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The Dick Tracy Copmobile; images by author.

The Cars of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

In the 1980s, there were very few movies that were better than the ones by John Hughes and many people believe that the best one was Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. If you haven’t seen it, the gem starred Matthew Broderick as the title character who just wants to enjoy a sunny day away from school. Bueller knows that he needs his friends to really enjoy the day, so he makes arrangements with Cameron Frye, played by Alan Ruck, and Sloane Peterson, played by Mia Sara. The trio ends up together and has the best day ever, while his archnemesis, Principal Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones) works hard to prove that Bueller is skipping class. The antics of the kids, the principal, and Bueller’s sister, played by Jennifer Grey, are filled with many memorable automotive moments.

Alfa Romeo Alfetta

One of the best moments is when Cameron is debating whether or not to leave the house to join Bueller. Cameron’s dad owns a beautiful collection of European cars, but leaves his son with a 1982 Alfa Romeo Alfetta. Cameron complains about having a piece of junk that never wants to start, but Bueller is so jealous of the Alfa Romeo Alfetta because he does not have a car. Despite Cameron’s beliefs about his own car, many kids would have loved owning the Alfa Romeo Alfetta that looked just like a BMW.

Pontiac Fiero

Another memorable car was the one driven by Jeanie Bueller. Ferris was jealous of the little white 1985 Pontiac Fiero that his sister owned and he makes several references to not owning a car. One interesting tidbit about this car is that the license plate read “TBC” – which could be an homage to another great Hughes movie: The Breakfast Club.

Audi 5000

Ferris Bueller’s dad also drove cool car: a 1985 Audi 5000. This bright red car was featured in a few scenes at the end of the film as Ferris races home (on foot) in order to beat his sister home. This car also had a personalized license plate that read “MMom” – which could be in homage to Mr. Mom, another fun Hughes movie.

The Ferrari

The most memorable car in the Ferris Bueller movie is a replica car, but still amazing nonetheless. The 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Spyder California played a major role in the movie as Ferris convinces Cameron that they need to take the “choice” automobile on their day off. This car is one of the most iconic movie vehicles of all time. This car also has a customized license plate that read “NRVOUS.”

The post The Cars of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off appeared first on Fossil Cars Blog.

This is the raglan-sleeve jersey that Hometown Jersey made for my car club.

A couple of us here are members of a group called the Barnstormers VSC (Vintage Speed Club), and when we decided to have jerseys made, we knew we wanted them to be homegrown and to have old-fashioned style and quality. So, when we saw how dapper the McCann clan of DeLuxe Speed Shop—Mark, Scott and Bryan—looked at The Race of Gentlemen this year, we asked them where they got their regalia. “Jill Smith at Hometown Jersey in Joshua Tree, California,” Scott enthusiastically replied.

Mark, Scott and Bryan McCann showing their team spirit in their regalia made by Hometown Jersey at the 2015 Race of Gentlemen. Above photos by the author.

After the race, I checked out Hometown’s website, and liked what I saw—American-made jerseys like those from the Thirties through the Fifties. I sent Jill a message: In light of her website’s sizing, which lists only up to 2X, I had a tall order, literally, as one of our club members is a big fella—6 feet, 6 inches tall and barrel-chested; a 5X. Jill got back to me less than 24 hours later and said that not only could she fit our club’s long name on the front of a jersey in two-inch hand-cut felt letters, she could also make shirts to fit our big-hearted friend.

Just three days after ordering—though Jill cautions that it can take up to two weeks during busy times like the holidays—the navy-and-cream raglan-sleeved jersey was in my hands and far exceeded my expectations.

The design is period-possible, with a neck opening wide enough to accommodate a shirt collar and tie like many speedway drivers wore when racing in the Twenties and Thirties, and the body and sleeves are shorter in the style of the era. The fabric is high quality: a fine-gauge 100 percent heavy-cotton knit. It’s durable and soft, and the material has a kind of natural texture to it.

Wearing clothing that’s in sync with the era of your car or motorcycle isn’t playing dress-up. It’s making sure that nothing detracts from the look of your ride, and it’s getting you closer to how it felt to drive it in its day. For American-made jerseys done the old way, we can’t recommend Hometown Jersey enough.

