UP NEXT
Who needs a French roast when you have these kinds of French roads?
Sign up to receive the weekly newsletter featuring the very latest from Petrolicious. Don’t be left out—join the ranks of those who Drive Tastefully.
Already a member? Log in
We're glad you're back.
Not a member yet? Sign up
We'll get you back on track.
Films:
This Ferrari 308 GTB Traces The Streets Of Bangkok Daily
Another great production.
Really enjoyed this film and full respect to the attention to detail and following through on a dream.
I really like that Chayinin feels that part of the pleasure of classic cars is in giving others pleasure. And we can see he gets his own driving pleasure in the mountains too – not hanging about!
And since I didnt get to ad:
I love the way this was filmed. The use of light is wonderful, as it is in all your videos, as if I was sitting in my cave talking to the owner and the car was sitting in my driveway.
This video proves our enthusiasm is universal. I like the shots of the krewe that helped put it together. The classic Rolex, the insistence on purchasing the shop manuals and trying to engage the mindset of the engineers as much as the designers, the cold beer with friends as they wrench on it….stuff we can all relate to. Well done. And I am glad this car is being enjoyed every day.
What a beautiful film! Thanks for sharing.
I drove a friend’s 308 once and took it on a road I normally scoot my BMW 2002 down. I just remember diving into a long right hander and it kept on pushing and the curbing kept getting closer and my heart rate started climbing… but I just kept my foot in it and off I went. My friend was following me in his Mercedes, and I am certain that his heart rate went up more than mine did. What I really remember, though, was the sound of the engine behind me. That was a nice change-up from my own car.
Good times.
Seeing that group hanging out in the garage with smiles is what it’s all about.
Well done.
… he had always wanted a Ferrari, and that was the one that struck him (obviously from his childhood). One day however, the car caught fire while he was going up PCH and he pulled over to watch it burn to the ground. I’m glad that didn’t happen on my watch.
I’ve known two people with that experience… the other was in an NSX.
What set the tone for me was the guy saying about getting and studying the manuals prior to purchase. True passion.
The meticulous attention to detail and originality from then on followed naturally.
Good man Chayanin!
Lovely restoration, beautiful 308 GTB.
Petrolicious, great footage post 6:00. This is a keeper!
Hello, This is the first time I have entered a comment, however I have been enjoying this fine collection of passion at work for many years. I have watched every single one of your videos and I am touched and amazed by the craftsmanship and the earnest devotion to craft. This is Art at the highest level.
To appreciate this kind of work, my theory is that you need to have been touched by a wonderful car during your impressionable youth. I believe that that young love of a machine that talks to you becomes burned into your subconscious and for the rest of your life those kind of automotive relationships retain meaning.
For me, a high school student in Wisconsin in the 70s it was all about power sliding in snow and on gravel roads. My parents bought a black1962 Volkswagen beetle with a four speed manual transmission. Later it was a 1969 BMW 2002. My best friends and me, on very small budgets found volvo 122’s, Alfa Romeo Giulietta’s, GT Juniors, and Giulia Supers, 2002’s and 1600’s, renaults, saabs, vw’s and lusted over every mechanical detail and handling delight. Today my same best friend still has his 58 Giulietta, and has an e39 manual wagon, an A3 wagon, and a vr6 eurovan. My friend with the Renaults, saabs, gt junior, and Giulia super sadly died young but we remember his automotive quirks. I’m back with BMW having an E39 540i sport stick and a 128i. My son has an e39 530i and daughter an e46 330i both manuals.
I love your work, and this latest was another home run.
Paul D.
Loved the film and great to see a Ferrari being used regularly in an environment that you perhaps might not expect. Also great to see a 308 in original spec with the 14″ wheels and no deep front spoiler. Couple of questions from the film, it’s not quite clear if the car is a glassfibre 308 or a later steel example? I’m also mildly intrigued on the car’s back story as it appears to be an originally UK supplied car (RHD and dry sump) would love to know the story of it emigrating to Thailand.
This looks like a steel bodied car — ’78 or ’79. I couldn’t quite make out from the photos if it has the A-pillar seam that denotes fiberglass cars but it does have the later engine cover strut system adopted post fiberglass. The earlier cars have a single, manually operated and centrally-located metal bar similar to an F40.
Next to the 330 GTC and maybe a 246 GT, this is my favorite Ferrari of them all.
Two thumbs up! He must have some very good friends to help him like that. That would be fun to tear apart a Ferrari and put it back together. This was great watching! He has a very good presence on camera. The yellow is very good also. I have had three yellow cars over the years and they always drew admirers. The shop manual thing is real. I must have 40 shop manuals I have collected with my cars over the years. I cherish each one. Keep up the good work!
Wonderful video. I really enjoy hearing from these owners, like Chayanin Debhakam, who know their cars from the inside out. The way that he works with his team of mechanics and restorers is also very interesting: that there are two hierarchies working at the same time. In one set of roles, Chayanin is the owner, he funds the project, and he directs the work. In the other set of roles, there is set of understandings based on openly recognized skills and capabilities. When I worked in Peter Seferian’s restoration shop in Cambridge MA in the 70’s we did not have these kinds of owners. The ones we had barely read the owners manuals of their cars, much less the shop manual. There were a few who knew their cars well, but they were the exception.
The restoration choices are all very interesting. At the moment, it is very common to see restorations that create in a car an object that never existed. Panels and panel gaps are straightened to levels never seen in production. Paint may be applied with clear coat in thicknesses never seen on any production car and is often polished to the level of the cloisonne glazing on a Faberge egg. That was not done here. Mr. Debhakam’s choice was to turn the clock back to a specific point in time: the moment the car left the factory, and without embellishment. It is an easy choice to like, and to respect.
Wow another video so well done and the story line told to perfection.
Being a person who works in Asia 6 months of the year and has worked in Thailand for over 15 years, to see a vintage Ferrari would be a delight that I’ve never seen there. Whats great about this story is just how hard it is to have a car like that there and using it everyday in the traffic and the heat is a job in itself. This video sums up why we all love vintage cars, and why we all work so hard to keep them going…plain smiles for the drier and the people who view them.
