2/14/09
L.A. to S.F.

I heard Tom Budinger’s 365GT 2+2 echoing off the buildings in Westwood well before he arrived to pick me up. There just isn’t any mistaking the sound of an old Ferrari coming up the street.

Before setting off for San Francisco, we had one stop to make at the Peterson Museum in downtown LA. The Ferrari Club of America’s Southwest Region was having a board meeting, and we were welcome to attend. As we pulled into the Peterson Museum parking lot, we immediately confirmed our 365 was the oldest car in the garage. We were about an hour late from the start of the meeting, and everyone turned to see who these strangers were sitting down to a FCA meeting. Everyone’s curiosity was finally answered when we were asked to introduce ourselves to the room of twenty guys with quite a few dressed in red. Tom Budinger introduced himself and explained what car he had just purchased, and that we were driving it up to San Francisco this morning. We were warmly welcomed to the meeting, and had a chance to shake the hands of many LA Ferrari owners. Only one owner in the group greeted me enthusiastically because he owned a 275GTB. It was almost like he’d been waiting for years at these meetings to meet another Vintage Ferrari owner!

In the parking lot, there was more talk about Ferraris, explaining what a 365 was and what year they were made. It’s interesting how much a rift there is between the new Ferraris and the old Ferraris. It’s almost like they were made by two different companies. We were happy to share in the information, and even met another 365GT 2+2 owner in the parking lot! Only in LA!

By 11 am, we headed north out of Los Angeles for San Francisco. The car had burned nary a pint of oil, and we were confident the trip would be done without incident. All this was proven true when we pulled into Tom Budinger’s house 6-1/2 hours later. There was torrential rain in the forecast for the SF area, but it held off until we pulled the car into the garage. We couldn’t have asked for better timing.

I could finally breathe a sigh of relief, as our mission was accomplished. I was confident that a well sorted Ferrari can easily travel long distances without incident, but you never know. I hadn’t slept well in a couple days worrying about breakdowns, missed meetings, and schedules to keep, but now I was safe and sound in San Francisco, with the old Ferrari parked in her new home.  WE DID IT!

Just a reminder, I’m looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

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