Our little eBay store just listed these nearly new 205/70-14 Michelin XWX tires that came off a 330 GTC. Technically, 330’s and 275’s should have 205-VR14 tires which are more like a tall 80 series, not the 70 series that fit 308’s and Dino’s. See the listing on eBay here.
Michelin XWX Tires for a Dino or Ferrari 308
This 250 engine was a bit of a corroded wreck inside, as though someone used salt water for coolant. The heads were totally stuck on the studs, so we had to cut a few. But, with some heat and creativity we got all but two out.
Now, I have to get these totally frozen studs out, and before I went through the effort of setting it up on the milling machine to drill the remaining studs, I tried to weld washers and hex nuts on the stubs to twist them out. I welded a washer to the stud for maximum contact then welded a 17mm hex nut on the washer. I heated the block and melted a candle around the threads praying for the paraffin to act as a penetration oil. Unfortunately, I had no luck getting them out and because of the welding process, the studs are now further tempered and will be impossible to drill out.
Removing cleaning, detailing 250 Ferrari
Bassimento stud removal
When I first drove this 1983 Porsche 911, I found the shifting to be difficult and it was grinding gears badly. My suggestion to the owner was to get in and replace the synchronizer bands before something breaks.
After taking it apart I couldn’t see much wrong and the synchros seemed used but not totally worn out. Like many other car manufacturers, the synchro for 2nd and 3rd gear is different than of the other gears and maybe someone put the incorrect part on the gears.
It wasn’t until re-assembly that I noticed that the dog teeth on first gear were chipped and remembered that the slider (operating sleeve, shift sleeve) for 1st gear has asymmetrical internal teeth to meet up with the corresponding dog teeth on 1st gear. The operating sleeve can be reversed so the side that should engage 1st gear is incorrectly jamming into 2nd which makes engaging into either of these gears while under motion nearly impossible.
Lucky for the owner, I located a shop who can replace just the dog teeth (engagement teeth) for short money without having to spend the $2000 that Porsche quoted to get the parts. We sent 2nd gear from a 901 transmission to the same guy for repair and cannot wait to see how they look and more importantly how they perform.
Transmission repair Porsche 911, 915, 901
901, 915, G60 transmission for Porsche repair
Looking for something to post other than the boring work we have been doing lately, I stumbled across these images on the other computer and thought you would like them.
Bare metal body
Gift wrapping an elephant
You can run but you can hide
Still looking for someone to explain to us why Ferrari went from the compact light weight and wonderful shifting transmissions in the early 166/195/212/225 cars to enormous and heavy cast iron transmissions on the later 250/330/365’s. Here are photos of the 330 2+2 5-speed and a 166 5 speed. There is about 100 lbs difference in weight and a considerable size difference. Did Ferrari use some truck or tractor transmission for these later cars?
The blue 330 GT 2+2 that came in earlier this year ended up needing an engine overhaul but I was fortunate to be able to drive the car prior to breaking it down. The transmission shifted perfectly but on acceleration/deceleration the shift lever moved back and forth significantly. As some may remember, this same thing happened to a 330 GTC transmission a few years ago and it turned out to be a loose ring nut on the main shaft.
I was certain that we had the same issue on this 330 2+2 and when I took off the top cover, it was instantly obvious that the ring nuts at the back of the main shaft holding the gear cluster on were totally backed off. They are doubled up to jamb together to prevent loosening plus there is a locking tab for extra protection on backing off… but still, someone managed to mess this up. Thankfully no damage was done to the internals.
Huge Ferrari transmission
Early Ferrari 5 speed aluminum transmission
loose ring nuts on a Ferrari transmission
Our shop mascot and Peter’s personal daily driver, Gus, is back on the road for spring. Gus is a sweet Montana F-100 that hasn’t seen wax for years. His body weathered like the hands of an old farmer, still, Gus has appeal that can’t be matched, and does hard work making runs to the hardware, auto parts, and tractor parts stores.
Period Magnetti Marelli decal
Oliver Collector's Association decal in view
The Morgan required some new parts to make the windshield wipers work well again. We removed and overhauled the old regulator and replaced the worn out bits with new ones that we made. Here’s Steve on the lathe turning out the new piece from solid aluminum rod stock. The overhauled wiper motor assembly will take the play out of the worn original unit that looked like it’d never had a squirt of grease since the Morgan rolled out of the coachworks.
We just put a set of five Vredestein tires on eBay. They are the popular Sprint Classic tires that fit many smaller classic cars. If you have a Healey, Jaguar, Aston Martin, MG, or VW, these might just be for you. Count yourself out if you drive a Ferrari 400i.
Here’s the link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320520561340
A customer swung by with the pictured Testarossa hood asking if we could repair it. We said we’d check it out, and he asked for a very rough ballpark estimate of what it could run – you know, is it $20 dollars or twenty-thousand? Initially we said it’d be a few grand, but when Eben saw it, his experience as the panel beater and sculptor rang true, with an estimate of about $5k to make it perfect again. The aluminum can only be worked so much, and new material would have to be welded in.
It was a better deal to just replace it with a used panel and let the owner keep the crushed one as a souvenir – you may ask, how’d he do it? The guy he bought it from did.
As spring weather flirts with us, the shop flirts right back. Currently, not including open top race cars, we have five roadsters in progress (4 Healey, 1 Morgan), each one’s mecca being fun in the sun.
Austin Healey, Ferrari 308, a Morgan, and two more Healeys all the way in the back, and one out of view to the left.
Cream Austin Healey 3000 Mk III with B.A.R.C. badge
Hey Pig. Yellow, Cream, Green, and Silver all on tap
Subscribe by RSS