Snap-On Toolbox From 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' Is Up For Auction, 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder Not Included - Jalopnik
There's something incredibly special about owning a piece of memorabilia from a beloved film, especially car-related like the most unusual props such as this Butt Birth Rhino from "Ace Ventura", or actual moving co-stars like the pink BMW Roadster driven by Sydney Sweeney in "Christy". And the more well-known the film is, the more precious the prop is to own, which is why you want to check out this Snap-On toolbox from the set of the John Hughes 1986 film, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"— on auction with Bring a Trailer this week.
John Hughes brought a lot of feel-good stories to our screens in the '80s and '90s, which also happened to feature some great cars accompanying soon-to-be star casts. Think "The Breakfast Club", "Uncle Buck," and "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles." But the most notable would probably be the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder that starred alongside Matthew Broderick in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." The Snap-On toolbox up for grabs this week, makes its somewhat humorous onscreen appearance alongside that iconic Ferrari in the character Cameron Frye's (Alan Ruck) showroom-like garage.
You may remember the scene. Broderick's title character, Ferris, comes to Cameron's home to begin their sick day shenanigans. Due to a favor owed to Ferris, Cameron finds himself opening the all-glass garage revealing his father's 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder. Cameron begins his introduction, "Less than 100 were made. My father spent three years restoring this car," the iconic music begins as the film cuts to the car in the garage, followed by detailed stills. The tool box's awkward placing off to the side is the only thing making what the ad calls the "glass pavilion garage" look anything like a garage.
Oh yeahhhhhh
According to Bring a Trailer, the owners of the home used as Cameron's home in the film, Fran and Ben Rose, were gifted the toolbox after the film wrapped. In 1989, the family gifted the toolbox to its longtime owner David Cooper, who happened to be restoring a 1927 Frazer Nash-BMW 328 for the family. The car had reportedly thrown a rod and blown a hole clear through each side of the engine block. Definitely had some work to be done. Cooper remained the owner of the movie's toolbox until 2025 when he sold it to the current owner.
Accompanying the toolbox is a signed and notarized letter from Cooper verifying its authenticity, as well as an article from Sports Car Market speaking to the "provenance" of the toolbox and some of the fascinating background history of the car project that brought the toolbox to his garage. A clipping of the article is included in the listing images for your reading pleasure as well.
Now a Snap-On toolbox and its price is already nothing to scoff at, and this one happens to have screen time in a fairly iconic coming-of-age '80s film made by an American director just as beloved. Sure there are many onscreen props that would be delightful to own, but this? This would be a catch. It unfortunately doesn't come with the 1961 Ferrari featured in the film. But who knows — maybe you'll find your own project car, or Ferrari 250 GT to restore alongside it. Then you too can call in sick to reenact the lesser of the butt-clenching scenes the car was used for in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Just don't kick your own project too hard out of frustration in the final moments, lest you want it to suffer the same destructive ending.