Here are some more photos of the GTE transmission that I am overhauling. Everything else looks fine inside, we are replacing all of the bearings and synchroinzer bands. The main shaft and lay shaft gears are all in excellent condition.

Transmission

Gears for mainshaft and layshaft

but the gears and spacers are all good.

This SC engine is super healthy, great running and has outstanding compression but it also has many little leaks it is filthy. We have done a huge amount of work on the body which constituted completely restoring the car so we are getting the mechanical work done while the car is being block sanded and painted. I have said it before and will say it again, these are the best engines, light, powerful, simple and parts are available anywhere.

I just ordered ever  body rubber seal, full front suspension overhaul kit, assorted specialized trim screws… boxes and boxes of stuff to make this car as new and the order was under $3000.  Incredible what you can buy and how inexpensive the parts are compared to Ferraris and other cars that we typically work on.

The flywheel was sent off to be under-cut and the carburetors are getting the royal treatment from Karl.

SC Porsche Coupe

Here are photos of our jig to re-make a common sized water pipe on a Ferrari 250. We have been making flanges at the water jet shop and have a bunch of the large bell flanges that adapt the 1″ tubing to the larger thermostat housing.

This 304 stainless steel is great stuff, very workable, machinable, weldable.

To see the ones that came off the car click http://www.ferraricraft.com/2009/12/corroded-ferrari-water-pipes/

Fixture to reproduce water pipe

Reproduction water pipe in stainless steel

Alright, all puns aside, the number of different variations of wheel nuts at RPM is astounding. Here are some examples and some more interesting facts about them. Firstly, Ferrari wheels employ singular nuts to fasten each wheel to each axle or hub. So, in your road car, you have generally 4 or 5 lug bolts or lug nuts that hold each wheel on – trucks have more. Ferraris more than any other make, use large racing style wheel nuts, quite similar to those in use on racetracks all over the world, even here in the US in Nascar. Many other Italian cars and some English cars used this method of fastening as well.

The big difference between the wheel nuts on current race cars and on vintage Ferraris? The method of removal. The current race cars use a large diameter socket, while the vintage cars have 2 or 3 ears extending off the nut. The method of removal is repeated smashing of these tabs by the standard equipment lead hammer found in every Ferrari – it isn’t just for fending off would-be attackers. The lead hammer packs a punch, and the softness of the lead won’t mar the finish of the nuts, just watch out for your fenders on the back swing. At RPM wheels are removed frequenly enough to destroy these hammers, so we have a mold to recast the hammer head.

On to the nuts themselves. The word “smontare” seems to be on nearly every nut. » Continue reading “KNOCK IT OFF – WHEEL GOING NUTS”

It strikes me as odd that the most popular video on the FerrariCraft and RPMVT YouTube channel has over 70,000 views, but doesn’t actually own a blog post here on FerrariCraft. We’ve remedied this by adding the video below. Also, take a moment and head to our YouTube channel and subscribe.

Here’s a video from the summer of 2009. A test run of a Colombo V12 from a 330 GTC on an engine stand after we performed a full overhaul, and a ferraricraft.com post to describe its previous condition here.

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.

People have accused me of being too technical on this blog, they think that I should make it more appealing by showing great photos of the cars and making it more slick but this is my effort and the technical stuff it what interests me. I was going to work with a marketing guy to get us a nice image, capitalize on the sex appeal of these cars but it just does not work for me and I do not have the time to stage scenarios and have posed photos. What I am documenting is the day to day of what happens at the shop and why working on machines whether it be tractors, air conditioning units or classic cars, this is what I am interested in and hope that my readers can appreciate it.

Here is a slightly staged photo of a spectacular casting that like so many castings by Ferrari is both beautiful and a marvel of engineering. The forethought that went into making this to work as a transmission casting, differential housing, oil sump  as well as the surface to carry the engine is remarkable. It also carries internal porting for the scavenge and pressure side of the dry-sump oiling system for the engine. Since the transmission has its own oil pump, there is porting for pressurized oil system to lubricate the gears and bearings.  Ferrari spent so much time engineering this sort of part while selling so few cars that it seems that they should have been even more expensive to purchase when new.

I hope you can enjoy these photo. By the way, this part is huge, you could fit about 5 cats inside it.

Transaxle housing for Ferrari 512BB

Transaxle Casting Ferrari

We finished up the Lusso engine awhile ago but finally got to test run it. We set it up and it touched off immediately.  For the uninitiated, this is the 3 liter Ferrari V-12 engine out of the iconic 250 GT Lusso. We overhauled the engine with all new parts: Cosworth pistons at a slightly higher compression ratio, 275 GTB 9mm lift cams along with bigger 275 valves were installed. I am interested in how it pulls when it is in the chassis. This engine sounds very crisp and I am looking forward to setting it up with the exhaust to run it some more.

Listen to it crackle on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bKDgjhqgOc or just watch below.

The link below shows the first start up after we overhauled this 4.0 liter Ferrari V-12. There is always lots of assembly oil to burn out of the combustion chambers so some misfiring is normal. Once the carburetors are tuned and ignition timing dialed in it will be time to run her some more to inspect for leaks or problems. We ran this engine more that day and found everything to be in check.

I am thinking of a chassis dynomometer run on a Porsche 911 with a recent overhaul and the GTC that this engine goes in.

Keep an eye out for more dyno run posts here.