4/13/11
2259: Taking Parts Off, Sending Parts Out

Getting 2259 back on the road requires a little bit of insight. Some parts take a little longer to rebuild so getting them off the car as soon as possible to send out keeps them from holding the work up in the future. One of the first things I wanted to get off the car were the brakes. I found signs of a leaking axle seal from the gear oil on the brake disk so I’ll have to pull the rear hub to change the seal.

Once I got all the brake calipers off the car, they were degreased and disassembled.

Having sat for 40 years still with some brake fluid inside, I was surprised in getting all the pistons apart with only compressed air. It was still a rusty mess, but at least they came apart. It could have been a lot worse.

The reason I wanted to get the brakes out first is they need to be sent out for plating, resleeving, and rebuilding. The process can take a couple of months, so giving Karp’s Brake service plenty of time to complete their job without rushing them is the best way to go. I believe the best thing is to rebuild the complete brake system along with fresh plating. Even though I am trying to preserve as much of the original details on this car, the brakes are about safety and reliability, and starting fresh will insure everything works properly.

The shocks showed signs of leaking, and will need to be rebuilt. These units are no longer available so a rebuild is the only choice. Koni will rebuild them for $125 a piece plus parts, and they currently have a 10 week turn around time, so these are another part of this project that need to get in the mail!

The seats were removed so I could get the transmission and engine out of the car. I took this opportunity to slather on some leather rejuvinator to soften up the seats. I’ll be applying this stuff several times in the next several months to give the leather a chance to soften. The seats are in pretty good shape, but we want to make sure they stay that way as the new owner starts to use the car more.

The headers need to be boxed up and shipped out to Jet Hot for ceramic coating. I recommend doing this with all headers when they’re out of a car. It’s a great product, and coats the inside and outside of the headers with a ceramic coating that’s pretty durable. It not only protects the header from rust, it also supposedly does a good job at insulating the heat away from the engine compartment. They have a finish that’s a satin black, matching the original black factory finish. The cost is about $525, but it’s money well spent.

We pulled the engine out of the car and began the inventory process. Much of the engine was already disassembled before, so the parts came off very easily.

The odometer on this car showed 63,000 Kilometers which is not a lot of miles when she was parked in the late 60s, and the engine parts support this low mileage.

Francois and I marveled at how nice the oil pan looked. Through the years, these pans get nicked, gouged, and damaged from sloppy mechanics or road hazards. This pan still had all its cooling fins intact!

All the teeth on the ring gear were perfect and will do fine back in the engine. Francois pointed out the flywheel still had its original marks from the factory.

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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