Ferrari 750 Monza Spider by Scaglietti 1955 - World Of Classic Cars -

Ferrari 750 Monza Spider by Scaglietti 1955

In early 1954, Ferrari began offering racing customers the 500 Mondial Spider, which was essentially a sports/racing version of their World Championship two-litre, four-cylinder grand prix car. During this period, Maranello was increasing experimentation with different displacements of Aurelio Lampredi’s four-cylinder engine design, trying 2-litre, 2.5-litre, and 2.9-litre variations. At the Grand Prix Supercortemaggiore at Monza on 27 June 1954, where a three-litre formula was imposed, Ferrari entered two racing spiders with the 2.9-litre engine, one with traditional open Pinin Farina coachwork (0444M) and the other wearing streamlined Scaglietti spider coachwork (0440M) in the style of a 166MM that the coachbuilder had re-bodied for Dino Ferrari (0050M).

Ferrari 750 Monza Spider by Scaglietti 1955

Finishing 1st and 2nd overall, these two cars proved the potential of a three-litre, four-cylinder motor, and Ferrari quickly engineered a true 2,999-cubic centimetre version of the engine, as the race-entered, F1-derived 735 actually only displaced 2,941 cubic centimetres. Starting with chassis number 0440M, the 2nd place finisher at Monza, 31 examples of the 750 Monza Scaglietti Spider were produced, and the model remains one of the most esteemed of Maranello’s 1950s sports racers.
Chassis 0498M, approximately the eighth car built, was one of the earliest Monzas sold to the United States, and it was acquired new by Chinetti Motors in early 1955. The Scaglietti-built Spider, finished in white paint with a blue nose band, entered the fourth edition of the 12 Hours of Sebring on 13 March 1955, where it was driven by Piero Taruffi and well-known Ecurie Bleu scion Harry Schell to a 5th overall finish.

Ferrari 750 Monza Spider by Scaglietti 1955

This Monza was sold a short time later to George Tilp, of Short Hills, New Jersey, and then it began its association with one of the most important Ferrari drivers of all time, the legendary Phil Hill. At this point, Mr Hill was still primarily competing in European sports racers on the early SCCA circuit, and he was only a few short years away from his important triumphs at Le Mans and in Formula One. On 4 July 1955, Mr Hill took 1st place at Beverly, Massachusetts, and almost four weeks later, he placed 2nd at Seafair. Hill drove the car to another chequered flag on 11 September, at the Road America 500 at Elkhart Lake, and he roared to a 2nd place finish at Hagerstown, Maryland, on 9 October. This car’s relationship with Mr Hill concluded with another 2nd place finish at the Governor’s Trophy race during the Nassau Speed Week on 9 December.

Ferrari 750 Monza Spider by Scaglietti 1955

Sometime in the late summer of 1956, the Monza was acquired by Jack Hinkle, of Wichita, Kansas, and was driven by Paul O’Shea to two 3rd place finishes at Montgomery, Alabama, on 19 August and 19 September. Mr Hinkle himself then took 2nd place at Coffeyville on 7 October.
In early 1957, 0498M, finished in light yellow, was purchased by A.D. Logan and entered in the third annual Frostbite Races in Fort Worth, Texas, where it was photographed and later depicted in Willem Oosthoek’s 2011 book, Sports Car Racing in the South. Logan soon installed engine number 0578M, a 3.5-litre, four-cylinder motor from one of the four 857 Sport examples that he had sourced from Luigi Chinetti. That stronger powerplant would prove to be quite competitive. Under his ownership, the car was campaigned at the first Gran Carrera Lafitte in Galveston Island, Texas, where it placed 1st overall in both the prelim and feature races, with Ray Jones behind the wheel.

Ferrari 750 Monza Spider by Scaglietti 1955

In one of its final outings under Logan’s ownership, 0498M was campaigned at the Mansfield Labor Day Sports car races in Mansfield, Louisiana, from 31 August to 1 September 1957, with one of Logan’s other cars, a 500 TRC. The 750 Monza was entered in Race 7, and a John S. Smith was listed as the driver. However, to sports car racing aficionados, it was easy to see who was actually in the driver’s seat.
Carroll Shelby had raced with Logan and Jones previously, and he knew both men well. Since Jones and Shelby were much faster than Logan, Logan was perfectly happy to give up his seat if Shelby didn’t have a car to race in. As a result of Shelby becoming a professional driver, he was no longer able to compete in SCCA events; therefore, he took up the pseudonym of John S. Smith to get around this rule, which was often disregarded in the South.

Ferrari 750 Monza Spider by Scaglietti 1955

With Shelby at the helm, the Monza quickly tore away from the rest of the field at the outset of the race and came close to lapping the entire field. Having annihilated the competition, Shelby pulled into the pits with two laps remaining, allegedly with engine trouble, allowing Jones to win in Logan’s 500 TRC.
At that time, this car was already offered for sale by Logan, and was it was purchased later that month by Edwin D. Martin, of Columbus, Georgia. His first outing in his new purchase was at the Recional Sports Car Races at Ford Pierce, Florida, from 28–29 September 28-29, where Martin placed 4th overall. Chassis 0498M remained competitive throughout 1957, finishing 1st overall at Galveston, taking place from 9–10 October, and with several top-five finishes following the remainder of 1958.

Ferrari 750 Monza Spider by Scaglietti 1955

The Monza continued to campaign the sports car tracks of the American South during the next few years, whilst it was in the ownership of Chuck Nervine, of Fairhope, Alabama, in 1960. The following year, Nervine installed a Chevy V-8. However, by that time, it was clear that the Monza was finally past its racing prime. So, in 1963, it was sold to a Tulane University student who soon married and moved to his wife’s hometown in Texas. The car, officially owned by Jim Hinson, sat outside a barn on his mother-in-law’s farm in Azie, Texas, for the next 30 years.
The Ferrari was discovered as a barnyard find in 1994, by Rick Grape of nearby Fort Worth, and it was subsequently purchased and sold to collector Terrence Healy, of Brisbane, Australia, in November 1998. Mr Healy commenced a full restoration, which continued when the car was sold in 2004 to the consignor, who retained Geoff Smith, of Bellbrae, Victoria, to oversee the renewal of the car to the best mechanical and cosmetic presentation. Since the original body had suffered significant corrosion from three decades of exposure to the elements, the consignor decided to commission the fabrication of new coachwork in the Scaglietti spider style. Measurements were taken from the original coachwork, as it still retained its original shape. A correct three-litre, four-cylinder Lampredi motor, engine number 006 (from a 625 monoposto grand prix car), was acquired from Tom Wheatcroft, the rescuer and owner of British circuit Donington Park.

Ferrari 750 Monza Spider by Scaglietti 1955

Chassis 0498M, now finished in Rosso Corsa, is nicely presented and ready to return to the track. It claims very strong race provenance, having been piloted by the great Phil Hill and Carroll Shelby, and it is eligible to continue racing in to events like the Mille Miglia and the Le Mans Classic. This Ferrari is also accompanied by the remnants of its original Scaglietti coachwork, which displays fascinating and rare slanted front wing vents and rear wing brake cooling ducts.