10/30/09
3553 To Do List

I got back to work on 3553 this week at Francois’ shop, and the owner left a list of things he wanted done on his GTE.

One thing I was excited to install was a rear view mirror I found for Gary at Concorso Italiano in Monterey back in August. GTE rear view mirrors have a map light on the bottom of the mirror, and I found a nice one from one of the vendors. I tucked the wiring for 3553 away in hopes to one day find the right mirror, and now we have another detail that is correct for this car.

After a valve adjustment, I had to replace one of the valve cover gaskets. There are several different versions of valve cover gaskets, and they differ in size, stud placement, and number of holes. NEVER assume the supplier sent you the right gasket, and always lay the gasket on the engine when you get it in the mail, not several months later when you’re ready to use them! We also keep a hole punch handy to make small adjustments to the gasket to make them fit perfectly. With some luck, you won’t have any cam cover leaks!

Gary wanted us to check out the fresh air vents on his car, telling us the driver’s side pull knob was a little sticky. After removing the knob, I found the wire to be little kinked and the pull rod a little bent. The easiest thing was to reach into my stash of piano wire and make a new one.

The driver’s side vent control is buried behind the brake booster in the engine compartment, but I was able to get to it for the new cable.

You may never notice it except in this picture, but the cable has the correct diamond shaped bend Ferrari put on all its control cables.

Although removing the driver’s side vent control will be near impossible, I had decent access to the passenger side vent flap. It’s located behind the rear splash shield by the side extractor vents. After removing some tubing, I could see how air was getting past the flapper. These flaps have a rubber edge that is supposed to seal against the side of the tube, blocking air flow into the car, but after 40 years, the rubber was hard and crumbling.

After removing the flapper, I cut new rubber sheet to better conform to the vent tube, modifying the shape slightly to get an even better seal.

As I was completing 3553’s to do list, tires arrived for 2953, the other silver GTE. Scott and I chose Vredesteins Sprint Classics like the ones we put on 3553. Now these two cars will really look identical!

Just a reminder, I’m looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

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