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A Great First Job

For a year beginning in the summer of 1982, or thereabouts, I had awsome job at a dealership specializing in all sorts of exotic and unusual cars - Ferrari's of every kind, Alfas, Jags, Porsches, Lamborghini, Maserati, Lotus, MGs, Triumphs, Avanti's, even a London Taxi.

I learned the fine art of gofering, got to know the cars by dusting and detailing, and gained an appreciation for the styling and engineering nuances. My friend Gary was soon working there, and we were given the job of warming up the cars every other weekend or so. This was great fun, as we got to experience all the sounds and smells, and the recalcitrant tempers of some of the cars.

HMI's Ferraris

As best we can remember, we had Black and White 330GT 2+2s, a Black Lusso (64), Red 330 GTC, Red 330 GTS ('67), Red and Yellow 246 Dinos, Red 365 GTB4 (70), Red 308, Black 308 GTS (early car w/carbs, involved in accident during delivery), red Fiat Dino spyder, White Fiat Dino Coupe (67), and Red and Black Daytonas. Each had their own appeal and character, and left a lasting impression. Gary says he hated the Ferraris till he heard that big Daytona singing its song at redline! I'd always liked that Ferrari music somehow, siren song I'd call it...

Our neatest Ferrari was 410 Super America SN 0481SA. When we had it, it had lost its bug deflector, was green/green with a cream stripe, and constantly shed peeling paint which we superglued back on.

Gary drove the car one day, and remembers it this way:
"Remember the day we got the Daytona stuck in the snow? I think that day was also one of the few times I drove the SA, nobody around to say no. I remember it being very noisy, valves, gears, exhaust. Pulled much harder than the other Ferraris, clutch not long for the world, seems to me it was done in later on a spirited stint of driving, after that it moved very little to save what was left of the clutch. Seemed more cantankerous than the others, much rougher idle, much harsher powerband, much louder induction noise. Borranis were much narrower than the others, probably only 5-6" wide. Trans was not one for speed shifting, required deliberate slow shifts."

0481SA has since been completely restored, and was recently sold by Michael Sheehan. Recently, in one of those 'time stands still' moments, I saw 0481SA at an open house hosted by one of the local collectors:

Automotive firsts for me which happened at HMI:
1st time behind the wheel of a moving car: Lamborghini 400GT
1st success with a manual transmission: Alfa GTV (1st Sacrificial clutch was in an old WV Beetle)
1st ride in a Ferrari: A white 4 headlight 330GT 2+2 (fancy that)
1st 'Car that got away': a nice little red Lotus Elan. Couldn't get the 5k to buy it, and it later burned to the taillights.

Unfortunately the place went out of business, but it was fun while it lasted.

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Revised: February 22, 2003 Copyright © 2003 Jonathon Brent