The Art of Driving a Vintage Car: A Thrilling Experience

As I sat behind the wheel of the 1951 car, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia wash over me. The engine purred smoothly, like a contented cat, and the transmission shifted gears with a gentle ease that belied its age. It was clear that this car had been well-cared for over the years, with every detail meticulously maintained to ensure it ran like new.

One of the first things I noticed about the car's design was how smooth and balanced it felt on the road. The steering was light and responsive, making it easy to navigate through tight corners or parking spaces. I put the car in motion, and it glided along with a silky smoothness that was almost hypnotic. The sound of the engine was like music to my ears, a rich and throaty growl that seemed to vibrate deep within my chest.

As I drove, I couldn't help but think about how much technology had advanced since this car's time. Hydraulic steering and power brakes were still in their infancy when this car was built, and it showed. The steering required a bit more effort than modern cars, and the brakes took a little longer to respond. But despite these limitations, the car still handled with a precision and finesse that belied its age.

I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to drive this car when it was new. I imagined a world where cars were built for pleasure and enjoyment, rather than just speed and efficiency. The Hudson, in particular, seemed to embody this spirit of fun and adventure. Its sleek lines and powerful engine made it the perfect companion for long road trips or weekend getaways.

As I continued to drive, I began to appreciate the nuances of the car's design. The gearshift lever, for example, was a sturdier affair than modern cars, with a solid weight that seemed to demand attention. It was as if the designers had wanted to make sure that this car was driven, not just started and stopped. And when I opened the hood or trunk, everything swung smoothly into place, like a well-oiled machine.

I pulled over to take in the details of the car's interior, marveling at the craftsmanship that had gone into its design. The seats were plush and comfortable, with intricate stitching and supple leather that seemed to envelop me in warmth. The dashboard was a masterpiece of simplicity and elegance, with only the most essential controls and gauges visible from the driver's seat.

As I continued on my journey, I couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude for this car and its history. It had been passed down through generations, preserved by a devoted custodian who had ensured it remained in working order for years to come. And now, here it was, ready to be enjoyed by someone new.

A surprising feature of the car revealed itself as I drove – a fifth gear! Gone were the days when cars were limited to just four or five gears; this one seemed to defy convention with its expansive range of options. It was a clever trick that added a whole new dimension to the driving experience, allowing me to push the car to its limits without ever feeling like I was running out of steam.

The ride itself was surprisingly smooth, especially considering the car's age. The tires had clearly been well-maintained over the years, and they seemed to have a magical quality that made every bump and pothole disappear into thin air. It was as if the car was floating on a cloud, its suspension system working in perfect harmony with the road beneath us.

As I drove on, I couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for this vintage car and its creators. They had built something truly special – an automobile that combined style, performance, and practicality in equal measure. It was clear that they had done their job with passion and dedication, crafting a machine that would bring joy to those who drove it.

And yet, despite its many charms, the car still retained a hint of roughness around the edges. The brakes took a little longer to respond than I was used to, and the steering required a bit more finesse than modern cars. But these were minor quibbles in an otherwise exceptional driving experience – one that left me feeling exhilarated and refreshed.

As I came to the end of my journey, I couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude for this car and its incredible history. It had been passed down through generations, preserved by a devoted custodian who had ensured it remained in working order for years to come. And now, here it was, ready to be enjoyed by someone new.

The final moment was the best – driving off into the sunset with the windshield wipers whipping away raindrops and sunshine gleaming on the road ahead. It's a memory that will stay with me forever and ever.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthere first second third fourth wow it's a five speed why that guy tell me it was a fourspeed it's a five speeed that's why you look like a couple of roofs driving this thing there we go okay makes all the difference in the world yeah welcome to the episode of J lon's garage once again being visited by Automotive royalty we have a great car with a great story this is a 1951 Ferrari 212 inter by Gia this car has distinction of being the longest owned Ferrari by a gentleman okay man named ralo huno DEA Vega he bought the car in the 50s uh sadly he passed away this past October at age 98 but uh he loved this thing he went to the Factory The Mechanics there taught him how to work on it he did all his own work it's really a great great story uh his son is here today thus Foster thus come on in so obviously you've known this car since you were a child yes sir it was uh parked in the garage from when I was 10 years old on um and it was just always there and for the longest time it was just my father's car right it was just an old car just my father's old Ferrari it was nothing didn't seem like anything special well I mean you know a lot of times you meet somebody that's had a car a long time and it's maybe a Chevy Bair and it's nice enough but it's not that rare to have a rare unique expensive car and then to be with the same person for all those years and he did all his own work on the car didn't he he did he actually learned how to work on the car from the original Ferrari mechanics that built the car uh in Marinello met Mr Ferrari there when he purchased the car in the late 50s mid-50s and um and learned how to work on it he was the only one that ever really worked on the car the engine's never been opened uh it's all original except for the paint and the carpet so and that was done what in the 70s uh it was done in the early' 70s okay but it still looks great and this car was also used by Ferrari as a show car isn't that correct yes sir and 51 52 at the turn motor cars they did that and then in their next year advertisement for the for the 22s uh this was actually the only Gia body car that was pictured in that whole advertisement by Ferrari well the exciting part is really Ferrari was only about five or 6 years old it was a brand new company Ferrari himself was a young man probably about the same I I guess he was a little younger than Ferrari Ferrari died in the late 80s yeah late 80s so okay he he he probably would have been in his 40s or 50s when your dad bought the car from him sir but just the idea of going to this I mean just a little company named Ferrari they built a few cars and they were hustling to sell cars in those days you know and the fact that your dad was there on from the ground floor it's pretty pretty exciting story that that that's pretty cool so tell us about the car it's got the Columbo V12 engine can we open the hood um yes sir okay and that's what they look like after what do you got here 72 years of use yeah it's exactly like what it looked like rolling out of the factory the I wonder why it's blue underneath is that the way the chassis was blue that's uh the way the engine compartment chassis at the very least was blue right out of the factory none of this has ever been changed the engine's never been opened other than minor mechanical work here and there that's all that's ever happened but everything else you see there is original to the car you know what's so funny when I was a kid these seemed like such big engines cuz they were a V12 when you're a kid you think they were like 400 cubic in 500 you realize it's 2.6 I mean the Pistons are like this big it's pretty small but it's that classic Ferrari the twin Distributors uh and just a beautiful engine look at that very nice yeah he was constantly tinkering with it I think his therapy after a long day at