The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
By Willem Oosthoek
As we have seen in Part 1 of “A Coke and a smile”, Frank Harrison loved his three Maserati 450Ss, but the new Birdcage was faster. So what does one do? Find out in Part 2 and 3.*
After the Dothan, Alabama, event in October 1959 both Frank Harrison and his driver, Jim Hall, realized that the era of the Maserati 450S as a top feature contender had come to an end.
By Willem Oosthoek
The above title quote is how a Maserati-loving bottling magnate always ended his correspondence.* The bottling magnate was J. Frank Harrison Jr., whose father was a nephew of John T. Lupton, one of the Coca-Cola pioneers. [Read more…] about Maserati 450S, SN 4508, 4509, 4510
Interview by Pete Vack
Portions of this interview were originally published here in 2004.
Most of us are avid readers, particularly of good, solid historical books which feature our favorite cars; the more detailed the better, with decent contemporary photos, chassis numbers, hardcore information that you can count on, preferably on nice stock and hardbound.
But few readers realize what goes into the making of such a book, and how difficult it is to find publishers. We decided to ask Maserati expert Willem Oosthoek how he did it and what kind of problems he encountered in writing his last three major works; in 2004, Birdcage to Supercage, in 2009, The Magnificent Front Engined Birdcages, and the three volume set, Sports Car Racing in the South,Texas to Florida, 1957-1962. [Read more…] about The Books of Willem Oosthoek