TOM MEADE , is he alive and well , if so how can one contact him ? I am also trying which cooper single seater chassis was used by him as the basis for the Tom 2.
Tom Meade and the Thomassimas
Started by
EDWARD FITZGERALD
, Oct 21 2005 08:50
10 replies to this topic
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#2
fausto
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- 528 posts
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Posted 21 October 2005 - 09:06
SportsCarInternational published a piece on Meade and his cars, if someone is interested....
#3
klemcoll
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- 187 posts
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Posted 24 October 2005 - 21:17
Tom Meade is indeed alive and well, living in California. I have an address somewhere and will PM it to you.
#4
EDWARD FITZGERALD
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Posted 27 October 2005 - 21:27
Many thanks , looking forward to that .
#5
Raja
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- 13 posts
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New Member
Posted 31 October 2005 - 09:51
I have originals photos of Peter Coltrin with the cars built by Tom Mead.
Will sell it .
Salut
Will sell it .
Salut
#6
klemcoll
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- 187 posts
- Joined: July 04
Member
Posted 31 October 2005 - 13:33
Raja,
OK to sell your prints, but The Klemantaski Collection owns the copyright, so please do not post them or offer them for reproduction.
Thanks!
OK to sell your prints, but The Klemantaski Collection owns the copyright, so please do not post them or offer them for reproduction.
Thanks!
#7
Arjan de Roos
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- 2,583 posts
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Posted 04 April 2006 - 15:15
Meade is a special part of Ferrari and italian racing history. I think he is quite appealing to many as he WAS present in Modena in the sixties and could access those many sources we today can only dream about.
Last month I found this article by a dutch car magazine in my stack. Probably defunct 'Auto Revue', but it could also be 'Autovisie'. Anyhow, this is what ought to be described as Thomassima 0, the first car Meade made/reworked seriously. He obviously toured Europe to find a suitable owner for this Ferrari 250 GT Thomas. He did meet the journalist (name I could not find in the article) in The Hague (The Netherlands) and gave some of his ideas. Must have been a very rare sight to see this GT in dutch traffic mid sixties. Later this car was destroyed in a fire and does no longer exist to my information.
Also mind the student way Meade dressed compared to the way he later appaered. I translated the full text, see below. Enjoy!!
[Text scan 2]: Special bodied cars somehow appeal to us, especially if it is a artisan hand crafted body on a thoroughbred base that does not really look like an existing model. And that is just the attractive side of those creations, often realized in small workshops in unattractive neighborhoods of some Italian city. Italy, yes, that is the centre, which is where we find that kind of artists who seem to live a life of luxury when it comes to Real Automobiles. Thoroughbred. That does apply to the very special car we want to present on these pages: a Ferrari, of which only one exists in the world, a unique sample that has such authentic lines that it resembles a aggressive rocket. So, an Italian special then? Yes and no. Because this is a combination of several nationalities, because this car was manufactured in Modena on a Ferrari base by an American who made his home there and stayed for a while in our country [Holland] (amongst others at Hans Maasland) [Maasland was Ferrari importer to Holland in the 60's] with car. America, Italy, Holland, The Hague that is.
What does this super special Ferrari look like? Well, this is hard to summon up, if we cannot use superlatives of the word 'pretty'. Let us try by summing up of all that is weird and at the same time eye-catching beautiful to this wild beast. First the outside. You will attract attention, much attention, with such a car, that is quite clear, but it remains strange to drive together with designer-builder Tom Meade through the royal residence and neighboring seaside resort with a car that lacks bumpers, a mean looking car, which produces through four exhausts a mighty, growling sound, proof for the immense unleashed powers. Powers that can explode at anytime to an orgy of speed that Eor so it seems Ewill not decelerate and will go on eternally. The long, nearly extreme sharp nose, the recessed head lights, the large air intake on the engine hood, the ventilation slots front and rear, the modern cut-off rear, the 'fat' racing tires (Dunlop), the elegant roofline, those are the exterior characteristics of this silver projectile (painted in aluminium grey), which is leaning downward rather sharply with its nose, like its about to scrape its chin on the ground.
What does this Ferrari hide beneath its nice, lean body? Tommy Meade, 25 year old Californian, ("I try to reach the extreme possibilities of building automobiles.") showed us. First of all, the special seats, by far no resemblance to normal car seats: they are nicely shaped bucket seats that will assure a comfortable place with good side support at all times. It is a Meade design, who let Modenese specialists take care of the production, of which later more. Upholstery of the cockpit and roof are without any doubt to the nines and give the car the real Gran Turismo character. The cockpit lay out and interior design we can only praise: the instruments (only the necessary are present) are neatly arranged. The steering wheel is different to the GT-models from the factory in Maranello, as it is so small with a wide edge, which makes it comfortable to handle. Also you only need one single move to make the car change direction. No need to change the position of your hands unless you're parking (total rotation full left to full right is only two rounds).
