Ferrari Breadvan and Gary Wales

krasnavian · 10-10-2011, 03:01 PM

My friend Gary Wales tells me about driving the Breadvan from New York to Detroit in the dead of winter...

Granucci · 10-10-2011, 03:09 PM

Kennedy?

Great story.

krasnavian · 10-10-2011, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Granucci

Kennedy?

Great story.

Kennedy was Gary's partner at the time in his automobile business.

viscount aero · 10-10-2011, 07:32 PM

I like how he tells the story.

krasnavian · 10-12-2011, 01:06 PM

In response to the 'Gary Wales & the Ferrari Breadvan' post comes this anecdote from Ed Niles:

"Along with Matthew, Gary is one of the great characters of our world. Although I’ve heard this tale before (several times?) it still brings a chuckle.

Speaking of oft-repeated tales, I was responsible for the B-V coming here. My friend and Lusso owner Gordon Culp saw that I was having fun and making money, so he said, “Let me have the next Ferrari that your friend Roberto (Goldoni, in Rome) comes up with.” OK, so the next one was the B-V. I told Roberto to put a substantial deposit on it, which he did, although somewhat impecunious at the time. Then Gordon got to look at the pix, and said, “Gee, I’m going to have to spend some money re-shaping the body; I want the back to look like a GTO.” After I talked him out of that idea, he went to his banker, whose first question was, “The car is here in LA so we can inspect it, right?” Followed by, “you do have a California pink slip, right?” Somehow I thought that Gordon had the money.

Well, the upshot of it all was that my friend Gordon was not as hip as I had thought, and in the meantime Roberto was mailing me every day about his deposit. So much for trying to be a nice guy/middleman. That was when I started calling around, and when I got to Dick Merritt I hit the jackpot. Dick had just teamed up with Gary, a former stock-broker, and they were buying.

Dick has his own version of bringing the car back, which very roughly approximates Gary’s.

You can’t imagine two more disparate characters than Dick and Gary, but that’s another story."

tazandjan · 10-12-2011, 01:51 PM

Stephen, Ed- Great stories. Things really were different in the good old days when nobody knew what a Ferrari was. On my first drive in my first Ferrari, a Dino 246 GT, in 1975, I must have been asked a dozen times what kind of car it was. So between Poughkeepsie, NY and Clovis, NM, I answered "it is a Ferrari" a dozen times and was told "never heard of it" a dozen times. This was well before the tall guy in the 308 hit the TV screen.

krasnavian · 10-12-2011, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tazandjan

Stephen, Ed- Great stories. Things really were different in the good old days when nobody knew what a Ferrari was. On my first drive in my first Ferrari, a Dino 246 GT, in 1975, I must have been asked a dozen times what kind of car it was. So between Poughkeepsie, NY and Clovis, NM, I answered "it is a Ferrari" a dozen times and was told "never heard of it" a dozen times. This was well before the tall guy in the 308 hit the TV screen.

A Ferrari? How do you spell that?

tazandjan · 10-12-2011, 07:35 PM

Dino is easier to spell, but drew the same blank looks.

krasnavian · 10-12-2011, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tazandjan

Dino is easier to spell, but drew the same blank looks.

I'm sure it did!

krasnavian · 10-14-2011, 12:01 PM

I received this note from Lyle Tanner, a fellow Ferrari Owners Club member back in the day and proprietor of Lyle Tanner Ferrari Parts:

"Stephen:

I would like to mention that with Ed's help, I got #1465 Interim Short Wheelbase. Raced at Le Mans in 1959. They made six. Roberto Goldoni got the car for me. I couldn't get it started when it came off the ship.

I finally looked under the dashboard and there was another key that turned the battery on and off. Once turned, it ran great. The first time I pulled up to fill the tank with gas, the attendant and I thought there was a leak under the car after 25 gallons went into the car. We opened the trunk and discovered there was no trunk, just a 37 gallon gas tank.

Also interesting is when you got the car over about 140mph, the wiper blades would lift off the windshield.

I weighed the car one day with about 1/2 a tank and me standing on the scale. I couldn't believe the whole package weighed 2,300lbs.

Ed sold me a 500 Mondial. RHD and no LHS door. My wife at the time hated it. I was an engineer for the City of LA at the time and would often part it in the LA City Hall garage.

Can you imagine doing that today? After about one year, Ed bought it back.

