Flat fin radiator

Here is a brand new correct type flat fin radiator core all assembled with tanks and side brackets for a Ferrari 250 GTE. These cores are so nice and we will cover the core in cardboard to prevent bending the delicate fins. This radiator has the bottom tank that was all hammered and beat up and corrected and documented in an earlier post.

Clean brake fluid is a must for proper operation of a brake system, proper operation of brakes, reliable brakes? Ferraris 250′s with the Bendix/Bonaldi booster had a reservoir cap with a steel mesh under an aluminum disc to allow the bottle to vent. Under the mesh is a small hole directly into the brake fluid reservoir. As you can see, there is lots of opportunity for crud to get into the fluid from this rusty build up in the mesh. I took the aluminum disc off, made a new spacer ring and welded it onto the cap. I sent the part of to be cad plated and made a new aluminum disc, installed stainless steel wool under the and wrinkle finish painted it. Voila!

FIAT Reservoir lid

Wrinkle finish reservoir

Here is what amounts to about $5000 in labor, the front suspension on a Ferrari 250 completely overhauled and detailed.

New pins and bushings, proper finishes and hopefully it will look this good for more than a few years!

90,000 miles on a Ferrari

Cleaned up, overhauled and detailed

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

Early Ferrari cars used steel tubing for the cooling system which corrodes seriously over time. Since replacement parts have never been available, these pipes were often patched together, soldered up, welded, epoxied- whatever to make them hold water. Typical of the Italians, the pipes are beautiful with gentle bends and are very difficult to recreate but we have a system to make them out of stainless steel 304 series tubing. See http://www.ferraricraft.com/2009/12/reproducing-ferrari-water-pipes-in-stainless-steel/

Water Pipes for Ferrari engine

Water pipe elbow

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.

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.

After sending off all the various parts for re-finishing, the front suspension to the Lusso is finished. Karl replaced the bushings and pins and the pivots operate smoothly without a hint of play. The black parts are powder-coated and the arms are nickel plated. I located enough of the button style grease fittings to complete the job once it is on the car.

Even thought the pins and bushings were tight, it is amazing how worn down they were. The outer links had the original phenolic bushings which disintegrated upon removal and the pins were rusted and pitted beyond re-use. The big inner pins were excellent but the bushings were worn severely so now, everything is as new and ready for assembly to the car.

Rebuilt front suspension for Ferrari 250

Here are the before and after photos that show how nice things can look when they are detailed properly

Original and cruddy front suspension

Whenever I have a car way up in the air like this I feel it necessary to snap a photo.  When the wheels are off and the car is more at eye level the shape comes alive and you can see the subtle details that make the body of this Lusso so beautiful.

We are stripping this thing down to restore the undercarriage and eventually re-finish the rest of the car.

Red Lusso in the ari