9/10/12
275GTS Bodywork

I stopped by the Panel Shop this week to discuss the work on the 275GTS that we’re restoring. The car was disassembled, media blasted, primered, and is now waiting for the Panel Shop to get cracking on the metal work.

We brought the front bumper down along with the marker lights so repairs could be done to the nose of the car. You can see how the car suffered a minor accident to the left front corner. We found a replacement marker light, but before we get anything rechromed, we needed the parts to check them for fit. Our plater straightened the bumper and put on a coat of copper, but after checking the fit to the car, the bumper will need more work. There’s a slight crown to the bumper because of the accident, and it will need to be eliminated before we commit it to chrome. These trial fittings are crucial for a very nice gap between the body and the chrome pieces.

Before this car was bead blasted, Mark from the Panel Shop cut the outer rockers out so there would be good access for the media blasting. We knew the outer rockers were thin and would have to be replaced, so removing the outer rockers before media blasting helped us see how solid the inner rockers were after the surface rust was removed. The steel on these cars were never treated before they were welded in place at the Factory, so inner panels rusted pretty quickly in the presence of any moisture.

Some of the inner structure had rusted away, but there was nothing too bad. I’ve seen this area in front of the rear wheels rust before on other cars, so there must be some kind of water trap that allowed for the rocker to rust. Mark will fabricate new braces and weld in metal where it’s needed.

It looks like someone tried to fix some of the rust before, but all this will be replaced with newly fabricated panels.

An interesting section we found was on the door sill sections on the driver’s side. It looks like this section left the factory with these wavy panels. Too much heat was applied when this panel was welded in place and the panel warped, but since a door sill panel covers this section, the guys at the factory must have left this workmanship slide. We’ll have to decide if we should fix this error, or leave it as it was from the Factory!

Mark and I went over the whole car discussing what should be fixed and what should be left alone. He’ll weld up all the cracks, holes, and and damaged parts to make this car perfect. I’ll be shuttling parts like headlight rings, rear bumpers, and door latches to his shop so he can check them for fit. I’m looking forward to watching the transformation!

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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