I had completed an 8 year restoration of a 1956 Austin Healey 100M
which achieved a Gold award by the National Club. It was so perfect
I didn't want to drive it.
I was lamenting to a friend that my goal to some day have a Ferrari was not to be in my lifetime. I have been working on and restoring cars since I was 17 years old. My friend shook his head and said, "All you have to do is sell the Healey and your '69 Jag. XKE and with a few bucks you are close to a Ferrari Daytona or Lusso.
So the momentum got going. First I gave this pristine Healey to
Fantasy Junction for consignment. About a month later a gentleman
saw my car in this show room and wanted my car. The owner of Fantasy
Junction called me that he had a potential buyer. This individual
had a 19,500 mi. Daytona that he wanted to sell. It was one of 60
cars in his collection and his cars were only a few towns over. The deal
was that he would buy my car at full price if I would buy his Daytona.
It sounded like the planets were
aligning.
A few days later I was driving home from work when I saw a red dot about 1/2 mile in front of me. But it was an unusual shaped red dot so I sped up to see what it was. To my surprise it was a Daytona. I hugged the back of the Daytona with my car to enjoy its beautiful lines. I continued to follow it to the off ramp to my town and then followed it into the local gas station.
I got out of the car and introduced myself to the driver. He asked
me if "I was a Ferrari guru" and I told him I might be buying one of these
cars. I asked him if he had time to answer a few questions. He was
very agreeable and I started to study the car as it stood by the gas pump.
I was amazed at how gorgeous it was and noticed the silver nose.
I told him that the car I was going to see in two days also had a silver
nose. It had a Lemans interior and my possible future Daytona also
the same interior. It also had the same mileage as the car I was
to see. The owner said, "Are you Paul?” I said that was my
name and went on to say, "my god this car has the same 9" rear Cromodora
wheels as the car I am supposed to see". The owner went on to say
"Paul..." and I kept telling him all the similarities this
car had and I guess they all must look like this! The owner then
put both hands on my shoulders, turned me around and said, "listen now,
I am supposed to buy your Healey and you are supposed to buy this car".
What?? I was dazed and just looked at him my adrenaline still rushing.
I now believe that such a thing as the elemental whimsies of the fates
exists.
He asked me if I would like to go to his house for a glass of wine and talk about the cars. It turns out his house is 5 minutes away from mine.
At his house with wine in hand I just kept going around this car. He
finally asked me what I thought about the trade. It was a no brainer
for me. I told him his car was "perfect" and he will never find a
better Healey so lets do the deal. This older very refined man (I
was a young 49) jumped in the air and said, "I like that kind of no nonsense
thinking, lets do it!"
I sold the Healey to him and traded up for the Daytona in August 2002.
This is the first car that I have owner that is truly a time capsule. It is very original and still smells new when you open the door.
I am doing cosmetic work on it now such as recovering the dash; I've finished the rear suspension, and the like. I feel like this Daytona will be my last car...but I've always loved the lines of a Lusso