Trident

MASERATI BIRDCAGE - #2455
by Joel E Finn

ORIGIN

The origins of this story properly begin in the mid-1950s with Gaston (Gus) Andrey, a Swiss emigrant to the US who became active in SCCA racing, attaining a class championship in 1955 driving a Morgan. His performance attracted the attention of Mike Garber, a racing minded New Haven, Connecticut businessman, who, became Gus's sponsor starting with the 1957 season. The combination proved immediately successful, winning the 1957 SCCA Class E Modified Championship with a Ferrari Mondial. The 1958 and 1959 awards followed with a Ferrari 4 cylinder Testa Rossa serial number 0706MDTR. I know the serial number of this particular machine as it came into my possession years later bastardized with a Ford engine and gearbox.

Among other Andrey successes in this period was winning the 1958 Elkhart Lake 500 mile race in a Ferrari 4.1 litre 335 Sport co-driving with Lance Reventlow. This ride was also sponsored by Mike Garber through a lease arrangement with Luigi Chinetti's NART. This very same Ferrari is now displayed at the Larz Anderson Museum in Brookline, Mass. The Mondial was run at Havana in 1957 with Porforio Rubirosa as co-driver. This race was a debacle, Fangio being kidnapped from his hotel, among other problems encountered.

1960 - Gus Andrey with the Birdcage engine on the dyno at his workshop in Framingham, Mass.

During this period Garber secured Duponts Telar radiator coolant sponsor with secondary support coming from Oilzum. The sponsorship revenue and the successes gained through 1959 boded well for continuing on to bigger and better machinery in the coming years.

It had become apparent to Garber during the 1959 season that the Ferrari Testa Rossa was becoming a bit long in the tooth and some newer, faster machinery would be necessary for 1960. He had heard of the new Maserati sports racing car then being developed by the Orsi's to, make their re-entry as a significant force in the racing world. The first car of this new series was officially called the Tipo 60 being of 2 litre displacement. It featured a 4 cylinder, gear driven twin cam, twin ignition, dry sump engine producing 200 BHP @ 7800 RPM, canted at a 45 degree angle in a chassis, constructed of a multiplicity of small diameter steel tubes. This construction led to the nickname of "Birdcage" by which the model became popularly known. The chassis featured a coil spring front and a 5 speed transaxle with DeDion tube and transverse leaf spring rear. Large diameter disc brakes were fitted all round. Ready to race weight was in the 1300 pound range.

The first competition appearance of the new model was at Rouen, France in July 1959 where Moss drove it to victory in the 2 litre race over the Lotus XVs, of Stacy and Ireland. Encouraged by this success and the possibility of numerous sales to private American entrants, Maserati began series production of the model. In addition to the 2 litre Tipo 60, a 2.89 litre version called the Tipo 61 was also offered, utilizing the same engine bored out to 100mm from 93.8mm and fitted with a larger crank and longer rods to give a 92mm stroke, as compared to the 72mm Tipo 60. Aside from this change and fitting Webber 48mm sidedrafts in place of the 45s, the Tipo, 60s and 61s were identical. A flock of American buyers ordered new Birdcages, among whom were Briggs Cunningham, Jack Hinkle, E D Martin, Harry Finer, Joe Lubin, Loyal Katskee and Roger Penske. A quasi factory team was organized by Lloyd Casner, called Camoradi, eventually owning four of the models. In all, 22 Birdcages were constructed of which five were Tipo 60s, and 17 were Tipo 61s. The first car built, the Rouen raced Tipo 60, was converted by Camoradi to, a Tipo 61 and is included in that category. Deliveries began in September, 1959, and ran on into 1960, though all the chassis are believed to have been constructed in 1959.

Birdcage complete with street mufflers
(Photo by Joel Fynn).

On the strength of the Birdcage success at Rouen, Mike Garber was persuaded to order a Tipo 61 through the Maserati Corporation of America in Glen Cove, New York, at a purchase price of $10,600.00. Gus Andrey was sent over to Modena in September, 1959, to watch over construction and sort out the new car, taking delivery officially on November 22nd, 1959, of the completed, race ready machine, chassis and engine number 2455. Osky Feldman was brought in to oversee the preparation of the Birdcage and keep it mechanically fit. With a busy schedule ahead, he was to have plenty to do.

