Almost 60 years after just failing to make its debut at Indy 500, a rare Ferrari called the Monoposto Corsa Indianapolis has been lovingly restored by the Ferrari Classiche division. We Went behind the scenes to learn more about the model and its chequered history
It’s difficult to think of a car manufacturer, other than Ferrari, that has created so many different yet valuable models over the course of its history. The legacy of the resulting Ferraris that have dispersed throughout the world is huge, for cultural as well as historic reasons. Which is why Maranello established a department dedicated to the certification and conservation of models over 20 years old.
‘Established in July 2006, the Classiche division has a fundamental role in the collectors’ world, having access to the original documentation of almost all the cars built and [their] design drawings,’ explains Antonello Coletta, the head of this section.‘This means that, in terms of the notable and praiseworthy work carried out up to now by so many enthusiasts – in Italy and the rest of the world – we [now] have the support of a truly invaluable archive.’ In saying this Coletta emphasises that there is no rivalry between Ferrari and any external specialists. On the contrary, a car entrusted to the care of Ferrari’s Classiche division will receive the necessary documentation and expertise that comes when a manufacturer certifies a car – with the obvious benefit regarding its value over time. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to uncover the complete history of a model. In the past few months a very rare car has been completely restored by Classiche.
This model is known as the Monoposto Corsa Indianapolis. It is one of the singleseaters that Ferrari projected for the Indianapolis 500, which was one of the few races that qualified for the Drivers’ World Championship during the early 1950s.
Due to the different regulations and the costs of transport, fewer teams entered the Indy 500 than other races. Enzo Ferrari, however, was aware of the huge potential of the American market and, encouraged by his top-selling agent Luigi Chinetti (see The Official Ferrari Magazine issue five), he decided to enter. A redeeming factor was a change in the regulations of the F1 World Championship that made the powerful 375 F1 no longer eligible. Plus it was decided that only the smaller F2 cars should run following the sudden withdrawal of certain constructors that would have resulted in too few cars on the starting grid. So three cars from Ferrari’s racing division were modified – in order to bring their engine capacity within the American limit – and sold to various teams. To complicate matters for the historians, Ferrari re-numbered each chassis and did it in an anomalous manner. In fact the racing cars had ‘even’ chassis numbers while the three cars were given the following numbers: number 2 for the car bought by Grant & Grant of Los Angeles for the driver Johnnie Parsons; number 3 for the car of Johnny Mauro of Denver; and number 4 for the car of Howard Keck of Los Angeles, which was meant for Bobby Ball. There were also two other Ferraris at Indianapolis. They were similar models, with a longer wheelbase and other modifications, and it would appear they were constructed using the technical expertise and spare parts from the 375. The two cars were sent to the race at the Valentino Park Circuit, Turin, on 6 April 1952 for a test run where one of the cars, driven by Nino Farina, had such a severe accident it could not be rebuilt for the expedition to America. Therefore only one car was sent for Alberto Ascari to use, and while he was able to qualify (in 19th) his car was damaged when a hub collapsed. The research into the origin of the Monoposto Corsa Indianapolis started when a single-seater, acquired by an Austrian collector for a complete restoration, arrived at the Classiche workshops at Maranello a few months ago. The number stamped on the chassis, which seems completely original, is 0388. According to the Ferrari documents it was sold on 21 January 1954 to Luigi Chinetti, who would later become successful with his NART team (North American Racing Team), which entered ‘semi-official’ Ferraris in endurance races across the globe.
In the days following its sale to Chinetti, the car was sent to the United States. Four years later it returned to Maranello (in 1958) to be modified for the Monza 500 Miles, painted blue and white – the NART colours – and was driven by the American Harry Schell with whom Chinetti collaborated for years. For this race the 12-cylinder car was modified as follows: the 375 engine became a 340 and the crankshaft, con-rods and pistons were replaced. The gearbox ratios were also changed for the meeting at the Brianza track. The official documentation stored at the archive at Maranello lists all the work undertaken and is dated 3 July 1958. In 1960 came the final change: Fantuzzi modified the coachwork to be more similar to an F1 of the period (eg: 1960 Dino F1) and Cliff Allison tested it at Modena. After this period, the car disappeared from Ferrari’s records but was not forgotten. After lengthy research it was rediscovered in America by a passionate collector. The Monoposto Corsa Indianapolis was complete but not in perfect condition yet thankfully it has now been brought back to life. Coletta is satisfied with the results that have been achieved. ‘We have put more than a year’s work [into the car],’ he says. ‘It has been a very costly restoration from the moment [it arrived with us] because in order to rebuild the parts it was necessary to get the original moulds back in operation and to use the materials of the time. This is the strength of Ferrari Classiche.’ While the car’s racing history is interesting, it’s equally important to learn more about the origins of the Monoposto Corsa Indianapolis.
