Here is what amounts to about $5000 in labor, the front suspension on a Ferrari 250 completely overhauled and detailed.

New pins and bushings, proper finishes and hopefully it will look this good for more than a few years!

90,000 miles on a Ferrari

Cleaned up, overhauled and detailed

The Oliver 2050 with the forklift makes getting cars off jack stands or a rotisserie quite easy. Now this Ferrari 250 GT Lusso is outside and positioned high in the air for sand blasting and painting the engine bay.

The Lusso is being restored in a way that many would think is backward, but it is actually quite prudent. Most people would chose to restore a car from the outside-in making it look the part and then worrying about mechanicals later – but risking a basket case under thousands of dollars in paint.

Our client has chosen restoration from the inside-out, focusing on meticulous restoration of the running gear of the car. The engine was rebuilt with period performance modifications, cams, and porting. The suspension was nickel plated and all fasteners were black oxide treated. This is a very detail oriented work, but the car completed in the condition it was in when leaving the factory – save for the paint. Read about the suspension here and here.  And the drivetrain here. Watch the engine run here. To see all related Lusso posts click the “Lusso” link under the categories heading on the right.

The exterior of the car should have paint, but it’s an option left to the current owner, or an option for a future owner down the road.

After sending off all the various parts for re-finishing, the front suspension to the Lusso is finished. Karl replaced the bushings and pins and the pivots operate smoothly without a hint of play. The black parts are powder-coated and the arms are nickel plated. I located enough of the button style grease fittings to complete the job once it is on the car.

Even thought the pins and bushings were tight, it is amazing how worn down they were. The outer links had the original phenolic bushings which disintegrated upon removal and the pins were rusted and pitted beyond re-use. The big inner pins were excellent but the bushings were worn severely so now, everything is as new and ready for assembly to the car.

Rebuilt front suspension for Ferrari 250

Here are the before and after photos that show how nice things can look when they are detailed properly

Original and cruddy front suspension

After detailing all of the hardware and countless hours adjusting the pinion depth, pre-load, back lash and differential pre-load, the Lusso axle is finished. I really wish Ferrari took notes from GM when building these axles, the amount of shims and in and out of the parts practically destroys the housings before evertyhting is adjusted.

The axle tubes are powder coated and all hardware is black oxide finished. The pinion is converted to tapered roller bearings. The brakes are all new and once I get the tube nuts back from the plating shop, I can finish up the plumbing for the brake fluid.

Rear axle assembly for a Ferrari 250