Tom Yang's Ferrari Restoration

Tom Yang's Ferrari Restoration http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari.html Tom Yang's Ferrari Restoration en tomyang.net http://www.tomyang.net/cars/Ferrbtn.JPG http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari.html 72 89 7/24/10: Boxer Comparison http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari998.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body alink="#ee0000" link="#0000ee" vlink="#551a8b"> 7/24/10 Boxer Comparison <img alt="Boxers" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/boxercomparo1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Last weekend I went out with three Ferrari Boxer owners to compare the three variations of the Berlinetta Boxer made by Ferrari from the mid 70s to mid 80s . It all started with one owner's curiosity about how different the other cars might be from his car, but the gathering took months to plan. My first task was to find a third Boxer owner. We had a 365bb, and a 512bbi, but we needed a carbureted 512 Boxer to slot in between. After a couple of phone calls, I had our trio. It was just chance that they were all red! <img alt="high shot" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/boxercomparo3.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 526px;" /> We decided if we were going to get together, why not record our impressions in an article? A pitch was made to "Forza," a Ferrari Enthusiasts magazine to write and article by myself and  Dom Miliano. With a green light from the editor, I needed to secure locations, a camera car, and schedule a day for all those involved to meet. I didn't even want to think about the possibility of rain! <img alt="moving cars" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/boxercomparo6.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" />Photo Dom Miliano Dom and I collaborated in the photography and the owners helped us get the cars into position. <img alt="jack knife" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/boxercomparo2.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> I thought this was the "money shot" or at least the position was. I've always loved the way a Boxer opens up much like a jack knife, and I wanted to show it in pictures. You'll have to wait for the magazine article to see how the actual photo turned out. <img alt="boxer talk" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/boxercomparo4.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> We had just enough cloud cover to get some decent photography, but man was it hot! At 90 degrees and high humidity, the heat did nothing to melt the owner's enthusiasm about participating in this gathering. <img alt="Driving" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/boxercomparo5.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 287px;" /> The highlight was when we swapped keys between the owners! Each driver got to drive the two other Boxers in the comparison, and we recorded their impressions after each drive. At the end of the day, we had a nice rap session in the shade of large pine tree at our last location. Look for the podcast soon, and I'll let you know when the article hits the newsstands in "Forza." Thanks everyone involved with participating. It was a ton of fun! </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari998.htm 7/21/10: Need Your Help! http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari997.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body alink="#ee0000" link="#0000ee" vlink="#551a8b"> 7/21/10 Need Your Help! <img alt="GTB" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/8669_14.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 263px;" /> I've been working on a wonderful 275GTB for over a year, and it's largely done. It's an original 6 carb car with a bumper delete option, which makes this car look so cool! As this restoration comes to completion, we still have a couple small issues to address, and I'm hoping someone can help me out. <img alt="Trim clips" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/8917_5.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> The stainless steel trim on the side of the car, under the door, has these small steel clips that attach it to the car much like 330s with a similar piece of trim. A couple of these pieces disintegrated when they were removed, and Re-Originals is currently out of stock. The owner of this car has called a couple of the usual suspects that may carry these clips, but if anyone has any leads, or even better, has a couple, I would love to hear from you! On another note, I posted a request on the Vintage Ferrari Forum on this website, but I know some of you may not have seen it there: I've maintained this Ferrari Website for 11 years, and one of my dreams was to find an opportunity to hear about a Vintage Ferrari before anyone else. Through the years, I heard of a few, and have even passed them on to owners that are now members of this Ferrari Community. I've been watching the story about GTE 3787 and how upset most Vintage Ferrari enthusiasts are about the splitting up of this car for the benefit of a more valuable Ferrari. I now may have the opportunity to save a GTE, and would like to know if this is possible with the right person. There is nothing we can do to save 3787 as a complete car now that the engine has been removed, but I'm offering the Vintage Ferrari Community a chance to save one. Can I prove to the capitalists and uncaring that these cars are worth saving? If not, then this may all be talk. I've gotten a good response to this post, but I want to give everyone a fair shot at this car. Besides saving a GTE, I'm hoping to involved with resurrection, and, just as importantly, share it on this site. I've learned a lot over the years through the work done on my car and many others since then, and continuing this sharing through this website would be just great. I see everyone winning on many levels, but it all starts with <a href="mailto:tom@tomyang.net">an e-mail</a>. </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari997.htm 7/18/10: West Coast Wrapup, and 550 Podcast http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari996.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body alink="#ee0000" link="#0000ee" vlink="#551a8b"> 7/18/10 West Coast Wrap Up and 550 Podcast <img alt="Tom,Tom, Zac" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGR2010_9.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 263px;" /> Wow, what a fantastic trip to the West Coast! I covered more ground in 5 days in the Ferrari world than I think I ever had in the past! I have two guys to thank first because without them, none of this would be possible. Tom Wilson (pictured center) started it all with an invitation to come to Southern California, and Zac Dugger (pictured right) to host a gathering at his shop. The next thanks is to everyone's wife in putting up with the guys and their car obsessions, because without their support, we would never get to this level of enthusiasm, and finally I'd like to thank all the people who opened up their shops and private collections for me to see and share with the world. As much as I enjoyed touring the shops, I hope you all enjoyed the posts. Now that I've gotten the bulk of the posts up, I'll put a couple more about the trip in the next several days. There's still stuff I have to tell, but I can now take my time! <a href="http://www.tomyang.net/podcasts/ferraripodcast9.mp3"><img alt="550 Maranello" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGRdrive2010_8.jpg" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 350px; height: 233px;" /></a> The first extra thing I'd like to share is a Podcast I recorded with Zac Dugger in his <a href="http://www.tomyang.net/podcasts/ferraripodcast9.mp3">550 Maranello</a>. I hope to post some more podcasts soon, but it you have not heard the earlier ones, they can be found here on the <a href="http://www.tomyang.net/podcasts/">Podcast page</a>. If you have not seen Tom Wilson's Website: <a href="http://www.ferrari250gte.com/" target="_blank">http://www.ferrari250gte.com/</a> Not only is another great resource for Vintage Ferrari material, look for some forward progress on his car with Zac's help at: DGR Performance 1555 1/2 S. Coast Highway Oceanside, California. 