Constructor of this Formula 1 looking steering wheel is Cumurri [?] from Modena. Meade: "I really do not understand why those kind of steering wheels are used in more fast GT's. Its steers quite smooth and exact."
Left page [scan1]: A car with refined beauty: that is the special body that American Tommy Meade created on a Ferrari base and has a lower roofline than any other GT of that brand.
Below right: A unusual car with a familiar back ground [The 'Pier' of Seaside town Scheveningen]. In this side view can be clearly seen how the stream line is taken to the extreme and the long, sleek nose leaning down strongly.
Top right: The maker applies the final details to the electronics of his creation, it is clear that all fits only just. The head room can be enlarged by repositioning of the seats.
[Text scan 3]: Some technical data give an insight to the internals, to the construction. The car is a Ferrari 250 GT with three liter twelve cylinder engine and fully synchronized four speed gear box. Power output is about 240 SAE-bhp, which leads at the relative low weight of 950 kg to huge performances. A top speed cannot be easily measured on the highway with this kind of monster, but on the German 'Autobahn' a speed of 270 kilometer was seen on the speedometer, that will not lie with this kind of cars, still our Californian, our American in The Hague, thought he still had some more left there.
The history behind the birth of this eye blinding, unique car started when Meade bought at Ferrari a chassis complete with engine, brakes, etc. The body was what he had to do himself. He would adjust it and shape it to a GT with a dared concept, a car nonetheless that should be acceptable as a way of transportation for two, albeit a very rapid way, along with some room for luggage, though one cannot ask for too much with these kind of cars. All extra luggage that can be brought along, besides a tooth brush, is a bonusE A risky plan? No, not for the man from Hollywood with the stubborn tuft and spectacle with dark edges. Because he makes his living with reworking exceptional cars, read: Italian, by changing them to his ideas. The last years Tommy Meade resides in Modena, after he had worked on exclusive cars in the states from a intense interest in all that has to do with car racing and beautiful cars. "In America people always talk about the great, the special that comes from Italy. Everybody is talking about 'it', about those fantastic Italians, you get to see them driving but you can hardly imagine how the construction is carried out over there, so I decided to go there myself".
Italy. Modena. Via Ulivi: this is where Meade has his own workshop where he can play around with his special cars as much as he like to. But why is his name relatively unknown? "Well, ik know everybody in Modena, the Italian car Mecca, and I actually don't feel myself big enough to give cars that I build my very own name. Maybe this time (and Tommy observes his creation with his eye of an expert) it will be named 'Coachwork by Thomas', Thomas, you see, is my official first name".
The intention is to sell this Ferrari we have seen in The Hague, to a real connoisseur, who -and that is clear- has to part with a connoisseur amount. When building this car (his fifteenth) [?] Thomas used specialists who worked previously with famous car body specialist Fantuzzi (amongst others the man who made the Ferrari F1 with nostril nose). Any future plans? Well, someone who builds such cars and keeps up with the latest developments, someone like our own Tommy Meade, always has plans. More clear is his next GT, that will even be lower than this Ferrari (nearly unthinkableE and that will be constructed on a former De Tomaso Formula 1 car. In the back a Ferrari V12 engine with a five speed gearbox and ZF differential. Normal doors are a no-no, impossible. A system will be constructed with the doors in the roof, which can be slid forward, like the 300 SL, but than along rails and not hinged. Moreover, it sounds promising and exciting. Just like this Ferrari by a man whose name is only little known, but within the coming years will build himself a fast car carrying his own name. Remember his name: 'Thomas'.
Top right: View under the bonnet and the proof of pure force: a three liter twelve cylinder Ferrari power unit with an impressive row of three double Weber carburetors.
Lower top right: The interior has a superb finish with a gear lever positioned close to the small steering wheel.
Top left: The bucket seats are designed by Thomas Meade and offer a truly perfect fit thanks to the wide side supports and the rear profile which results in a backwards leaning position of its occupants.
Below:
A projectile: low, super fast and still beautiful and effective as Gran Turismo, that is the ideal of Thomas, an American in Modena, who for a moment was an American in The Hague and is only occupied with very special automobiles.