the office was to come home put on his coveralls and work on the cars and my mom would have to call them in to shower and come to dinner he just loved working on them you know when Ferrari was a kid he saw a Packard V12 Packard had the first V12 or twin six they call it two six is put together and that's what inspired him to build this cuz he drove that he was so amazed at how smooth it was and how powerful it was that he he kind of come up with the idea of let's build our own V12 you know sort of just getting that American influence but it's just fun to think that Ferrari was just kind of a mechanic in his own Factory at the time that started in the late 40s so this is a 51 you know so he probably hadn't produced more than a couple of dozen cars by the time this one came out right you know and he was small and not very well known at that point was I think they had built the first one in 47 and uh but I mean obviously a mechanical genius and a Visionary and just an amazing guy hard to get along with according to my father yeah when he met him at the factory he was just kind of a Curt and brief and a little well you know Ferrari probably inspired more people a Lamborghini got no yeah go yell at each other my guy named Von Monie he built the car in Switzerland because he brought his fry hey the clutch oh you going get to yell at him so all these companies started because ferar yelled at him you know and it's just kind of funny but to think that this is the original radiator the I mean it it's just amazing that your dad kept it up even the old style battery obviously you're not going to get an original battery but just to see this blue paint which looks like it's put on I wouldn't say haphazardly just kind of maybe even brush stroked on there for all I know I I I'm not speaking any Authority on that but it's just just amazing look how look how small the headers are really yeah it was uh I mean you know Mr Ferrari was all about the engine and the drivetrain and uh not so much about the bodies and all the and you can see it you can see it in the the fit and finish a little bit but this is the real thing this is like going back in time to 1951 and it rolled off the factory floor which I think is incredible well the amazing thing the horsepower of this was 220 when you consider the Chrysler Hemi came out in 550 152 that was maybe 160 so this is really F that one there is a 52 Tabo Lago that's a lot like this one that's a nice original car and that's 220 also but that's a six but a 4.5 L 6 it's almost twice the size it is but a six-cylinder so it's a little torquier but they're both extremely fast cars for the period And this is a four-speed obviously correct yeah you know Ferrari was pretty conservative incredible engines but pretty traditional drum brakes you know standard no crazy new ideas on suspension or anything just fast reliable cars with beautiful beautiful engines you know and and this was this was so advanced in the day compared to Americans were still driving flatheads and all this kind of stuff you know so this thing is really just amazing and just to see what they you is this wood are these wood or some kind of plastic I'm I think they're some kind of plastic yeah some kind of plastic original distribut generator just fascinating you know it it's such for somebody who has one of these that's maybe been neglected to come and look at it and see exactly how it was done it it really is terrific that your dad didn't modify or even restore it you know get the valve covers all painted and all that kind of stuff cuz this is what they were just cars this is what they look like yeah and he he loved it for the car it was and he hated to see over restored cars he always wanted them to look just like they should have looked like coming out of the factory very nice so let's close this up again oh look at that nice stud it still fits let's move to the interior these are the original seats and everything huh the original leather yes sir original seats original leather and these door handles are quite popular on cars uh the talbo logo has it my Cunningham my 1950 Cunningham has it as well you press the button and then you put your hand in here and you open the door that way all the original leather all the original dials all the knobs just beautiful and of course this is a right-hand drive so obviously this car was probably meant to be sold maybe in England or Spain certainly in Europe I mean it was it was purchased in Italy initially course in 51 you still had a lot of places that you know Bugatti was still rightand so they really didn't go to that until almost the mid-60 I think Switzerland was the last one to switch off I remember as a kid seeing a thing a Life Magazine at 11:00 Swiss time time it switched and all the cars the cops got in the street and everybody went the other on the other side be something to experience yeah yeah and to see that so it's in kilometers 240 kilometers per hour he probably got it up to that on a on a few occasions I know one time the president of Mexico um flew the car down to Mexico City and they shut down the highway at other Ferrari enthusiasts there from Mexico as well and they race their cars around the highway in Mexico City yeah it was a great story so I know he raced it on occas and I love the fact that it's a 2 plus 2 it's got a rear seat I mean I don't know who you put back there car well this was a road car although Ferrari was enamor of racing he knew to finance racing you had to build Road car so you'd see a Ferrari win a race and then you go down the dealership and oh you you could buy the exact car with the same engine that was in the race so boy it shuts nicely also you amazing engineering when you think of 1951 and how it works and runs and and fits today it's just to me it's incredible it looks the wheels have been done but that's that's smart you want to do the wheels you know I've got an old Jag over there that sat for years and you see rust up in the corners of the spokes you don't want to weaken the spokes that's right that's right so that that's smart to but just just rechrome not not different Wheels do what you have to do to to make it Road worthy and keep and these little pseudo fins I think were kind of fascinating too when fins were becoming very popular can we open the trunk let's see is there a button here or opens on the inside I imagine right not sure let's see I think it's a lever maybe right by your right behind the seat there on the wall oh here it is is that it here we are boy everything works so nicely your dad certainly did a great job oh and the gas filler is in the trunk yes yeah industrial size gas and look at that that looks like a sewer pipe yeah it's huge a big huge yeah I guess you wouldn't want to spill it in the trunk maybe I'm not sure of the design but it keeps people from stealing your gasoline which is probably quite common in those days I love how small tail lights were they were just like we weren't thinking about safety just Style no no third bik light up here they expect you to know how to drive I guess boom yeah solid as a rock solid as a rock it almost looks like a removable hard top but obviously it's not no sir well very can we take it for a ride is that possible absolutely yes sir how cool drive it how cool is that this is when cars had nice big comfortable seats wow let it warm up for a second very smooth very nice Bo you feel the power for those small cylinders it really does generate some yeah some horsepower and some Tor oh it's got some power doesn't it it does wow yeah especially for the original engine ever open firm ride but it's a real piece of History cuz you it's a time what kind of Ferrari what what's a Ferrari I mean you know the name has such such uh gravitus now but in the day it was still fairly unknown certainly at least in America I mean Enthusiast knew but that was about it and especially for touring cars I mean the race car started to get known which is actually how my father originally heard about Ferrari he was covering the uh a Carrero panamericana oh sure and he saw Pio to rui drive by in the Ferrari and then engineered a meeting with him and Pi trui eventually helped him purchase this car in Rome yeah he could C some ground pretty quickly in this thing back in the' 50s so it's built in 51 but it was titled as a 52 so but it is a 51 that's correct yes sir boy that really was the beginning but every fer every screw is exactly what was on it when it left the factory that's makes it it's a shame but to even restore it just keep it exactly as it is and you can tell when you look at it but it's still in such great shape for that AG yeah it's