Analysing the racing records of Ferrari, and tracing the chassis used, there seem to have been at least three other short wheelbase cars as well as the three sent to the USA. These three cars were sold to private buyers, and all three are still in existence. The first is the one bought by Tony Vandervell, a manufacturer of brass bearings and a supplier to Ferrari, which raced in British colours and is today at the Donington museum. The other, which is now part of the collection of F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, had been sold to the Brazilian racing driver Chico Landi. The third, which today is owned by a Swiss collector, had been sold to the French driver Louis Rosier. All three cars raced in Europe after the Indianapolis 500 of 1952, so they could not be the American ones that are also still in existence. So what happened to the long wheelbase cars of Ascari and Farina? After the Turin accident all trace of the Farina car was lost. The Ascari car, however, returned to Maranello where the disappointment of having failed at Indy was not easy to escape. So much so that Ferrari began work on a new car, with the Monza 500 Miles of 1953 firmly in their sights. The historical research into such a particular project started with the identification of an assembly document entitled 250/I (Indianapolis). The chassis was to be ‘sketched out’ (meaning that there was no formal drawing) by Gilco, the chassis supplier at the time. It is obviously important to point out that an assembly data sheet exists, dated March 1953, with components designed specifically and identified as ‘250’: such as the clutch, suspension, hubs, brake system, fuel tank, oil tank and radiator. Peculiarly, the car has double Houdaille shock absorbers installed in place of the standard single ones.
Highly significant in this context is the design in February 1953 of the type ‘250 I’ power unit with equal bore and stroke (68mm) for a total capacity of 2963.45cm³. The engine was fitted initially with just one single stage supercharger, then with two, plus two Weber carburettors.
This design was not developed in the programmed time-scale, with the consequent withdrawal from Indianapolis, and was in fact tested on the bench at the end of September 1953. By way of a comparison a few days before – with respect to the other test – a 375 power unit was tested.
The car sold in January 1954 to Chinetti – with an aspirated V12 engine – is the car in question. It is possible that this car is an evolution of the Ascari car, which could have been used as a starting base, but there’s no definitive evidence to confirm this as true. Even if it were, the current restoration only reproduces the final state of the car; that of the work carried out at Maranello in 1960 at the Fantuzzi coachworks. As well as this fascinating historic case, there are plenty of other important developments at the Ferrari Classiche division. ‘In 2009 we created the Attestation for vehicles of historic interest, to run side-by-side with the Certification of authenticity,’ reveals Coletta. ‘We [did this because we] thought about the cars of today. If a GT that is dominating the various championships was brought to us in 20 years time, it would not be certified because probably nothing is exactly as it came out of the factory as it would have been modified for development or due to the regulations of the time. This is why we wanted to create a new document that sanctions the original with all the changes adopted. I know that it is a decision that is appreciated by the collectors and it is our objective to work with them.’ The Classiche division is located where the old Maranello foundry once was and extends over an area of 950m². The personnel are highly specialised, even if you can also see young faces in the department. ‘We have also brought some older staff back,’ says Coletta, ‘as they are experts who can transmit their knowledge to the younger members so that our history is not lost.’
