I know, this is such a thrilling topic. I had to make brackets to attach a modern cooling fan to the radiator of a 250 Pininfarina Cabriolet. The part that’s the most exciting to me is that box board material for making templates, I love this stuff because it’s easy to cut while being rigid enough to handle bends and maintain shape. Whenever I get FedEx envelops or a Certificate of Authenticity from Porsche (which is where this box board material came from) I save it in a secret location so no one else can steal it from me. When you combine this box board with a sharpie marker and sharp scissors, anything is possible.
The box board template is a mirror image (fits left and right) so I sandwiched it on the top of two sheets of 12 gauge steel and traced the pattern with the plasma cutter for the final piece.

Ferrari Radiator Cooling fan

Ferrari 250 Radiator Cooling fan

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

Signs of things to come. Later we found 35˚F temps and 7" of snow

After a drive to Long Island to pick up cars, and Philadelphia to drop off an incredible Velocette Thruxton motorbike, we finally made it to Hot Springs, Virginia and the colossal hotel resort, The Homestead. The hotel is rich with history and while lobby alone is massive, a series of parlor rooms runs its length such that any small group can get away and feel as if they have their own private space. (Gallery after the jump) » Continue reading “Mountain Mille – Day 1″

A group of three approaches the top of the pass.

We have a very close relationship with Rich and Jean Taylor at Vintage Rallies, and I wanted to create a video to promote and build their events. So, earlier this summer we gathered some favorite customers and friends together for a spectacular day of enthusiastic driving on wonderful back roads. We closed down the shop, and Nate, Casey, Peter and I were actually able to enjoy the cars we work so hard on.

We made sure that every car had a camera and a co-driver to run it. The result, a brief, but fun piece that shows just beginning of some of the capabilities that these cars possess. Video after the jump (click here). » Continue reading “Vintage Rallies Close to Cannonball”

If I were making a production run of something, this isn’t how I would do it. Ferrari made thousands of “250″ series cars all with these goofy water pipes for the cooling system which vary drastically throughout the 10 year production run.  They are so complex and hard to duplicate that re-making them nearly impossible. This “J” shaped pipe has a compound curve with barbs that have to be welded on in exactly the right location even though they appear to be stitched on at random locations. If they are off one millimeter, they will hit the oil filter or run into the fan.

These pipes are for the Lusso/GTE series of 250, but I can make a number of other styles from 166 up through the 275 cars utilizing my incredible and growing stockpile of bends and flared ends. Right now I am making a short run of the water pipe that connects the thermostat housing to the engine on a 275 GTB/GTS Two-Cam engine.

Water pipe for Ferrari

Water pipe copied for Ferrari

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

I don’t offer much helpful information on this blog but want to share some photos of the font and progression of transmission, engine, and axle number stampings on Ferrari castings. From now on, i’m going to photograph stamps on Ferrari castings as I have the ability, the transmission stamps are hard to photograph because the interior has to come out for access. These are all photographs of Transmissions from 250’s and 330’s.  As things progress, I will post photos of Engines, axles and trans-axles.

Numbers from early 330 with Overdrive

Series II PF Cab, late production

Early production GTE Ferrari

Transmission Ferrari Lusso 2505-speed 2 mount engine

Hemmings Sports and Exotic Magazine did an amazing article on a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTE belonging to our customer in New York.  The owner had a spectacular Alfa Romeo 1900 for a number of years and decided it was time to sell. He did an incredible “feature” of the Alfa to sell it on ebay which had video links on youtube showing how the car performed on the road. The Alfa sold very well and guy now has a pocket full of cash to get what he really wanted, a Ferrari GTE.

He bought this car and had it shipped it to us where we picked it apart and did some major repairs to bring it up to a standard that it can be driven and enjoyed. We repaired or rebuilt every mechanical component on the car except for the rear axle so true to form, after 1000 miles, the ring and pinion started to growl.

At this time, the rear axle is overhauled and we have driven the car about 20 miles after performing a check over on the work we did last year. We have a few things to address so the car can  be driven regularly for the summer of 2011.

As you can see from a previous post, we changed the rear axle ratio from 7-32 to an 8-34 which I recommend for an early Ferrari 250!

Here is the link to the Hemmings article. Pics and words by David Traver Adolphus.

http://www.hemmings.com/hsx/stories/2011/04/01/hmn_feature1.html

We cleaned out the attic over the holiday and discovered a number of items that we’ll be putting on eBay in the coming weeks. Currently listed are a Bosch Voltage Regulator (black box BOSCH) 6v 12v volt for returning your classic back to the original configuration – or just the look.

A Ferrari Bonaldi Brake Booster for rebuild will only stop you in your tracks in it’s current condition – not working – but in very nice cosmetic shape.

A rare Ferrari 275 GTB and GTB/4 Egg-Crate Grille Brandoli reproduction isn’t easy to come by and is in good condition.

Marchall 660 Fog Lights for Ferrari 250, 225, 212, 166 will actually look at home on a variety of other cars including Porsche 356, Mercedes 300, etc.