amazing it's amazing the uh nuts and bolts on the car so if you were working on the same part the they might be different sizes because the mechanics back then would grab whatever was at hand or whatever was in stock and so as a result of that I mean you you know you might need 11 mm on this and the same one right might be a 10 mm well good luck getting millimeter in America back in those days I imagine was Mexico always millimeter yes yeah probably less now since they're building all the American cars down there than it ever was before did your dad ever have non- Italian cars was there other things that he coveted uh he did he had uh he had porsa oh Jaguars he was actually a Porsche and jaguar dealer in Mexico in the early days of that happening so in the early 60s um and uh he had a lot of Jags um and so he all the way till he passed away he had a number of Jags a number of Porsches and but but he was a Ferrari guy right right he was uh Maserati Bora was one of his favorite driving cars he loved driving the Bora never owned a Lamborghini no no I think you're either Ferrari or Lamborghini I think you don't uh don't see a lot of overlap there well by the time Lamborghini came around in the mid 60s he was a hardcore Ferrari guy you know the Ferrari had really establish its name and and Lamborghini was uh was not a racer he didn't earn his metal racing you know so didn't have the cache my favorite thing is what you said about your mom why she didn't like this car of all my father's cars in his collection uh this was the one she didn't like to ride in because she said it rode like a truck that's you got a piece of History here worth huge amounts of money I don't like that it just it's really based on nothing other than the experience with the car you know that always makes me laugh and he would always argue that it was uh built basically to be a race car so of course it was firm and uh my mother do that my mother said oh I saw a car today you would love like what was it it was red what was it it was red I don't know what it was know sounds very like my mom did your mom just kind of tolerate the car habit you know he would buy buy her a nice car every now and then and to your point A lot of it was about the look of the car so he bought her a 300 SL it was just oh that's a nice car I think yeah the Roadster just an incredibly gorgeous car it's beautiful I mean it really is and she could drive a stick she could drive a sck oh yeah she could drive a stick and I would have thought she would I've never met a woman yet didn't like Jaguars oh yeah she she had uh she later on had a jaguar in 98 she got a jaguar and so he would spoil her with the car she wanted to and they would go to the fer little Ferrari Club meet meetings everywhere so they would drive one of the clubs up there but um you know it just she didn't like taking all everybody wanted to see this car she didn't like riding in it so normally they would take one of the other cars the 365 or one of the 275s is your mom still with us or she is not unfortunate she passed away about 14 years ago oh I'm sorry yeah she was a good lady you would have liked her yeah I think you would have loved my father I mean he was just a yeah he sounds like that kind of guy well know so like my mom died usually in those kind of marriages when the women die the husbands don't last very long you know my mom died my dad was never sick in his life 9 months later he passed away yeah you know so but a lot of times you see you know the husband dies and a woman lives another 50 years right what do you think that says about men and women well when you have those marriages that last 40 50 60 years you know you get so dependent on one another you know become one personal yeah my dad took care of the outside my mother took care of the inside like when my on D I got my dad somebody to cook meals what the hell kind of spaghetti is this it's terrible you know he you know it's not the way Mom man what kind a shirt how do you IR in a every nothing they could do was right you know oh I just remember this rightand drive I'm so used to going back and forth all the time I thought that's why he's sitting over there yeah keep looking to your right to talk to me is it strange shifting with your left hand too no not not at all really do now all gear shift patterns are pretty much standardized back in those days the risk will be over here be over here so even with your historical cars is it a little bit unique to be driving something that's unrestored like this I've got a couple of you know nothing drives like an original car cuz even restored everything's not lapped in you know what I mean this car is I mean the engine is so smooth I'm not sure if rebuilding it would make it any better than it is right now that's a great Point second third ni smooth as butter there you go I want you know what she's doing like butter this could be a very relaxing touring car the engine is so turbine like so smooth you know this whole era before hydraulic steering and power brake they really got it down how to make it as good as it could be it was still you had to be a little he managed to steer at it especially from in the parking space but it wasn't bad it wasn't bad you know I've got like 51 Hudson and Hudson the same thing there's no power anything but they're just nicely weighted wor they drive so nice yeah good balance once it's uh once it's rolling it's just fun to drive this when this was just another car that you compared to other cars you want a Ferrari or a Plymouth what do you want I know you know name carries such weight now that oh my God a wonderful Shi put it in Forth here look at that I love the way it sings yeah it really does I think if you put a stranger in this car and blindfolded him he wouldn't guess it was a 1951 oh no no no and the UN restored 1951 right but I think they might agree with your mother hey this thing rides like a truck that's was still tell my father's out yeah yeah it is funny when you have a car like this cuz every couple of years you like you lose like 2% 5% you know I had a my plus care GT is that way one day I'm going down the road and bang I'm hitting bumps on the freeway and you know in Frost Hees and it it's really like what's wrong with this thing and I realized my my shocks have just worn out over a 20e period you but you drive every couple of weeks and you don't realize it you're just losing a little bit every day you know I imagine when this was brand new I'm sure it rode a lot smoother than it does now you know what that's a good point Jay I've never thought of it that way and I I just read your article about the tires on your car yeah and you how they would age and I never really thought of it that way my father used to change them every few years and I was like they don't have any miles on them why are you changing the tires every 8 years or 10 years they dry out yeah I love the Ferrari logo is exactly the same yeah that yellow badge well that yellow badge is the right side I look at some Ferraris now and they have the big yellow badge on the side it's too much that's just perfect and most people looking at the car would have no idea what it is even car people yeah I like the the weight and feel of the gear shift lever you know it's it's sturdier than modern gear shifts which are kind of spindly because the trans is so easy so this you know they want you to manhandle it a little bit it's a solid car oh yeah when you get that feel when you close the hood or the trunk or the do really is the doors don't hang everything's perfect yeah running like a chimp brother really good I mean it's a shame I mean so many guys that don't drive a Ferraris you know this car let's see how many kilometers does it have on it let me see what is 29,000 km but that I bet that's been around once would you guess I don't think so no I don't think so maybe it's possible I mean he drove it every week but he wouldn't drive it that far and he would drive it to shows and meetings and stuff but uh again he wouldn't drive it that far typically let's see what we got here okay there's first second third fourth F wow a five speed why that guy tell me it was a fourspeed the five-speed that's why you look like a couple of rubs driving this thing there we go okay makes all the difference in the world yeah so F you I got into this cuz I is this a for spe yeah four speed 1951 yeah but it's obviously a 5-speed well this has been a real thrill you we were told it was a fourspeed and I'm thinking what's wrong with oh there reverses over there oh there it's got a fifth gear so that was a fun surprise that is thank you my friend and thank you for father