The Birdcage was immediately airfreighted to Miami and thence taken by boat to Nassau to compete in the December, 1959, edition of the Speed Week. This marked the first occasion of Birdcage competition outside of continental Europe. On hand, in addition to the Andrey Birdcage, were the Tipo 61s of Camoradi driven by Shelby and the car of Loyal Katskee. Gus was consistently faster in practice than the other Birdcages having the advantage of more experience with the car's handling characteristics.

In the Governor's Trophy race, Gus finished second behind Stirling Moss' Aston Martin DBR1. The major event of the Speed Week, the Nassau Trophy Race, saw a very spirited competition for the lead with Gus in the midst of the fray. On the next to last lap, while lying third, he had a collision with a slower Aston Martin knocking him backwards off course into a wall breaking the DeDion tube and rupturing the gas tank, causing a nasty fire.

THE 1960 SEASON

The Birdcage's first competition of the SCCA season was at Pensacola, Florida, on April 4th, 1960 where Gus won the modified event and was also first in class. Second and third in Porsche RSKs were Roger Penske and David Lane respectively.

The next event was the Marlboro Nationals at Marlboro, Maryland held on April 16th, 1960. The course is extremely short and twisty, much to the disadvantage of the larger cars and historically Porsche paradise. Gus finished fourth overall and second in class behind Penske in first, with Holbert second, both in Porsche RSKs. Third spot was taken by Dick Thompson in his Sting Ray.

Cumberland, Maryland on May 15th, 1960 was the site of the next SCCA National and also a very tight course. Gus led for the first six laps but finished second behind Walt Hansgen's new Cunningham owned Tipo 61. Penske was third in his Porsche RSK.

May 29th-30th saw Gus competing at the Bridgehampton Long Island SCCA Nationals. Here he finished third overall and second in class. The race was again won by Hansgen in the Birdcage with Dick Thompson second in the Sting Ray. Following Gus in fourth place was Penske.

Then followed a long trip to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for the June 19th, 1960 Nationals where Gus was third overall and first in class. The winner was Augie Pabst in the Scarab and second was Dick Thompson in the Sting Ray. Fourth behind Gus was his usual shadow, Roger Penske.

Lime Rock, Connecticut was the site of the next National on July 2nd, 1960. Here the Birdcage suffered its only major mechanical disaster of the season. The transmission broke up in practice and Osky cannibalised another for parts, but he couldn't complete the job in time, so the Birdcage didn't even start in the race.

The last SCCA race of the season for the team was at Thompson, Connecticut on September 5th, 1960, where Gus finished third overall and second in class. First place was taken by George Constantine in a Lister-Corvette and second by Walt Hansgen in his Tipo 61. Fourth and fifth respectively in Porsche RSK's were Holbert and Penske.

So ended the team's 1960 SCCA season with Gus the Class D Modified Champion through consistent high place finishes. At the annual SCCA awards banquet Gus also received the over 2 litre Driver of the Year award.

While the SCCA season was completed, it was decided to try Nassau once again. There in December, 1960, Gus finished second in the Governors Trophy Race behind Ricardo Rodriguez's Ferrari Testa Rossa TR60. Third was Bob Holbert in a Porsche RS60.

1960 - Gus Andrey being chased by Porsche RSKs at Thompson.

The feature event of the meet, the Nassau Trophy Race of 252 miles was contested by 56 cars, creating a major melee in the first few laps. By the time the race got sorted out Gus was running fifth behind the eventual winner, Dan Gurney, piloting a Lotus Monte Carlo and the second place finisher Pedro Rodriguez in the Testa Rossa Ferrari. Third spot was held by Jim Hall in his Birdcage, fourth by Bonnier in a Porsche. About the three-quarter mark Gus got by Bonnier into fourth and then shortly thereafter into third when Jim Hall spun and broke his steering in an off-course excursion. Gus finished third with Bonnier in fourth place behind him.

At the conclusion of the Speed Week, the Birdcage was sent by air from Miami back to the Maserati factory in Modena for a complete rebuild in preparation for the 1961 SCCA racing season.

