Nice looking GTC in blue
I was organizing my photo program a few days ago and found this photo of a nice looking GTC to share with you.
We had 3 dark blue GTC’s at this time and I think this car was sold to a guy in Switzerland.
Casey just finished assembling this engine after all kinds of people blessed it to make sure everything is in the required specification. The reason it came apart is because the valve guides were loose in the heads and allowing oil to flow right into the exhaust and eventually fouling out the spark plug. When we disassembled the engine we found that the cylinders were polished to a very high level of shine and couldn’t imagine that the piston rings would ever seat. In conversations with Hastings Piston Ring Company it was learned that the cylinders needed to be honed to a coarse 280 grit rather than the ultra smooth mirror polish. Since the engine was apart, we decided to have a specialist cut the rear “slinger” off the back of the crankshaft so we could install a conventional lip seal to prevent oil leaks.
The engine is running great and just today we took the car out for a drive in the Arctic Cold air where it performed perfectly.
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.
We seem to have an influx of 250 engines all of a sudden, the one Nate is working on just completed its first test run on the bench after overhaul and the other is coming apart because of problems with the cylinder heads. On this engine, the valve guides are loose in the heads allowing oil to pour into the exhaust system that made smoke pour out of the exhaust system once it heated up.
Bill took some video of the other engine running on the test stand so keep an eye out for that clip on youtube soon.
Ferrari 250 engines
If you get a chance, have a look at our ebay listings one of which is this spectacular 330 GT 2+2.
We just sold a very tidy Tool briefcase for a 365 series Ferrari and have a guy ready to purchase a steel roof rack for a Porsche 911 (and other German cars like VW’s). This is a super nice piece with an original equipment manufacturers sticker on it!
In the next few days I’m gonna get some other cars up there so I will let you know what I am posting and will see if Gene can start an ebay store to start selling the stuff we have been accumulating around her.
Ferrari Ebay 330 V-12
The 4 cylinder Ferrari Monza engine came back from England last week so in order to create some space, Casey took it out of the crate and threw the engine in the chassis. The shop who overhauled the engine is a specialist on the 4 cylinder Ferrari engines and has made this a turn key, dyno tested unit for us to bolt in.
Nate is installing new brake components on the XKE after having the calipers overhauled and other things like cooling fan motors and a inoperative coolant temperature gauge. We have been so busy with Jaguars and brakes lately, new cylinders in two XK-140′s and all new brake parts on this XKE.
Shop images of the Monza and XKE
Last week I visited a friend and drove this amazing 1971 Ferrari 356 GTB/4 Daytona around town and was blown away at how nicely it performed. The odometer shows around 20,000 miles and based on the overall condition of the number of original components, I believe it. Since the car has had one conscientious owner for over 30 years it has a complete handbook set and full tool roll and has been serviced to make sure its in top condition at all times. Most Daytona’s are missing the original Magnetti-Marelli ignition boxes or Digi-Plex units but this car has them fitted on the front wheel arches in the engine bay. My friend is selling the car so if you are interested let me know and I can make arrangements to have available for viewing.
Daytona
Here is the BB engine, finished up and running on the stand with a link below to see it on youtube. No leaks! Needs a little more tuning but this is the second start up and it ran very well. Since this video was taken, we dialed in the carburetors and it sounds amazing.
We are almost finished with the 512BB engine overhaul. Casey has done the bulk of the assembly work and has done a nice job making all of the details correct and look fresh without going totally nutty. We are waiting for the vibrational dampener to return from the repair shop but we can make the engine run on the test stand without it, keep tuned for a video of it running on youtube.
While waiting for the engine machine work and pistons to be custom made, we overhauled the transmission and addressed a few other issues to make sure the car will be solid for driving this summer. This engine is slightly enhanced and we will have dyno sheets of before and after the overhaul.
BB 512 FERRARI
I had the great pleasure of driving this 1969 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 from Quebec City in Canada to our shop on Tuesday April 12 2011. It was fanatically restored by its owner who made sure every little detail worked in addition to making some upgrades to make it better than new.
If an electrical engineer looked at the wiring set up on the car they would run and hide. All of the electrical current that the car runs through the ammeter which is horribly under capacity. This car came from the factory with a wimpy 55 amp alternator, a paltry 40 amp ammeter and when the A/C is on, headlights blazing, don’t make the mistake of pushing the horn button or open the windows because you will have an electrical meltdown! The Previous owner happened to be an engineer who remedied this in a very clever way.
He also kept the classic stereo VOXON in the dash but had a specialist modify the internals, now it operates as a modern high watt unit with all kinds of capabilities. The stereo sounds great and with the ice cold A/C, power steering and great power and visibility, you could drive this car every day without feeling like you will get run over by high speed traffic.
These Queen Mothers are hard to restore because they have so many intricate details. To me they feel more like a Mercedes Benz than a Ferrari. The coachwork is impeccable, the car feels heavy and planted and it gets about 4 miles per gallon just like a 280 SE 6.9!
Radio Cheat Sheet
356 Queen
RPM on Ebay