Raglan-sleeve jerseys, with text in standard font on the front only, start at $139, but there are many options for customization. Our club’s jerseys, with the addition of the lightning bolt, were $145, plus $9.75 S&H.

To view a complete selection and to order, visit www.hometownjersey.com. While you’re there, check out Hometown’s set-in and striped-sleeve jerseys and T-shirts. Pay close attention to the sizing chart on the website, as vintage-style clothing fits differently than modern types. If you have any questions or want advice on customizing your jersey and a price quote, email Jill at: jill@hometownjersey.com.

To learn more about Hometown, here’s our interview with Jill Smith…

Jill Smith, proprietor of Hometown Jersey, in the desert of Joshua Tree where her American apparel company is based. This and all subsequent photos courtesy of Hometown Jersey.

J. Daniel Beaudry: How did Hometown Jersey come to be?

Jill Smith: My husband and I are partners in his business, TK Smith Electric Guitars. Every year, we come up with a new silkscreened design for T-shirts. A few years ago, we wanted to do something different that no one else was doing as far as logo shirts.

We’ve always loved the style of racing jerseys from the 1930s through the 1950s, with their felt lettering. In our shop, we only use tools from the 1930s to the 1960s to build guitars; they’re all made in the USA and still work great. So, we knew if we were going to make a logo jersey, it had to be in the same spirit as our shop: made in America.

When we couldn’t find what we wanted, I decided to manufacture it myself. My jerseys are made exclusively for me to my specs in a factory that also uses vintage machines and has been in business for almost 100 years.

We put the jersey up on the TK Smith website and got a great response, so I decided to create my own website and make custom jerseys for anyone interested. That was exactly two years ago.

Hometown Jersey grew out of the apparel Jill was creating to promote her husband TK’s guitar-crafting business.

JDB: How many people are employed by Hometown, and where are you based?

JS: There are two of us; myself and my seamstress. We’re based near Joshua Tree, California.

Hometown Jersey shares a space with TK Smith, so there is a lot of creativity going on where we work. We have an industrial space with about 1,600 sq.ft., and it includes an office. We’re in the desert, so its a great mid-century building with seven spaces total and a lot of open land around it. We moved to the desert from Los Angeles about 10 years ago so we could “do our own thing”: work for ourselves and have more room to work/live.

My business doesn’t require a lot of space, so I basically take up a corner of the shop. But when Hometown Jersey moved in, our ’29 roadster, which was in the middle of the shop, had to be moved back home, and our 56 Ford Pickup had to be moved to the back in a storage container. Our shop is like our home, which is only five minutes away, so we never feel like we’re “going to work.”

Jill and TK’s ’29 roadster that gave up its parking spot so Hometown Jersey could set up shop.

JDB: How did you get into making jerseys?

JS: I worked in sales and management for one company in the beauty industry for 20 years, and in the industry total for 25 years. My past had absolutely nothing to do with manufacturing clothing, but what I did gain from that career was how to give great service and to put out quality work. Nothing disappoints me more than a consumer getting bad service.

JDB: You had my jersey in the mail in a surprisingly quick two days, I think. How long does it typically take to make a jersey?

JS: Yours was quick! You caught me at a good time, but I generally say to give it at least two weeks. Especially right now during the holiday season. When I tell people two weeks, I try to get it out in one.

If someone wants a custom logo or custom-cut design that is out of the norm of my standard lettering, it can take up to three weeks to set it up, followed by the normal production time. It’s not that it takes that long to make a jersey with stitched felt lettering; it’s that we’re always working on multiple orders at once. So, it may be a few days, or a week, before we can get to it.

Custom fonts and elements are possible; just drop Jill an email and talk with her about what you’d like to do.

JDB: What are the steps in the process for making a jersey?

JS: Every jersey is laid out by hand, and the felt lettering is stitched on one at a time. We use our eyes and a sewing machine, not an embroidery machine and a computer. You can really see the difference. We want our jerseys to have an authentic vintage look and feel. You can only get that with a sewing machine. When you see lettering done with an embroidery machine, you can tell. If they were all perfect, it wouldn’t have the same feeling. We always want them to look amazing and to have our customers be delighted when they receive a Hometown Jersey. Mass-produced perfection is not the goal.