for being such a wonderful custodian in this automobile he's exactly the perfect kind of person to pass it on to the next generation of people who will preserve it so thank you and God bless your father we'll say a prayer for him thank you Jay and I know he'd be thrilled that you're driving the car oh yeah see you guys next week thanksthere first second third fourth wow it's a five speed why that guy tell me it was a fourspeed it's a five speeed that's why you look like a couple of roofs driving this thing there we go okay makes all the difference in the world yeah welcome to the episode of J lon's garage once again being visited by Automotive royalty we have a great car with a great story this is a 1951 Ferrari 212 inter by Gia this car has distinction of being the longest owned Ferrari by a gentleman okay man named ralo huno DEA Vega he bought the car in the 50s uh sadly he passed away this past October at age 98 but uh he loved this thing he went to the Factory The Mechanics there taught him how to work on it he did all his own work it's really a great great story uh his son is here today thus Foster thus come on in so obviously you've known this car since you were a child yes sir it was uh parked in the garage from when I was 10 years old on um and it was just always there and for the longest time it was just my father's car right it was just an old car just my father's old Ferrari it was nothing didn't seem like anything special well I mean you know a lot of times you meet somebody that's had a car a long time and it's maybe a Chevy Bair and it's nice enough but it's not that rare to have a rare unique expensive car and then to be with the same person for all those years and he did all his own work on the car didn't he he did he actually learned how to work on the car from the original Ferrari mechanics that built the car uh in Marinello met Mr Ferrari there when he purchased the car in the late 50s mid-50s and um and learned how to work on it he was the only one that ever really worked on the car the engine's never been opened uh it's all original except for the paint and the carpet so and that was done what in the 70s uh it was done in the early' 70s okay but it still looks great and this car was also used by Ferrari as a show car isn't that correct yes sir and 51 52 at the turn motor cars they did that and then in their next year advertisement for the for the 22s uh this was actually the only Gia body car that was pictured in that whole advertisement by Ferrari well the exciting part is really Ferrari was only about five or 6 years old it was a brand new company Ferrari himself was a young man probably about the same I I guess he was a little younger than Ferrari Ferrari died in the late 80s yeah late 80s so okay he he he probably would have been in his 40s or 50s when your dad bought the car from him sir but just the idea of going to this I mean just a little company named Ferrari they built a few cars and they were hustling to sell cars in those days you know and the fact that your dad was there on from the ground floor it's pretty pretty exciting story that that that's pretty cool so tell us about the car it's got the Columbo V12 engine can we open the hood um yes sir okay and that's what they look like after what do you got here 72 years of use yeah it's exactly like what it looked like rolling out of the factory the I wonder why it's blue underneath is that the way the chassis was blue that's uh the way the engine compartment chassis at the very least was blue right out of the factory none of this has ever been changed the engine's never been opened other than minor mechanical work here and there that's all that's ever happened but everything else you see there is original to the car you know what's so funny when I was a kid these seemed like such big engines cuz they were a V12 when you're a kid you think they were like 400 cubic in 500 you realize it's 2.6 I mean the Pistons are like this big it's pretty small but it's that classic Ferrari the twin Distributors uh and just a beautiful engine look at that very nice yeah he was constantly tinkering with it I think his therapy after a long day at the office was to come home put on his coveralls and work on the cars and my mom would have to call them in to shower and come to dinner he just loved working on them you know when Ferrari was a kid he saw a Packard V12 Packard had the first V12 or twin six they call it two six is put together and that's what inspired him to build this cuz he drove that he was so amazed at how smooth it was and how powerful it was that he he kind of come up with the idea of let's build our own V12 you know sort of just getting that American influence but it's just fun to think that Ferrari was just kind of a mechanic in his own Factory at the time that started in the late 40s so this is a 51 you know so he probably hadn't produced more than a couple of dozen cars by the time this one came out right you know and he was small and not very well known at that point was I think they had built the first one in 47 and uh but I mean obviously a mechanical genius and a Visionary and just an amazing guy hard to get along with according to my father yeah when he met him at the factory he was just kind of a Curt and brief and a little well you know Ferrari probably inspired more people a Lamborghini got no yeah go yell at each other my guy named Von Monie he built the car in Switzerland because he brought his fry hey the clutch oh you going get to yell at him so all these companies started because ferar yelled at him you know and it's just kind of funny but to think that this is the original radiator the I mean it it's just amazing that your dad kept it up even the old style battery obviously you're not going to get an original battery but just to see this blue paint which looks like it's put on I wouldn't say haphazardly just kind of maybe even brush stroked on there for all I know I I I'm not speaking any Authority on that but it's just just amazing look how look how small the headers are really yeah it was uh I mean you know Mr Ferrari was all about the engine and the drivetrain and uh not so much about the bodies and all the and you can see it you can see it in the the fit and finish a little bit but this is the real thing this is like going back in time to 1951 and it rolled off the factory floor which I think is incredible well the amazing thing the horsepower of this was 220 when you consider the Chrysler Hemi came out in 550 152 that was maybe 160 so this is really F that one there is a 52 Tabo Lago that's a lot like this one that's a nice original car and that's 220 also but that's a six but a 4.5 L 6 it's almost twice the size it is but a six-cylinder so it's a little torquier but they're both extremely fast cars for the period And this is a four-speed obviously correct yeah you know Ferrari was pretty conservative incredible engines but pretty traditional drum brakes you know standard no crazy new ideas on suspension or anything just fast reliable cars with beautiful beautiful engines you know and and this was this was so advanced in the day compared to Americans were still driving flatheads and all this kind of stuff you know so this thing is really just amazing and just to see what they you is this wood are these wood or some kind of plastic I'm I think they're some kind of plastic yeah some kind of plastic original distribut generator just fascinating you know it it's such for somebody who has one of these that's maybe been neglected to come and look at it and see exactly how it was done it it really is terrific that your dad didn't modify or even restore it you know get the valve covers all painted and all that kind of stuff cuz this is what they were just cars this is what they look like yeah and he he loved it for the car it was and he hated to see over restored cars he always wanted them to look just like they should have looked like coming out of the factory very nice so let's close this up again oh look at that nice stud it still fits let's move to the interior these are the original seats and everything huh the original leather yes sir original seats original leather and these door handles are quite popular on cars uh the talbo logo has it my Cunningham my 1950 Cunningham has it as well you press the button and then you put your hand in here and you open the door that way all the original leather all the original dials all the knobs just beautiful and of course this is a right-hand drive so obviously this car was probably meant to be sold maybe in England or Spain certainly in Europe I mean it was it was purchased in Italy initially course in 51 you