7/19/12
330 Details and 275 Engine Assembly

I spent some time picking colors for the 330GT at the shop. Not only are there several shades of red to choose from, there are also a couple of reds inside the car. A combination of original leather and replacement pieces gave the owner and me a little challenge discussing what we were matching. Picking colors is very subjective, and made harder with digital pictures e-mailed between the two of us. I know many of us have had these conversations with our partners trying to pick carpet or wall colors for our homes, but I hope when it came to two guys picking colors for a Ferrari, it was a little quicker, and more enjoyable!

To add to the shades of red inside the car, a new brake boot cover was made by our upholsterer. It was a very close match, but it’ll need a little more “aging” to match the rest of the car.

The valve covers were installed and temporarily held in place with 6mm nuts until the acorn nuts come back from the plater. A little silicone sealant is used in the critical areas to avoid oil leaks, and I needed the temporary nuts to set the silicone. As parts were being put back on the car, I tried to clean a polish the parts so they would look good in the engine compartment. Polishing the plastic knobs on the valve covers and the aluminum oil filler cap will go a long way to make the engine compartment look great without much work.

I’ve been keeping close contact with the new owner trying to correct the details that will make him proud when he shows off his new purchase to his friends. I’m also trying my best to keep him from catching “shipwright’s disease,” where a simple fix of one component of the car leads to a full restoration. Finding that balance is good for the both of us.

There are necessary repairs when servicing the car like making gaskets from scratch when the original ones were either missing or beyond salvage.

With the valve covers and exhaust shields freshly painted, the spark plug tubes were the only things in this area that sill had the old flaking paint. I warned the owner that painting these tubes would require disassembly, stripping, new wires, grommets and keepers.

After removing the spark plug wires, I put the tube on a tapered fixture to take out some of the dents. Luckily the wrinkle paint covers a lot of imperfections, but taking out the big dents will make these tubes look a lot better.

With the paint and dents removed, I bead blasted the tubes to give the aluminum a good “tooth” to grab on the new wrinkle paint.

On the other side of the shop, we continued working on the 275GTS engine assembly. We were waiting for a timing chain to arrive from our parts supplier. The first one we received was too long and was for a 330 engine, so we had to wait for the correct part. My colleagues in the the Ferrari business are all too familiar with how a project can come to a screeching halt when one little part is either missing or incorrectly ordered. Luckily, with camera phones, e-mail, and a broadband connection, our jobs have gotten a little easier describing the parts we need, but having a good parts supplier that understands what works and what does not is pretty important.

Quail Cocktail Party


I’ll be out in Monterey again this year, and I’d like to invite you to an informal gathering of Tomyang.netters at the Quail Lodge on Thursday August 16th, 5:30-8:00pm. The cocktail party will be held behind the Lodge by the pool overlooking the greens where the big Quail show will be setting up the next day. It’s a great chance to put faces to names that we hear on the Internet, and meet some of the restorers, parts suppliers, and owners of Vintage Ferraris. I hope to see you there!

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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