Mixed Feelings

[Yale]

With all due respect Admiral,

You have a multi-million dollar car and this part of its life is no longer about driving across the Continental Divide (in the snow!) or racing at the old airport course at Cumberland. The cars we own may be concourse fodder at a future date but for now we can drive them to the mall without fear (well, with slight fear). You know very few people with a car worth over a few hundred thousand feel comfortable using the car, (you're excepted Jim W.) So Admiral, your car is now a well deserved show horse, our cars can still just be cars.

[Bryan P]

The Grimeys works for me; brilliant, in fact. Maybe Tom Y or Zac have a burnt piston I would be happy to mount on a wood base w/ a yearly plaque designating the "winner."

[sam231]

There is an award that is presented occasionally at the FCA National Meet called the Gilbertsen Award, named in honor of Ed Gilbertsen, for over 25 years the Chief FCA Concours Judge. The recipients embody "Ferraris are meant to be driven" because they use their cars as often as possible. The nominees are submitted by Regional Directors (2 to each Region) with stories about how they use their cars and their active Club participation over the years. The cars must be driven regularly (track, concours, Club or ride drive events) and they must score at least 85 ponts in an FCA Concours judging and the Annual Meet. I submitted the name of someone from my region last year who has owned several Ferraris, both race and touring, over the last 20 years and drives his street cars all year around. We estimated he had put at least 250,000 miles on them over the last decade. He won.

The judges also put emphasis on owners who drive the greatest distance to the Meet. Unfortunately it is only one trophy, one winner, but seems to be a step in the right direction.

[TOMKIZER]

I would like to mention that the reason I haven’t said who now owns my car is that I don’t know. I sold it to Steve Markowski of RPMVT, who bought it for a client. I expect I will learn eventually who has it now.

But now the reason for this post. I never expected to open any hidden emotional wounds with my original post, but I see that I did, to a certain extent. It seems to me that there are more people than I expected who feel like I do about driving versus showing.

I was really discrete in the sale of my car for a few reasons. First, in general, I’m not comfortable selling things. Second, I’m aware of the tendency for a seller (particularly of a vintage Ferrari) to value it higher than a potential buyer. Third, the negotiation process tends to be stressful. It’s a little like what I imagine a little league father feels like when someone at the ballpark yells at his son for dropping the ball. It’s really easy to become insulted when someone finds fault with something you love. For me, thin skin and restoring a Ferrari go hand in hand.

Once the car was sold, I felt a little guilty that I had “hidden” the sale from so many of you who had helped me with the restoration and who have become friends, if only by way of posts, over the years. Additionally, I considered the possibility that I would appear to be ungrateful for my ownership experience; especially to those who were not fortunate enough or old enough to have been able to buy a used Ferrari in the 1980s before the prices got higher than the initial sale price. It’s not that I didn’t love my car. It’s that I loved it too much not to drive it and too much to see it damaged by driving it. As Zac said, “Catch 22.”

I perceive, perhaps wrongly, that some of you who conciously made a decision to drive instead of show may still feel a little sad when you see a pristine 95+ point car sitting on the grass at Pebble Beach or at the Breakers. And then there is the other group of you who almost cry when you are standing beside your pristine car sitting on the grass, and you see someone arrive in a car like yours, but with brake dust on the wheels, dirty tires, windshield wiper streaks, and road grime, but making beautiful ANSA music with his Colombo V12.

Before I bought my car, when I was about 37 (in 1982), an ex-owner of a Daytona told me that the two happiest days in the life of a Ferrari owner are the day he buys it and the day he sells it. For me, the first was near true, but the second was not. It was a day of stress-relief, but not really a happy day.

If we have any psychologists among our members, perhaps it’s time for him or her to step forward and help us to understand, or at least learn to live with, these emotional conflicts. We’ve already got the right title for a “therapy thread”.

