I picked up the first batch of plating that I sent out for the 275GTB/4. The plater I use does a great job on the cadmium plating and this batch is no different. It’s taken me a while of trial and error to find a good guy. Most places that do industrial cad plating don’t take the time to make sure the pieces are clean enough to take a good plating. They’re used to doing large batches of new fasteners and don’t have the patience or care to plate old pieces of steel that require more attention.

I immediately got to work installing some of the freshly plated pieces on to the engine.

The brake parts were ready to go back together after all the various parts were rebuilt, resleeved, and replated.

The hardest part of putting the booster back in place was getting the clevis pin installed along with the washer and cotter pin. Access was not easy!

Speaking of access, one nut on the booster can only be accessed behind the fender, and while I had the splash shield removed, I noticed a bunch of dirt accumulating inside the fender. Cleaning this out will avoid future rust problems as this dirt will trap moisture and eventually rust out the rocker panel.

I ordered new tail light lenses as the old ones were cracked and discolored.

I started to assemble the coil over shocks and found the new rubber boots covered with a white talcum powder residue. This release agent was pretty well stuck to the rubber, and needed to be washed off.

All the parts were laid out and ready for reassembly.

The devil is in the details, and a big score this week was finding a supplier for the red horn hose. The hose on this 275GTB/4 was a clear PVC hose found at any hardware store, but not correct for the FIAMM horns.

This hose is well hidden between the grille and the radiator, but an eagle-eyed judge will be looking for these small details. Lucky for us, we’re ready for them!

I made good progress this week putting all the parts back on the car, but it almost seemed a shame to put such pretty parts back in places that are not easily seen. It’s a good thing I have pictures of the parts to admire whenever I want!