1961-1962 HISTORY

The Birdcage was airfreighted back from Italy to Boston after completion of the rebuild, arriving on 17th February, 1961. During that winter, Garber somehow lost the Dupont Telar sponsorship which went to Roger Penske and his newer, hotter Tipo 61. With no other sponsors forthcoming Garber decided to sell the car but did allow Andrey to compete in it one more time, with orders to go slow and not break anything. This last race was a SCCA National at Virginia International Raceway in April 1961 where he finished third behind the Birdcages of Penske and Hansgen. Shortly thereafter the car was brought to Maserati Corporation of America's showroom in Glen Cove, New York where it was put up for sale.

Also in April of that year, Sports Cars Illustrated magazine, the predecessor of Car and Driver, featured the Garber-Andrey Birdcage on the front cover along with a 4-page Thompson track test by Karl Ludvigsen. Accompanying the article was a very fine cutaway drawing and numerous photos.

The Birdcage article aroused the interest of Jules Byles, an oil company executive, and fast car enthusiast from Ft Lauderdale, Florida, who already owned a Maserati 350OGT. Mr. Byles soon purchased the Birdcage and commissioned the Maserati distributor to outfit it for road use, fitting street tyres, mufflers, tail lights, and turn signals as well as treating the car to a new paint job. Shortly after this work was completed and before he was to take delivery, I was in Glen Cove and had a look at the car and must say it looked just perfect to me.

Instead of trailering the 1375 miles to Florida, Mr Byles elected to drive the Birdcage and enlisted Irv Dolin, a photographer/writer for Sports Cars Illustrated, to accompany him on the journey. The story of this epic five-day trip in May 1962 through foul weather and deviled by various minor mechanical bothers was described by Mr Dolin in an article published for the November 1962 issue of Car and Driver. Once in Florida, the Birdcage went into semi-retirement, used by Mr. Byles only occasionally.

Of the other original principals in this little story, Gus Andrey went on to become the 1965 SCCA Formula B champion in an Alfa engined Lotus. In 1966 he and Horst Kweeh teamed to win the Trans Am series. Since then he has mostly occupied himself with operating a successful Alfa-Saab dealership in Framingham, Mass. Osky Feldman is still working with him, and Mike Garber is now retired in Florida.

MY AQUISITION

I have been enamoured of Birdcages for years, believing they represent the ultimate development of the front engine sports racing car and consequently kept a continuous lowkey search going on for them. A number were located over a long period of time, but most were undesirable due to missing or non-original engines, transaxles or other major modifications. I bought a Tipo 60, chassis number 2465 in Italy that was complete, but unrestored, and a Tipo 61 chassis number 2453 in Washington less engine and with rough body work to which was married a proper engine obtained from the Kiekaffer Mercury outboard people. But in the back of my mind was always the desire to find and buy the ex-Garber/ Andrey Birdcage which I felt had the most successful competition record of them all.

Various contacts had passed me information about the car, but a thorough check of the Ft Lauderdale, Florida area during 1970-71 was to no avail. It and its owner seemed to have disappeared into, thin air some time in the preceding several years. Every lead was investigated but they all either came to nothing, or the car was not even a Birdcage, and in one instance was a different Birdcage. One of the leads that could not be tracked had the car residing in the Western part of North Carolina, but the lack of precision with the information caused me to eventually abandon the pursuit.

It was therefore very surprising, to say the least, to read in the Classified Ads column of the Sunday, June 25th, 1971, New York Times an advertisement offering the ex-Garber/Andrey Birdcage for sale with a North Carolina phone number. In addition to a comprehensive description of the car, spares and trailer was an admonition not to telephone before 6 pm that night.

