Trying to identify a 8C 2300

[Zaagmans]

Hi all,

I recently purchased a number of photographs which originate from the Rob de la Rive Box archive.

Rob Box is probably a well known personality here who dealt with many classic cars in his days and has written a number of classic car books. He passed away a couple of years ago and since then his archive has been scattered around the globe.

I purchased the photos from an English dealer.

In the photos are two 8C 2300's. The first one was quickly identified, with the aid of a Dutch AR enthusiast, as # 2311217, a Pinin Farina Spyder which still resides in Switzerland. Based on the know history of that car, those photos were taken in 1978 when Rob Box sold / brokered the car to Andreas Mast.

The second one remains unidentified so far...

Judging by the condition of the the second set, they are older than 1978... maybe 1960's?

Anyway, the car passed through Rob Box's hands at some stage.

The same enthusiast that identified # 2311217 went through Simon Moore's "The legendary 2.3" front to back but didn't find it.

There are few " distinctive features" in the photos as the car lacks a license plate and most of its body (probably taken off for renovation / restoration?).

The features that I can make out are:
the drilled front cross member
the louvers on the firewall cowling
oil filler on the left on the outside of the firewall (making it an early model?)
The rather oddly place brackets on the side of the radiator (fender brackets? headlight brackets?)
And that's about it...

Who, oh who can shed some light on this car?

Here are the pictures:





In case you would like to see the photos of the already identified # 2311217, just holler but please respect the copyright.

[jonas]

Hi,
I agree that there are not many things that are "distinctive features" on the car in the photos.

Regarding your own observations:
- To my knowledge the front cross members were always drilled on the 2.3’s, so this is not a distinctive feature.

- The louvres on the side do seem rather large, so maybe this can help for an ID. (Is it just me or does the whole mid body section look new made?)

- Left hand oil tank (and filler..) means it’s a 1st or 2nd series car. 3rd series cars had a right hand side mounted oil tank

- The headlight brackets seem to be the original ones, and therefore not distinctive

After looking briefly at the photos these are my own first thoughts:

- The scuttle fuel tank for Autovac fuel feed system was used up until chassis number 2211077. This is consistent with the left hand oil tank and indicates a 1st or early 2nd series car.

- The exhaust pipes are not original. They resemble more a Bugatti layout. This is definitely a distinctive feature! It was only the 1st series cars that had a 4 into 1 exhaust layout. Series 2 and 3 had 4 into 2. But since obviously there has been some fiddling around with the exhaust pipe, there is no way of knowing if the original layout was also 4 into 1.

- I think it’s really difficult to tell the chassis length from the photos. The wheelbase looks rather long, but the photo angle doesn’t really allow for any conclusion. It definitely isn’t a Monza chassis, because the front dumb irons haven’t been chopped off.

I’m really interested in the photos of 2311217, so I would be most grateful if you would share them in a PM or an email.

Best regards,
Jonas

[Zaagmans]

Hi Jonas,

thank you for your comments!

My knowledge of the great cars is about zero so I'm learning every day...

BTW, "The Legendary 2.3" by Simon Moore is on the way so I'll delve into the history of these magnificent machines soon.

These are the pictures of 2311217:





Best regards,
Jack