I got back my score sheets from showing a Ferrari 275GTS at the Annual Ferrari Club of America meet in Arizona and found I missed platinum by a 1/2 point!

One of the deductions was with the speedometer. The one installed on this car was in Miles Per Hour, while the rest of the gauges were in metric. The judges wanted to see everything matching as it was delivered from the factory. This MPH speedometer was probably installed when the car was purchased in 1970 when the previous owner bought this car in Italy and shipped it to the US. Even though this speedometer has lived in this car for nearly 50 years, I would have to change the speedometer out for one reading in Kilometers per Hour to keep from having points deducted from the next concours.

I managed to find a KPH speedometer to swap out for this car, but it was not exactly “plug and play!

The earlier MPH speedometer had a longer trip odometer re-set cable than the replacement, so I would have to swap the cables over. The shorter ones came on all the 330GTCs and 330GT 2+2s where the knob comes out the dash panel next to the speedometer, while the 275GTS’ cable comes out of the lower dash.

Since the chrome bezels on my speedometer was rechromed and slightly nicer than the replacement, I decided to swap the bezel, lens, and hood over too.

Another deduction was the height of the rear license plate. The complaint was the rear plate looked low and wasn’t quite lined up with the license plate lights. Normally, these brackets that are also found on 330GTCs have some adjustment, but the bracket on this particular car was welded together. I didn’t think much of it when I assembled the car, but now that it was picked up by a judge, I felt I needed to correct the issue.

Unfortunately, it took a little time to disassemble the brackets, cut the welds, install new pivots, and re-hang the plate. The change is subtle, but the alignment is now perfect!

I also readjusted the brake push rod inside the brake booster to fix the dragging brakes, so this car is good to go. I took what could be the last clear day in my neighborhood to take the car out for a test drive.

It takes 97 points or better to get a Platinum car, and we won a gold award at the FCA Annual meet missing platinum by 1/2  a point! With a correct speedometer, corrected license plate frame, and a couple little fixes, we should be well within the range of a Platinum car!

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