I got the transmission all buttoned up. It is in the car and I will get it on the road tomorrow AM. It shifts well from my little test on the lift, hope it feels as good on the road!

915, 911 transmission

The panels on this Aston DB-4 GT Zagato probably looked like the firewall on this Auburn Special Racer before being smoothed and polished to perfection. Can you imagine the time involved in filing and sanding all the welds let alone building such a complex body. Hello? Isn’t that what body filler and paint are for!

The Auburn firewall is super cool, made by someone who had the talent to smooth it out just like the Aston but chose to leave it rough for effect. These cars were photographed at a VSCCA event at Lime Rock Park last Friday.

Zagato Aston Martin DB-4

Firewall on Auburn SpecialAuburn

Ferrari 212 throttle steers out of a hairpin at Virginia International Raceway test

We tested the Ferrari 212 at Virginia International Raceway about a month ago to prepare for the 83rd running of the Mille Miglia in Italy this May. The Osca came along to the track as a benchmark of performance as it was accepted to run the Mille just a few years ago. The testing went very well, with the 212 making enough power to warrant upgrading the tires to Avon vintage racing tires like the Osca. It is amazing the difference a few years makes, the OSCA is 5 years newer than the Ferrari and handles so much better. It is deserving of the Ferraris V-12 engine rather than the 1500cc 4 cylinder mill.

Casey and Peter remove the hood of the 212 while a pack of track marshals look on like wolves

In the mind of every vintage car enthusiast, the Mille Miglia may supersede heaven as the location of divine happiness. This lovely 250 GT Pininfarina Coupe was named 250 MM, short for the race it was designed for, the Mille Miglia. Even this carefully crafted and beautifully prepared car is not immune to the the throes of classic car ownership. The devil is in the details.

Here is a Porsche 356 C coupe that we just purchased from a friend in southern California. It is a totally legit “black plate” car with perfect original floors and an original battery box floor which in the world of 356′s, is huge.  The car is 100% complete and has what what I believe to be a matching numbers engine but I am going to apply for a Porsche Certificate of Authenticity so I can be certain of the numbers as well as learn what the original color was. I believe it was blue but not sure the exact shade.
Even thought the car needs everything rebuilt, overhauled or refinished,  it will be a wonderful car to restore because it is so complete and its rock solid integrity

356 California desert

For the first time in over 50 years, these former Marzotto team cars are sitting side by side,  prepared once again to compete in the Mille Miglia.  Are these cars like working dogs, border collies or sled dogs who are anxious to work almost to their own demise or are they dreading the stress of the event?

The lighter red car is a Ferrari 340 America serial number 0030MT that belonged to my father, Peter Markowski for 35 years. He bought it as a worn out race car when he was in his late teens and restored over the course of many years then driving it for close to 100,000 miles. In the late 90′s our shop restored it again, overhauling the engine, transmission, brakes and other components. We performed a flawless pant job on the car and Peter sold it shortly after all that work was completed because he was not comfortable driving the car with reckless abandon as he used to.

The car sold to its current owner in Europe who disliked the perfection so performed some magic to make the car look more original followed by competing in many driving events which added some true “battle scars”.  My father was probably quite emotional seeing this old piece of his history next to a car that he and his sons built from the ground up.

A well known Ferrari historian is working to make arrangements to have the two cars shipped to the home of  Giannino Marzotto at Lake Como for a photo shoot and possible magazine article.  I hope this works out as Signior Marzotto may have some incredible stories of racing these cars in the early 50′s.

Ferrari Marzotto 340

Marzotto Team cars 212, 340 Ferrari

A lengthy ceremony was required each time the 212 was moved. After the 212 was moved from the scrutineering area, it was was brought to tech and sealing in the Plaza de Loggio – and while there, developed its first problem of the event: a non-start condition. True to form, everywhere 0086E goes, an impromptu entourage of press, enthusiasts, and other competitors gathers. When something goes wrong, concern breeds interest and suddenly the Ferrari 212 that won’t start has a healthy audience. Take the bonnet off the car to diagnose the problem and the swarm thickens.

The culprit seemed like a simple over-fueling condition. Something that many cars suffered from the first night of the event. During the course of 270 kilometers to Bologna, many cars ran uncharacteristically rich, the follow vehicle of Peter Markowski and I, had to increase our following distance off the 212. Peter joked that we’re weren’t using any fuel because our Opel Zafira 1.7 turbo diesel was likely just running off the 212’s fuel soaked exhaust. A 1930’s Mercedes passed us and the problem only worsened – we could barely breathe and dropped back.

With the rate of the fuel consumption out of the tailpipe 0086E ran out of fuel just 30k from Bologna, and when refueled, the rich running, and cantankerous running at part throttle seemed to evaporate. Bologna came into view and we left the 212 for the night at 3am. The pilot and navigator of the 212 retired for the night, and so did we.

Our shop, Restoration and Performance Motorcars has a great relationship with an excellent shop in Italy – GPS Classic. For Mille Miglia, we shipped the Ferrari 212 to GPS where we were able to fine tune the car to the damp Italian air – and water. Since arriving in Italy the weather has been atrocious. Rain every hour, often falling with such force that there have been reports of rain splashing back up – through the floor drains of some of the parked racecars.

The 212 has been covered for the most part, and once inside GPS again, we were very happy to have a covered space, and a great selection of tools. Not to mention keeping good company surrounded by Ferrari’s including a 340 America and a 250 MM. Today we leave Soragna for scrutineering in Brescia, about 60 kilometers to the North.

Racing it is not, especially with Ruby who is such a cautious driver but she will get some more seat time later this summer. We are thinking of trading this original 1927 car for a couple of the reproduction “Pur Sang” cars so the kids can race around without worrying about destroying something  valuable.

The Bugatti type 52 performed beautifully and the hand operated brakes stopped the car with confidence, “my cars are made to go, not to stop”.

Read more about the Bugatti Type 52 here: http://www.ferraricraft.com/2010/03/baby-bugatti/