330 GTS Carburetors
A client of ours asked us to take a look at his 330GTS. It hadn’t been driven in a while and it wasn’t starting at his garage. From the description, I felt the carburetors were probably gummed up and we could probably get the car started and running well enough to drive the car back to Francois’ shop instead of towing her back. When we got to our client’s garage, we found the accelerator pumps clogged up, so we pulled the tops of the carbs off and cleaned things off a bit. We got the car started and had her running just well enough to drive the 30 minutes back to the shop.
I was nominated to drive the GTS back while Francois got to lead the way in his car. It was a little nerve wracking because the engine wouldn’t idle very well and would occasionally stall at a light or stop sign. This was made even worse when I had stopped on a hill and a car pulled up behind me. I certainly didn’t want to slide back into someone with a stalled Ferrari!
Eventually, the car warmed up enough for the engine to idle fairly well, and I started to enjoy the ride back to the shop. The 330GTS is probably one of my favorite Vintage Ferraris. It’s got a lot going for it: an engine with a lot of torque, a fully independent suspension, good brakes, and a nice 5 speed gear box. All these traits, and a convertible, what’s not to love?
When we got back to the shop, we decided to take all the jets out and clean them a little more thoroughly. This dark gum is what is left when the fuel evaporates inside a carburetor, and it’s the same stuff plugging up the little jet orifices. A good soaking in carburetor cleaner helped get things back in working order, but I still had one more job: Fill the car up with fresh gasoline, and take her out for a nice long drive!