Description
Chassis 0146 (0346) was the last of the second-series 166 MMs made. The new-for-1953 version was introduced for privateers to contest two-litre sports car racing. Thirteen chassis were allocated with a 2250mm wheelbase, with power provided by the same two-litre, all-alloy single overhead cam per bank V12, but now with 6-port cylinder heads and three gurgling, quad-choke downdraught Weber 36 IF/ 4C carburettors. Another revision was the use of roller cam followers, as trialled on Ferrari’s Aurelio Lampredi-designed ‘long-block’ V12. These modifications helped reinvigorate the ‘Colombo’ unit, increasing revs to 7, 200rpm and boosting power to a claimed 160bhp. This resulted in a hike in top speed from 110mph to a highly-impressive 137mph, depending on gear ratios. Wet sump lubrication was via an oil cooler mounted vertically to the right of the water radiator. Fuel supply from the 117-litre fuel tank was delivered by twin front mounted mechanical fuel pumps. Power was transmitted to the rear wheels via a five-speed Type 212/ EU ’box (with synchromesh on third and fourth gears) and a single plate mechanically-actuated clutch. The front end was suspended by means of a transverse leaf spring arrangement, the rigid rear axle set-up comprising semi-elliptic springs with Houdaille lever-type dampers all-round. The addition of twin parallel trailing arms on each side at the rear on Series II – or Tipo 166MM/ 53 - cars was also a major step forward in terms of ride and handling over earlier editions. The efficient braking system was hydraulically operated and had aluminium drums with steel liners, with Route Borrani providing the oh-so attractive wire-wheels. According to the factory build sheets, our car was completed in July ’53, and signed off by Ing. Franchini. Intriguingly, after the first test he noted: ‘Scarso di Potenza a tutti I regimi’. Roughly translated, this means ‘A lack of power at all levels’. Later annotations state: ‘Motore complete di carburatori modificati.’ Pininfarina’s own records claim that the coachwork was finished on July 9th of that year, the first owner being industrialist Kurt Zeller. The German owned an iron and steel works in Hammerau, a small town southeast of Munich located close to the Austrian border. Zeller clearly had the means to indulge himself, having previously owned a 212 Inter Coupé. Just to irritate future historians, this car was returned to the Ferrari works upon taking delivery of the 166. As was often the case around this time, the new car assumed the identity of the old one, ostensibly to circumnavigate crippling import duties on luxury goods. Thus, it ostensibly became chassis 0146 E and carried the existing registration number, AB-39 4060. An amateur racing driver from a time before the term became a slur, Kurt didn’t waste any time fielding his new toy. He teamed up with his younger brother, factory BMW motorcycle star Walter Zeller, and participated in August’s ADAC Nürburgring 1000km, round five of the inaugural World Championship for Sports Cars. Lining up with Modena’s new big guns, a **** of 375MMs driven by GP aces including eventual winners Alberto Ascari and Giuseppe Farina, the Zellers retired the car late in the race after running out of fuel. A degree of confusion surrounds which sibling drove and which one sat in the navigator’s seat, but they claimed third place in the 1600-2000cc class. The following year saw Kurt Zeller and new wingman Alois Willberger take part in the Tulip Rally. They placed a highly-respectable thirteenth from 128 finishers and claimed class honours. The 166MM was sold shortly thereafter to a dealer who in turn moved it on to a US serviceman who was stationed in Germany. The car then headed Stateside once his tour of duty was completed. In February 1956, the car was sold once again and, by the early ’60s, it had found its way to Connecticut where its youthful owner managed to damage the engine. A 250GT block was substituted. The rectangular fog lights fitted by Zeller remained. The car was subsequently traded between dealers in Trenton, New Jersey and Hampton Falls, New Hampshire before being acquired by Georgia-based Greg Miller in 1974. By this time, the car was in need of restoration. The car then sat in the grounds of Miller’s home in Lawrenceville near Atlanta where, over the next four years, it slowly communed with nature. Scroll forward to September 1979, and the car was saved by Gerald T. Sutterfield who moved it into dry storage at his home in West Palm Beach, Florida. The noted marque authority had hitherto saved several important ’50s Ferraris, and 0346M was stripped and the chassis part restored, only for other endeavours to take precedence. The turning point arrived in May 1999 after fellow collector, Florida’s Wayne Sparling, gifted the original engine block to Sutterfield from his cache of parts. The scheme never really found traction, though. Two years later, word began to spread that the restoration project was for...
