Wow, if those cars are sub 6 figures, now would be the time to buy. That can't last forever with those lines.
What a great post, I have been interested in these cars for a long time and spoke to Milt Brown too. I never heard the story of the metal work only that they were "hand formed"! I guess so. Though I know that the GTOs were not made by gypsys as my friend, importer and racer Bob Grossman, said he had discussions with Enzo about those cars (and indeed raced a few in his time, he said it was like racing a truck!). Officially there were only the two Buick engined cars, the 215 and 300. I think Milt said there were 10 300s. And I think some of them ended up being Vendettas. I'll try to post some pics later when I get home of one I looked at in CA. Their current worth is dependent on their condition, ~20k for a runner with needs to somewhere over 120K for a 'good' convertible. I think there were only 4 convertibles if memory serves. This is what I last saw so there may have been some movement on them. The real problem isn't puchaseing one, but finding one to buy. I also know of two others, one in Long Island, a real beater, but the guy also has a Mercedes 540K, owned by the Rockefellers and some Avantis. He used to show it at the Pocono Concorso Italiano. The other is owned by John Ehrlich at Quad 4 Rods out in Colorado, I think he is done restoring it, but his motor of choice was a 4 cylinder BMW M3 motor. He had it in something else and said it went like stink. Should be an interesting car when it is done. These custom cars were some of the coolest Euro-customs around, Steve 38 mentioned a couple of the greats, but there are also the Facel Vegas, which are some of the most beautiful cars around. Another car the Bosley coupe, was a hand formed car built in mid-Ohio. It is currently in the Peterson Museum collection. It has cool swoopy coachwork with a 327 in it, I think. Its running gear as I recall were from a Ford, I don't know what model. The Bizzarini is interesting in that you have to change the plugs in the back two cylnders from inside the cockpit, The engine is so far back! This is why I love the HAMB, such great ecclectic taste. Best, MRAK
Oh yeah, good call. I forgot the Facel Vega. I think they were French with Chrysler power from memory? I have a book written by Pete Brock on the Cobra Daytona Coupes. He talks about the Daytona Coupes that were fabricated in Modena by the Italian craftsmen in the '60s. They would take small pieces of aluminium, hold them over the wooden body buck (supplied by the Shelby team) then shape the pieces of aluminium using a ball peen hammer, and a wooden tree stump. What they ended up with were pieces of shaped aluminium that looked like "a metallic sack of walnuts" (Brocks words), which they would then place on a steel topped table and smooth out with a wide nose panel hammer. Then each piece would be laid on the wooded buck, attached with wood screws, spring clamps, and even tape, and then welded together. Truly great craftsmen! Brock said the Shelby team gave the Italians several of their high tech tooks, including an English rolling machine, but they weren't impressed, and it just sat gathering dust in a corner.
Right, forgot what powered those Facels, I think there were other engines in other models. I also forgot about the Serrinisima(sp?) Jet, I think it had a one-off Ford DFV type engine, a beutiful car none-the-less, saw it last year in Italy, I'll post that tonight too. Here is a taste from the Octane website. Got to love Peter Brock, they are definitly not doing that on the new Superformance Coupe, all aluminium in South Africa. Great car. There was a article in Details of all places about 5 ears ago that showcased some of the remaining Italian carrozias, truely unbelievable what they could make. Seen a whole bunch of cars and they look better than almost anything. The Pegasos and Cisitalias are truely breath taking. There were a whole slew of Hybrid cars, mostly British with American engines, I'll have to look up the others though, it has been a while since I really was looking at them hard. But I know of a few people who even transplated Chevy power in their Jag E-Types, a very reliable choice though the big problems were with the electrics.
