To the rear of this was a car under wraps, which was unveiled by Ian Barkaway during a welcome presentation
at lunchtime, this was the 250 GT LWB California Spider on which they had carried out a bare metal
restoration, and which had made its public debut at the 2013 Salon Prive Concours d’Elegance, where it won
its class, and then went on to take the coveted Best of Show award.
Another car under wraps, that was unveiled during the presentation, was a Dino 246 GTS, that had come to
them as a “basket case” of bits, with a severe dose of tin worm, and which the owner hadn’t seen progress on
for some time. He is apparently someone who is rarely lost for words, but was virtually speechless when he
saw how the restoration had turned out. Having seen the car in its early stages of restoration, I can say that
this was a case of making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Equally so, was another Dino, still in the early
stages of restoration, which was displayed as a bare shell, finished in the rare period lime green, which had
also arrived with an even worse case of tin worm, but was now resplendent in gleaming paintwork, awaiting
fitment of the mechanical and trim components.
Other models of note were a Lamborghini Miura, just to break up the Ferrari monopoly, on which they had
recently carried out a bare metal re-spray, a 250 GT PF S2 Cabriolet in the early stages of stripping for a full
restoration, a 250 GT Lusso chassis frame and bare body shell, ready for action in the body shop, a 330 GTC
in mid restoration from bare metal, and a 250 GT TdF Berlinetta bare frame, with the newly arrived front end
body buck, another candidate for a full restoration. The reason for the body buck was that the car had started
life with covered headlights, but after an accident in its early life, had been converted to open headlights. The
current owner wanted it returned to its original configuration, so a sister car of known provenance was laser
scanned, to enable a correct original nose shape to be formed.
There was also an abundant supply of hot tea, coffee and soup on tap, plus the famed pork pies, hot dogs,
plus plenty of other savoury and sweet delights to satisfy the inner needs. Throw in live music from a local
musician, a driving simulator which was popular with all ages, and even a pick & mix sweets table for the kids
(young and old!), plenty of familiar faces, and you had the recipe for a most enjoyable day. Even the forecast
wet weather didn’t materialise, and there was actually some sunshine in the afternoon. As a bonus for those
who stayed late, the Competition “Daytona” was run-up in the confines of the workshop, producing a
deafening roar, much to the delight of the appreciative audience.
Keith Bluemel
04/2014
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