still had a lot of places that you know Bugatti was still rightand so they really didn't go to that until almost the mid-60 I think Switzerland was the last one to switch off I remember as a kid seeing a thing a Life Magazine at 11:00 Swiss time time it switched and all the cars the cops got in the street and everybody went the other on the other side be something to experience yeah yeah and to see that so it's in kilometers 240 kilometers per hour he probably got it up to that on a on a few occasions I know one time the president of Mexico um flew the car down to Mexico City and they shut down the highway at other Ferrari enthusiasts there from Mexico as well and they race their cars around the highway in Mexico City yeah it was a great story so I know he raced it on occas and I love the fact that it's a 2 plus 2 it's got a rear seat I mean I don't know who you put back there car well this was a road car although Ferrari was enamor of racing he knew to finance racing you had to build Road car so you'd see a Ferrari win a race and then you go down the dealership and oh you you could buy the exact car with the same engine that was in the race so boy it shuts nicely also you amazing engineering when you think of 1951 and how it works and runs and and fits today it's just to me it's incredible it looks the wheels have been done but that's that's smart you want to do the wheels you know I've got an old Jag over there that sat for years and you see rust up in the corners of the spokes you don't want to weaken the spokes that's right that's right so that that's smart to but just just rechrome not not different Wheels do what you have to do to to make it Road worthy and keep and these little pseudo fins I think were kind of fascinating too when fins were becoming very popular can we open the trunk let's see is there a button here or opens on the inside I imagine right not sure let's see I think it's a lever maybe right by your right behind the seat there on the wall oh here it is is that it here we are boy everything works so nicely your dad certainly did a great job oh and the gas filler is in the trunk yes yeah industrial size gas and look at that that looks like a sewer pipe yeah it's huge a big huge yeah I guess you wouldn't want to spill it in the trunk maybe I'm not sure of the design but it keeps people from stealing your gasoline which is probably quite common in those days I love how small tail lights were they were just like we weren't thinking about safety just Style no no third bik light up here they expect you to know how to drive I guess boom yeah solid as a rock solid as a rock it almost looks like a removable hard top but obviously it's not no sir well very can we take it for a ride is that possible absolutely yes sir how cool drive it how cool is that this is when cars had nice big comfortable seats wow let it warm up for a second very smooth very nice Bo you feel the power for those small cylinders it really does generate some yeah some horsepower and some Tor oh it's got some power doesn't it it does wow yeah especially for the original engine ever open firm ride but it's a real piece of History cuz you it's a time what kind of Ferrari what what's a Ferrari I mean you know the name has such such uh gravitus now but in the day it was still fairly unknown certainly at least in America I mean Enthusiast knew but that was about it and especially for touring cars I mean the race car started to get known which is actually how my father originally heard about Ferrari he was covering the uh a Carrero panamericana oh sure and he saw Pio to rui drive by in the Ferrari and then engineered a meeting with him and Pi trui eventually helped him purchase this car in Rome yeah he could C some ground pretty quickly in this thing back in the' 50s so it's built in 51 but it was titled as a 52 so but it is a 51 that's correct yes sir boy that really was the beginning but every fer every screw is exactly what was on it when it left the factory that's makes it it's a shame but to even restore it just keep it exactly as it is and you can tell when you look at it but it's still in such great shape for that AG yeah it's amazing it's amazing the uh nuts and bolts on the car so if you were working on the same part the they might be different sizes because the mechanics back then would grab whatever was at hand or whatever was in stock and so as a result of that I mean you you know you might need 11 mm on this and the same one right might be a 10 mm well good luck getting millimeter in America back in those days I imagine was Mexico always millimeter yes yeah probably less now since they're building all the American cars down there than it ever was before did your dad ever have non- Italian cars was there other things that he coveted uh he did he had uh he had porsa oh Jaguars he was actually a Porsche and jaguar dealer in Mexico in the early days of that happening so in the early 60s um and uh he had a lot of Jags um and so he all the way till he passed away he had a number of Jags a number of Porsches and but but he was a Ferrari guy right right he was uh Maserati Bora was one of his favorite driving cars he loved driving the Bora never owned a Lamborghini no no I think you're either Ferrari or Lamborghini I think you don't uh don't see a lot of overlap there well by the time Lamborghini came around in the mid 60s he was a hardcore Ferrari guy you know the Ferrari had really establish its name and and Lamborghini was uh was not a racer he didn't earn his metal racing you know so didn't have the cache my favorite thing is what you said about your mom why she didn't like this car of all my father's cars in his collection uh this was the one she didn't like to ride in because she said it rode like a truck that's you got a piece of History here worth huge amounts of money I don't like that it just it's really based on nothing other than the experience with the car you know that always makes me laugh and he would always argue that it was uh built basically to be a race car so of course it was firm and uh my mother do that my mother said oh I saw a car today you would love like what was it it was red what was it it was red I don't know what it was know sounds very like my mom did your mom just kind of tolerate the car habit you know he would buy buy her a nice car every now and then and to your point A lot of it was about the look of the car so he bought her a 300 SL it was just oh that's a nice car I think yeah the Roadster just an incredibly gorgeous car it's beautiful I mean it really is and she could drive a stick she could drive a sck oh yeah she could drive a stick and I would have thought she would I've never met a woman yet didn't like Jaguars oh yeah she she had uh she later on had a jaguar in 98 she got a jaguar and so he would spoil her with the car she wanted to and they would go to the fer little Ferrari Club meet meetings everywhere so they would drive one of the clubs up there but um you know it just she didn't like taking all everybody wanted to see this car she didn't like riding in it so normally they would take one of the other cars the 365 or one of the 275s is your mom still with us or she is not unfortunate she passed away about 14 years ago oh I'm sorry yeah she was a good lady you would have liked her yeah I think you would have loved my father I mean he was just a yeah he sounds like that kind of guy well know so like my mom died usually in those kind of marriages when the women die the husbands don't last very long you know my mom died my dad was never sick in his life 9 months later he passed away yeah you know so but a lot of times you see you know the husband dies and a woman lives another 50 years right what do you think that says about men and women well when you have those marriages that last 40 50 60 years you know you get so dependent on one another you know become one personal yeah my dad took care of the outside my mother took care of the inside like when my on D I got my dad somebody to cook meals what the hell kind of spaghetti is this it's terrible you know he you know it's not the way Mom man what kind a shirt how do you IR in a every nothing they could do was right you know oh I just remember this rightand drive I'm so used to going back and forth all the time I thought that's why he's sitting over there yeah keep looking to your right to talk to me is it strange shifting with your left hand too no not not at all really do now all gear shift patterns are pretty much standardized back in those days the risk will be over here be over here so even with your historical cars is it a little bit unique to be driving something that's