Stock felt-letter colors are black, cream and “Old Gold.”

JDB: How were you able to meet my friend’s 5x needs? Are you always able to be so accommodating?

JS: I’m so happy we were able to make your friend the 5X jerseys! I can pretty much meet any need within reason, it just may take some time if we get a request out of the norm. So, if you can be patient, we can usually make any reasonable requests happen.

JDB: What is the biggest challenge for Hometown?

JS: Our biggest challenge is probably the same one that many small businesses have: How can we stay “small” and yet grow? By “staying small,” I mean continue to give great, timely service; continue to enjoy what we do; continue to keep the selection simple, but interesting; and at the same time grow financially. I’m more interested in doing great work and continuing to have fun doing it than just taking on more work for more money.

A logo consisting of two numbers inside a circle is another one of the options offered by Hometown.

JDB: Is demand for vintage jerseys increasing? If so, is this also true for demand for Made-in-USA products?

JS: I think the demand for vintage jerseys has probably been strong for a long time, but the availability of a new, totally custom jersey, with the true look and feel of a vintage jersey may be increasing.

I think Hometown Jersey has resonated with vintage motorcycle and car enthusiasts because we offer something that no one else does. You can order anything you want to show pride for your car, bike, club, hobby or interest in stitched-on felt. I created Hometown Jersey from a place of nostalgia for my small hometown where I grew up in Illinois.

As far as things made in the USA go, I hope the demand is growing. We feel very strongly about this subject. It would make absolutely no sense for TK or I to sell anything not made in America. There’s no reason to. It’s really easy to buy pretty much everything you need today here at home. Will it cost more? Probably. But the quality is usually going to be much better and last much longer. When you buy products that fall apart in a year or less, it ends up costing you more in the long run to keep replacing them than it does to invest in high-quality goods that will last years. People who purchase a Hometown Jersey today will be able to pass it down if taken care of properly.

The Sta-Lube logo is a stock-cost option.

JDB: What do you like most about making jerseys?

JS: Every day is different, even though the process is the same with each jersey. The layout, size of felt lettering and the personal message we put on them really means something to the person who purchased it. I feel like I have a relationship with each of my customers because I get to know a little bit about them by what they want their jersey to say. It’s so great when someone receives their custom jersey and they send me a message letting me know how much they love it. Thats the best and probably the main reason why I enjoy my work so much.

Hometown’s jerseys are available in a variety of traditional colors and even in stripes.

One of my most surprising interactions was when I was asked to make a jersey for singer Billy Joel as a birthday gift. I wasn’t aware at the time that he has an extensive vintage motorcycle collection. Alex, who runs his shop, 20th Century Cycles, purchased one for himself and one for Billy.

It was probably one of the most detailed logo jerseys we’ve done to date, a lot of custom stitching. They liked them so much they ended up buying a large run of the same jersey to sell at their shop in Oyster Bay, New York. The entire interaction was a lot of fun and gave me the opportunity to make a custom jersey for an American icon.

As Hometown’s jerseys are patterned on historical styles, they fit differently than modern clothing.

JDB: What are Hometown’s hopes for the future?

JS: To keep doing what we’re doing, and like I said before, to figure out how to grow while keeping the feeling of a small company.

A couple more from the collection of Hartford photos that Joe Sokola sent us, both probably taken around the same time, given the color casts, and both conveniently featuring what is now known as Travelers Tower, which should allow us to pinpoint the locations of the photos. Below, we can say for certain that the photographer was standing on Linden, looking northeast, with much of what we see in the photo still there. Above, we’re less certain, given how built-up the area is, but based on the shadows and the position of the Tower, we’re guessing it was taken from Grove Street, approaching the river. What do you see here?

Despite the full-size Jeep’s reputation for rusting at the mere sight of a salted road, it’s not at all difficult to find a clean Grand Wagoneer these days, but this 1989 Jeep Grand Wagoneer for sale on Hemmings.com not only looks exceptionally sanitary inside, outside, top, and bottom, it’s also original and unrestored. Not exactly a candidate for this year’s winter beater, then. From the seller’s description:

Baltic Blue with Sand Interior. It features only 63K original miles. The factory power moonroof/sunrrof is a very sought after option. It has spent it’s life in rust-free Wyoming where it was very weel cared for. Original plush carpet is still beautiful. New high-end, gorgeous Baltic Blue paint, hand waxed to a smooth, deep finish. The interior headliner is new along with leather and seat inserts as needed to show like new.