That's interesting, I talked to a local restorer who was finishing up a Dual Ghia a few years ago. He said they were beatiful cars but that "they were real butchers with the sheetmetal". He said it took an incredible amount of fitting, metalwork, and filler to make the cars straight and fit together properly. I guess each car probably differed from the next. Great read, even if it was all in one paragraph! (just kidding)
Hey, Other Anglo/Italian cross breeds: Jensen Interceptor 383/440 Mopar, Monica 440 Mopar, Chrysler 6.4 Ghia 361 Mopar, Hudson Italia, Scaglietti Corvette 265/283 Chevy,Iso Grifo 327&427 Chevy, Bizzarrini Strada 327 Chevy, De Tomaso Mangusta/Pantera 289 & 351 Ford, Intermeccanica Omaga & Torino 289 & 302 Ford. Swankey Devils C.C.
Ok, so I couldn't find the pic of the Bosley, you'll have to go to the Peterson to see it, but here is that Apollo 300, it had an auto trans and full buick running gear if memory serves. The other pics (Red Car) are of the Serrinisima Jet. A cool one off built by a guy with way to much money to give Lemans a try. I think the basis is a Ford DFV but could be wrong, sure looks that way though. Oh, and the other image (The Blue car) is the PininFarina take on the Corvette, the last few pics were shot at last years Concorso de ville d' Este in Como, Italy. If you can manage to get to that show, it is worth every penny. Anyway enjoy.
I always wanted a jenson interceptor - preferably the FF with a 440-6, all wheel drive, and 4 wheel disk brakes!
We were fortunate enough to paint one of these for another restoration shop here on town. Unfortunatley they had all of the body work done so we were not able to see any metal work. The car went on to sell at Barrett-Jackson for about $33,400 in '05
I think the Apollos were really beautiful cars, if a bit derivative -- you can see influences of Ferrari, Aston Martin and others in their form. Too bad that they were never developed into reliable, high performance GT's. The Gordon-Keeble that Steve 38 mentioned was a very interesting piece. Conceptually similar to the Iso Rivolta, but much less well known, it was kind of a 2+2 Corvette with conservative but beautiful styling. I think fewer than 20 were built, but I have the impression that they were a much better sorted car than the Apollo.
I had a guy show me two of these that he had in a shed in his backyard. One was a buick and the other a small block. Both of them were apart with pieces inside and in the trunk but appeared to complete drivers at one time as they both had old plates on them. Cool to find out some more info on these cars.
First car to have anti lock brakes too - in 1966! Ferguson Formula (the FF part of the name) also built a one off Mustang at about the same time with four wheel drive as a test car.
Hey, The Apollo was lucky to have had its day in the sun when it did. By 1968 the U.S. Federal Govt. was commin down hard on the small run car builders. Lighting, seat belt, crash standards and the yearly changes in smog requirments made it very tough for a small producer to crack the U.S market and hope to make a profit. The labor riots in Italy in the 70s made it tougher for the bigger dogs like Alfa, Ferrari, Lancia and even Fiat to make a stand; a stand alone builder like Intermechanica/Apollo would'nt of stood a chance five years later. My all time fave-or-rite Anglo/cross breed has to be the pre-war Railtons, named after none other than Reid Railton, of Salt flats time trials fame. Basicly a Hudson Terraplane frame and power train with a coachbuilt aluminum body.An early factory built hot- rod that pre dated the Shelby Cobra by twenty five years. Swankey Devils C.C.
Didn't know about that Mustang... Ferguson also put 4WD drivelines in a bunch of Experimental English Fords, and in the Novi-Ferguson ( pic)
Hey, I saw a Ferguson conversion in a Ford Zodiac (cop car) a few years back. When I first was lookin' at it, I thought that it looked like it was done in someone's garage with a dull hatchet and a blind fold! Rough gas welded sheetmetal, with no attempt to cover any of the "workmanship", than sprayed over with the top coat. The packaging was very tight, but they musta been quite a ''hot rod" on wet or frozen pavement. I think that Ferguson was trying to market these to Scotland Yard for patrol srevice. The Jensen Interceptor with the Ferguson Formula (FF) was quite interesting for 1966. A four thousand pound all wheel drive vehicle with anti-lock brakes. These had the pre-smogger 325 h.p. 383 big blocks coupled to the 727 automatic/Ferguson gear. These cars still hold a great deal of interest in the Jensen community after some fourty years. Just wish I could sell my MkII! Swankey Devils C.C.
