The Pieces are Coming Together!



8/29/03
The Pieces are Coming Together!


This picture represents a major step towards completing the restoration on this car! I drove it down from François’ shop to Frank’s shop to fit the seats and carpet. The trip was trouble free, and although it was a hot and humid day, all the temperatures were normal. My confidence is building on the car after having those mysterious electrical issues a few weeks back. I’m pretty sure they can be attributed to a loose ammeter connection.

I washed the Ferrari before rolling her into the shop. I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since her last bath! Time sure flies!


The first order of business was to finish drilling the holes for the seat belt plates Mike Sewell made for me several months back. I had all sorts of suggestions on how to make these holes big enough for the backing nuts, but once I rummaged through Frank’s tool chest, I found a monster drill bit that would easily do the job.


A monster drill bit requires a monster drill, and Frank had this as well. I was careful not to wrench my arm or wrist off when the drill bit caught into the metal with this drill! I’ve lived this scenario before!

The rocker panels had been repaired of rust damage, but after I drilled the holes, I could see it was a pretty crappy job. Instead of removing all the rusty rockers, some of them were simply covered over with new steel and welded over! This repair was not consistent throughout the car, but one rocker showed three layers of sheet metal where only one should have been!


Frank offered to weld the rockers for me, so I gladly stepped aside. He doesn’t claim to be beautiful welder, but I needed solid strong welds for these seat belt mounts, and I knew that Frank was much more experienced than I!


By the end of the day, I couldn’t resist placing the rear seats in the car to see how they fit. There’s still plenty to do before this step, but I wanted to see how the pleats lined up, and what is needed to be done about the ends of the of the rear seat back. You can see how I left this part unstuffed, and open. I will need to make and install a leather panel that covers the rear wheel well so I can have a contour to match for the rear cushion. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me, but at least the car is at the shop, and I’m still making steady progress!

Previous Restoration Day
Next Restoration Day
Home page