fatto gatto racing

One subject guaranteed to bring emotions to the fore is that of the provenance of a car.  In this case we are using the term "provenance" to indicate a combination of the car's history, ownership, and applicability, or appropriateness, when applied to vintage or historic racing.  A perfect provenance is one where the ownership and activity of the car are known and documented well with absolutely no breaks in the "chain of evidence."  This includes any mechanical work done on the car, especially after a major shunt or rebuild.

The importance of the provenance may range from nil to the extreme depending on the car, series, country, and reason for purchase.  In Europe, for example, the provenance is considered paramount, and cars without a respected history may not be allowed to race by some sanctioning bodies.  Cars definitely must have a true racing pedigree which can be proven with documented or verified knowledge.  In other words, you can not build up a car from scratch, using the original plans and drawings, and have a historic race car.  However, many or the sanctioning bodies this side of the Atlantic are much less picky when it comes to eligible cars.

But, what happens when a part of a known car is built into a different version of the same car?  You have the suspension and one piece of bodywork so you fabricate the rest.  After all, you have all four corners, right?  How about the chap that owns the tub or frame?  Or the individual who has possession of the chassis plate?  It has been known that whole cars have been cloned from something as seemingly small as one upright or a body panel.  Leaving out those who deliberately exploit these areas for profit, what should the owner of one of these cars do?  That depends on what he wants to do with the car.  Was it purchased as an investment?  If so, it was incumbent upon the purchaser to make sure of the car's provenance.  However, if the car was bought because a driver has always admired and wanted this type of car, and he is enjoying himself on the track, then all should be right with the world - at least until he tries to sell it.  Now it gets sticky, especially if there are several cars around all purporting to be the same thing.  Enter the lawyers and so-called experts on these matters who actually make a living researching and testifying in high-dollar law suits regarding the provenance of a certain car.

Another slant to this issue has arisen lately regarding the situation where several different cars were raced under the same badge by the factory or race team!  In other words, according to the FIA records there were chassis numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 of a certain year car raced in Grands Prix.  But we have 9 cars of that make and type in existence, and they all have come from the factory. How can this happen?  Quite easily, unfortunately.  Back before the European Community and the dropping of tariffs and trade zones, each car being transported across borders required a Carnet de Passage, a form specific to the chassis, that was used for border inspections by the customs officials.  These forms cost money.  Therefore, teams would apply for, say, four Carnets de Passage for chassis numbers 1 through 4.  However, knowing the dangers and likelihood of damaging a chassis in such a manner requiring major rebuild, nine chassis were actually constructed.  So, when chassis number 3 is almost destroyed the team goes back to home base, removes the chassis tag from the current chassis number 3 and installs it on a fresh chassis.  This "new" number 3 is then sent to the next race to be driven by the same driver that drove the "old" number 3.  Clear as mud?  It gets better.  After the "old" number 3 is repaired it goes back in the line.  It might be retagged as a "new" number 1 a week later.  Therefore, without an extensive amount of proof-positive, many of the GP cars have less than perfect provenances.  This certainly does not mean these cars are not real and valid GP cars.  It does, however, mean it is difficult to state any car is the one-and-only "chassis number 1".  Normally, when these cars are disposed of by a racing team, the cars with chassis tags go first.  These cars become the "known" cars and everything is fine until the team decides to transform the non-tagged chassis it still has into funding for another project.  These chassis are sold, often being tagged in duplicate of one of the existing cars.  These issues are exacerbated in that the teams rarely kept detailed records as there was no way of knowing anyone would want these old pieces of junk.  Often we have to rely on the memories of the team principles reaching back as much as 40 years.

What to do?  If you are on the Continent and you have one of these "duplicate" chassis then you may have a long haul ahead.  Even though the authorities understand the issue of multiple Carnets de Passage and the fact that there may have been 9 cars tagged with only four numbers, their attitude is that there is only one "true" chassis and that is the one that was purchased as such.  In the U.S. however, we are much less finicky and much more, in my opinion, logical in our approach.  As long as the car can be verified as being a real example of the type and it is prepared according to the rules of the era (with minor modifications relating to safety) it is welcomed.  Fortunately, the introduction of composite tubs has made this somewhat easier to deal with.

I say somewhat because there are other pitfalls in this inexact science of chassis identification  First of all, a common acceptance of the concept of the "identifying part" must be determined.  Logic would seem to indicate the chassis itself might be the determinant.  However, some people seem to want to say it could also be the engine and/or drive train.  Depending on the type of car, some want to specify the bodywork as the determining factor.  Without such a common ground we will continue to have duplicates.  Keeping track of the history of a chassis can also be fraught with unintentional mistakes.  We must be careful in accepting any report of a car or chassis being destroyed, regardless of the source.  There are two cases involving a late 1960's Can-Am car and a late 1980's F1 car.  In one case a major accident caused the almost total destruction of the car.  The car was truly a "write-off."  In the second case, a factory accident damaged a tub to the point that one of the team members said the tub had been "written off."  In both cases, it became hard and fast (and published) "knowledge" that these chassis had been destroyed.  In fact, in both cases, the cars were taken back to the factory and repaired or rebuilt, and subsequently retagged with their original tags.  One of them is currently in action even though a well-considered book states it has been written off.

Where does this leave us?  First of all, we must evaluate why we are involved in the sport and the purpose for which the cars are acquired.  In any event it is up to the buyer to verify the provenance of the car to his satisfaction.  If the car involved is truly a one of a kind then it may very well be worth paying a professional to research and verify the current owners assertions