by Mike –

After the article yesterday by Wallace Wyss about the Peter Monteverdi Ferrari Coupe I received the message below with photos from Jim Carpenter, the owner of the Monteverdi Ferrari body.

If anyone can help Jim with his questions please contact him at this link.

Hi Mike,

I bought the Monteverdi body from Oliver a couple of years ago. Like most who thought they would put another Ferrari chassis under the body we started with that in mind as well. It soon was evident that that would not work as all the early race cars were much narrower in track and so shortening the chassis is only one issue.

We sidelined the project for a time as we also acquired the fiberglass molds for the Bizzarrini from Oliver.

We have been building a new chassis using current Corvette suspension and running gear. Peter Bourassa was here during the January auction season and saw the beginnings of what we are doing with the new Bizzarrini style car, as well as seeing the Monteverdi on a Ferrari chassis once more.

Our take in restoring the Monteverdi was to utilize current tech and engines so a 456 Ferrari engine and transaxle is used and 456 and 308 suspension. The chassis is a morph of Ferrari 400 and 330. Our thought process was Monteverdi was always an innovator and if he was to put his body on another Ferrari chassis today our thoughts would be he would take the best of the old and interject it with new.

The body was in remarkably good condition being steel. Where paint was still on the body it protected it.

I am slowly going through the paint – we found the original Blue and we have much of the original interior. You wouldn’t have any color pictures of the car? I know it was blue with cream but don’t have any period or at auction pictures.

The Monteverdi museum doesn’t have anything as well or at least when I talked with them they didn’t know where there might be anything.

We are developing a 12 individual throttle body conversion for the 456, 550 and 575 engines which the Monteverdi will have.

Let me know if you have any other pictures or would like to know anything further.

Regards

Jim Carpenter
Italian Design and Racing LLC
55 East Southern Ave
Mesa AZ, 85210
www.italiandesignandracing.com