The GTC project is getting some attention after sitting idle for a few weeks. The car is very solid but suffers from the same problem as all Ferraris which is water getting trapped between layers of unprotected steel and corroding it away. The GTC has a very elegant circular vent in the “C” pillar to let air pressure out of the cabin when the doors are closed and when the vent system is used. Since this vent is an open hole into the interior, a little catch tray with a drain pipe is attached to the inside of the pillar so water doesn’t ruin the headliner and flood into the interior. A hose that can be seen under the car allows this tray to drain onto the ground but over time it plugs with debris and the water builds up and leaks inside the rear fender arch making the car disappear into a cloud of brown dust.

Understanding that this car is 45 years old, the bodywork is in amazing condition but you can see the concentrated rust damage connection to the leaking “drip tray”. The front of the rocker panels is rotten away which makes sense because of all the water spray getting inside while driving in the rain. Pininfarina did a great job sealing these car up when new and we will follow their technique so when we’re done, we’ll use the same super thick and rugged seam sealer (that smells like Star Wars Action Figures) allowing the car to last another 50 years when we finish with it.

Remaking fender arches Ferrari GTC

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!

We did tons of work on this 1956 Jaguar XK-140 this summer, between waiting for parts and correcting some stubborn little details and then cleaning it all up, we spent some hours on this beauty. Now that Mike has his car back, he has been driving all over the place including to and from work, a 50 mile drive one way!

Jaguar XK-140 DHC

Partial line-up outside Middlebury's Breadloaf Campus - p: D. Adolphous

A few weeks ago a few customers gathered at the shop for some coffee, a couple of donuts, and a good chat before heading out onto some beautiful Vermont roads. We headed westward with 15 cars toward Chimney Point and then east over McCullough Turnpike (App. Gap as we call it). We had lunch in Waitsfield, met with some additional drivers and their cars, and headed down Rt. 100 and over Middlebury gap and back to the shop. On the road we had a 512BB, XK-120, XK-150, XK-E, a pair of 330′s, a pair of 250′s, a 308, and Porsches from 356 through a few generations of 911′s – and a few others I am surely forgetting. The drive however was unforgettable.

David Adolphous from Hemmings came up, enjoyed the drive, and left with some great images in his camera. Now those images are available to see on his flickr account, here.

Well, I did it, I finally convinced the original owner of this spectacular original 1972 Porsche 911 to sell it to me. 3 years ago we did the top end end of the engine, shocks, brakes and tires and replaced a few rubber seals. The only thing  that isn’t original on the car are the wheels, we painted them silver as the original chrome was peeling and nasty, so to make them silver was an attractive solution. If someone made me a strong offer I may be motivated to sell this sweetheart but when something this great comes along, it will take a strong offer!

1972 911T

These 330′s look so spectacular to me when painted in a bright color like this light blue or silver. We’ve done tons of work to this car to make it run and drive better than it looks.

Something about the rear of the car, the “C” pillar area above the rear wheel looks so great, so clean and pure. How can you argue with Italian design!

Ferrari 330 GT Blue

A 1971 Porsche 911 came in with a melted main wiring harness. A number of shops advertised new-old stock  harnesses on their websites but when I inquired they admitted that these parts haven’t been available for years. I called some used parts shops such as CarQuip and a place in CA, cannot remember the name…. and they had nothing. It seems that these harnesses get damaged and need replacing frequently!Tom at CarQuip did send me a used harness for a ’71 but the wire colors and gauge of wire didn’t match which I thought was very odd.

Y-nZ’s has supplied us with spectacular harnesses for 356 Porsche’s and most recently an amazing harness for a 1952 Chrysler Imperial but they quoted a larger price than I thought it worth so here is Casey making one from scratch! We bought all the terminal ends and had the PVC housing so for a major cost savings, here you go, a harness with factory color wire and correct appearance harness!

Main harness Porsche 911

Porsche 911 early wiring harness

Here’s another 250 engine being assembled, we didn’t overhaul it but had to disassemble it to correct head gasket leaks, water pump leaks and replace the roller followers with the needle bearing type. We have had great results with the needle bearing style followers and but poor results with the bushing type which wear out in 600 miles! When an engine needs this much work we pull it from the chassis so it can be test run and inspected for leaks. Here are our famous formula head gaskets in use which have proven themselves reliable and consistent.

250 GT engine 27XX

We had an open house over the weekend so I took some photos of the shop all cleaned up and looking sharp.  With the floor so clean, it appears that the cars are floating, especially that copper colored Maserati Ghibli!

In the past, our open house has been to show customers what is going on with their projects but this year we geared the event to be more of a fun party where we ended up eating clams and shrimp right off the BBQ grill and enjoyed some cold beers. Since we have survived these last few difficult years, we certainly needed to let loose!

Maserati Ghibli