8/30/02
Small Progress, and Firing Up the 312 F1

I was disappointed to find out that the hood pad I was to pick up today at the upholsterers was not ready. Much of my day hinged on installing the hood pad so I could get the hood installed on the car. It will be much easier to position the hood pad with the hood off the car, than with it propped open, on the car.

Speaking of “propped open,” I decided to work on making a new plastic tip for my prop rod that I’m missing.

François had a rod of plastic I could use, so I cut myself a piece and chucked it in the lathe.

After removing a whole lot of material, the shape of the plastic tip started to form out of the rod of plastic.

I drilled the center of the piece for a snug fit over the prop rod, and polished it up a bit. I think it needs a little more polishing, but it was a start.

This prop rod is supposed to be nickel plated, but for now, I’m going to paint it dull silver until I have a large batch of things to send to the nickel platers. The paint doesn’t look half bad!

Ready for service!

I’ve been bugging François for weeks to fire up the 312F1 he’s restoring. It’s ready for delivery, and he finally had some time to crank her up for me! The nose piece is not attached, but the rest of it is ready to go! (Click on the picture)

He was only reving the engine to about 3000-4000 rpm. The neighbors might complain if he went to 10,000-12,000!

Previous Restoration Day
Next Restoration Day
Ferrari Home Page