unrestored like this I've got a couple of you know nothing drives like an original car cuz even restored everything's not lapped in you know what I mean this car is I mean the engine is so smooth I'm not sure if rebuilding it would make it any better than it is right now that's a great Point second third ni smooth as butter there you go I want you know what she's doing like butter this could be a very relaxing touring car the engine is so turbine like so smooth you know this whole era before hydraulic steering and power brake they really got it down how to make it as good as it could be it was still you had to be a little he managed to steer at it especially from in the parking space but it wasn't bad it wasn't bad you know I've got like 51 Hudson and Hudson the same thing there's no power anything but they're just nicely weighted wor they drive so nice yeah good balance once it's uh once it's rolling it's just fun to drive this when this was just another car that you compared to other cars you want a Ferrari or a Plymouth what do you want I know you know name carries such weight now that oh my God a wonderful Shi put it in Forth here look at that I love the way it sings yeah it really does I think if you put a stranger in this car and blindfolded him he wouldn't guess it was a 1951 oh no no no and the UN restored 1951 right but I think they might agree with your mother hey this thing rides like a truck that's was still tell my father's out yeah yeah it is funny when you have a car like this cuz every couple of years you like you lose like 2% 5% you know I had a my plus care GT is that way one day I'm going down the road and bang I'm hitting bumps on the freeway and you know in Frost Hees and it it's really like what's wrong with this thing and I realized my my shocks have just worn out over a 20e period you but you drive every couple of weeks and you don't realize it you're just losing a little bit every day you know I imagine when this was brand new I'm sure it rode a lot smoother than it does now you know what that's a good point Jay I've never thought of it that way and I I just read your article about the tires on your car yeah and you how they would age and I never really thought of it that way my father used to change them every few years and I was like they don't have any miles on them why are you changing the tires every 8 years or 10 years they dry out yeah I love the Ferrari logo is exactly the same yeah that yellow badge well that yellow badge is the right side I look at some Ferraris now and they have the big yellow badge on the side it's too much that's just perfect and most people looking at the car would have no idea what it is even car people yeah I like the the weight and feel of the gear shift lever you know it's it's sturdier than modern gear shifts which are kind of spindly because the trans is so easy so this you know they want you to manhandle it a little bit it's a solid car oh yeah when you get that feel when you close the hood or the trunk or the do really is the doors don't hang everything's perfect yeah running like a chimp brother really good I mean it's a shame I mean so many guys that don't drive a Ferraris you know this car let's see how many kilometers does it have on it let me see what is 29,000 km but that I bet that's been around once would you guess I don't think so no I don't think so maybe it's possible I mean he drove it every week but he wouldn't drive it that far and he would drive it to shows and meetings and stuff but uh again he wouldn't drive it that far typically let's see what we got here okay there's first second third fourth F wow a five speed why that guy tell me it was a fourspeed the five-speed that's why you look like a couple of rubs driving this thing there we go okay makes all the difference in the world yeah so F you I got into this cuz I is this a for spe yeah four speed 1951 yeah but it's obviously a 5-speed well this has been a real thrill you we were told it was a fourspeed and I'm thinking what's wrong with oh there reverses over there oh there it's got a fifth gear so that was a fun surprise that is thank you my friend and thank you for father for being such a wonderful custodian in this automobile he's exactly the perfect kind of person to pass it on to the next generation of people who will preserve it so thank you and God bless your father we'll say a prayer for him thank you Jay and I know he'd be thrilled that you're driving the car oh yeah see you guys next week thanksthere first second third fourth wow it's a five speed why that guy tell me it was a fourspeed it's a five speeed that's why you look like a couple of roofs driving this thing there we go okay makes all the difference in the world yeah welcome to the episode of J lon's garage once again being visited by Automotive royalty we have a great car with a great story this is a 1951 Ferrari 212 inter by Gia this car has distinction of being the longest owned Ferrari by a gentleman okay man named ralo huno DEA Vega he bought the car in the 50s uh sadly he passed away this past October at age 98 but uh he loved this thing he went to the Factory The Mechanics there taught him how to work on it he did all his own work it's really a great great story uh his son is here today thus Foster thus come on in so obviously you've known this car since you were a child yes sir it was uh parked in the garage from when I was 10 years old on um and it was just always there and for the longest time it was just my father's car right it was just an old car just my father's old Ferrari it was nothing didn't seem like anything special well I mean you know a lot of times you meet somebody that's had a car a long time and it's maybe a Chevy Bair and it's nice enough but it's not that rare to have a rare unique expensive car and then to be with the same person for all those years and he did all his own work on the car didn't he he did he actually learned how to work on the car from the original Ferrari mechanics that built the car uh in Marinello met Mr Ferrari there when he purchased the car in the late 50s mid-50s and um and learned how to work on it he was the only one that ever really worked on the car the engine's never been opened uh it's all original except for the paint and the carpet so and that was done what in the 70s uh it was done in the early' 70s okay but it still looks great and this car was also used by Ferrari as a show car isn't that correct yes sir and 51 52 at the turn motor cars they did that and then in their next year advertisement for the for the 22s uh this was actually the only Gia body car that was pictured in that whole advertisement by Ferrari well the exciting part is really Ferrari was only about five or 6 years old it was a brand new company Ferrari himself was a young man probably about the same I I guess he was a little younger than Ferrari Ferrari died in the late 80s yeah late 80s so okay he he he probably would have been in his 40s or 50s when your dad bought the car from him sir but just the idea of going to this I mean just a little company named Ferrari they built a few cars and they were hustling to sell cars in those days you know and the fact that your dad was there on from the ground floor it's pretty pretty exciting story that that that's pretty cool so tell us about the car it's got the Columbo V12 engine can we open the hood um yes sir okay and that's what they look like after what do you got here 72 years of use yeah it's exactly like what it looked like rolling out of the factory the I wonder why it's blue underneath is that the way the chassis was blue that's uh the way the engine compartment chassis at the very least was blue right out of the factory none of this has ever been changed the engine's never been opened other than minor mechanical work here and there that's all that's ever happened but everything else you see there is original to the car you know what's so funny when I was a kid these seemed like such big engines cuz they were a V12 when you're a kid you think they were like 400 cubic in 500 you realize it's 2.6 I mean the Pistons are like this big it's pretty small but it's that classic Ferrari the twin Distributors uh and just a beautiful engine look at that very nice yeah he was constantly tinkering with it I think his therapy after a long day at the office was to come home put on his coveralls and work on the cars and my mom would have to call them in to shower and come to dinner he just loved working on them you know when Ferrari was a kid he saw a Packard V12 Packard had the first V12 or twin six they call it two six is put together and that's what inspired him to build this