The link below shows the first start up after we overhauled this 4.0 liter Ferrari V-12. There is always lots of assembly oil to burn out of the combustion chambers so some misfiring is normal. Once the carburetors are tuned and ignition timing dialed in it will be time to run her some more to inspect for leaks or problems. We ran this engine more that day and found everything to be in check.

I am thinking of a chassis dynomometer run on a Porsche 911 with a recent overhaul and the GTC that this engine goes in.

Keep an eye out for more dyno run posts here.

When gas welding aluminum a water soluble flux must be used to clean the surfaces and allow a nice flat and strong weld. We gas weld the sheet metal because the welds stay as flexible and supple as the surrounding material allowing you to roll the sheet metal and the welds through the English Wheel Dollies.

The problem is that if you do not get rid of all the flux residue, the aluminum will “salt away” under the paint and cause bubbling in the finish. In these photos we are using soap and water and brushes to ensure that there is no flux even in the deepest crevasses. Even a tiny amount in a pin hole will ruin a perfect paint job.

Ferrari 212 body washing off flux

Removing flux from aluminum body

Here is a photo of an Alfa Romeo with Zagato body, and Ferrari 250 GT with body built by Scaglietti and by Pininfarina. The engine on the table is a 330 GTC engine that we just test ran for the first time after an overhaul

Ferrari 250 GT, Alfa Romeo 2600

Here is an outstanding car, a Alfa Romeo 2600 with a Zagato body. The car came to us as you see it, disassembled and in primer but it needs to be stripped because there is some rust popping here and there. We will sand blast the entire car, undercarriage and all to find out if there are other areas in need of repair. We can see some minor areas in need of repair but overall the car is outstanding. Typical of cars this old, there are lots of errant screw holes needing to be filled particularly at the headlight and front marker lights area.

We are going to get the body to perfection with high quality epoxy primer and correct undercoating to keep the car from deteriorating  for much longer than Zagato anticipated! The gaps and door closing will be better than new and and the paint work will be stunning. Before final paint we will trial fit all of the trim and lights one last time to ensure a perfect final result.

Alfa Romeo 2600 Zagato

Alfa Romeo 2600 Zagato

Here is an interesting transmission and final drive from a 1952 Oliver Tractor. We split this thing in half and are in the process of overhauling the entire tractor. Nate sandblasted all of the components and inspected everything, cleaned out every thread and ordered all new parts to make this tractor like new.

Everything worked well on the tractor but when we took the transmission and final drive apart, every bearing was severely worn. Nate cleaned the case and replaced all of the bearings. The transmission has 6 forward speeds and two reverse speeds. The pinion turns a conventional looking differential which has drive gears to turn the large “bull gears”. This such a nice layout, in fact, every component is so well thought out and rugged that I am thinking of changing from working on classic sports cars to tractors!

An overhauled Oliver Tractor Transmission

About 20 years ago my father and I picked up this Lusso on Long Island. Since each of these cars has a story, the story for this car goes like this.

A sculptor saw images of the newly released Ferrari 250 Lusso and was swept off his feet by the shape. I leared later from his son whom my wife and I ran into at a Bar in Burlington (scary coincidence) that his father was a supremely visually oriented man whos world revloved around shape. He bought the car new in light blue but shortly after a man down the street bought a Lusso in the same color. The sculptor was infuriated so he sent the car back to Ferrari where they painted it a dark brown with a subtle red pinstripe along the belt line.

We got the car up and running after is sat for a bunch of years and sold it to a man in NH. The NH man asked us to change the front windshield seal because it leaked like crazy and when we removed seal it a huge chunk of paint went with it. The buyer was supremely upset and insisted we pay for the repair. We stripped the car down and painted it this shade of blue at that time.

The buyer was never happy with the car, it did not offer the performance of the Corvettes that he was used to so we sold it to the current owner who drives the wheels off the car. He hired us to re-upholser the interior in the tan color that it was originally and at that time we re-plated all of the chrome. The wire wheels and other chrome is original and some day we may strip the car and give it a stunning paint job and restore the body.

As it goes, this is one of the best driving Lussos that I had around, an outstanding drivers car.

Ferrari Lusso in Light Blue Metallic