Last month I found this article by a dutch car magazine in my stack. Probably defunct 'Auto Revue', but it could also be 'Autovisie'. Anyhow, this is what ought to be described as Thomassima 0, the first car Meade made/reworked seriously. He obviously toured Europe to find a suitable owner for this Ferrari 250 GT Thomas. He did meet the journalist (name I could not find in the article) in The Hague (The Netherlands) and gave some of his ideas. Must have been a very rare sight to see this GT in dutch traffic mid sixties. Later this car was destroyed in a fire and does no longer exist to my information.
Also mind the student way Meade dressed compared to the way he later appaered. I translated the full text, see below. Enjoy!!
[Text scan 2]: Special bodied cars somehow appeal to us, especially if it is a artisan hand crafted body on a thoroughbred base that does not really look like an existing model. And that is just the attractive side of those creations, often realized in small workshops in unattractive neighborhoods of some Italian city. Italy, yes, that is the centre, which is where we find that kind of artists who seem to live a life of luxury when it comes to Real Automobiles. Thoroughbred. That does apply to the very special car we want to present on these pages: a Ferrari, of which only one exists in the world, a unique sample that has such authentic lines that it resembles a aggressive rocket. So, an Italian special then? Yes and no. Because this is a combination of several nationalities, because this car was manufactured in Modena on a Ferrari base by an American who made his home there and stayed for a while in our country [Holland] (amongst others at Hans Maasland) [Maasland was Ferrari importer to Holland in the 60's] with car. America, Italy, Holland, The Hague that is.
What does this super special Ferrari look like? Well, this is hard to summon up, if we cannot use superlatives of the word 'pretty'. Let us try by summing up of all that is weird and at the same time eye-catching beautiful to this wild beast. First the outside. You will attract attention, much attention, with such a car, that is quite clear, but it remains strange to drive together with designer-builder Tom Meade through the royal residence and neighboring seaside resort with a car that lacks bumpers, a mean looking car, which produces through four exhausts a mighty, growling sound, proof for the immense unleashed powers. Powers that can explode at anytime to an orgy of speed that Eor so it seems Ewill not decelerate and will go on eternally. The long, nearly extreme sharp nose, the recessed head lights, the large air intake on the engine hood, the ventilation slots front and rear, the modern cut-off rear, the 'fat' racing tires (Dunlop), the elegant roofline, those are the exterior characteristics of this silver projectile (painted in aluminium grey), which is leaning downward rather sharply with its nose, like its about to scrape its chin on the ground.
What does this Ferrari hide beneath its nice, lean body? Tommy Meade, 25 year old Californian, ("I try to reach the extreme possibilities of building automobiles.") showed us. First of all, the special seats, by far no resemblance to normal car seats: they are nicely shaped bucket seats that will assure a comfortable place with good side support at all times. It is a Meade design, who let Modenese specialists take care of the production, of which later more. Upholstery of the cockpit and roof are without any doubt to the nines and give the car the real Gran Turismo character. The cockpit lay out and interior design we can only praise: the instruments (only the necessary are present) are neatly arranged. The steering wheel is different to the GT-models from the factory in Maranello, as it is so small with a wide edge, which makes it comfortable to handle. Also you only need one single move to make the car change direction. No need to change the position of your hands unless you're parking (total rotation full left to full right is only two rounds).
Constructor of this Formula 1 looking steering wheel is Cumurri [?] from Modena. Meade: "I really do not understand why those kind of steering wheels are used in more fast GT's. Its steers quite smooth and exact."
Left page [scan1]: A car with refined beauty: that is the special body that American Tommy Meade created on a Ferrari base and has a lower roofline than any other GT of that brand.
Below right: A unusual car with a familiar back ground [The 'Pier' of Seaside town Scheveningen]. In this side view can be clearly seen how the stream line is taken to the extreme and the long, sleek nose leaning down strongly.
Top right: The maker applies the final details to the electronics of his creation, it is clear that all fits only just. The head room can be enlarged by repositioning of the seats.
[Text scan 3]: Some technical data give an insight to the internals, to the construction. The car is a Ferrari 250 GT with three liter twelve cylinder engine and fully synchronized four speed gear box. Power output is about 240 SAE-bhp, which leads at the relative low weight of 950 kg to huge performances. A top speed cannot be easily measured on the highway with this kind of monster, but on the German 'Autobahn' a speed of 270 kilometer was seen on the speedometer, that will not lie with this kind of cars, still our Californian, our American in The Hague, thought he still had some more left there.
