Amazing buy

[Charley Lillard]

At some point Fred will chime in with the amazing details but for now look at this auction. Devin...Ha !

[Charley Lillard]

And no it is not a Devin Prototype...Hurry up Fred...

[prototype]

My Mom once said "Stick to what you know and sooner or later the wheel of fortune will land on $5,000".

Well the self proclaimed "King of the Toasted Ponies" Tom Shaughnessy who's bought and sold more abandoned resotrations, spun, flooded, burned, even hand grenaded cars has accomplished the unthinkable.

Between 1948 and 1974 Ferrari built approx. 475 competition cars. Today almost all of these super rare cars are accounted for. Only a handful are still missing and may be lost forever. We all dream about barn finds and very few people have been lucky in the past few years. Finding a long lost Ferrari is like a lottery win.

Tom Shaughnessy of San Clemente/CA is such a very happy lottery winner. And this time the lottery was Ebay! On the 20th June 2006 Shaughnessy bought in an ebay auction what was described as a Devin Sports Spider of the 1950s, with a fiberglass body similar to a 750 Monza Ferrari. Brian Brown and Tom Shaughnessy were the only ones in the world who quickly realized that underneath the Devin body was a genuine Ferrari chassis numbered 0202 A. Shaughnessy was the high bidder in the ebay auction and acquired the “Devin” for US$ 26’912.

The seller was based in Illinois and was cleaning up his garage. The Ferrari had last be seen in the early 1960s. Chassis number 0202 A is a genuine 1952 Ferrari 340 America, built originally with an attractive Spider body by Vignale. 0202 A raced at the Le Mans 24 hours in 1952 with Maurice Trintignant and Louis Rosier. Thereafter the factory loaned the car to Piero Scotti who hillclimbed 0202 A extensively through 1953. The car came to USA via Luigi Chinetti who may have re-sold it to Ernie McAfee. In the late 1950s Paul Owens in Houston/TX owned 0202 A and a Chevy V8 engine was installed. Following a crash a Devin Spider fiberglass body was installed. The original engine was later sold by somebody in the Chicago area. In 1963 chassis 0202 A was titled in Salt Lake City/UT and then the car disappeared until 2006. Nobody saw it for the next 43 years!

0202 A is one of only 25 340 Americas built (9 bodied by Touring, 11 by Vignale and 5 by Ghia).

Shaugnessy’s new acquisition is a super rare “barn find”. The front part of the chassis with the steering is intact, the front spring is missing, someone has added a carrier for a battery just behind the crossmember. The chassis number 0202 A is crystal clear and intact. The center section and rear have been modified. All of the rear leaf spring mounts have been cut off. The brakes are still there and appear to be in good condition. The wheels should be original. The ends of the rear axle are correct. The center section has been replaced with a Chevy. A full restoration is planned in co-operation with the Ferrari factory in Maranello (Classic Departement).

Today a complete 340 America Spider Vignale is probably worth north of US$ 2.8 M. Shaughnessy paid less than one (1) percent of this amount!

[mssl72]

Very nice! Congats on that!

[COPO]

Wow!

[hep1966]

I smell a rebody coming somewhere down the road. The car is worthless.

[Stefano]

It will definitely have to be a "rebody". Remaking the hand formed bodies and fixing the original numbered and tagged Chassis has been happening since day one on such exotics to include some A/C Cobras, and other road race cars.

[sYc]

[ QUOTE ]
It will definitely have to be a "rebody". Remaking the hand formed bodies and fixing the original numbered and tagged Chassis has been happening since day one on such exotics to include some A/C Cobras, and other road race cars.

[/ QUOTE ]

Common among the exotic race cars, and it ssems most owners are up front with this information. Check Hemmings, will read "chassis #--, body such and such".

Maybe some day our hobby will be this open.

[BUIZILLA]

[ QUOTE ]
I smell a rebody coming somewhere down the road. The car is worthless.

[/ QUOTE ]In view of the circumstances, this would be the right direction to take, in THIS case.

Jim

[Canucklehead]

[ QUOTE ]
I smell a rebody coming somewhere down the road. The car is worthless.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well in that case, i guess it's only right to cart it off to the junk yard and forget about it.