A Dino 246GT was dropped off at the shop for some long needed maintenance. It’s a pretty blue color with a blue interior that I have not seen before. This is a super original low mileage un-restored car that has a lot of original parts and pieces. I’m going to enjoy inspecting all the details!

The car has been sitting for a while, and the brakes needed some attention. We could feel a couple of calipers starting to seize as the car was unloaded from the flatbed, so I started by pulling the calipers and popping out the pistons. They weren’t totally rusted in place, but they were well on their way to going bad. I think we caught it just in time, so I think a new seal kit and a thorough cleaning should get us back in working condition.

As I drained the coolant from this car, I also drained the fuel. The soft hose connecting the two tanks and bridge pipes looked original, so it was well overdue for a change. We recommend everyone look at these hoses if their car is over 20 years old because when they fail, all the fuel in the tanks drains onto the floor of your garage!

Sometimes you can’t see how bad the hose is until you remove it!

The air cleaner has to come off to do service on the engine, but with these cars I had to be very careful to keep track of a little bushing.

On each rubber carburetor gasket are four steel bushings that keeps you from over tightening the air cleaner to the carburetor stud. I have to remember to inventory that all these before taking the air cleaner off.

When taking the air cleaner assembly off, these bushings can stick to the rubber gasket, stay on the carburetor stud, or worse, fall down the carburetor throat. I’ve even heard of home mechanics drop one down a spark plug hole! Obviously, this can lead to a catastrophic engine engine issue, so care has to be taken to account for every one of these silly little bushings!

With the air cleaner removed, I can work on the engine. The carbs need servicing and a valve cover oil leak addressed. Stay tuned.

TomYang.net Monterey Cocktail Party

This year’s party has moved away from Quail Lodge to a house in Carmel-by-the-Sea generously co-hosted with the Coady Family. It will held on Thursday the 23rd of August starting at 6pm. If you’re in Monterey for the car weekend, I would love to have you come. Please contact me privately for details: tom@tomyang.net

My plans this year is to attend the Quail show on Friday, Concorso on Saturday, Pebble Beach on Sunday. Somewhere in that time, I’ll head to the track, preview the cars at the auctions, and squeeze in a few meals. Reach out if you want to meet up!