The GTE Register

[Tom Wilson]

I admit that I have been AWOL from this site for a while, as I have been overwhelmed with a lousy Real Estate market, a wife with empty nest syndrome and lots going on with 4247 (that is another thread).

So, since I was booked solid anyway, I decided to accept Bill Preston’s offer to take over the GTE Register, which has been tracking GTEs and 330 Americas for 28 years. What appeared to be a simple matter of recording emails turns out to be a huge commitment to answering calls, letters and emails from owners all over the world, tracking down missing cars, scanning photographs, bugging Ferrari dealers and so on. I am also converting the register from Microsoft word to a Filemaker database, which seemed like no big deal until I found it had 8.700 entries! It will be very flexible and searchable when it is done, but that may be a while. It is all a big job, but I am having a blast.

One goal is to accumulate more data on each car so that we can follow the evolution of the design and manufacture more closely. I do not feel that it was as simple as four prototypes and Series I, II & III. In fact there is a good argument to me made that there were four prototypes and 20 series! (We can discuss that more when I get the database gets fuller.) This info will also help us to identify cars from photographs and magazine articles. Therefore, I would love to get photographs of each of your GTE’s including all four sides and the interior, especially the dash. Any documentation you have, such as build sheets or bills of sale would be very helpful. Note that this documentation will not be published (unless you say it is ok), but will be used to populate charts on GTE’s that will show when certain features appeared, the number that were painted each color and whatever other things sound interesting. Also note that the register will no longer publish Numero Interno (other than the chassis number) addresses, phone numbers or other contact information for owners, so your privacy will be respected.

I have just finished my first newsletter, which will go to the printer at the end of the week. For those familiar with it, you will see a few changes, mostly done to reflect my own personal (read wordy) style. One thing that might be of particular interest is a column from our own Tom Yang, talking about his adventures with his brake equalizer. Tom will be a regular contributor and I hope to enlist more of you as time goes on. The newsletter is quarterly and costs $40 per year, which I now know barely covers printing, mailing and all the rest. Someday it will go online, but for now, we continue to be old school. If you are interested, let me know and I can tell you more.

You can reach me at Tom@GTERegister.com or through this site, which I promise to post on more often.

[Terry Gardiner]

Hello Tom (do we need to call you Tom W here?) - firstly a word of appreciation that you've taken over from Bill Preston. I'm sure that the register is more demanding in time than most of us realise but, for now, it sounds like you feel you made the right decision. The register's evolution from creation by Len Miller and through Bill's time has often seemed to me to be waiting for a firmer link to a web site such as Tom Y's, which has developed largely in parallel. I look forward to greater communication and linkage in the near future.
For my part, receipt of the register newsletter in hard copy is no big deal. I would happily take a 'soft copy' by email - if that helps minimise the workload and costs of running the enterprise. Maybe others might feel the same - particularly, like me, those 'overseas' (as far as you are concerned).
The longer Tom Y's site continues to grow the more helpful and informative it becomes, building on support from the register newsletter to provide the best chance of keeping these cars going.
Over the past year there have been a couple of meetings that brought together numbers of GTEs (Holland and UK) - and while it's easy to swap contact details with other owners at such events the benefit of a day-to-day forum to keep those contacts alive and develop them is huge.
Once again, thanks for stepping up to the line.
Even though the register is '250 GTE' centric and Tom Y's site is a little more cosmopolitan I am sure this should not be any sort of real barrier to closer working.
Regards
Terry (SN4681)

[tyang]

Hi Terry,

Thanks for your thoughts. Tom W and I have been discussing the GTE Register for a while, and are very excited to finally get the keys! It's really Tom W's Register, but I am happy to help in any way that I can.

Good luck Tom Wilson, and we all look forward to the GTE Registry moving into the future!

Tom

[Tom Wilson]

Thanks Terry - I appreciate your comments and support.

I would imagine that the newsletter will go online in time, but for now, I am keeping it as it has been. Printing and postage for 120 issues per quarter do have a cost, but it is not much more effort. I drop it off at the printer and he gives it back to me two days later ready to mail. I will have to enlist my wife (who is also my editor) to help with stuffing, labeling and stamping. One evening, I hope. I personally like getting it in print form, as I am not that comfortable reading 20-30 pages on my computer. An iPad, on the other hand, would not be too bad...

As for merging the newsletter/register with this site, it is something Tom (Y that is, not K or T or W or S) and I have discussed, but neither of us are ready to commit. I need some time to get my arms around this project and see where it takes me. When I know that, I will know where to put it. I have been actively involved with this site for over 10 years and started my own (Ferrari250GTE.com) not to compete (see the chat section of my site) but to do do some things that Tom Y did not have the time or energy to do. The site is kept seperate only because I do not want any other Tom to have to pay for the bandwidth that my stuff takes up.

So, will the register go on line? I think it should, but when you open up the information in the register to the entire internet , the privacy issues become much greater than they are with our current 40 - 50 unit printing. This is an issue that I have given a lot of thought and have not yet reached a firm conclusion. If and when it happens, I want it to be done right.

The register/newsletter is a great resource for maintaining the history of our favorite cars. And, as you mentioned, it is also a great way to build community. This site and the Register have helped me meet other owners within my community and from all over the world. I hope we can all do more of that and make the GTE community even stronger over the coming years.

[afwrench]

Hi Tom W. Congrats on the new project.As per my various posts I know nothing about the whole online thing but it might be worth a look at 365gtc4.com. Jeff Litrell has done a great job and while others can view ,one must be a registered owner to access certain info. Good luck,Mike

[330GT]

... I drop it off at the printer and he gives it back to me two days later ready to mail. I will have to enlist my wife (who is also my editor) to help with stuffing, labeling and stamping. One evening, I hope. ...

Hi Tom,
You might want to look into a service like the the NW region of the FCA uses. The editor just emails the PDF to the printer and they do everything else, including using their reduced rate postage permit. I can find out more details if you are interested.

[Tom Wilson]

Kerry - My printer has that service, but it is not really practical below 500 copies and not really economical below 1,000. Right now mailing 120 newsletter is not that bad; my wife and I have spent many an evening with CSI, stuffing PTA mailers. Mostly it is just the fact that this is all new. I am spending a lot of time rearranging things so that they will work the way I want them to. By the second or third time, it should be a well oiled machine. Though, as it is a Ferrari venture, I am sure it will leak somewhat...

[Tom Wilson]

The newsletters are in the mail! As I thought, all it took was two episodes of Top Gear and they were all stuffed, labeled and stamped. My wife drove a hard bargain with the printers, so you will see that the format has been upgraded somewhat. I hope that you enjoy it! Drop me an email at Tom@GTERegister.com if you not currently subscribing but would like info on doing so.

[Besters]

The Newsletter arrived yesterday (here in germany ! ) Thank You, TomW, for this great issue ... and TomY and BillP and ...

[tyang]

I read my copy cover to cover and think Tom Wilson has done a great job. It's nice to see Len and Bill's work carrying on into the 21st century with Tom W. I'm proud to be part of it!

Tom Y

[Yale]

Please put a subscription form on your GTE site, I know it's not the same thing but why not? Consider it a blow in card in a magazine.

[Tom Wilson]

Excellent idea. I have been so focused on the Register that the site has kind of lagged behind. I have a huge backlog of stuff to add, but a Register page with subscription info ($40 per year for 4 issues) should be first on the list.

If anyone is interested in getting a copy of the newsletter, I will be happy to send one for free so you can check it out (as long as supplies last). Just email me at Tom@GTERegister.com with a mailing address. Yale, yours is on its way!