GTC 330 Ferrari
After all kinds of recent work on this car, out customer wants to sell it in order to pursue some other business interests. There may be some blog posts on the work we did which includes overhauling the engine, replacing the incorrect sized 205/70-VR14 Michelin XWX tires with the 205-VR14’s and replacing the windshield. This is a very nice car that feels super alive when driven fast.
We took the Ferrari 330 GTS out to make sure it was ready to deliver and made a little video while we drove. The engine sounds great, so turn it up – of course there is some additional noise because the of the GTS soft top. Comment to let us know if you want to see more videos like this on FerrariCraft.
Ferrari 330 GTS and the 330 GTC in the background
The Ferrari 330 GTS is being picked up this week and we found both 330’s in front of the main RPM barn. We took the 330 GTS for a test drive to make sure that it was ready to deliver, and upon starting what amazed me was how instantly the engine started with just a momentary bump of the key.
This dispels any myths of carburetors being unreliable. When the three carbs are adjusted and synchronized properly they operate very well and with excellent drivability, exhibiting none of the “cold blooded” attributes that have been assigned to cars with worn-out and out-of-tune carburetors. More pictures after the jump and a video to come.
The Forged aluminum Pistons are here and the block is bored to the correct tolerance. We cut the rings, installed new wrist pin bushings and are moving along. The plugs in the crank are factory style so we drilled them out, brushed and soaked the crank and flushed it one more time with a cleaner until she ran clear. With the crank in and the bearings measured, it is time to stuff the pistons and get the bottom end together.
The valves in this engine had 1000 miles on them but were all dimpled in where the lash screw came in contact with the stem. We have never had this problem with our valve supplier so we did a Rockwell hardness check on these damaged valves and the valves from our supplier. There was a huge difference in alloy and hardness.
Now, if only we could feel like we are getting somewhere with scraping gaskets and stripping that crappy paint from the rest of the castings.
I am overhauling the fuel pump right now. There is a hardened 6mm pin that the rocker shaft rides on that is often severely grooved and on this car, the groove is almost half way through. No problem though as I have 3 other pumps to overhaul at the same time. With new bushings, check valves and diaphragm it will be working as new and looking new with freshly plated hardware and top cover.
Engine block
JE Pistons and Forged Connecting rods
I have never advertised anywhere that I make Air Conditioning systems for Ferraris but somehow people continue to contact me to build a system for them.
A man in CA. heard that I have the jigs and know how to get all of the parts to equip his car with a very original style system with the original type hose ends and cotton braided hose. We also built brackets for the original style York compressor. Through various contacts, I located all of these parts, sent many things off for cadmium plating and sent off a diagram on how to wire everything and route the hoses and wires.
One thing that is missing to complete a system are the dashboard vents that double as temperature switch and fan speed switch. I am in the process of tooling up to re-make these vents and knobs that will work with modern replacement switches.
If you know anyone who needs these vents let me know. It will cost a small fortune to make the molds for these and I will also have to make the chrome trim pieces so I would like to have some interest to help out with the cost.
After doing all kinds of work on a 1967 Ferrari 330 GTC we are now going through the transmission. We overhauled the engine last fall and after our customer spent the spring and early summer driving the car he realized that the synchronizers were too worn for him to enjoy driving the car.
We are going to replace the bearings at the front of the transmission but all of the other bearings look great. All 5 synchronizer bands have been replaced even though the second and third gear synchros were the worst.
These transmissions are straightforward to work on provided you do not have to deal with the spacing on the pinion shaft.
What would cause the shift lever to move forward and backward upon decelerating and accelerating? I am not talking about a 1/4″, more like 1-2 inches. The transmission was quiet and the ring and pinion are totally silent so it could not be the pinion shaft cluster that was loose.
We pulled the trans-axle and something very unusual happened, we found a simple problem that required a very simple solution! The forward most ring nut on the main shaft was loose and it did not do any damage to the rest of the gears or bearings. With this nut loose, the selector rings were moving which made the shift lever do the voodo dance.
While working to locate A/C parts for our Ferrari 330 GTS project, a man asked me to locate a evaporator for his car, a 1967 Ferrari 330 GTC that uses the same unit as the GTS. I searched all over for a unit for the GTC but I probably purchased the last OEM evaporator in existence for the GTS. Without the OEM unit I told him that we will to fabricate one once I locate a correct sized evaporator core. We made a jig off from the original unit in order to be sure the dimensions are the same should anyone want us to make them an evaporator for there car.
As I said above, if you are looking for a 330 GTC or GTS evaporator unit or any other Ferrari A/C advise please let me know.
Here are some of the projects that we are working on.
I just finished installing an air conditioning system in a Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 that had one very difficult criteria to meet — “don’t visually alter the dash or interior in any way”. 330’s that came from the factory with A/C had the row of rocker switches moved to the left of the steering column so we had to work the evaporator around a cluster of wires and bulky switches. We altered the glove box in order to provide room for ducting, but not much else was altered.
This 330 GTS system is using the original cotton wrapped hose and correct hose ends as well as a restored York compressor. The most difficult task at hand is dealing with the fan speed and temperature control switches that double as the vent outlets. I cannot seem to find these switches/vents anywhere so I may modify the existing vents to accept modern switches but they will not have the script engraved/stamped into them. I guess this car is not going to Pebble Beach.
Incidentally, this same car was wrecked in the left rear. We repaired the damage and painted the car Pino Verde (pine green metallic).
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