I was with my family on a weekend vacation at the New Jersey shore and knew that we would be travelling back home at that time. Being determined to have the Birdcage, I ignored the 6 pm requirement, telephoned North Carolina immediately and spoke with Mrs. Byles whose husband was still the car's owner. After verifying that it was indeed the ex-Garber/Andrey car, I told her in the strongest possible terms that I wanted the car and not to sell it to anyone else under any circumstances or pretences. She agreed to have Mr. Byles call me collect as soon as he returned from a motorcycle ride he was on, and promised to inform any other callers that the Birdcage was sold. I waited anxiously for several hours until Mr Byles phoned, and we had no trouble finalizing the arrangement. As he wanted to be paid in cash, and the banks were closed on Sunday, we agreed I would drive down to North Carolina with C.I.F. (cash in fist) the following day and take possession of the car.

I drove back home to Poughkeepsie that night with a slight nagging fear that someone else might beat me out of the car. I gathered together some necessary tools, wire to adapt the Birdcage trailer to my particular wiring hookup, and was at the bank's door when they opened for business at 9 am on Monday. Fortunately, they had a sufficient amount of cash on hand to fulfil my needs for the transaction. I promptly made tracks for Sapphire, North Carolina, which turned out, after 790 miles of nonstop driving, to be located in the mountainous Southwestern most part of the state, just three miles from the Georgia border. Most of the mileage was via the Interstate network with the exception of the last 100 miles from Asheville west which were rough and very twisty up and down mountain roads. I won't mention the speed average that was being maintained but suffice to say I arrived at my destination in daylight.

Mr Byles met me at the location where the Birdcage was stored on its trailer. I had a quick look at it and saw it to be in superlative condition in every possible way. He fired up the car for me and it sounded just great. We took care of our financial transaction and had a short chat while I coupled the trailer to my station wagon and sorted out some pesky wiring problems. The Birdcage came with a fitted waterproof cover designed for trailering, which we put on, as rain looked imminent. The spare parts, tools and extra wheels were loaded into the station wagon, and he gave me a large binder full of information about the car, including factory specifications sheets. He also gave me a list of some 30 odd people who had phoned about the car after we had made our agreement. In fact, he told some of them I had bought the car and several called to try and buy it after my return home.

Once the loading process was completed I decided to head off North as exhilaration over the whole situation pushed tiredness into the background. I called it quits for the day near Asheville, North Carolina, after passing through a torrential thunderstorm on those narrow, twisty mountain roads. I arose early the following morning and headed non-stop for Poughkeepsie, arriving in the late afternoon. The Birdcage was promptly unloaded, washed, waxed and then very carefully studied. It was in remarkably fine condition, just as it was when I last looked at it in 1962. It still had its original paint, upholstery, wheels, dash, mechanical parts and not a metal crack or flaw in the body. Still painted on the sides of the body were Gus Andrey's Swiss emblems. Absolutely nothing had been changed or updated with the exception of the street equipment added for the journey to Florida. The car was still operating with the camshaft driven mechanical fuel pump. Even the original radiator blind was on the car and operational as were the Maserati emblemed horn button mounted in the centre of the steering wheel, and the probably never used top assembly. Perusal of the binder Mr. Byles gave me showed that it contained a complete record of the car's history from the time he acquired it until my purchase. It was full of notes on mechanical work carried out, correspondence with the Maserati factory, bills for everything, original photographs, and a myriad of other information gathered during his ownership. Truly, Mr. Byles had done an outstanding job of caring for the Birdcage, which I intend to continue. Before taking the Birdcage on to the track, the tyres were switched to Dunlop racing, keeping to the original sizes of 5: 50 x 16 fronts and 6: 50 x 16 rears. The carburettors were checked over, slightly colder plugs installed, engine and transaxle oil changed, and the car was ready to go.

I have competed in numerous events since acquiring the Birdcage and have never had any mechanical or chassis failures of any sort. It requires the absolute minimum of maintenance and always runs perfectly.

I intend to leave the car in its original unrestored state as long as possible, as it is totally unique among surviving actively campaigned race cars as to condition and having never been updated or butchered in any way. I'm looking forward to many more seasons of active racing with the Birdcage.

The Birdcage was recently featured in an article by William Jeanes for the February 1975 issue of Car and Driver.

This article first appeared in the Summer 1975 issue of Trident

Maserati enthusiasts and collectors who may be interested in acquiring back issues of this highly collectable magazine may do so by contacting Adam Painter of the Maserati Club at

adamkpainter@uk2.net

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