Barn finds The Ferrari 330GT that John Surtees owned touches down in the UK, a ‘survivor’ 275 GTS surfaces, and a pair of rotten Rollers sell for a combined £3000
Nigel Boothman on a Ferrari with high-level provenance, and another that has survived five decades remarkably well
Ex-john Surtees Ferrari 330
After more than 40 years away from Europe, a 1965 Ferrari 330GT with a fascinating history has returned to UK shores. The car has been off the road since 1989, changing owners several times but no restoration ever began. The car was spotted last year on an auction site by Alan Catterall.
‘I managed to track down Bryan, the chap who was selling the car on behalf of the owner, a farmer named Mr Dale, based in a small town north-east of Kansas City,’ he recalls. ‘Bryan mentioned that it had some interesting history and had once been owned by someone who went by the name of John Surtees.’ After obtaining the car’s chassis number, Catterall researched this claim and found it to be true.
His enquiries uncovered even more A-list provenance – not only had the car been owned by Surtees, it had been a gift to him from Enzo Ferrari in gratitude for winning the 1964 Formula One World Championship. Sadly, the relationship between Surtees and Ferrari broke down when political manoeuvres within the Ferrari team caused a bust-up on the eve of the 1966 Le Mans 24-hour race.surtees used this car to drive straight to Maranello and have it out with the ‘Old Man’, ending his time with the team.
His 330 changed hands soon afterwards, suffering an accident in Switzerland around 1967. After repair it went to the US via Luigi Chinetti, the American Ferrari concessionaire, who sold it to a William Chisholm. He and one other unknown owner kept the car up to 2000, by which time it was scruffy and disused. It was bought by a broker in southern California and remained in the state until 2014, when it moved to Kansas.
Catterall intends to recomission the car so that it can be used to raise money for charity through the Sporting Bears Motor Club and the Henry Surtees Foundation, via dream rides and other experiential
activies. Alan Catterall is working with a friend, Simon Sapstead, to bring that to fruition. Classic Ferrari racer Bill Goodall, of Sussex specialist Newlands Motors, is looking after the engine.
‘I’m not sure I will ever do a full restoration,’ says Catterall. ‘I don’t want to lose the originality. At least its rough state makes it stand out and should help stimulate the fundraising.’
1966 Ferrari 275 GTS
A dealer in San Diego has revealed what must be the find of a career for most classic car specialists. In January this year Bill Noon of Symbolic International revealed impressive photographs of a 1966 Ferrari 275 GTS outside a red-painted clapboard barn somewhere in the northern United States. The car had been stored by the owner since May 1977 but Symbolic is now offering it for sale, having managed to get it running and driving.
Chassis 08009, one of 200 275 GTS models completed by Pininfarina, spent its first four years in Italy before purchase by an American, Gordon Logan, who sent the car to Ferrari for service work and conversion to an mph speedometer. He exported it to the US and sold it four years later, now painted red rather than its original dark blue.
It was sold again to a Ferrari dealer in Chicago and then to the long-term owner in April 1976, who used it for only a year before storing it. At some point the car was painted blue again.
The red barn seems not to be the actual place of storage – that was said to be dry and climate controlled – and this 275 GTS has survived with little or no rust. That, plus the original engine and the lack of any previous rebuild, make it a highly unusual ‘survivor’ Ferrari.
Rolls-royce Silver Shadows
A Homes & Interiors sale held by Sworders, a Cambridgebased auction house best known for fine art and antiques, proved to be enough of a disguise for two mid-seventies RollsRoyce Silver Shadows to sell for little more than we used to expect for neglected examples five or ten years ago.
A white 1975 Series 1 with a thick growth of lichen made £1150 while a slightly smarter blue Series 2 went to £1650. Both were non-runners and neither came with any documents, yet both exceeded their £500-£800 estimate – which was surely far too low bearing in mind their value as sources of spare parts.
‘The dealer has revealed what would be the find of a career for most classic car specialists’