Two books by Randy Cook: Bowtie Ferraris: Chevy-Engined Ferraris from the 1950s and 1960s. AND…  Blue Oval Ferraris et al: Ford and Other American-Engined Ferraris from the 1950s and 1960s.

The competition Ferraris built between 1947 and 1959 sell for millions of dollars today, based on their provenance. Shouldn’t the fact that many spent years powered by Chevy or Ford V8s be included in their record of provenance? Randy Cook thought so and set the record straight.

Even if you had factory ties in the 1950s, rebuilding Ferrari motors was expensive and time-consuming. U.S. racers could install an American V8 in hours and win SCCA B or C Modified championships. 

Such ingenuity intrigued the late Randy Cook, who owned a Chevy-powered 1959 Ferrari 250 PF coupe, SN 1175GT. Cook was an archivist at the Motor Racing Research Center at Watkins Glen, N.Y., with access to books, periodicals and collectors. He was a professional state and federal fraud investigator, able to follow leads

Two books that Cook published in 2014 and 2015 illustrate a forgotten chapter of racing history, when now-priceless collectibles outran the Grim Reaper. Cook identifies 114 Ferrari hot rods by their serial numbers, race records, thrilling period photos and historic classified ads that beg for time travel! For dedicated Tifosi (supporters/fans of Scuderia Ferrari in Formula 1) these are must-reads.

Cook acknowledges 71 experts, including Toly Arutunoff, Mike Sheehan, Marcel Massini, Bruce Meyer, Tom Shaughnessy, Ed Niles, Alan Boe, Oscar Koveleski, Karl Ludvigsen, and many others for his impressive result. Cook also credits dozens of photographers, magazines, books and interviews for their contributions which brought his stories to life.

Most of these Ferraris share common history. Many began as factory racers (especially with even serial numbers) in the hands of Ascari, Biondetti, Castelotti, de Portago, Fangio, Gendebien, Ginther, Gonzales, Gregory, Gurney, Hawthorn, Hill, Maglioli, Marzotto, Nuvolari, Rodriguez, Rosier, Schell, Shelby, Trintignant, Taruffi, Villoresi, and von Trips. (Froilan Gonzales won three South American championships in a Chevy V8 F1 Ferrari from 1957-60!)

Sold to America, these same cars dominated SCCA racing with some of the above stars, and notable U.S. drivers like Chuck Daigh, Jim Hall, Jim Kimberly, Ernie McAfee, Roger Penske, Bill Spear, George Reed, and John von Neumann. When Ferrari engines failed, a new Chevy or Ford V8 cost less than a rebuild. Happily, most Ferrari engines survived. Many were reunited with the cars years later. 

Bowtie Ferraris focuses on 71 Ferraris with Chevrolet V8s, dating from 1949 166MM 0024 through 1965 250GT 5397. They include Mille Miglia winners 166MM 0026 (1950) and 340 America 0082 (1951), 1953 375 Plus La Carrera Pan Americana winner 0392, and 1958 Le Mans 24 Hours winner 250 Testa Rossa 0728. 

Blue Oval Ferraris adds 13 V8 Ford conversions, four Buick V8s, two Offys, one Maserati, one Mercedes-Benz and one Chrysler V8. Eight more Bowtie Chevrolets are added and a further 35 period photos of 18 cars already described.

Comparing production figures with known survivors suggests that other Ferrari V8 barn finds exist. People who couldn’t afford to rebuild Ferrari engines in the 1960s most certainly couldn’t do so now. 

Mike Sheehan has tracked these cars for more than 40 years and has said: “Oh, they’re out there.” And, in keeping with the era, this quote from Toly Arutunoff perfectly sums it up: “A Chevy Engine in a Ferrari? Imagine Dinah Shore’s personality combined with Sophia Loren’s looks!” 
Paul Duchene

It’s hard to believe (if you are a certain age) that it is 34 years since Simon Moore’s original biography of all the 8C 2900 models. “The Immortal 2.9" was acclaimed then as one of the best histories of a uniquely desirable sports racer. His 2008 revised edition raises the bar considerably. 

