Motorsports Marketing Resources

This week’s story is not so much about an upgrade, as it is a cautionary tale.

Early in the very late stages of the past century, my wife and I drove the WASRED 308 to Cavallino, an annual Ferrari fest held every January in West Palm Beach, Florida. We used the front tire well and rear trunk for luggage and even took along a set of golf clubs.

We stayed at the Colony Hotel in downtown West Palm Beach. “West Palm” is what we habitués call it. The Colony was, and probably still is, a well kept monument to the glory days of West Palm and nearby, still swishy, Worth Avenue. A number of its occupants are permanent residents whose presence reminds other patrons, and possibly themselves, of grander days.

Other than an ice storm in northern Virginia that forced us…

By Sandy Cotterman, Motorsports Enthusiast

I feel like I’ve come to a screeching halt! The Florida Concours season has basically ended, and the next onslaught of motorsports events hasn’t quite kicked into gear.

Before jumping into this summer’s adventures, I wanted to reflect on an event that has evolved into a top notch Concours and also raises a ton of money for charity. In only its seventh year, the Boca Raton Concours d’Elegance is a shining example of how to do it right. Many, if not all, Concours and even smaller car shows these days have a charity they support. The Boca event is the crown jewel of Concours for a Cause.

What makes this Concours stand out? Six million dollars and over 12,000 at-risk boys and girls. All-volunteer-driven,…

Test Day: June 9, 2013
Qualifying: June 13 & 14, 2013

The second round of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) took place on the extremely fast Spa-Francorchamp circuit in Belgium on May 4th. This six hour race was a warm-up for Le Mans and although Audi won Prototype and Ferrari won GT Pro, the races were hotly contested by the Toyota Prototype and the Aston Martins in GT. Aston Martin had actually beaten Ferrari in the first race of the season at Silverstone. At Spa, Ferrari won in both the Pro and the Am (see below) race groupings.

Le Mans is arguably the single most important race in the world. Indy 500 may have a bigger gate and possibly even a larger viewing audience but winning or losing Le Mans impacts the sales of more car, tire, oil, and all the…

Improved Cooling –Aesthetics

In 1995 I bought a 1978 308 GTS Euro spec Ferrari with a rebuilt engine and 13K miles on the long non-functioning odometer. It had had a serious accident on the right front corner. This is the twelfth in a series of short articles about how we repaired and updated it.

What Meets the Eye

We have pretty much completed the Cooling System Upgrade from a hardware point of view and we are satisfied with the outcome. There remain only two things to do. One is cosmetic and the other requires a little more research on our part before we share it. Stay tuned.

Let’s talk about “The Look” of what we have done. Beginning at the front, we changed the black radiator, the black AC condenser and the two black…

In 1995 I bought a 1978 308 GTS Euro spec Ferrari with a rebuilt engine and 13K miles on the long non-functioning odometer. It had had a serious accident on the right front corner. This is the eleventh in a series of short articles about how we repaired and updated it.

Improved Cooling – Fans

If there has been a consistent theme to this series, other than the fact that with skilled help even the inept can succeed, it is that each part we changed was an appreciable upgrade.

If the shiny aluminum radiator was a visual and technical improvement over the 35 year old lump it replaced, the fan change was absolutely essential. State of the art in 1978 was twin fans hanging from a structural support above and aimed at the upper part of the radiator. Probably an…

Improved Cooling – Hoses & Fans

In 1995 I bought a 1978 308 GTS Euro spec Ferrari with a rebuilt engine and 13K miles on the long non-functioning odometer. It had had a serious accident on the right front corner. This is the tenth in a series of short articles about how we repaired and updated it.

A Hose! A Hose! My Kingdom for a Hose!

When last we left you we had installed a new radiator at the front of our WASRED 308 and a new water pump at the back. Now to connect them.

There are 10 hoses and six formed aluminum tubes carrying coolant between the radiator and the engine. Only two hoses are easily visible and, other than the top radiator hose, none are easily accessible. I should point out here that a very long (24”) blade screwdriver…

Improved Cooling – Water Pump

In 1995 I bought a 1978 308 GTS Euro spec Ferrari with a rebuilt engine and 13K miles on the long non-functioning odometer. It had had a serious accident on the right front corner. This is the ninth in a series of short articles about how we repaired and updated it.

308 Water Pump. A Lovely Thing.

The water pump on the right, with the gold vanes, is the original pump in the WASRED 308. On good authority, I am advised that this was a pump originally used in the 1950s. You can see the major design differences with the one on the left.

Our last…

…that makes us smile?

By Sandy Cotterman, Motorsports Enthusiast

Technically, I wasn’t on assignment while sitting in Panera having coffee the other day, when I just happened to glance out the window to see a woman snapping a photo of the back end of my car with her iPad… all smiles. It made me smile just to watch her have so much fun. I’m pretty sure my cars are on the most photographed list of cars on the road, for whatever reason. Toll booth cameras love them. Not a day goes by when I’m either sitting at a light or stuck in traffic that I look in my rearview mirror and see someone taking a picture… all smiles.

Improved Cooling—Auto and Personal

In 1995 I bought a 1978 308 GTS Euro spec Ferrari with a rebuilt engine and 13K miles on the long non-functioning odometer. It had had a serious accident on the right front corner. This is the eighth in a series of short articles about how we repaired and updated it.

The WASRED 308 has never been a hot running car. In traffic the water temperature gauge would sometimes indicate as high as 105 degrees Centigrade. But regular highway running was generally just under the 90 degree mark. That changed last spring when I arrived to 110 degree Fahrenheit weather in Phoenix. The car was running very hot in traffic. Over 110 C. I asked my host, Bud Bourassa (no relation), all around good guy, vintage car owner, and…

In 1995 I bought a 1978 308 GTS Euro spec Ferrari with a rebuilt engine and 13K miles on the long non-functioning odometer. It had had a serious accident on the right front corner. This is the seventh in a series of short articles about how we repaired and updated it.

We Don’t Carry a Spare!

I bought the car in Chicago from a baseball player who was on strike at the time. The car came with the airless spare sitting in the passenger seat because the front spare compartment was filled with stereo equipment. I drove the car home, removed the stereo system, but never replaced it with the spare tire. I use the front compartment for luggage.

I have had one flat tire in the past 20 years. We have AAA Road Assistance. I carry pressurized cans in…