A new to me Ferrari arrived at my shop the other day. It was a 330GT 2+2 but this one is a little different than a regular SI four headlight car as this one is known as an Interim car. Although not officially recognized by Ferrari, this particular version of about 125 units were the transition between Si and SII 330GT 2+2s.

The interiors of these cars have a wood dash and look very similar to the SII 330s.

Mechanically, the engines are the same throughout the 330 range, but the biggest difference were the brakes and transmissions. The SI 330s had a dual master cylinder set below the floor where the pedals hinged below and the lines were plumbed to dual remote brake boosters. The SII cars changed this set up to resemble how most modern brake systems were designed with hung pedals and one brake booster in line with the master cylinder. The Interim cars may have had the four headlight look of the SI cars, but they had the brake system of the SII cars. The Interim cars also had the later 5-speed transmissions found in the SII cars instead of the older 4-speed plus electric overdrive found in the SI 330s.

This particular car was a little rough around the edges where the paint was a little worn. These days, this is euphamistically called “patina” but it’s not a look for everyone. I sometimes like cars like this, because it’s less worry for the owner when parking this car in public spaces!

The front of the car from the windshield forward showed cracking in the paint from a cheap paint job that was applied a couple decades ago.

My job was to assess the car, perform a valve adjustment, and make a list of suggested work this new customer should do. He’s never driven another 330 and wanted my thoughts and opinions on his car. I’ve actually worked on two other Interim 330s, but they’re very similar to SII car despite the four headlights.

Since the valve covers were coming off to do the valve adjustment, I suggested now was the time to apply fresh wrinkle paint to the valve covers. My vision was to clean up the engine compartment a little and repaint the air cleaner, valve covers, and exhaust shields so when the owner opens the hood, a little diamond in the rough would show its potential! I believe the few hours of extra work to get this little detail right will go a long way to make the owner proud.