by Mike –
Below is a 5:34 video featuring a rare car that most of us do not see everyday or Rare Birds as I call them. This is Rare Birds No. 2 in this series (Rare Birds No. 1 is here).
I owned this 1966 Bizzarrini GT 5300 Strada (chassis no. IA3*0256) for a few years. The original owner was Ken Phillips; I bought it from the second owner, Rick Wesselink, at the Russo and Steele auction in Monterey in August 2008.
Bizzarrini GT 5300 at The Russo and Steele Auction In Monterey, August 2008
The Bizzarrini GT 5300 was not designed with an air dam. Ken Phillips worked with an expert race car body designer to create the air dam shown below for this Bizzarrini GT 5300 because “at 150 MPH the front end feels a little light” he told me.
This solid aluminum air dam spent many years on display in my home office as seen below. I never did get the Bizzarrini up to 150 MPH so I did not experience the “light” front end described by Ken Phillips.
I hope you enjoy the ride. Watch the video on full screen, click on the arrows to the left of ‘Vimeo’ in the lower right corner and then click the play triangle in the lower left corner. Be sure the sound is on, yes there is music and engine sounds.
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
Mike , how could you part with such a magic machine ?
Very painfully…
Thanks for sharing all of your experiences!
THE DASHBOARD ON THIS CAR IS THAT OF THE BIZZARRINI AMERICA , NOT THAT OF A TYPICAL 5300 STRADA.
WHAT IS THE SUSPENSION SET UP AT THE REAR? AND IS IT AND ALL ALUMINUM BODY?
Sorry Skip, You are not correct. This is a Bizzarrini GT 5300 series 1 dashboard.
When the Bizzarrini GT 5300 (Iso Grifo A3/C) was first developed in the early 1960s it had a race car style dashboard with the three gauges that can report trouble in a race directly in front of the driver: the oil temperature, oil pressure and engine coolant temperature.
The other gauges, tachometer, speed odometer and gas fuel level gauge were located to the right on the dashboard.
At least one car journalist complained about this layout in a test drive report which prompted Giotto Bizzarrini to change the dashboard layout and place the tachometer and speed odometer in front of the driver with the other gauges over to the right. He also added wood veneer and moved the ignition switch from the dash (to the left of the steering wheel) to the right in the steering column.
See the two photos of a series 1 (this Bizzarrini No. 0256) and a series 2 dash.
Series 2 dashboard.
I STAND CORRECTED. ALL I KNOW IS MY 5300 HAD THE WOOD DASH AND MY AMERICA HAD THE DASH WITH THE TREE GAUGES IN FRONT OF THE DRIVER. AND THE TWO GAUGES ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE DASH, WERE SLANTED TOWARDS THE DRIVER, FOR EASIER READING.