There seems to be so much discussion on various Ferrari related forums about the proper finish for Ferrari cast aluminum wheels. I am definitely not the authority but I have some observations worthy of mention.

From the early 60′s to present, Ferrari delivered there cars with cast aluminum/magnesium alloy wheels. My understanding is that the dealer offered wire wheels to customers for short money so the majority of 275, 330, 365′s had the cast wheels removed and Borrani wheels installed. These early wheels were a very porous casting and are prone to cracking at the hub area and without the correct prep work will not hold paint.

Later cars from the 365 GTB/4, C/4 and later had a much higher quality cast wheel that poses similar problems for making the paint adhere but less likely for structural failure.

The 308 QV that we just purchased had one wheel that had a scuff mark in the paint so I experimented with re-finishing that one wheel to match the very flat and poor finish of the 3 other original wheels. I did not have any luck, the original wheels are so grainy and flat that I would have had to use a spray can to make it look somewhat similar so I had to break down all four wheels to make them match.

In the photo are images of an original 1986 Ferrari 412 wheel with only 10,000 miles and a 512BB wheel that we just refinished. You can see a huge difference in depth and luster, is this considered over-restoration? I will touch on the over-restoration issue in a future post

Who can resist a 23 year old 12,000 mile Ferrari? When I saw this car in a cars.com as I had to check it out. It was at a used pick-up truck dealer in Warwick RI, looking pretty but not running worth a damn so I thought that I could negotiate with them on the $43,000 asking price.

The salesmen had mentioned that since placing the ad online hundreds of people called asking all kinds of pesky questions pertaining to records and making insulting offers. When I arrived with the truck and a cashiers check the salesmen knew that I was for real and that they could make the car go away today with minimal frustration.

When I looked over the car it was obvious that the mileage was indeed correct, the interior is immaculate and all of the mechanical components had the original plating and detailing that only a low miles car can boast. Wheels had the original finish and were virtually un-marked and it still had the original Goodyear tires that the car came with from new.

When I started the car it was indeed running poorly but it was obvious that it was nothing serious and I made the dealer an offer. He bumped my offer $1500 and we had a deal. I loaded the car on the truck and was out of there in less that an hour on my way to pick up another car in CT.

Once I got it back to the shop, Nate ripped out all of the 80′s high tech burglar alarm and huge cell phone and diagnosed the misfiring engine. He did some engine bay cleaning, valve adjustment, belts and tensioners and made the car run as new. We overhauled the rear brake calipers and made sure all the other brake components worked as new. We have new Michelin tires going on the wheels and tested and charged the A/C to blow 55 degrees. This will make someone a great car to show at this years FNA National event as this 308 GTS Quattrovalvole (QV) is for sale!

We are diving into the 166 Berlinetta soon and needed to set it up on a fixture for better access to the panels. The car came to us as a operable but it had many needs. The body had excessive amounts of plastic filler and many of the unique details were “muted” out. When we gently stripped the car we found lots of areas where the aluminum had been work-hardened and cracked and other areas where it had been burned through by careless grinding tools.

This car was built by Touring of Milan Italy and they were famous for the Superlegarra or “Superlight” coachwork. I am not sure why this is such a noteworthy style of construction as it is just very poorly bent (often kinked) small steel tubes to support the aluminum body work. The steel tubes were unpainted of course, and bent around and riveted to this tubing was unpainted aluminum sheet metal to make up the body work. This led to a galvanic reaction that cause major corrosion on both the steel and aluminum even on this car that spent the majority of its life in the South West US.

We have to re-make many areas of this car but with such simple construction it should not be too difficult. What I worry about is the small detail trim pieces that all need to be assembled to the car to make sure there is material to screw into while keeping everything in alignment.