cuz he drove that he was so amazed at how smooth it was and how powerful it was that he he kind of come up with the idea of let's build our own V12 you know sort of just getting that American influence but it's just fun to think that Ferrari was just kind of a mechanic in his own Factory at the time that started in the late 40s so this is a 51 you know so he probably hadn't produced more than a couple of dozen cars by the time this one came out right you know and he was small and not very well known at that point was I think they had built the first one in 47 and uh but I mean obviously a mechanical genius and a Visionary and just an amazing guy hard to get along with according to my father yeah when he met him at the factory he was just kind of a Curt and brief and a little well you know Ferrari probably inspired more people a Lamborghini got no yeah go yell at each other my guy named Von Monie he built the car in Switzerland because he brought his fry hey the clutch oh you going get to yell at him so all these companies started because ferar yelled at him you know and it's just kind of funny but to think that this is the original radiator the I mean it it's just amazing that your dad kept it up even the old style battery obviously you're not going to get an original battery but just to see this blue paint which looks like it's put on I wouldn't say haphazardly just kind of maybe even brush stroked on there for all I know I I I'm not speaking any Authority on that but it's just just amazing look how look how small the headers are really yeah it was uh I mean you know Mr Ferrari was all about the engine and the drivetrain and uh not so much about the bodies and all the and you can see it you can see it in the the fit and finish a little bit but this is the real thing this is like going back in time to 1951 and it rolled off the factory floor which I think is incredible well the amazing thing the horsepower of this was 220 when you consider the Chrysler Hemi came out in 550 152 that was maybe 160 so this is really F that one there is a 52 Tabo Lago that's a lot like this one that's a nice original car and that's 220 also but that's a six but a 4.5 L 6 it's almost twice the size it is but a six-cylinder so it's a little torquier but they're both extremely fast cars for the period And this is a four-speed obviously correct yeah you know Ferrari was pretty conservative incredible engines but pretty traditional drum brakes you know standard no crazy new ideas on suspension or anything just fast reliable cars with beautiful beautiful engines you know and and this was this was so advanced in the day compared to Americans were still driving flatheads and all this kind of stuff you know so this thing is really just amazing and just to see what they you is this wood are these wood or some kind of plastic I'm I think they're some kind of plastic yeah some kind of plastic original distribut generator just fascinating you know it it's such for somebody who has one of these that's maybe been neglected to come and look at it and see exactly how it was done it it really is terrific that your dad didn't modify or even restore it you know get the valve covers all painted and all that kind of stuff cuz this is what they were just cars this is what they look like yeah and he he loved it for the car it was and he hated to see over restored cars he always wanted them to look just like they should have looked like coming out of the factory very nice so let's close this up again oh look at that nice stud it still fits let's move to the interior these are the original seats and everything huh the original leather yes sir original seats original leather and these door handles are quite popular on cars uh the talbo logo has it my Cunningham my 1950 Cunningham has it as well you press the button and then you put your hand in here and you open the door that way all the original leather all the original dials all the knobs just beautiful and of course this is a right-hand drive so obviously this car was probably meant to be sold maybe in England or Spain certainly in Europe I mean it was it was purchased in Italy initially course in 51 you still had a lot of places that you know Bugatti was still rightand so they really didn't go to that until almost the mid-60 I think Switzerland was the last one to switch off I remember as a kid seeing a thing a Life Magazine at 11:00 Swiss time time it switched and all the cars the cops got in the street and everybody went the other on the other side be something to experience yeah yeah and to see that so it's in kilometers 240 kilometers per hour he probably got it up to that on a on a few occasions I know one time the president of Mexico um flew the car down to Mexico City and they shut down the highway at other Ferrari enthusiasts there from Mexico as well and they race their cars around the highway in Mexico City yeah it was a great story so I know he raced it on occas and I love the fact that it's a 2 plus 2 it's got a rear seat I mean I don't know who you put back there car well this was a road car although Ferrari was enamor of racing he knew to finance racing you had to build Road car so you'd see a Ferrari win a race and then you go down the dealership and oh you you could buy the exact car with the same engine that was in the race so boy it shuts nicely also you amazing engineering when you think of 1951 and how it works and runs and and fits today it's just to me it's incredible it looks the wheels have been done but that's that's smart you want to do the wheels you know I've got an old Jag over there that sat for years and you see rust up in the corners of the spokes you don't want to weaken the spokes that's right that's right so that that's smart to but just just rechrome not not different Wheels do what you have to do to to make it Road worthy and keep and these little pseudo fins I think were kind of fascinating too when fins were becoming very popular can we open the trunk let's see is there a button here or opens on the inside I imagine right not sure let's see I think it's a lever maybe right by your right behind the seat there on the wall oh here it is is that it here we are boy everything works so nicely your dad certainly did a great job oh and the gas filler is in the trunk yes yeah industrial size gas and look at that that looks like a sewer pipe yeah it's huge a big huge yeah I guess you wouldn't want to spill it in the trunk maybe I'm not sure of the design but it keeps people from stealing your gasoline which is probably quite common in those days I love how small tail lights were they were just like we weren't thinking about safety just Style no no third bik light up here they expect you to know how to drive I guess boom yeah solid as a rock solid as a rock it almost looks like a removable hard top but obviously it's not no sir well very can we take it for a ride is that possible absolutely yes sir how cool drive it how cool is that this is when cars had nice big comfortable seats wow let it warm up for a second very smooth very nice Bo you feel the power for those small cylinders it really does generate some yeah some horsepower and some Tor oh it's got some power doesn't it it does wow yeah especially for the original engine ever open firm ride but it's a real piece of History cuz you it's a time what kind of Ferrari what what's a Ferrari I mean you know the name has such such uh gravitus now but in the day it was still fairly unknown certainly at least in America I mean Enthusiast knew but that was about it and especially for touring cars I mean the race car started to get known which is actually how my father originally heard about Ferrari he was covering the uh a Carrero panamericana oh sure and he saw Pio to rui drive by in the Ferrari and then engineered a meeting with him and Pi trui eventually helped him purchase this car in Rome yeah he could C some ground pretty quickly in this thing back in the' 50s so it's built in 51 but it was titled as a 52 so but it is a 51 that's correct yes sir boy that really was the beginning but every fer every screw is exactly what was on it when it left the factory that's makes it it's a shame but to even restore it just keep it exactly as it is and you can tell when you look at it but it's still in such great shape for that AG yeah it's amazing it's amazing the uh nuts and bolts on the car so if you were working on the same part the they might be different sizes because the mechanics back then would grab whatever was at hand or whatever was in stock and so as a result of that I mean you you know you might need 11 mm on this and the same one right might be a 10 mm well good