The history behind the birth of this eye blinding, unique car started when Meade bought at Ferrari a chassis complete with engine, brakes, etc. The body was what he had to do himself. He would adjust it and shape it to a GT with a dared concept, a car nonetheless that should be acceptable as a way of transportation for two, albeit a very rapid way, along with some room for luggage, though one cannot ask for too much with these kind of cars. All extra luggage that can be brought along, besides a tooth brush, is a bonusE A risky plan? No, not for the man from Hollywood with the stubborn tuft and spectacle with dark edges. Because he makes his living with reworking exceptional cars, read: Italian, by changing them to his ideas. The last years Tommy Meade resides in Modena, after he had worked on exclusive cars in the states from a intense interest in all that has to do with car racing and beautiful cars. "In America people always talk about the great, the special that comes from Italy. Everybody is talking about 'it', about those fantastic Italians, you get to see them driving but you can hardly imagine how the construction is carried out over there, so I decided to go there myself".
Italy. Modena. Via Ulivi: this is where Meade has his own workshop where he can play around with his special cars as much as he like to. But why is his name relatively unknown? "Well, ik know everybody in Modena, the Italian car Mecca, and I actually don't feel myself big enough to give cars that I build my very own name. Maybe this time (and Tommy observes his creation with his eye of an expert) it will be named 'Coachwork by Thomas', Thomas, you see, is my official first name".
The intention is to sell this Ferrari we have seen in The Hague, to a real connoisseur, who -and that is clear- has to part with a connoisseur amount. When building this car (his fifteenth) [?] Thomas used specialists who worked previously with famous car body specialist Fantuzzi (amongst others the man who made the Ferrari F1 with nostril nose). Any future plans? Well, someone who builds such cars and keeps up with the latest developments, someone like our own Tommy Meade, always has plans. More clear is his next GT, that will even be lower than this Ferrari (nearly unthinkableE and that will be constructed on a former De Tomaso Formula 1 car. In the back a Ferrari V12 engine with a five speed gearbox and ZF differential. Normal doors are a no-no, impossible. A system will be constructed with the doors in the roof, which can be slid forward, like the 300 SL, but than along rails and not hinged. Moreover, it sounds promising and exciting. Just like this Ferrari by a man whose name is only little known, but within the coming years will build himself a fast car carrying his own name. Remember his name: 'Thomas'.
Top right: View under the bonnet and the proof of pure force: a three liter twelve cylinder Ferrari power unit with an impressive row of three double Weber carburetors.
Lower top right: The interior has a superb finish with a gear lever positioned close to the small steering wheel.
Top left: The bucket seats are designed by Thomas Meade and offer a truly perfect fit thanks to the wide side supports and the rear profile which results in a backwards leaning position of its occupants.
Below:
A projectile: low, super fast and still beautiful and effective as Gran Turismo, that is the ideal of Thomas, an American in Modena, who for a moment was an American in The Hague and is only occupied with very special automobiles.
#8
P4Replica
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- 125 posts
- Joined: July 04
Member
Posted 15 August 2007 - 10:57
Vintage Cooper race / resoration specialist Sid Hoole has recently identified a rear suspension upright from the Thomassima II as 'possibly being from a Cooper T43 or T45 (with slight machining differences)'.Originally posted by EDWARD FITZGERALD
I am also trying which Cooper single seater chassis was used by him as the basis for the Tom 2.
Apparently, the car's current owner has some photos from 'that show the car being built in what appears to be Drogo's shop in Modena. The chassis has not yet been widened'.
Before you ask .... I am not privy to these (yet).
Interestingly .... Piero Drogo took part in the 1960 Italian Grand Prix driving a Cooper-Climax F2 entered by 'Scuderia Colonia' and was placed 8th, five laps behind the winner, Phil Hill.
Could it have been Drogo's own Cooper that was used ? If not, there were also a number of Cooper 'specials' entered in that race - including the unfortunate Cabianca's 'Scuderia Castellotti' Cooper-Ferrari, in which he was killed the following year ....
#9
krasnavian
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- 7 posts
- Joined: October 06
New Member
Posted 24 February 2014 - 19:06
As you may already have heard, Tom Meade passed away in August of 2013.
#10
group7
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- 548 posts
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Posted 25 February 2014 - 14:57
I believe the december 1970 issue of road & track featured one of the thomassimas on the cover, along with a couple of pages on his creations. had no idea he had passed, really liked what he built !
mike in canada
Edited by group7, 25 February 2014 - 15:00.
#11
proviz
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- 723 posts
- Joined: October 06
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Posted 03 March 2014 - 09:35
What an interesting character Tom Meade was. His Thomassimas are quite well covered in magazine features through the years, but one project remains strangely obscure. I have seen at least two mentions of a mid-engined Maserati Tipo 63 or 64 that he rebodied for someone in Holland. Using Willem Oosthoek's "Birdcage to Supercage" as reference, I cannot figure out which chassis it could have been. Has anyone ever seen a photo of this car in its Meade-designed guise?
