330 First Drive and Fixing Leaks



2/22/11
330 First Drive and Fixing Leaks

When we first got the 330 GT 2+2 at the shop, we took her out for a test drive. The roads were pretty dry considering it was well below freezing the day we went out! There were some pops and spits from the carbs, but since the tune up, the pops were eliminated.

This 330 drove really well. There were no strange vibrations, or steering problems. Vintage Ferraris are funny where not all are created equal. Some cars simply “feel” better than others, and this car felt good.  The engine wasn’t pulling as well as it could, but made all the right noises. We suspected it just needed a good tune up.
pinion seal leak

When I took a look under the car, I found a pretty bad leak coming from the rear differential. The fresh greenish yellow gear oil shows it’s only recently gotten worse. Apparently it was coming from the rear pinion seal.
oil on mufflers

So much oil was leaking that it was being slung onto the mufflers. If we don’t replace this seal soon, we’ll have a very smoky car, or worse, a fire from the dripping oil!
oil leak

After finishing a valve adjustment and ignition service, I cleaned the back of the engine to check on the source of another oil leak. Some of the leaks were from the distributor seals, but with all of these leaks addressed when we finished up the tune up, we found the oil line that feeds the oil pressure gauge leaking at two places. We’ll have to pull this line, and replace the leaky parts.

Reminder: If you have a Ferrari related project, car, or idea you’d like to explore, I’d love to talk to you. I can also help if you’re thinking of buying or selling. This website represents what I love to do, share, and how I make a living, so if you’d like to do something together, let me know. It all begins with an e-mail!

Save the Date! Fourth Annual Radcliffe/Tomyang.net Spring Car Show on Saturday May 7th 2011. Richard Garre and I are looking forward to planning this show and more details will follow here and the Radcliffe Motorcar Company Website, but if you want to mark you calendar, the date to remember is May 7th, 2011!

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