Meanwhile, Pala still had 0024 M’s original engine and drivetrain, which he sold to Tasso Haritos of Hackensack, New Jersey on March 27, 1962. Tasso rebuilt the engine and installed it in his Siata special, but 0024 M’s engine was now 3,000 miles away from the car. This situation would continue until October 3, 1974, when Negri sold 0024 M to Ferrari dealer and historian Stanley Nowak in Mount Vernon, New York. Nowak beavered away at the car’s history, contacting earlier owners, consulting with Briggs Cunningham and Wayne Thoms. He turned up photographs, correspondence and documents, then sold the car to Gary Schonwald for $4,000 in December 1974. Nowak wasn’t finished either. He tracked down Tasso Haritos, who still had the remains of his old Siata special, and bought it from him for $2,300, including original parts and the original 32 DCF carburetors and short block. Schonwald then purchased (via Nowak) the original engine 0022 M from John Mead in New Jersey.

The whole project was delivered to Chris Leydon Restorations of Lahaska, Pennsylvania, where the Vignale Berlinetta body was removed and subsequently sold to UK dealer John Baker. At the time, Leydon had another 166 MM Barchetta in the shop and had only three days to complete a template and body buck for 0024 M, as the other car had been sold and was going to Switzerland. Meanwhile, Schonwald continued to collect information for the next 10 years, and his comprehensive files accompany the car.

Keith Duly of Bethlehem, Connecticut bought 0024 M and its original engine in 1986 as part trade for an Alfa Romeo P3 and commenced a five-year restoration armed with enough information on 0024 M to get it absolutely right. He commissioned its restoration from Neil Twyman of Potter’s Bar in England. Twyman in turn sent out the engine, gearbox and rear axle work to be done by noted craftsman Jim Stokes of Idsworth, UK, while the new Barchetta body was expertly handcrafted by legendary panel-beater Bob Ford.

The restoration of 0024 M was completed in late 1989, and on January 16, 1990, the car was sold to Don Young of Santa Barbara. In 1995, it was advertised in the Ferrari Market Letter and bought by prominent Japanese collector Yoshiho Matsuda, who shipped it to Tokyo. In 1996, it was featured in the Japanese Scuderia magazine and was on the cover of Prancing Horse two years later. Matsuda sold 0024 M to Yoshijuki Hayashi of Tokyo in 2006, and it returned to the US in March of 2008, sold to Robert Harris of Logan, Utah.

As romances go, 0024 M would seem to have the whole package: noble birth, exciting youth, middle age and a rebirth in the hands of experts. Ferrari 166 MMs are among the most desirable Ferraris on the market, not only for their rarity but also their tremendous event potential. As offered, 0024 M would be an exciting entry at any vintage event in the world, not the least of which is the Mille Miglia Storica – an event in which this car participated, in period! Beautifully restored and complete with its original engine, this is a Ferrari worthy of the connoisseur’s close attention.

[Source: RM Auctions] - Photo Credit: Hugh Hamilton ©2010 Courtesy of RM Auctions

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