Alfa Romeo’s 8C 2900 represented the pinnacle of the company’s sport-racing program in the late 1930s, when Enzo Ferrari managed the Alfa Romeo team. The 8C 2900 won four Mille Miglias; 1936 (Brivio/Ongaro); 1937 (Pintacula/Mambelli) and 1938, when Biondetti/Stefani won at 84.6 mph – a record which stood until 1953. In the same period Alfa Romeo also placed 2nd, 3rd and 4th in 1936; 2nd 4th and 5th in 1937 and 2nd, 3rd and 6th in 1938.

The first post-war Mille Miglia in 1947 was won by Biondetti/Romano in a 1938 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta, helped by appalling weather which nearly drowned Nuvolari in his Cisitalia roadster. 

    The 8C 2900 also won the Spa 24 hours twice and led the Le Mans 24 Hours twice. In 1935, Howe/Lewis blew up in the 14th hour while leading. Helde/Stoffel took over, but finished second to Hinsmarsh/Fontes in the Lagonda Rapide. In 1938, Raymond Sommer and Biondetti led Le Mans by 14 laps before their engine failed in the 20th hour.

Simon Moore is exceptionally well-qualified to write both of these volumes, since he owns Alfa Romeo-bodied 8C Spider #412007. It’s usually referred to by its UK registration DKY 163 and has an extraordinary history. 

​What Moore learned about his own car between the dates of these two books brilliantly encapsulates the difference between the editions. His 2008 edition is more than double the size of the first book. Much additional information came to light, prompting numerous changes and corrections throughout.

Moore’s own car illustrates why his latest volume is so significant. Originally, he believed his car was #412002, and his entry on #412007 was merely that he knew it was an Alfa Romeo-bodied Spider. In the second edition, his car merits 25 pages, including 31 period photos, (six in color), and an extraordinary history.  Moore’s car began life as a “Botticella” raced by Scuderia Ferrari, then was re-bodied as a Spider by Alfa Romeo for the 1936 Milan Motor Show - with a new engine and chassis number #412007. When the car came to London, it was registered DLY 163. 

The first owner was unknown until Moore’s original book was read by Ian Bowden, whose grandfather A.H. Bowden bought DLY 163 new and drove it to Monaco twice in 1937-38. Bowden had photographs of his grandfather at Thomson and Taylor at Brooklands, and 16mm color film. 

During World War II #412007 belonged to Flt. Lt. Tony Crook (who later owned Bristol Cars), and was driven fast whenever possible. In 1946, Crook bought Biondetti’s 1938 Mille Miglia winner #412031 from Hugh Hunter and sold #412007. Simon found chassis #412007 under a holly tree in Washington State, the body on a hot rod in California and a correct spare engine. Luckily, a mechanic in the UK recognized welds he had made to the chassis in 1939 to complete the picture. [Editor’s note: Want to know all the great details and the rest of this fascinating history? Then you’ll have to buy the book!]

Happily, the history of Moore’s car is only one of 40-odd stories vastly expanded or rewritten in the second edition of his “Immortal 2.9” book. While the 2008 volume is superior to the 1986 edition, a true aficianado would buy both.
The revised edition was printed in two versions: a Regular Edition $275 and a Collector’s Edition $375. The latter is numbered, and signed by Simon Moore, and comes in a leather-bound slipcase.

ParksidePublications.com/immortal.html

​Paul Duchene

[Editor’s note: 2,500 copies of the 1986 edition were printed; prices today range from a low of $300 to around $650. I bought mine in 1986 for its original issue price of $60! The Society of Automotive Historians awarded the book its Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot Award as the best automotive book of 1986. The revised 2008 edition is not a reprint or a rehash, it’s practically all new, and it’s terrific. Both editions should be on your book shelf.] 

