Modena Meets SoCal.... [PIC]

This is Tom Meade's 1968 Thomassima lll. This creation began as a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Coupe (chassis #1065GT) powered by the 3.0 V12 with many mechanical upgrades including a ZF 5-speed transmission.  He customized and rebodied Maseratis and Ferraris prior and this is his 3rd Ferrari. Besides its breathtaking design, it sports gull-wing doors and these beautiful blued wire knock-off wheels.  The name "Thomassima" loosely translates to "Tom- the Greatest". Born in Hollywood to a single mother in 1939, his childhood was spent in Australia and Hawaii, returning to Newport Beach for his high school years. He did a stint in the Navy as an avionics engineer and back home began to fall in love with Ferraris he couldn't afford. He signed on as a seaman from New Orleans to Norway and hitched his way ultimately to Modena where The Ferrari and Maserati factories were located. He soon made enough contacts at the factories that he was able to secure retired race cars to reinvent and established a name so he could do commissioned work for wealthy collectors. He plied his craft in Modena (as the sticker on the back window attests to that reads "...built, serviced and sold from Modena, Italy"). This 3rd Thomassima was last honored at the Ferrari Museum in 2014 as part of a "California Dreaming" exhibition. The car is now owned by his son and resides in Lake Como, Italy. The car was branded "Tom Meade Modena Italy" with a 'standing goat' as its logo.

This model, by CMF, is another example of the benefits of the resin curbside phenomena where niche markets for arcane automobiles can be served. It's a numbered edition of only 300 (see chassis pic).