Original Dino 206 seats

1969 Dino 206

Ruby and I had a look at the 206 on Friday, I really like the car. The interior is so cool because unlike most 206′s, it has the original seat upholstery with a loose weave pattern that can easily tear from a rivet on your jeans.

Ferrari Grigio Notte

Earlier this week I visited the passionate owner of this extremely nice 1966 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 in its original color called Grigio Notte. Typical of Italian Style and complexity, Grigio Notte (dark silver) has a tiny drop of green mixed in to give it that exotic hue unlike “grey” colors that you see on other cars.

The owner picked me up at the airport and we drove the spirited car about 25 miles to a friends shop and then to his house to check out all the other parts and documentation he has acquired with the car over the last few years. After all this we went to an outstanding BBQ joint where Nachos were based on thick cut potato chips with beef brisket and the shrimp sandwich was out of this world.

I was blown away at how well the Ferrari drove with a very strong engine, smooth drive shaft and all electrical components working as they are intended. Equally amazing was the ownership history and service documentation that the owner pulled together as well as the often missing handbooks and pouch to make this a very complete and sorted car.

About 5 years ago I took a photo of this car after it showed up unexpectedly from Louisiana. Out of sight, out of mind the adage goes, we put it on the back corner of one of the buildings and after asking the owner what he wants to do with this XKE, he informed me that he wants to sell it. Does anyone out there want this thing or is Gullwing Motorcars going to pick it up! Later this week I’ll get it up on the lift and check out the car but I think its solid and complete except for the soft top frame. Even though the owner had the brake system gone through awhile ago, there isn’t a firm pedal and the clutch doesn’t work but I pulled it around the shop in gear and the engine turns and we should be able to do a accurate compression test.

Once was ivory, now is red, a solid XKE

Series II 4.2 liter Jaguar E-Type engine

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

My plan was to remove the engine and perform a “major service” on the ’79 Ferrari 308 GT/4 but after a leak down test revealed that a few cylinders were weak, I decided to break it down. The combustion chamber leak was from a few valves that weren’t closing so I knew it needed a full valve job. When removing the main bearing caps to inspect the bearings, we found evidence of an improper line hone or some major grit which scratched the journal. It’s irritating because main and rod bearings are super expensive and I was hoping that we could just re-coat them for a fraction of the cost. The machine shop will check the cylinders and hopefully we wont need new pistons!

Nate inspected the transmission and found that 3 of the 5 synchros are worn to the limit so we need to spend another $2000 on the transmission! Yuck, why do I think I can purchase and make money on re-selling these cars?

Engine Ferrari 3.0

308 GT/4 crankshaft

Rolls Royce Continental

Is this a Rolls Continental? I think its a 1954. If anyone out there wants a very nice example of a Rolls Royce that has a classic look and can keep up with modern traffic, here is your car! It has those iconic Grey Poupon Mustard Trays in the back seat for the filming the next Wayne’s World Movie.

Pardon Me? Do you have any Green Poupon!

GTC for Sale 330

Here is a Super nice 330 GTC that a customer of ours is interested in selling. We’ve gone through all of the mechanical components within the last two years such as the engine, transmission and numerous other details. This car is outstanding and is ready to light ‘em up for 2012!

MGA 1600 Barn Find

What do you think this car is worth? Even though the inside of all the sheet metal has a light coating of surface rust, the car is amazingly solid without any evidence rust bubbles in the rocker panels or bottom of the doors.  The car is complete with all the brightwork and trim and as you can see, the side curtain’s are still in tact. The seats are nice leather things that probably came from a Volvo, absolutely not original.

The engine turns over freely with the starter and it sounds like it has even compression in all cylinders. It has all the original mechanical components like the Lucas Starter, Generator and distributor. Based on how well all of the panels fit and the condition of the sheet metal, it doesn’t appear to have ever been in an accident. The odometer shows 15K miles, is that possible?

I’m thinking of putting it on ebay but need to get a feel for the value before I go through that exercise. I’d really appreciate anyone’s feedback on where to go with this MGA.

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

After getting a great response to a post a few weeks ago about engraving on the door handles called Giouche, I thought you would also get a kick out of this old school decorative detail. It’s called Cloisonne, a technique developed to make Jewelry and small fixtures as well as larger items like bowls and vases. Years ago at a Montreal art museum I saw pottery that was finished in a geometric pattern cloisonne that was so beautiful with pools of glossy color and a chaotic randomness.

Cloisonne is typically made by soldering wire to the base material in order to form dividers that get filled with the enamel filled with colored paste that it fired in order to harden and become glossy. These Ferrari and Pininfarina badges are made a little differently. The base metal is stamped to create the 2 dimensional depth which is then filled with different colors of the glossy translucent enamel. The Ferrari badge is an original from the 1957 and the Pininfarina (Letter F) as well as the Ferrari/PF flags are new manufacture. I’d like to know if the modern production pieces are made by the same company who made the originals or if they are reproduced by another shop.

Cloisonne Ferrari

Cloisonne hood badge

Coisonne PF Pininfarina

PF Badge, Ferrari badge