Ferrari 250 engine Assembly

Test run and complete

The Lusso engine is finished and running well. Nate did a nice job detailing it and once we take it off the stand we’ll do some more work to make it look super sharp. Mickey refinished the fuel rail that was mixed in with a huge order of 330 GTC and Maserati Ghibli parts and forgotten about for months but its all together now, making steam

Operations at the shop have been very slow for the last few weeks, after blasting things apart last fall we now have to put them back together which gets very tedious. No matter how much we try to account for every little detail, there are always a host of things that slip through the cracks. The Ford Tractor project has been halted until we make a new sewing thimble sized bushing for the distributor and the Lusso engine was nearly complete until Nate told me we were missing the fuel rail. It turns out that it had been at the chrome shop for the last 6 months, slamming on the brakes.

About 2 years ago a guy called me to ask how much I charge to overhaul a Porsche 356 engine. I gave him some rough estimates and didn’t hear from him for 2 years. In October he called me to say he was on his way up with the car to drop it off for the job!

A 356 engine is straightforward enough but nothing is ever simple at our shop. The car is a 1956 356 “A” Coupe the serial number on the engine timing cover revealed that it was from a 1962 356 “B”. I ordered all kinds of parts for the overhaul procedure but when it came to assembly time, the crankshaft main and rod bearings were incorrect. It turns out that the timing cover was from a “B” but the two case halves were the original 356 “A” parts that have many little but significant differences.

With a great deal of patience and tenacity, Casey has gotten the engine together and it will be ready for a test run soon. This engine needed everything, the sheet metal was rusted and the complete exhaust from the “J” pipes back was deteriorated beyond usefulness. While not detailed to a super high standard, the engine looks great

Porsche 356 engine rebuilt

This is a very nice Blaupunkt Radio that is period correct for late 50′s  to early 60′s European Cars. It has all the little details such as the knobs, facia panel and amplifier. If you are interested in purchasing it let me know.

Frankfurt Blaupunkt

Our customer wanted us to re-paint this 330 GTC because the paint was faded and cracking but the car appeared to be very straight and showed no signs of rust or accident damage. As we exposed the bare steel under layers of blue and red paint we found some minor accident damage at the left front headlight that was expertly fixed years ago. The other damage was from the infamous “rust worm” slithering about the rocker panels and rear wheel arches. There wasn’t any bubbling in the paint because someone (expertly) applied stainless steel tape over some perforations in the bodywork which did a great job sealing water from behind and lift the finish.

I cut away the rocker panels and cut the inner structure from behind the rear fender arches so I can properly fix and seal the panels so they’ll last at least another 45 years. Water can get into the rocker panel area but there are many areas for it to leak out but there were these big sand bricks trapped inside which allowed the water to linger in there for a long time which caused the most damage. As bad as it looks, there won’t be any major re-construction other than a few new inner sill struts and new rocker panels.

Refinishing a Ferrari 330 GTC

Rocker panel Ferrari

One of the last details on the 911 Targa restoration project is to bolt on the newly refinished Fuchs alloy wheels. I sent these to a specialist who uses the same anodizing and paint process that was used from new. I’m really pleased with how they look because the gloss of both the aluminum and black paint is just right, not over polished.

Refinish a Porsche FUCHS alloy wheel

Over the last Month I’ve been disassembling a dark blue1967 Ferrari 330 GTC to re-finish the paint, chrome and interior. Even though Pininfarina did a spectacular job building these beautiful Ferrari Coupe’s, there are some things that I can’t live with. These photos show the fit between the “B” pillar cover trim and the “C” pillar window surround trim just behind the door. The gap was enormous on both sides and was filled in with black urethane rubber from the factory. I ground off the chrome and copper and welded some new brass on the trim (which is made of brass) to tighten up the gap.

Trim on GTC Ferrari

Ferrari Pininfarina detail

Brass welding and fitting

Another area that bothers me on the most of the Ferrari GTC’s that I have seen is the fit of the center console at the shifter opening. Like the other cars I have looked at, the shifter isn’t centered in the opening so naturally, I have to adjust this area too. This GTC used to have an odd reverse lockout tab like some of the 60′s race cars, but it didn’t fit so someone bent up the sheet metal in the opening on the left side of the opening.

GTC Interior

Now it fits properly

Here are some photos for Derek who seems to get very turned on by Ferrari engine photos, mostly the “basamento” which translates to “base” and in this context it stands for Engine Block.

Testa Normal

Bassimento 250 GT Ferrari

Here is a early Porsche 911 Engine that Casey has finished and will hopefully be running later this week.

A friend of mine is looking to sell this BMW Isetta to free up some space for other cars. This is one of the best Isettas I have ever  seen because he had all the details done properly right. If you are looking for an Isetta let me know and I can connect you with the owner.

BMW Isetta for sale

These headlight rims were purchased with headlights and buckets to “bolt in” to the front end of the Touring Body 1949 Ferrari 166 Coupe. The parts are beautiful and very expensive (even though the chrome plating is flaking off) but there is no way to secure them to the car! I have to make these brass tabs which will be soldered onto the rims so I can use a bolt to secure them to the bodywork. I drilled the holes in the parts for more surface area for the silver solder to adhere the tab to the rim. Once I am done I’ll send the rims to the engraver to have the delicate “Carello” script scanned into the computer so when they get re-chromed we can engrave this important detail back in. What an expensive detail!

Carello Ferrari Headlight 250, 166, 212,

Trim Rim Ring Carello Headlight