Lyle Tanner on Ed Niles & Ferrari SWB 1465

I received this note from Lyle Tanner, a fellow Ferrari Owners Club member back in the day and proprietor of Lyle Tanner Ferrari Parts:

"Stephen:

I would like to mention that with Ed's help, I got #1465 Interim Short Wheelbase. Raced at Le Mans in 1959. They made six. Roberto Goldoni got the car for me. I couldn't get it started when it came off the ship.

I finally looked under the dashboard and there was another key that turned the battery on and off. Once turned, it ran great. The first time I pulled up to fill the tank with gas, the attendant and I thought there was a leak under the car after 25 gallons went into the car. We opened the trunk and discovered there was no trunk, just a 37 gallon gas tank.

Also interesting is when you got the car over about 140mph, the wiper blades would lift off the windshield.

I weighed the car one day with about 1/2 a tank and me standing on the scale. I couldn't believe the whole package weighed 2,300lbs.

Ed sold me a 500 Mondial. RHD and no LHS door. My wife at the time hated it. I was an engineer for the City of LA at the time and would often part it in the LA City Hall garage.

Can you imagine doing that today? After about one year, Ed bought it back.

Lyle "

[Photo Daniel Vaughan]