The group is made up of 11 people in the workshop and six in the office who are also involved in the certification of cars. The head of the workshop is Andrea Rastrelli. ‘The Monoposto Corsa Indianapolis arrived here and it was not running,’ he says. ‘It had been laid up for 20 years, so we did not risk trying to start it at all. We [also] noticed that [it had] some non-original parts.’ Identifying these and beginning the restoration process was a daunting task. ‘We dismantled [the car] completely,’ says Rastrelli. ‘While using the archive we attempted to piece together the car’s history before starting a complete restoration. It was decided – along with the client – to update [the car] to the 1960s, when it did a few laps of the track at Modena with Cliff Allison.’ The individual entry that accompanied the creation of every new car at Maranello was found in the archive. ‘Ferrari gave the factory a capillary and rational organisation up to the creation of the 125,’ says Rastrelli. ‘In the assembly data sheet you can find all the elements that make up a car and they are divided into groups. Every component has an identification and design number. We recovered all the mechanical components to rebuild the complete car, including nuts, bolts and washers.’ Looking at these notebooks makes the heart miss a beat, because the soul of the red cars positively rises out of the pages. These precious pages – yellowed over time – are almost worth as much as the actual cars, which is why the paper documents are preserved and only the microfilms on which they are reproduced are used. Added to the assembly data sheet of the Monoposto Corsa Indianapolis – dated 1953 – are all the modifications that gave rise to the current schedule of work. Only with the documentation complete does the restoration phase begin.
‘Once the car was stripped, we conducted an in-depth dimensional and structural study of the parts,’ says Rastrelli. ‘This revealed what was non-original and what had been rebuilt. At the same time the treatments to be applied to the original components were defined.’
What did that process involve?
‘We started with the metallographic and dimensional analysis of the chassis to check that the tubes were those constructed with the methodology of the period. We also used radiography to make sure that there were no cracks. The chassis has two elliptical sideframes in the lower part with upper circular tubes for strengthening. We only replaced one front spar used to house the engine as it had deteriorated too much, but the rest are original. The bodywork was in good condition and was stripped. After the treatments it was painted with nitrocellulose, while the internal parts of the panels were washed with acid to give them the colour of the period. We only replaced one lower panel. The interior of the fuel tank was in poor condition, [so] we re-did the welding, cleaned it and treated it with tankerite – the permanent anti-corrosion cycle.’
Only a few delicate modifications were carried out.
‘We inverted the pedals at the request of the client, putting the accelerator on the right and the brake on the left, [although] they had originally been the other way around,’ says Rastrelli. ‘Some of the studs on the steering wheel were also re-done, due to the action of the fingers, and on the dashboard all the instruments were overhauled.’
Restoring the mechanical parts required expertise only Ferrari could deliver.
‘The Lampredi engine has threaded liners,’ says Rastrelli. ‘We had to rebuild the liner with its angle, for the fit of the head, and screw it in with a hot engine with a load of 120 kilos. This is the preliminary basis of the assembly. At the time it required a magnaflux, a liquid bath that is operated in the dark, as it shows cracks using an ultra-violet light. The crankshaft and con-rods are original; we rebuilt pistons, liners and the internal workings of the heads and cylinder block. The covers of the heads are in magnesium, treated on the inside and painted on the outside, as they were at the time. None of us had ever seen the aircraft-type mono-magneto before. Starting from the design drawings, we reconstructed the points – replacing the platinum plated part. [It was] an exemplary operation.’
It is interesting to note that there is no proper electrical system on the Monoposto Corsa Indianapolis. ‘There is just the push-button to the right of the seat that serves to turn off the engine, or to bring the first 12 plugs or all 24 plugs into action given that the engine has dual ignition,’ says Rastrelli. ‘This option was used in the startup phase. When warming up the V12 engine, 12 of the softest plugs were fitted and only when the right temperature was reached were the racing ones fitted.’
The exquisite wire wheels were the result of a collaboration with Borrani. ‘The originals were overhauled, but four spares were rebuilt using the original drawings. We were only missing the one for the hub, and they found it. So we were able to complete our archive.’ Rastrelli had the honour of conducting the evaluation tests on the Monoposto Corsa Indianapolis at Fiorano. ‘It was an unrepeatable experience,’ he says, ‘and now I am waiting for this car to return to the track as it is ready to make a grand entry and be a source of great envy in the paddock…’.
Published on The Official Ferrari Magazine issue 8, March 2010
PUBLISHED IN CARS, HOME BY FRANCO NUGNES ON 06.10.2011
Credit: Ferrari S.p.A. (www.ferrari.com)
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