“I’m completely obsessed with it”, says the young owner of this beautiful Ferrari 330 GT 2+2. He is undoubtedly a patient man, though, seeing as he did have to wait 14 years from the day he saw this beauty for the first time until he held the key in his hand.
Words: Wilhelm Lutjeharms
“The first time I saw this 330 was at Viglietti Motors in Cape Town 14 years ago. I was dropping a car off for a service and it was sitting in the workshop, but its wheels were off and it was looking quite tired. When I saw it there, I thought to myself that I had to own it one day...
“I remember being informed that it was the first one that came into South Africa of an original total of four. Back then, in 2007, it was only getting a service and some minor work done. I then heard rumours in 2012 that someone wanted to sell a 330, but then the murmurs died down."
But then a stroke of good fortune... he encountered the very same car again several years later.
“I found it last year when we I headed to Johannesburg for business and visited Ferris. There, in the dealership’s workshop was this car… again, on a lift with its wheels removed. The owner had passed away and the estate was being wrapped up.”
When the current owner heard that it was for sale and what the asking price was, he decided there and then that he would take it. There were some challenges in the process, but eventually he acquired the car earlier this year.
“It is matching numbers, it is running, and it is completely original and now in its original colour. Wait until you see the interior, it has the original interior from 1964. It is untouched except for a few places where I’ve tried to delicately repair it. It is almost past the point of using it, but I just can’t bring myself to replace it. Anyone can retrim the seats, but you will never be able to have and experience this level of originality again.
“It only had three owners in its whole life and the second owner had it from around 1969 to 2011. That owner, at some stage, painted the car blue.”
There are a few odds and ends on the owner's list for the Ferrari though. “On each side of the car there are two jack holes in the body, one behind the front wheel and another in front of the rear wheel. To order them new will cost you around R15 000 each! So, I simply borrowed an example from a client’s Ferrari, we measured it, did a drawing on the computer and machined another four from mild steel and then chromed them.
“I have a friend and the other day when we decided to make these covers, we just laughed because no one should ever tell us that we can’t make something – we’ll always make a plan! At the end of the day if you work with steel, there is really nothing that you can’t do, it is such a malleable material.
“We did a clean-up of the car. For example, we redid the exhaust system, checked the timing of the engine and polished the bumpers. Now I’m just going through the process of finding all the little bits that are missing. The million-dollar question is whether I should restore the interior? But I just can’t bring myself to do that.”
He proudly shows me the key ring of this Ferrari. “This is the key ring from my dad’s very first Ferrari, and I’ve kept it and used it on every Ferrari I’ve owned.”
We settle inside and the owner takes me through the starting procedure of the 330. There is quite a process to it. “You turn the ignition on, then you put the fuel pump on, then three pumps of the accelerator and only then do you press the key inwards to start the engine.” With a throaty exhaust note the V12 starts and the burbling sound fills the workshop.
“Of all the cars I own, this is currently my daily, and I drive it every opportunity I get. One of the reasons I love it so much is because of the spacious boot. I used it this weekend to go to the golf course. I just want to use it and enjoy it, and if something breaks, I’ll repair it.
“I left this swap meet the other weekend and this little boy was looking at the car as I left and he said ‘goodbye Mister Bond’.”
There is nothing like thoroughly enjoying a classic car, and that is exactly what this owner is doing.