Another SII 330GT 2+2 arrived at the shop last week for its first visit. I’ve been consulting on the interior refurbishment, getting the parts and details right on this car. I mean no disrespect to the big shops that work on Vintage Ferraris, but they have been working on Lussos, GTBs, and California Spyders that have very little in common with the 2+2s Ferrari built in the 60s. I see details in these cars incorrectly done by some of the biggest shops in the country because they just aren’t familiar with the details of a 2+2 car! I am always available to give advice to my peers and help them with getting it right as they’re restoring these cars, because when the mistakes are seen after the car is delivered, it’s too late!

After we got the details right inside the car, we talked about the heat issues the owner had driving his car. 330GTs get very hot inside the car and it’s remedied with the use of insulation inside and outside of the passenger compartment. We added as much insulation under the carpets, but I also saw this car was missing the heat shields on the mufflers.

To save time and have them made out of stainless steel, I called Time Valve in Florida, and Mike York made me a pair of shields that fit the mufflers perfectly. By the time it would have taken for me to buy the stainless, cut it, and roll them into shape, Mike had them in my hands. Efficiency is what I’ve been striving for to turn the mounting piles of work around!

After locating the mounting holes and drilling the holes, I added a piece of high tech heat shielding that the owner provided. It was a combination of thick aluminum foil, a heat resistant fiber, and an adhesive backing. Stuck to the stainless shield, it won’t rot, and the aluminum side that will touch the muffler won’t trap moisture.

Everything was mounted in place, and ready to go back on the car.

I also fabricated a header shield that was missing on this car that normally mounts down by the driver’s side foot well. The screws that hold this shield often rusts away and the shield either falls off, or gets thrown out during a restoration. I took pictures of an original shield, and copied some of the details for the replacement, but made ours a little different to shield a little more heat away from the driver’s foot well.

I also added some more heat shield fabric to the panel. We’ll be heading into spring and summer driving season, and I’ll be curious to hear if all this shielding works. It’s got to be better than what we had!

The Radcliffe/Tomyang.net Car Show!

May 7th 2016

I’m very excited to do this again, and look forward to see old and new friends at this annual event. Richard Garre and I have hosted this car show to celebrate all types of machinery, focusing on Italian Cars. There’s parking for about 100 cars and we will always try to accommodate late comers, but if you want a guaranteed spot call Richard to preregister!

Radcliffe Motorcars

12340 Owings Mills Boulevard
Reisterstown, Maryland 21136
Phone: 410-517-1681