4/28/13
Oil Changes, Keys, and Leaks

We had a very nice Daytona flat bedded to the shop because it had a fuel leak. Luckily, it was a simple fix with the leak coming from the rear fuel rail return.

Francois had done an oil change on this car and marked the date and mileage on the oil filter. I was surprised to find this car had only driven 150 miles over the last 3-1/2 years! The drained oil smelled like fuel and was a little cloudy from high moisture when I changed it out. The lack of miles and short trips did not get the oil hot enough for the condensed water to evaporate from the oil, and the choked carburetors from cold running also added the extra fuel into the sump. After this fluid change, I hoped this car would see a little more mileage than the last few years.

I think Daytonas are the best Ferrari buy these days in the Vintage Ferrari world considering everything else has taken off. Even the 250 and 330 2+2 market has increased by 50-100% in the last 2 years, which started me thinking. My 330 America has appreciated to level where it comes close to a decent Daytona! I know I have a lot of history with my car, but as any car-guy, we’re always looking at other cars! I’ve been offered good money for my car and if the right Daytona came along…

An ignition lock has been giving me a lot of problems at the shop, and I’ve tried to learn about 330 locks since this all began. There are short shaft and long shaft Neiman ignition locks fitted to 330s. The locks are German made, and were fitted in Italian and German cars for many years.

I had my locksmith drill out the securing pin to take a look at why this lock was hanging up in the various key positions. He found the front face of the lock had split in half and was jamming in the cylinder. We tried removing the pins inside to see if we could stop the binding, but found the same problem. The easiest solution was to buy another lock, but the ones available from Ferrari suppliers range in the thousands of dollars!

Since this was a German made lock, I wondered if another cylinder would fit inside our lock. We had another steering column at the shop that was a long shaft lock. I’m going to take it down to my locksmith to see if this cylinder will fit inside out old one. If anyone has suggestions or knowledge to share please e-mail me!

A PF Coupe we have at the shop developed  leak from the rear of the car, so we needed to get the car in the air to find where the oil was coming from.

The side plate was leaking a little, but the main leak was from the pinion seal. I’ll have to remove the guibo joint to get the differential yoke out so the seal can be replaced.

I can’t believe the Annual Radcliffe/Tomyang.net car show is next weekend! If you have not pre-registered, please give Richard a call, but I think all the spaces are nearly all taken. we will always try to squeeze your car in, but having pre-registered cars sure helps me and Richard lay out the parking situation the day before the big show. See you all there!

6th Annual Radcliffe/Tomyang.net Spring Car Show
12340 Owings Mills Boulevard
Reisterstown, Maryland 21136
Register to show at the Radcliffe Website or call  410-517-1681

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 I would be happy to help guide you through the Vintage Ferrari world so if you’d like to do something together, let me know. It all begins with an e-mail!

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