Last week I found the heater hose routing and controls in a Daytona were the root to the problem of no heat inside the car. This car was restored at one point in its past, and perhaps someone wasn’t paying attention when the heater assembly was being reconnected. Not only were the heater hoses hooked up incorrectly but the driver’s side heater controls were also reversed. The defroster vent control was actually hooked to the heater temperature controls, and visa versa. I took a peek behind the dash to see how difficult it would be to correct the problem, but it was not going to be easy! I called the owner and asked how important it would be for him to have this corrected because access was not good. It’s never good to go headlong into a job without the owner made aware of the amount of time and difficulty a particular repair might be. Some guys need perfection, and are willing to pay for the time it takes to achieve it, but I know some of us can live with some small inconveniences.

The radiator came back from the radiator shop with a new core installed. The old one was leaking, so the top and bottom tanks were removed, a new custom core was ordered, and soldered in place. Soon I’ll have this Daytona back on the ground, and back on the road again.

A new arrival came in to the shop this week. It might look like another 330GTC, but this one was a very low 20K mile car that was largely untouched. I was involved in inspecting this car for a couple of people interested in buying this car. I am often hired by the buyer to inspect potential purchases, and sometimes subjected to the wrath of the seller when I make a list of issues I find during my inspection. As an inspector, I am the advocate for the buyer to give him an objective inspection of a potential purchase. Being a third party to the sale, I collect nothing for the outcome of the sale, and only collect my fee for the inspection and consultation. Rarely is there someone looking out for the best interests of the buyer, but I try my best to help where I can.

After I performed my inspection, my buyer and I discussed the items I found on the car, and he made the decision to buy the car. The new owner decided to entrust me with the needed repairs based on my inspection, and so begins the next chapter of the history of this car.

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