Just found these pics of the Apollo from some old files. The red one is from Long Island, the other was for sale out in California. I just couldn't pony up the cash for it.
Yeah I think so, or even upgading it with a more modern Rover engine, which is basically what is in it. Ithink I mentioned earlier that there is a guy out in Colorado putting a BMW M3 4-banger in one, and I am sure that that will be more than enough to get it motivated.
Very nice thread if I do say so myself. I kept my promise to Milt Brown and I showed up at the Concorso Italino this year with my 63 3500GT #1008 . Deny Paul also showed up with his 5000GT (327 chevy powered) and was also pictured on the Concorso website. I met a few other Apollo owners that day. I met the owner of #074, it was up for auction at Russo Steel . #074, green, sold for $72,500 plus 10 percent buyer's $79,750.00 out the door ( one of Milts old cars) I've nearly logged 5000 miles on her this year, just too much fun to drive!
hey, It's great that you actually drive and enjoy yours, something that I'd guess both Milt Brown and Frank Reisner had in mind for these. It's good too, that this thred came back up. Swankey Devils C.C. "Meanwhile, back aboard The Tainted Pork"
Wow - there is a lot of Appolo and Vetta Ventura (as the later, Texas built cars were called) knowledge in here. Perhaps you guys can shed some light on an odd-looking car posted over at AutoPuzzles. The fella who posted it says the picture was taken when he was 6 (that's him by the car). The car looks like a VV, only different. Notably, it has fender vents cut in the side that look something like a Bolwell, and a hood that is not like other Venturas. Do any of you have some background on this car?
Looks like I forgot to do my part on this. Here are the pics from the Concorso Italiano this year. An Apollo with a 327, an Intermechanica, and a cool one... a Pegaso Coupé (check out the engine on this one. Sorry for the delay. The tool kit in the Pegaso was also pretty unreal. I am still trying to figure out if the thing in the foreground is a flask of Whisky! Hope you like them
I did some fairly exensive metal reworking on an Apollo (Buick powered) in 1969 when I worked for Dean Jeffries in Hollywood. If I remember correctly, the owner was Larry Ramos. At the time he was part of the recording group, The Association (Windy, etc.). I remember radiusing and flaring the rear wheelwells and possibly modifying the hood and maybe rolled pans. Its been too many years to remember exactly but Dean may have some photos of it. It was dark green and we never painted it, only primer.
Hey, It's good to see this post back up top side! That's one sexy Apollo you have pictured, there! If I owned one, I'd be driving the wheels off of it ,too. I ran across a AC Aceca that someone had "shoehorned" a Buick 215 into, but they wanted far more money than I'd give for a very rough starter. The Pegasso you've pictured has an interesting story, "if" it's the one I'm thinking it is: The current owner, the gent seated behind it in the photo, bought the "project" Pegasso for him and his son to restore, sadly the son passed away before the car was finished. Thanks for posting your Apollo! Swankey Devils C.C. " Spending A Nation Into Generational Debt Is Not An Act Of Compassion!"
Pimpin - I wish it were mine! Damn! I tried to get one a while ago, but no luck. That is exactly the Pegaso you are thinking of. He told me the story too. Amazing. The car IS a tribute to everything he and his son did. The Aceca's brother the Ace of course went on to become the Cobra, so it isn't surprising someone put a Buick into one. The 215 is the engine that I think came in most of the Apollos too. Only a very few were produced with other engines. At least that is what Milt Brown told me when I had the balls to call him up a bunch of years ago. I have since lost track of the Apollo that I was interested in. I mentioned it above, a guy in Long Island owned that, a bunch of Avantis and a Mercedes 540K reputably owned by the Vanderbilts. It was a neat bunch of cars stuffed into this one bay garage under his condo.
The Jalopy Journal