The Jeep rides on new white wall tires and exclusive recondiioned wheels with lifetime lug nugs and stainless screws on polished center caps.

This Grand Wagoneer has been featured in 2 national advertisements and various photo shoots.

All mechanical, electrical, and lighting has been completely serviced and is ready to enjoy.

Porsche 962-108C-2. Photos by David Newhardt, courtesy Mecum Auctions.

Delivered to Porsche privateer Jim Busby in time for the opening of the 1985 season, the Porsche 962 carrying chassis tag 962-108 wasn’t destined to lead a charmed life. Its first outing, Daytona, would end in a crash that irreparably damaged the car’s aluminum tub. Like a phoenix, however, 962-108 would rise from the ashes to become 962-108B, 962-108C, and ultimately 962-108C-2, taking second at Daytona in 1988 and winning the legendary endurance race in 1989. On January 23, 2016, the car billed as the “fastest 962 in period” crosses the auction block in Kissimmee, Florida, wearing its Daytona-winning Miller High Life livery.

Introduced in time for the 1985 IMSA GTP racing season, Porsche’s 962 was an evolution of its popular 956 endurance prototype racing car, built to comply with IMSA safety and technical regulations. To protect the driver’s feet in a crash, the 962 featured a longer wheelbase, allowing the placement of the pedal box behind the front wheels. A steel roll cage was added to further improve the structural integrity of the aluminum tub, but many felt this still wasn’t enough to make the 962 both safe and durable enough for racing on these shores.

As initially delivered, the 962 came powered by a 2.8-liter flat-six engine, enhanced with a single turbocharger to comply with IMSA regulations instead of the twin-turbo arrangement used by Porsche 956 models in FIA Group C competition. Despite the power deficit to its European cousin, the 962 proved competitive out of the box, with privateer-owned models sweeping the first four spots in the car’s 1985 Daytona 24 Hours debut.

The race ended on lap 108 for chassis 962-108, when driver Pete Halsmer swerved to avoid a slow car and crashed the Porsche. Halsmer was uninjured, but the same couldn’t be said for his 962 as the shunt had damaged his front suspension and the car’s aluminum tub. With the rest of the car intact, Jim Busby (with approval from Porsche) opted to source a new and improved tub from builder Jim Chapman, a former engineer for Lola on its Can-Am program.

Instead of the 962’s folded, bonded and riveted aluminum, the Chapman tub used honeycomb aluminum attached to a rear bulkhead made from milled billet aluminum stock. The new design was quickly adopted by Al Holbert for his Holbert Racing Porsche 962, but Jim Busby also received the Chapman tub as ordered. A second upgrade came in the form of a revised Porsche flat-six engine, courtesy of Ed Pink. With modifications to the internals and a tweak of the Bosch Motronic fuel injection’s ECU, the Busby 962’s realized an 80-horsepower gain, achieving a reported 830 horsepower.

Now known as chassis 962-108B, the Porsche proved competitive for most of the 1987 season, delivering a pair of podium finishes for the Busby team. At Sears Point in August, however, the car would once again be involved in a tub-destroying (and season-ending) accident, prompting a call to Chapman for a second replacement tub.

As the cliché goes, the third time was the charm for the 962 now carrying chassis tag 962-108C. The car reemerged at Daytona in 1988, where it delivered a pole position and a second place finish, losing to a Jaguar XJR-9. Now four years old, the 962s had lost their competitive edge to newer GTP models from Jaguar and Nissan, but Busby continued the development work on 962-108C. Ed Pink’s engines (now twin-turbo, though with restrictor plates) grew stronger and aerodynamic improvements (such as the use of 956 front end bodywork) added additional gains. Despite the strengthened competition, 962-108C delivered three podium finishes during the 1988 IMSA GTP season.

