The Ferrari 156 Sharknose
The Ferrari 156 was built for the 1961 Formula 1 season. It featured a 190 hp V6 "Dino" engine. The car won Phil Hill the 1961 Formula 1 Drivers Championship, and the team of 4 cars secured the 1961 Manufacturers Championship for Ferrari. Dubbed the "Sharknose" for its distinctive air intakes, the car won 5 of its first 7 races in 1961, including a 1-2-3-4 finish at Spa, earning Hill and Ferrari the coveted "#1" car number, which the recreation car will wear.
This Hotwheels version of the 156 that is being restored was a car that my kids had played with for a few years. It showed lots of wear and tear. The wheels used on this Hotwheels First Editions version will be replaced using 2 sets of "Real Rubber" rear wheels from the Hotwheels Hall Of Fame edition of the car (pictured below the decals), the front wheels used on the Hall Of Fame series being too small. |  |
 | This car was used as a test bed for the restoration process, detailed earlier on page 2 of this site. It was a good candidate for experimentation, as it just happened to be lying around the house at the time. It was the first car the drill was used on, and the first one painted. The same colour red that used on the Ferrari 312 P restoration was used on this car, Tamiya TS-8 Italian Red. The drivers seat was painted light blue, a fabric colour used by Ferrari for the 156's, and on several other models throughout the 60's. The steering wheel was also touched up, having the rim painted in flat black for added detail. Some time was spent researching which number to use on the car, but I was unable to find much info regarding number assignments. I simply decided to go with the #4 to match the photo above. |
There were some Ferrari emblems left over from the decal set used on the Ferrari 312P project. They were used on this car, and a generic roundel and number set was ordered from H.O. Slot Car Racing. (pictured above)
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