I may not make it to California for FCA2012, but Indiana or Wisconsin for FCA2013 is not out of the question, if I’ve still got my health. In the meantime, I’ll keep looking over your shoulders and kibitzing.

My first kibitz is: Sam, I would wish for a rule applying to the Gilbertsen award that says, “The car must receive at least 85 points, but no points will be deducted for wear and tear, only for incorrect non-safety related parts.” Without that caveat, to me it would seem hypocritical to, in effect, say, “Drive it a lot, but keep it scratch, chip, grease, dirt and dent free.”

Tom Kizer

[sam231]

Tom, Well said on describing the your catharsis.

I agree on your comments about the award. I recently visited the Simeone Collection in Philadelphia. To my eye the best car there was the battered '64 Cobra Daytona Coupe prototype CSX2287. Just like it left the track, and it still runs fine. There is a lot of history in it's dents, and I for one am glad Dr. Simeone left them there.

[lukek]

This sounds familiar. I also sold my GTE because I found that I could not be bothered to drive it enough. The increased value, the lack of creature comforts, and the general fussiness of car and owner....make it too much of a garage ornament (11 years, in my case). I was more willing to take all my Alfas on errands and long trips when I was younger.

I do not have to worry about the 360. Ferrari made 15K of them. I did not even put a clear bra on it. If something happens...I know that there are always 3 or 4 of these at a wrecking yard in Sacramento. And it works great for the kid drop off, or as a track car. Getting into the 2 wheeled hobby only helped to distract me from missing the old girl. Fewer regrets, I guess.

Still....Joint therapy session in August over beers/wine?
Tom already said that ex vintage owners are welcome...

[Steve Meltzer]

Tom, I started to write this as a "good by, good luck and thanx for all the help you've given me over the past six or seven years". I do sincerely mean that, but as I read all of the other posts I became more and more comfortable with my own zeitgeist on this matter. Some of us are most content with a "trailer queen", a real show car, while you and many others really struggle with the dilemma of how to balance the act. I find myself at the other end of the spectrum increasingly relaxed with my old cars being "10 footers", none of which will ever see the concourse field and all of which have seen the parking lot at Home Depot or parked next to my wife's old Tahoe at work. To the uninitiated, my old 'Vettes and Ferraris are "way cool", but they'd never, ever pass muster at FCA or NCRS ; I've finally gotten to be OK about that. I suspect that you too, will come to a sense of equilibrium about all this, especially when you get your hands dirty on the MB. The very best of luck to you and stay in touch. steve meltzer

[365gtc/4]

The Grimeys works for me; brilliant, in fact. Maybe Tom Y or Zac have a burnt piston I would be happy to mount on a wood base w/ a yearly plaque designating the "winner."

Bryan I think a small piston with attached con rod tack welded to an adjustable wrench (similar to the commie hammer and sickle) mounted on a wooden base with brass shields to engrave the worthy winners. A 250 piston/con rod should be easily sourced. A burnt piston or one that has been hit by a valve would be ideal.

[jcwconsult]

Why should the Grimey award be something indicating a major mechanical failure, like a burned piston or similar? Isn't the goal to actually be able to drive our cars whenever and wherever we want to do so? Jim Glickenhaus does not take his priceless Ferraris to events to break down with blown engines and get a trophy indicating failure of a major component, he takes them to enjoy the drives.

[Yale]

Well if you drive them you will have a mechanical failure. Jim Glinkenhouse has a full time mechanic on staff. Many of you do as well - except that person is you.

[tyang]

Kerry Chesbro was awarded "The Golden Screwdriver Award" from us at the second tomyang.net East Coast Party several years ago. I've always wanted to give that one out again. It's a bit of tongue in cheek, but it harks back to Vintage Ferrari history.

Tom

[jcwconsult]

The golden screwdriver idea seems much better to me than a dead piston. I agree our cars often need some service, but hopefully we are doing minor servicing a LOT more often than major overhauls.