Ordinarily when you roll your Ferrari 500 TR you might start to think of contingency plans—particularly in 1958 when they weren’t the precious objects they are today. Re-bodied special? Sell her for parts?
That this shop looked at the damaged hulk and said, “yeah, we can fix that” is admirable. That they pulled it off so successfully is remarkable. That this level of skill and craftsmanship likely wasn’t even that unusual and that coachbuilders of this caliber were probably working in every major metropolitan area is spectacular.
That these skills are largely forgotten is tragic.
More photos and the accompanying article from a 1958 issue of Tekniikan Maailma on Forum-Auto.
0 replies on “This Level of Craftsmanship Will Never Not Impress Me.”
Not many left who can still do this kind of work. Not many who are willing or able to afford this kind of work for that matter.
Really admire the craftsmanship. The tools of the period are still used in those few locations who would do this today. I am so envious of this skill set that I have offered to learn and been rejected. Those that can, have their own agendas. Long live the tradesman.
I had a friend who did a seminar here where he was taught to use the English wheel:
https://www.mcpherson.edu/autorestoration/
Well, reading the original Finnish magazine it says the work had to be done in a week – that was the reason for many shops to reject the job.
Finally one took the job and finished it with 8 hours to spare. The job took 85 hours to finish.
The job also included totally redoing the front suspension, by the way.
There’s also a cartoon about the reason of the accident: the guys were driving back to Turku from training for the Eläintarha race at Helsinki when an oncoming truck hit a pothole in the road, the rear door of the bed opened, the mash the truck was carrying was let out, blinded the Ferrari driver and made the road slippery.
Fantastic! Thanks for that, Topi. I didn’t think I could be more impressed with the project. but that is simply amazing.