The car’s crowning achievement came at Daytona in 1989, when drivers John Andretti, Derek Bell and Bob Wollek delivered a win for the Busby Racing team with 962-108C. Further aerodynamic improvements were made and the car was raced as 962-108C-2 for the remainder of the 1989 season, delivering one more win at Palm Beach for Porsche and Busby Racing.

Despite the development work poured into the car, the 962 was no longer in the running against the Electramotive Engineering Nissans and the Castrol Jaguars, and 962-108C-2 managed to place no higher than sixth place for the remainder of the 1989 season. Though other teams (like Joest Racing) would race 962 variants as late as 1991, the storied Porsche endurance racing car’s time in the spotlight had come to an end.

Since retirement, 962-108C-2 has spent the bulk of its time in private collections, becoming part of the Historic Porsche Collection in the U.K. in 2005. Reunited with driver Derek Bell, the car (and driver) appeared at Goodwood in 2005, at Amelia Island in 2007, and at Brian Redman’s 2007 Rennsport 3 celebration. It remains in its popular 1989 Daytona-winning livery, and will be sold with a host of collectible items relating to the car.

As a Daytona winner driven by the likes of Derek Bell, John Andretti, Jim Busby, Mauro Baldi, Bob Wolleck, Jochen Mass, Brian Redman and Daron Brassfield, chassis 962-108C-2 has a well-established place in sports car racing history. Mecum predicts a selling price between $2.5 and $3.0 million when the Porsche crosses the block in Florida.

For more on the Kissimmee sale, visit Mecum.com.

As renowned a career that Sam Posey made for himself as a race car driver, he’s spent far more time as a motorsports observer – albeit a highly qualified one – either as a commenter or writer, and it’s for that latter role that the Motor Press Guild recently honored him with its annual Best Book of the Year award.

Posey, who raced from 1965 through 1982, began his professional writing career with an article for Road and Track in 1968 and has gone on not only to write for Sports Illustrated and pen his autobiography, but also to serve as a racing analyst and commentator for ABC Sports throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, covering everything from the Indianapolis 500 to the Olympics to the Iditarod.

Earlier this year, he assembled the best of his varied writings and television scripts for “Where the Writer Meets the Road: A Collection of Articles, Broadcast Intros, and Profiles.” As the publisher, David Bull, describes the book, “The result is a remarkably varied mix of short and long pieces on subjects ranging from racing in the rain at Le Mans to test-driving the propeller-driven Wind Wagon created by his uncle Teddy in the 1920s.”

The Motor Press Guild presented Posey with the award at its annual awards ceremony Tuesday at the Petersen Automotive Museum. The guild’s highest honor, the Dean Batchelor Award, went to Micah Muzio of KBB.com for his review of the Polaris Slingshot, which also took the MPG’s Best Video Vehicle Review of the Year. Other 2015 award winners include Larry P. Vellequette and Luca Ciferri for Best Feature Article of the Year, Hans Greimel for Best News Article of the Year, Basem Wasef for Best Vehicle Review of the Year, Charlie Vogelheim and Shawn Meyers for Best Audio Program of the Year, and Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman for Best Feature Video of the Year. Doug Stokes also took home the MPG’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

For the complete list of winners, visit MotorPressGuild.org.

CSX2287, the first vehicle placed in the National Historic Vehicle Register. Photos by Adam Pepper.

Editor’s note: This piece comes to us from Adam Pepper, a freelance contributor who attended last weekend’s debut Preservation Workshop at the Simeone Automotive Museum.

Saturday, December 12, marked the beginning of a new Preservation Workshop series at the Simeone Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, presented by museum founder Dr. Fred Simeone and featuring Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe CSX2287, the very first example built. The workshop was the perfect opportunity to view the original-condition coupe, get in-depth details, and meet Dr. Fred and Museum Staff in person.

This was my first look at a real Daytona, and the car did not disappoint. Low and sleek, it has a purposeful, almost brutal look. The unique shape of the car’s roof has signatures from Carroll Shelby, Pete Brock, Phil Hill, Bob Bondurant and Craig Breedlove. Cast Halibrand wheels are art in themselves; created for this car, riding on period-correct Goodyear “Blue Streak Stock Car Special” tires. The rear Plexiglas window is in good condition, sporting an ancient “Morse Signal Devices” decal, and revealing a spare Halibrand wheel, held in by three bungee cords. The whole package looks taut and ready for action.

