Description
Chassis 0614 MDTR was, by chassis number sequence the fifth of nineteen examples produced originally fitted with 2-litre Tipo 131 engines. All cars in the series, apart from 0620 MDTR, were right-hand drive, and 0614 MDTR was the first example to be delivered new to the USA. Upon its arrival in the USA, its first appointment was an appearance at the 1956 New York Motor Show, along with a 410 Superamerica Coupé and a 250 GT Boano Cabriolet. There is a note on the factory build sheet chassis page for 0614 MDTR confirming this - “inviato al salone di New York” (sent to New York Show). From contemporary reports the 500 TR was one of the stars of the show, attracting great attention from attendees. One of these was a renowned New York fashion photographer, socialite and amateur race driver, William Helburn, who wanted to buy it. The story unfolds that Chinetti told him that it was reserved for another customer, this being John Edgar, who had secured the services of Carroll Shelby to drive the car for him at a race meeting at Brynfan Tyddyn. Chinetti badly wanted Carroll Shelby to drive one of his cars, as he was one of the hot names in American racing at the time, and there was kudos to be had. However, Helburn was very persistent in his endeavours to purchase the car, and eventually Chinetti sold it to him on the understanding that it would need to be fully checked over before he could take delivery. The show had been held in the April, and the race wasn’t until late July, so Helburn frequently walked past Chinetti’s showroom wondering why 'his' car was still sitting there and he couldn’t take delivery! In the 'loan car' Carroll Shelby delivered the goods, taking a fastest time in the hillclimb in the morning and winning the race in the afternoon. After the race 0614 was returned to Chinetti’s premises recieving its as-promised full check over before Helburn eventually took delivery of his 'new' car in the September, some 11 months later! William Helburn may have had a long wait for his car to be delivered, but maybe it would have been better had the wait been prolonged, as in his first race at Watkins Glen he inverted the car. Fortunately damage to both he and the car was only superficial. Ferrari couldn’t get their team cars unloaded because of a New York dock strike, so asked Chinetti to send the latest competition examples at his disposal to Nassau for the Bahamas Speed Week, one of which was the repaired 0614 – race entry sheets show that 0614 was a factory team entry for 1 week! … with Helburn driving, where he posted some reasonable results. His next appearance in the car was in the Cuban Grand Prix in Havana in February 1957, where he shared it with Ferrari works driver Olivier Gendebien, who, from contemporary reports, did the lion’s share of the driving, resulting in a 5th place overall finish on race # 36. After this race he traded the car back to Chinetti and took delivery of the new for 1957 500 TRC. Luigi Chinetti eventually sold the TR to Boris “Bob” Said later in 1957, whose main claim to fame at the time, was that he was the first American driver to win a race in post-war Europe. Like the previous owner, William Helburn, he took 0614 MDTR to Nassau for the Bahamas Speed Week, where he achieved a 3rd in class in the Tourist Trophy, plus a 3rd overall and class win in the Governor’s Trophy, together with another class win in the Nassau Trophy. Boris “Bob” Said later turned from motor racing to bobsleigh competition, and was a member of the USA team for both the 1968 and 1972 Winter Olympics. The next owner was James Place of Waukegan, Illinois, who bought it from Said during 1958, and then went on to race it through to 1960. During this time he had some good results with the now “ageing” race car, and to keep it competitive, during 1959 he installed a Chevrolet V8 engine. However, this didn’t prove to be a success, as all known results in this form were a DNF. From information provided by Bruce Lavachek, the reason for the engine swap was that in mid-1959, Place had sent the original engine to Chinetti for an overhaul and rebuild. When he was advised that the work was complete, and given the bill, he thought the figure so outlandish that he told Chinetti to keep it...... likely in much stronger terms! Coincidentally, around this time Gordon Glyer of Sacramento, California, had the engine in his 500 TR, chassis # 0650 MDTR, blow up. He enquired of Chinetti the possibility of obtaining a replacement engine, and of course he just happened to have one on the shelf. Thus the engine from 0614 MDTR was fitted in 0650 MDTR, where it has remained ever since. By a bizarre twist of fate, 0614 MDTR today has an engine with “Numero Interno” 46 TR, which from factory records is the engine originally fitted to 0650 MDTR. 0614 MDTR first came to Bruce Lavachek’s attention during a conversation with **** Merritt at the 1978 USA Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, when **** mentioned that he had inspected a 500 TR...