May/June 2020 edition
Issue #10 AutoMobilia Resource Magazine
​Paul Duchene

Fangio, A Pirelli Album by Sir Stirling Moss with Doug Nye

In an ideal world, Juan Manuel Fangio’s biography would be written by a peer or close friend. Happily, the best book about motor racing’s greatest world champion was written by somebody who was both: Sir Stirling Moss, in concert with veteran journalist Doug Nye. 

Fangio and Moss went head-to-head at the highest level of motor sports for 10 years. When Fangio came to Europe in 1949 at age 38, he was twice Moss’s age and an accomplished racer and rally driver in South America. The Argentinian would win five Formula One world championships in the next decade, and Moss was runner-up four times. However, Moss won the fastest-ever Mille Miglia in 1955 at 97.94 mph with navigator Dennis Jenkinson. That trophy eluded Fangio who finished 3rd in 1950, 2nd in 1953, 2nd in 1955 and 4th in 1956.

​Fangio’s five titles were a world record until Michael Schumacher scored seven between 1994 and 2003. Though Schumacher won 91 races, Fangio’s win ratio of 46.15 percent (24 wins from 52 starts) remains the highest ever. Fangio died in Argentina in 1995 at age 84. 

Pirelli’s Fangio album was instigated by his great rival Moss, and beautifully printed in Italy; 168 pages, profusely illustrated. Published by Pavilion Books in 1991. Prices seem to range from a low of $27 to around $200 for a signed copy as seen on eBay. Despite some grainy photographs, the year-long project is the most intimate profile of the genial but ultra-competitive maestro. Fangio and Moss spent two weeks in a hotel in Burgamo, Italy, prompted by Nye to tell stories of their legendary battles. 

“I have been fascinated by racers and what made them tick since I was six years old,” said Nye. “I remembered incidents, and the stories would come back to them. They just lit up, striking sparks off each other.”

Moss and Nye’s book gets closer to Fangio than its contemporaries. Karl Ludvigsen’s “Motor Racing’s Grand Master” has crisper photos and solid reporting; “My Racing Life” by Roberto Carozzo with Fangio is less interesting, but maybe it is lost in translation. Dennis Jenkinson’s book “Fangio” is based on the Hudson/Volpi film and while the pictures are comprehensive, the text is sparse.

The Moss/Nye book is encyclopedic, with comprehensive race reports, enjoyable anecdotes and photos as far back as his childhood. The first 50 pages concern Fangio’s first 20 years of racing in South America which ranged from sprints in home-made speedsters, to grueling Paris-Dakar style rallies 6,000 miles long. Not only was Fangio an indefatigable driver, he could rebuild his race cars overnight. His patience and good humor were forged in extreme circumstances, and tempered by time.

Fangio’s adventures in Europe were characterized by the same fortitude. He never complained about the car, he just made it work, whether driving for Gordini, BRM, Maserati, Ferrari, or Mercedes-Benz. In 1949, he won six races, four in a Maserati, one in a Ferrari, and one in a Gordini.  And in 1950, he won eight, and was 2nd in the championship. Fangio won his first championship in 1951, followed by four straight titles from 1954-1957. 

Fangio’s cuddly demeanor concealed a backbone of spring steel, said Nye. “Jim Clark, Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart, Mike Hawthorn and Jochen Rindt all had the same exceptional skills. It’s the ability to reach inside themselves for something extra they can find in themselves.”  

Perhaps the best example of Fangio’s talent was winning the 1957 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring on his way to his 5th title. He broke the track record nine times (seven in a row) in pursuit of Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins, after a bungled pit stop cost him the lead. 

Fangio passed Hawthorn on the last lap to win, and Hawthorn and Collins were the first to congratulate him. “They were so happy it seemed almost as if they had beaten me,” said Fangio. “That day I did things I would never attempt again.” 

Paul Duchene