luck getting millimeter in America back in those days I imagine was Mexico always millimeter yes yeah probably less now since they're building all the American cars down there than it ever was before did your dad ever have non- Italian cars was there other things that he coveted uh he did he had uh he had porsa oh Jaguars he was actually a Porsche and jaguar dealer in Mexico in the early days of that happening so in the early 60s um and uh he had a lot of Jags um and so he all the way till he passed away he had a number of Jags a number of Porsches and but but he was a Ferrari guy right right he was uh Maserati Bora was one of his favorite driving cars he loved driving the Bora never owned a Lamborghini no no I think you're either Ferrari or Lamborghini I think you don't uh don't see a lot of overlap there well by the time Lamborghini came around in the mid 60s he was a hardcore Ferrari guy you know the Ferrari had really establish its name and and Lamborghini was uh was not a racer he didn't earn his metal racing you know so didn't have the cache my favorite thing is what you said about your mom why she didn't like this car of all my father's cars in his collection uh this was the one she didn't like to ride in because she said it rode like a truck that's you got a piece of History here worth huge amounts of money I don't like that it just it's really based on nothing other than the experience with the car you know that always makes me laugh and he would always argue that it was uh built basically to be a race car so of course it was firm and uh my mother do that my mother said oh I saw a car today you would love like what was it it was red what was it it was red I don't know what it was know sounds very like my mom did your mom just kind of tolerate the car habit you know he would buy buy her a nice car every now and then and to your point A lot of it was about the look of the car so he bought her a 300 SL it was just oh that's a nice car I think yeah the Roadster just an incredibly gorgeous car it's beautiful I mean it really is and she could drive a stick she could drive a sck oh yeah she could drive a stick and I would have thought she would I've never met a woman yet didn't like Jaguars oh yeah she she had uh she later on had a jaguar in 98 she got a jaguar and so he would spoil her with the car she wanted to and they would go to the fer little Ferrari Club meet meetings everywhere so they would drive one of the clubs up there but um you know it just she didn't like taking all everybody wanted to see this car she didn't like riding in it so normally they would take one of the other cars the 365 or one of the 275s is your mom still with us or she is not unfortunate she passed away about 14 years ago oh I'm sorry yeah she was a good lady you would have liked her yeah I think you would have loved my father I mean he was just a yeah he sounds like that kind of guy well know so like my mom died usually in those kind of marriages when the women die the husbands don't last very long you know my mom died my dad was never sick in his life 9 months later he passed away yeah you know so but a lot of times you see you know the husband dies and a woman lives another 50 years right what do you think that says about men and women well when you have those marriages that last 40 50 60 years you know you get so dependent on one another you know become one personal yeah my dad took care of the outside my mother took care of the inside like when my on D I got my dad somebody to cook meals what the hell kind of spaghetti is this it's terrible you know he you know it's not the way Mom man what kind a shirt how do you IR in a every nothing they could do was right you know oh I just remember this rightand drive I'm so used to going back and forth all the time I thought that's why he's sitting over there yeah keep looking to your right to talk to me is it strange shifting with your left hand too no not not at all really do now all gear shift patterns are pretty much standardized back in those days the risk will be over here be over here so even with your historical cars is it a little bit unique to be driving something that's unrestored like this I've got a couple of you know nothing drives like an original car cuz even restored everything's not lapped in you know what I mean this car is I mean the engine is so smooth I'm not sure if rebuilding it would make it any better than it is right now that's a great Point second third ni smooth as butter there you go I want you know what she's doing like butter this could be a very relaxing touring car the engine is so turbine like so smooth you know this whole era before hydraulic steering and power brake they really got it down how to make it as good as it could be it was still you had to be a little he managed to steer at it especially from in the parking space but it wasn't bad it wasn't bad you know I've got like 51 Hudson and Hudson the same thing there's no power anything but they're just nicely weighted wor they drive so nice yeah good balance once it's uh once it's rolling it's just fun to drive this when this was just another car that you compared to other cars you want a Ferrari or a Plymouth what do you want I know you know name carries such weight now that oh my God a wonderful Shi put it in Forth here look at that I love the way it sings yeah it really does I think if you put a stranger in this car and blindfolded him he wouldn't guess it was a 1951 oh no no no and the UN restored 1951 right but I think they might agree with your mother hey this thing rides like a truck that's was still tell my father's out yeah yeah it is funny when you have a car like this cuz every couple of years you like you lose like 2% 5% you know I had a my plus care GT is that way one day I'm going down the road and bang I'm hitting bumps on the freeway and you know in Frost Hees and it it's really like what's wrong with this thing and I realized my my shocks have just worn out over a 20e period you but you drive every couple of weeks and you don't realize it you're just losing a little bit every day you know I imagine when this was brand new I'm sure it rode a lot smoother than it does now you know what that's a good point Jay I've never thought of it that way and I I just read your article about the tires on your car yeah and you how they would age and I never really thought of it that way my father used to change them every few years and I was like they don't have any miles on them why are you changing the tires every 8 years or 10 years they dry out yeah I love the Ferrari logo is exactly the same yeah that yellow badge well that yellow badge is the right side I look at some Ferraris now and they have the big yellow badge on the side it's too much that's just perfect and most people looking at the car would have no idea what it is even car people yeah I like the the weight and feel of the gear shift lever you know it's it's sturdier than modern gear shifts which are kind of spindly because the trans is so easy so this you know they want you to manhandle it a little bit it's a solid car oh yeah when you get that feel when you close the hood or the trunk or the do really is the doors don't hang everything's perfect yeah running like a chimp brother really good I mean it's a shame I mean so many guys that don't drive a Ferraris you know this car let's see how many kilometers does it have on it let me see what is 29,000 km but that I bet that's been around once would you guess I don't think so no I don't think so maybe it's possible I mean he drove it every week but he wouldn't drive it that far and he would drive it to shows and meetings and stuff but uh again he wouldn't drive it that far typically let's see what we got here okay there's first second third fourth F wow a five speed why that guy tell me it was a fourspeed the five-speed that's why you look like a couple of rubs driving this thing there we go okay makes all the difference in the world yeah so F you I got into this cuz I is this a for spe yeah four speed 1951 yeah but it's obviously a 5-speed well this has been a real thrill you we were told it was a fourspeed and I'm thinking what's wrong with oh there reverses over there oh there it's got a fifth gear so that was a fun surprise that is thank you my friend and thank you for father for being such a wonderful custodian in this automobile he's exactly the perfect kind of person to pass it on to the next generation of people who will preserve it so thank you and God bless your father we'll say a prayer for him thank you Jay and I know he'd be thrilled that you're driving the car oh yeah see you guys next week thanks\n"