Ferrari 330 GTC
SPECIFICATION
1966 Ferrari 330 GTC
An exquisite, Concours winning restoration of the most tasteful and elegant of Ferraris
The Ferrari 330 GTC was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966. It was essentially a coupe version of the 275 GTS. Pininfarina’s elegant coachwork combined elements of the latter at the rear, with the 500 Superfast influencing at the front.
It would be hard to argue with Car & Driver’s assessment that “the GTC is a tasteful blend of the mean-and-low look of Ferrari competition GT cars, with the elegance of super-luxury street Ferraris of the past. Detail work, finish, panel fit – every aspect is superlative.”
Ferrari 330 GTC chassis no. 09069 was built during the launch year and delivered new to Baron Emmanuel “Toulo” de Graffenried’s official dealership Garage Italauto SA in Lausanne, Switzerland and sold to the first owner Mr. Alfred Pinkas, resident in Lausanne, in October 1966.
The car was subsequently exported to South America (Caracas, Venezuela) where it resided with Jose di Mase a senior executive at Banco Construccion. When the early nineties banking crisis hit the country di Mase fled from Venezuela leaving the car in the custody of Alvin Rafael Acevedo. Despite numerous attempts to reclaim the car by di Mase, Acevedo, unsurprisingly enamored by the 330 GTC resisted, and it took the intervention of lawyer Ricardo Koesling to take back the car. At this point the car had been transformed to clear blue and was in only very average condition.
Eventually exported via Cars USA of Long Beach California in November 2015 to Denisse Rodriguez in New York, chassis 09069 found its way to the UK where it was acquired by Bell Sport & Classic for restoration. The car was found spec’d in Azzurro Metallizato with black interior.
The car has undergone a complete concours level restoration and is returned to the original factory specification by the Bell Sport and Classic team. It has been stripped, scanned and comprehensively assessed and in keeping with our restoration ethos, retaining as many of the original parts as possible.
The body shell was Walnut Blasted (a softer alternative to shot blasting that retains more of the vital originality) and all of the body panels dipped (to maintain the form of the skins).
The team then carried out rectification to all areas of the shell to repair minor areas of corrosion and eliminated all dents and minor imperfections to ensure minimal filler is required prior to painting.
The car underwent a full dry build to ensure perfect panel and component fit. We oversize gaps to allow for the change in fit resulting from the final paint layers – modern paint formulas require more layers that can, unless accounted for, result in a poor final fit.
After a painstaking preparation, the car went through final paint and has returned to its simply gorgeous factory original colour of Verde Chiaro Metallizato.
During final assembly we refitted the components that were meticulously restored while the metal and paint stages were in progress after undergoing a detailed inspection for panel fit covering all gaps and shuts.
The first elements to go back onto the shell are the brightwork and badges (anything fitted to the body) which were carefully manipulated to fit the now painted metal. We also check all fittings with latches to ensure close lines remain perfect
Building from the inside out to ensure required access (effectively the reverse of how the car came apart at the start) the fuel pipes, wiring loom and all control cables were fitted working through the car front to back.
The original fuel tanks were been restored, re-painting in the factory original pale green (a colour we matched from a painted area found beneath the black paint covering on the car pre-restoration) and re-fitted.
As an example of our fastidious approach to authenticity, the team created an original spec. fiberglass radiator shroud (usually heavily damaged or missing on these cars) from our own mold to complete the front underside of the vehicle.
The suspension, transaxle, torque-tube were built up next to deliver a rolling car ready for the engine installation. All components have been overhauled and re-finished to the original Ferrari factory specification. Our experience and focus on exact period correctness means that we match the correct colour coding (suspension components for example) and plating finishes (Zinc or Nickel) to every item we restore.
With the 3967cc ‘Tipo 209/66’ Ferrari V12 carefully re-built and back in place, the car underwent thorough road testing after which it progressed to Ferrari Classiche certification.
UPDATE – The car was entered into the 2022 Salon PrivéConcoursd’Elégance and came away with top honors in the 75 years of Ferrari celebration class beating a very competitive field with some notable world class entrants – this win underlines Bell Sport & Classic’s credentials as a top flight restoration specialist for Ferrari.