CSX2287 was the first of six Daytona Cobra Coupes, the only one built here in the States. Pete Brock, at 24 years old, a Designer and Instructor at Shelby’s “School of High Performance Driving” penned the Coupe’s body shape to increase top speed. His new design was unconventional; some of his fellow Shelby American employees doubted it would work. Initial testing at Riverside got them quickly on board, and the new Coupe was 20+ mph faster than the roadster’s 150 MPH top speed.

Pete Brock’s email to me on Dec. 17 2015 tells the story of how the Coupe almost didn’t get built and the hurdles encountered even after approval:

“The rear wing was designed as a driver adjustable device that could be trimmed by the driver to suit circuit conditions or even weather (rain).

The “ring airfoil”, as I called it at the time, was considered a fanciful and impractical idea by Phil Remington who tried to convince Carroll that the whole car was a bad idea and we were wasting our time. Phil was probably the best race car builder in the world, so his advice was universally respected. Shelby had been enthusiastic when I first explained the concept, (“borrowed” from a German aero-concept done in the 1930s) but after listening to Phil he was uncertain (Shelby was technically unsophisticated). Ken Miles convinced Shelby to continue, so this created some enmity between Ken and Phil! As I explained to all on the crew who would listen….”we’ll be running at speeds that would be similar to aircraft. Designing a new airplane and then suggesting that the tail assembly be removed would be insanity”. Phil thought the whole concept went against everything he knew or was “accepted” among knowledgeable racing designs, so “there was no point in building the car”. Most of the team followed Rem, so Ken Miles, John Ohlsen and I did most of the initial work building the buck….at that point a couple of other guys on the crew “came over” on their own time and it got built. Ken proved the concept first time out at Riverside. New lap record!”

-Peter Brock-

At Spa, Phil Hill discovered instability at 180+mph; Phil Remington made a rudimentary rear spoiler and solved the high-speed rear lift problem. Hill set the track record and got pole position.

For me, the Coupe’s story is fascinating; the physical result of a long shot. A Texas chicken farmer and world-class sports car racer named Carroll Shelby refuses to accept Ferrari dominance in racing. He rounds up a posse of Southern California hot-rodders, fabricators, engine builders, would-be racers, top-flight drivers and a young designer; sweet-talks Ford into ponying up parts, engines and money, builds a new weapon, goes gunning to beat giant Ferrari on their home turf and wins. Repeatedly.

Imagine going to work with Carroll Shelby, Pete Brock, Phil Remington (Rem), Roy and son Doyle Gammel, Fred Larson and Ken Miles, with star drivers Dave MacDonald, Dan Gurney and Phil Hill dropping in on a regular basis!

Dr. Fred’ s lecture on the Daytona project was insightful, spirited and often humorous, with many slides of the extensive mechanical and cosmetic rotisserie restoration. Simeone walked us through the entire restoration from his purchase in 2001 by “Fred’s Motorsports LLC” to conservation completion.

Dr. Fred Simeone with CSX2287.

Dr. Fred kept the story of the complicated purchase short, as it did not bear on the original design and racing history. Sold by Shelby American to Jim Russell of RussKit slot-car fame in the late 1960’s, Russell sold it to Phil Spector about 1970. After a short stint on the street garnered too many speeding tickets, Spector “sold” it. Car was stored improperly for three decades, luckily in a dry area of California. Carroll Shelby tried unsuccessfully to buy the car in the 1990’s and was known to have said: “That b***h wouldn’t let me in; I had to talk to her through the screen door”.

With over 200 Daytona fans on hand, you could hear a pin drop during Simeone’s 1-hour talk.

He spoke on preserving original history through conservation vs. restoration, where history is often erased and lost. His first example was about the gun used to assassinate President Lincoln. A viewer, when handed both the real gun and an exact copy would have an emotional reaction to the real gun in their hand. The copy, however exact and true, would not create the same response.

The decision to preserve the Daytona Coupe’s originality was made after careful consideration. Experts were consulted and a leading restoration shop undertook the delicate task of preserving as much originality as possible, while restoring full function. Originally built in about 60 days, the rotisserie restoration took 1.5 years at a shop well-versed in care and restoration of 1960’s racing Fords.