Lyle "

[Photo Daniel Vaughan]

10-10-2011, 03:09 PM	#2
Granucci Owner Elite Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: far and away Ferrari Life Posts: 5,042	Kennedy? Great story. Guide to the Galaxy: Don't Panic Rik -- LAH ! Current: 1990 Mondial T Cabriolet : Red/Tan 1995 456 GT 2+2 : Roso Metalizzato [Fer 311/C] & Tan

10-12-2011, 01:06 PM	#5
krasnavian Owner Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Los Angeles/Paris Ferrari Life Posts: 336	Ed Niles & the Ferrari Breadvan In response to the 'Gary Wales & the Ferrari Breadvan' post comes this anecdote from Ed Niles: "Along with Matthew, Gary is one of the great characters of our world. Although I’ve heard this tale before (several times?) it still brings a chuckle. Speaking of oft-repeated tales, I was responsible for the B-V coming here. My friend and Lusso owner Gordon Culp saw that I was having fun and making money, so he said, “Let me have the next Ferrari that your friend Roberto (Goldoni, in Rome) comes up with.” OK, so the next one was the B-V. I told Roberto to put a substantial deposit on it, which he did, although somewhat impecunious at the time. Then Gordon got to look at the pix, and said, “Gee, I’m going to have to spend some money re-shaping the body; I want the back to look like a GTO.” After I talked him out of that idea, he went to his banker, whose first question was, “The car is here in LA so we can inspect it, right?” Followed by, “you do have a California pink slip, right?” Somehow I thought that Gordon had the money. Well, the upshot of it all was that my friend Gordon was not as hip as I had thought, and in the meantime Roberto was mailing me every day about his deposit. So much for trying to be a nice guy/middleman. That was when I started calling around, and when I got to Dick Merritt I hit the jackpot. Dick had just teamed up with Gary, a former stock-broker, and they were buying. Dick has his own version of bringing the car back, which very roughly approximates Gary’s. You can’t imagine two more disparate characters than Dick and Gary, but that’s another story."

10-12-2011, 01:51 PM	#6
tazandjan Owner Elite Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Albuquerque, NM Ferrari Life Posts: 3,586 Name: Terry H Phillips	Stephen, Ed- Great stories. Things really were different in the good old days when nobody knew what a Ferrari was. On my first drive in my first Ferrari, a Dino 246 GT, in 1975, I must have been asked a dozen times what kind of car it was. So between Poughkeepsie, NY and Clovis, NM, I answered "it is a Ferrari" a dozen times and was told "never heard of it" a dozen times. This was well before the tall guy in the 308 hit the TV screen. Taz Terry Phillips Present: 575M 135171 Past: Dino 246 GT 02984, 365 GTB/4 14009, 308 GTS 25125 Every day I look around, and if nobody is shooting at me, it is a pretty good day.

10-12-2011, 07:35 PM	#8
tazandjan Owner Elite Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Albuquerque, NM Ferrari Life Posts: 3,586 Name: Terry H Phillips	Dino is easier to spell, but drew the same blank looks. Taz Terry Phillips Present: 575M 135171 Past: Dino 246 GT 02984, 365 GTB/4 14009, 308 GTS 25125 Every day I look around, and if nobody is shooting at me, it is a pretty good day.

10-14-2011, 12:01 PM	#10
krasnavian Owner Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Los Angeles/Paris Ferrari Life Posts: 336	Lyle Tanner on Ed Niles & Ferrari SWB 1465 I received this note from Lyle Tanner, a fellow Ferrari Owners Club member back in the day and proprietor of Lyle Tanner Ferrari Parts: "Stephen: I would like to mention that with Ed's help, I got #1465 Interim Short Wheelbase. Raced at Le Mans in 1959. They made six. Roberto Goldoni got the car for me. I couldn't get it started when it came off the ship. I finally looked under the dashboard and there was another key that turned the battery on and off. Once turned, it ran great. The first time I pulled up to fill the tank with gas, the attendant and I thought there was a leak under the car after 25 gallons went into the car. We opened the trunk and discovered there was no trunk, just a 37 gallon gas tank. Also interesting is when you got the car over about 140mph, the wiper blades would lift off the windshield. I weighed the car one day with about 1/2 a tank and me standing on the scale. I couldn't believe the whole package weighed 2,300lbs. Ed sold me a 500 Mondial. RHD and no LHS door. My wife at the time hated it. I was an engineer for the City of LA at the time and would often part it in the LA City Hall garage. Can you imagine doing that today? After about one year, Ed bought it back. Lyle " [Photo Daniel Vaughan]

10-10-2011, 03:01 PM	#1
krasnavian Owner Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Los Angeles/Paris Ferrari Life Posts: 336	Ferrari Breadvan and Gary Wales My friend Gary Wales tells me about driving the Breadvan from New York to Detroit in the dead of winter...

10-10-2011, 07:32 PM	#4
viscount aero Owner Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Los Angeles, Ca Ferrari Life Posts: 390	I like how he tells the story.

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