Modena Racing Memories by Graham Gauld

Modena Racing Memories

Italian Sports Car & Grand Prix Racing 1957 – 1963

Graham Gauld

One of my favorite benefits of being in the Ferrari Club of America is reading Graham Gauld’s “Gauld Mine” in the club’s terrific magazine Prancing Horse. So here’s a full book of his first hand anecdotal stories, filled with great pictures and insight. The conversational text is more than an accounting of events, but clearly puts things in context of the times. There was a lot more going on in Modena than just Ferrari and he details the rivalries and developments of all the areas protagonists, again adding to the context of the Ferrari story. The relationships he established with the players of the time contribute to the feeling of being there yourself, not only in Modena, but other places in Europe that hoped to shift the balance of power from this small Emilian area to their own backyards. Gauld set out to find the Modena that Jenks had described and not only found it, but created a view of his own that he recounts with clarity, humor and an amazing accuracy, he’s even kept track of serial numbers. Gauld had amazing access to everybody. He was there behind the scenes with the devopement of the ASA and the first mid-engined Dino. He recounts the big walkout with a perspective that is now widely known, but wasn’t until Graham put it in print. So this is much more than a picture book, but a journal of his visits to great races, cottage racecar shops and the big hitters of Modena supported by some rare and interesting photos.

Here are a few comments on some photos and captions:

p. 21 Top left are Ferrari blocks and single port heads.

p.34 Note too that the tach is upside down, easier to see the red line.

p.35. Note all the shocks under the bench and steering columns on the bench.

p.36 Grinding a crankshaft, not a camshaft.

p.43 Check out the highly polished spring. Compare this dash to the one on p.34, similar wheel and tach orientation, different gauges and mirrors.

p.45 Look how offset the jack is. Looks like you’d have to turn the steering wheel to put the front wheel back on.

p.59 I like the tags on the radiator support and the front top suspension point. Note the “4” on the tunnel and the ladder frame chassis on the ground.

p.60 Not sure this is a GT, comp filler on the gas tank, trailing link and anti-sway bar on the rear, the ribbed gearbox, twin brake cylinders and comp type parking brake lever.

p.61 These heads have the little stand or boss for Le Mans scrutineering stamp.

p.74 Very similar to p.35 and now you can see the tree outside.

P. 78 Both the caption and the text describe testing Dunlop wheels. I’m tempted to think they mean tires or even brakes. Dunlop did make alloy wheels but the one shot that shows wheels in these shots show Borannis. Bottom picture shows three four choke Solex carbs.

P.79 This is 677GT on the top left.

p.82 To me it looks like the center car is 744, the way the headrest drops off quickly seems unique to that car, it was renumbered from 646. The car on the left might be TR 746 which went to Chinetti.

P.84 The PF coupe body is mounted on a chassis, note the axle cable hangers and fuel filter mount.

p.85 By 1960 the place was modernized; this shot shows late GTEs and a Lusso, probably 1963.

p.103 Doesn’t appear that the gauge is recalibrated, just enhanced.

P.107 I think this might be a LWB Cal, also has two eared knock offs.

p.110 Caption describes a berlinetta spyder, what the hell is that?

p.114 GTE and Lussos on the left, an LMB and GTO on the right.

p.132 Note the square bezel in the middle of the dash. It's a Halda Speed Pilot rally clock for keeping track of speed time and distance. It has two round faces, I think one is a clock and one is a timer, three knobs along the bottom edge, one in each top corner and an digital (old days mechanical digital) odometer. This may mean this TdF was destined for rallying and might help in its identification.