On disassembly, chassis number CSX 2287 was verified on the front frame member. The frame was media-blasted to remove rust in paint-less areas, and remarkably, considering poor storage, the car was intact. Most of the car was salvageable, and the major damage was from galvanic corrosion between aluminum and steel components. The frame had only one crack, as did one rear suspension arm. These were repaired.

Inspection of the engine showed it to be in good overall condition, so the HiPo 289 was removed, disassembled, cleaned, reassembled and dyno-tested. Date codes on engine block and heads, oil cooler, radiator, differential and alternator were all correct, and many original factory paint markings on the Ford HiPo parts were preserved.

All original paint was carefully cleaned, and paint was added to bare areas on frame and body only. The gravel pan suffered frame galvanic corrosion, saved thru careful cleaning, and epoxy primer was added between mating surfaces.

To illustrate his views, Dr. Fred told us that he and Pete Brock (a friend of Simeone and the museum) have a friendly, but passionate disagreement on the current condition of the coupe. Brock would repaint it Viking Blue and restore every part to look like the day it left his hands at Shelby American.

Simeone feels original condition can only be preserved by careful conservation, leaving originality intact, and summed up his view neatly: “The beauty of the vase is not in the clay, but in the potter’s hands”.

At lecture end, Dr. Fred took questions, one fan asked: “are you going to turn it on?”

What was an American Lotus enthusiast to do? The Esprit had finally been given the performance its supercar looks promised, thanks to the introduction of a turbocharger to the 2,147cc inline-four in 1980. And yet, ongoing financial problems led the company to stop sending cars to the U.S. right around the same time.

Wesley C. Fredericks Jr. to the rescue. Frederics, a successful New York attorney, paved the way for Lotus’s return by creating an independent importation and distribution company, Lotus Performance Cars. To obtain the necessary financing, he recruited 47 wealthy Lotus enthusiasts, each of whom invested $50,000 up front and provided a promissory note for another $50,000. In return, each of these limited partners was given a Special Edition Turbo Esprit.

There were 50 of these Special Edition cars built – 47 for the investors, and three for sale to the general public. This 1983 Lotus Turbo Esprit Special Edition for sale on Hemmings.com is one of those cars – number 33, to be exact.

The Special Editions, which celebrated Lotus’s 25 years in the United States, were given a default paint scheme of silver over Chrysler Steel Gray paint with a red stripe, although the investors could specify their own colors, if they wished. (Most did.) Each also had a removable glass sunroof (years before the option was made available to the public), a fancy Blaupunkt stereo, leather upholstery, air conditioning, an uprated suspension and a blueprinted engine that had been run in on a dyno.

The seller explains that this car needs some work, and an Esprit authority we contacted said that all of the reported problems are common, and not difficult to fix. With such rarity (and a plaque engraved with the original owner’s name on the steering wheel), we’d imagine this car’s backstory wouldn’t be too hard to track down. From the seller’s description:

I am selling my rare and beautiful 1983 Lotus Turbo Esprit Special Edition (#33 of 50). For those of you who are not familiar with this limited release, please search what is referred to as the 1983 Lotus Investor car. These are very unique cars. I have seen them advertised for between $30,000 and $35,000. I have had the car for about 20 years. It was garaged the entire time until about 2 years ago when it was placed in my mother’s carport. I only drove it to car shows and it always started right up and ran very strong. Do not mess with the engine – it was balanced at the factory. Unfortunately I let the car sit without running it for the last 6 years. I recently drained the fuel tanks, replaced the filter and fuel pump, and cleaned out the top end of the carbs. It fires really well, runs for 3 seconds then stops. My guess is the bottom end of the carbs are gunked up. Regardless, I know that it is nothing major but I don’t have a garage anymore to work on it. Your gain. Other fixes needed – replace the accelerator cable (it’s frayed), clutch and brake cylinders are probably dried out from sitting, needs a couple of relays that work the lights. The interior is very decent but has a cracked seat and some cracked leather on the dash around the defrost vent. It will take very little to make this a beautiful driver.