years by Chris Kerrison. In recent years, the owner of 2735 GT decided to restore it to its original configuration, and removed the Drogo body. My friend John Starkey bought the body, and installed it on a shortened and modified 2+2 chassis, number 3611 GT. That car, with dry sump engine and complete restoration, is now being offered for sale. In its highly modified form, it is no doubt an exciting car to drive, light and powerful and an eye-catcher to boot. But it is not the competition Berlinetta made famous by Chris Kerrison.

So what’s the point of this story? I guess it would be that if you are thinking of buying an older Ferrari, particularly one that is a racing model or one which purports to have a racing history, be certain that you are dealing with a reputable seller, or get advice from a recognized Ferrari expert. There are just enough of these cars out there now that, sooner or later, someone will get burned. In fact, if the wind is right, you can detect the faint odor of burning flesh as we speak. And you don’t need liposuction of the wallet, do you?

About the author: Ed Niles, a lawyer in the San Fernando Valley, has been active in the world of Ferraris for more than 35 years. During that time he has owned more than 100 of Maranello’s products and has met some strange and wonderful characters. During occasional moments of lucidity, he will share remembrances of cars and people he has known and loved.