1964 Bizzarrini Iso Grifo A3/C

[ElSecundo]

Nice choice. :)

We were lucky enough to see a couple of these racing in the vintage race at Le Mans. Great sound, and very cool looking. :)

[ElSecundo]

Oh yeah, there are tons of manufacturers like that. Lots of people want to get in the car biz, I guess!

Did you get the name of the car book?

[DAVE]

A racing aquaintance, Frank Opalka, had one of these. He liked it because it had Italian flair
and Chevy running gear. He had become tired of the finicky, high strung European racing
engines and loved working on the small block Chevy. In my opinion it drove like a truck. But
different strokes for different folks, as they say.
By the way, another car which had it's beginnings on the Iso drawing board is the Griffith, which
eventually became the TVR .

[ElSecundo]

[olskoolslotz]

...

[Modlerbob]

There was a red one at the Legends of Motorsport event at Sebring in Dec. 2010. I got a couple of pictures of it. It also was involved in an accident and left Sebring on the bed of a tow truck.

[DAVE]

Els;

They are skitterish as hell to drive. The original with the TR motor wasn't unbearable if you kept on your toes. But
when they dropped the small block Ford V-8 in, it was scary. I've driven both cars and they are fast. But I like to
enjoy the drive as well.

[ElSecundo]

Heh, it seems like car builders were trying to 'out-terrify' each other. :) Probably engine technology way exceeded tire and suspension technology...

[DAVE]

There certainly was a period in the late 50's and early 60's when horsepower exceeded chassis technology. The
Griffith Ford tended to do donuts when you stood on the loud pedal. Conversely, my Genie Ford, which is a
mid-engined sports racer, tends to go straight. Even when you prefer it would turn. In both cases, you need
to mind your P's and Q's when driving.

The Iso Grifo drives fairly nice, but lacks rack and pinion steering. With the V-8 up front it takes more effort
to steer than I would like. There were several race versions, and it is one of the prettier cars from a minor
car builder.