2/1/14
400GT Sorting

Last week when I talked about tuning the carbs, I forgot to talk about setting the timing on this car.

Ferraris get their timing set from marks on their flywheels, and beginning with the 365 four cam cars, this is done from the bottom of the engine. The engines were set so far back in the engine compartment, the windshield was getting in the way of the timing window at the back of the engine, so Ferrari moved the marker to the bottom of the engine.

There are several challanges to having the timing set under the car, the first one being adjusting the advance of the distributor takes several tries of looking at the timing marks under the car while the engine is running and moving to the top of the car to adjust the distributor advance. Having a lift to get the car up in the air to make reading the number easier makes accessing the top of the engine harder. With jack stands, it’s no easier. The easiest method is having two people to adjust the timing. One person under the car, while the second one adjusts the distributor.

This car had a couple of oil leaks that I cleaned and watched while I was tuning the car. With a clean engine block, it made it a little easier to spot where the fresh oil was coming from, and I think I found one of the sources. Chasing oil leaks down on a Ferrari can pretty frustrating as there are a lot of areas for oil to leak. Each owner has different expectations of how much is acceptable and I try my best to keep the leaks to a minimum, but sometimes the time to fix some leaks may not be worth it.

I spotted red fluid on the floor and traced it immediately to the power steering resevoir. The low pressure hose was soaked and I beleive the power steering fluid was seeping through the hose itself. Draining the fluid, changing out the hoses, and refilling with new fluid stopped one leak, now it was onto inspecting the other drips to find the other sources!

Save the Date! The 7th Annual Radcliffe/Tomyang.net Spring Car Show Saturday May 3rd 2014 celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Introduction of the 330GT!
Spectators are free, but Registration of show cars are limited for a small fee. Details can be found on the Radcliffe Website.
You can also Richard Garre at:
Radcliffe Motorcars
12340 Owings Mills Boulevard
Reisterstown, Maryland 21136
Phone: 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 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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