10/25/11
2259: GTE Details and Brakes

Sometimes I feel it would be easier to completely restore a car than to preserve a car like I’m trying to do with the survivor GTE at the shop. Every piece that comes off this car has to be inspected and a decision has to be made whether the finish is worth saving or if it needs to be stripped and refinished. A lot of factors come into play on making this decision, from what the owner expects, to our responsibility in preserving something that has made it this far without someone obliterating the past. Also, if the owner one day chooses to show this car at a national level Ferrari event, I also have to remember the judges have varying opinions on what is acceptable for points in a show.

These issues are brought to mind whenever I inspect another original unrestored piece from the GTE. This hood latch was removed and cleaned. The paint is a little chipped, but it shows the original details that proves this was how it came from the factory. The screws and hood catch were all painted black despite the plated latch pieces. I feel it is more important to leave this piece original than to strip and re-paint. There is no better proof of original details than something that is left untouched. The risk I take is when a judge decides to deduct points because this piece is chipped and not perfect!

The paint on the coils were too far gone to save, so we stripped and repainted them, but managed to save the paint on the resistors.

Saving the paint on the resistors was especially important so I could preserve the original stamp. These were stamped on the bottom of the resistor, which is opposite to what I’ve seen on other cars. Seeing the location of this stamp proves the stamp is not necessarily always on the top!

Another area of question is where the horn is mounted in the engine compartment. There are holes that are crudely patched with a welder and new holes drilled for mounting points for the horn compressor and trumpets. Since this car had not been touched since 1969, I question when this modification was done.

The horns on this car seem like after market replacements, since the usual horns found on GTEs are a FIAMM compressor with red trumpets.

I question why someone would go through the trouble of welding up the old holes to mount this aftermarket horn, when they could have simply used the original mounting holes. I may never know the answer.

Other parts of the car require cleaning and refurbishing. The Transmission tunnel could use some more padding to fill in the upholstered cover.

The foam padding on the back of the leather cover has also crumbled away, so what remains will have to be removed, and replaced with new foam.

The top side of the cover was a little dirty, but a good thorough cleaning should do the trick.

The Master Cylinder came back from Karp’s Brake Service, and is ready to install. It’s the final piece to complete the brake system.

The neat thing about this car was the brake ducting was still intact. Although I wonder how efficient these aluminum pieces were at cooling the brake disks, they’re nice to see back on the car. Many of these pieces were lost on these cars after the first brake job.

Speaking of missing pieces, I managed to find another pair of knockoffs to complete the set for 2259. They’re on their way out for re-engraving, and chrome plating.

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, and now it’s how I make a living, so if you’d like to do something together, let me know. It all begins with an e-mail!

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