92054  Phone: 760-458-6131 </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari996.htm 7/16/10: Karp's Power Brakes http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari995.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body alink="#ee0000" link="#0000ee" vlink="#551a8b"> 7/16/10 Karp's Power Brakes <img alt="Karps" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/karps1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> I had one more stop to make in Southern California on a marathon day of shop tours before an overnight flight back to New York. Ron Karp of <a href="http://www.resleeve.com/" target="_blank">Karp's Brake Service</a> was nice enough to meet Tom Wilson and me after hours at his shop in Upland, California. <img alt="workstation" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/karps2.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> After seeing his presentation at the West Coast Gathering, I was interested in seeing his facility. It's a small shop with several work stations for a few of guys working on various brake systems. Each station is capable of rebuilding a complete system with necessary tools and testing equipment. <img alt="power brakes in stock" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/karps3.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Ron started the business rebuilding power brake systems for American cars. He started collecting and stocking power brake units from all sorts of cars so he could offer a quick turn around for his customers. The cores on the shelves are cleaned and ready to be rebuilt as soon as an old one is sent in by the customer. If the customer wants the same one returned, they can rebuild it as well, but cores are ready to send out to speed up the process. <img alt="wheel cylinder" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/karps4.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Ron's business turned to resleeving wheel cylinders and brake calipers several years ago, and has become the best guy for stainless steel sleeves. He showed us the process on a wheel cylinder he had in the queue that needed a new sleeve. After the part is decreased and media blasted, it's ready for sleeving. <img alt="lathe" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/karps5.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 243px;" /> A special machine aligns the wheel cylinder to the lathe so the cutting head can cut the bore precisely. <img alt="cutters" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/karps6.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> The cutting head then removes enough material in the wheel cylinder to accept a new stainless steel sleeve. <img alt="cutting" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/karps7.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> With the special jig, the cutters do their job with great precision. <img alt="inlet port" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/karps9.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 526px;" /> A corresponding sleeve made out of stainless is prepared to be inserted into the bore made in the wheel cylinder. A hole is drilled into the sleeve to match the holes for the hydraulic lines. <img alt="ready for sleeve" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/karps10.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> A secret bonding liquid is used to secure an already tight fitting sleeve in the wheel cylinder. <img alt="inserting sleeve" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/karps11.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 526px;" /> A hydraulic press pushed the sleeve all the way home, and it's checked for equal depth in the cylinder. <img alt="ss sleeves" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/karps12.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 526px;" /> Ron is very meticulous with what goes into his rebuilds, and he special orders tubing made to his specifications. Trying to keep prices down, large quantities are ordered in all the sizes he needs, but each batch is tested in house to insure the inserts will work without problems. It's quality control like this that insures Karps gives a good and reliable rebuild. <img alt="seals" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/karps14.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Karps also stocks an unbelievable amount of seals for master cylinders and power brakes. They don't sell these to the public, but keeps them available for just about any rebuild that comes into the shop. <img alt="Ron" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/karps15.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 526px;" /> It's guys like these that I'm proud are still in business here in the USA. There was a time when machinists and craftsmen like this were in every major metropolitan area, but with everyone looking for higher education and easy money, this type of work has no skilled craftsmen to carry on in the work. Asian markets have absorbed much of this work, and the few shops that do this kind of work in the US lower their quality to stay competitive. In an economic down turn, it was nice to see Karps so busy because people still recognize quality. <img alt="piston" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/brake31.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> Ron and I commiserated in our disappointment in American manufacturing. When I sent him the SS piston made by Morten, my Danish friend that owns a machine shop in Denmark, Ron complained how difficult it is to get an American company to take on a job like that, and at that kind of quality. It's definitely a world economy, but what are we going to do in the US to compete? <img alt="bonaldi booster" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/karps17.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 526px;" /> As I poked around the shop, I recognized some Ferrari parts in a tray. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the Bonaldi Booster was from a shop I know well from the East Coast! The note exclaimed that this booster was sent to one of Karp's competitors for rebuilding, and it came back non functioning. They gave up on the other rebuilder and asked Karps to take a look. I had Ron look at it, and within 2 minutes he found two seals installed backwards in this unit. When Ron sees such carelessness and no post rebuild testing, he will completely inspect and rebuild this unit to insure the customer gets a working booster when it's all done. It amazes me that people still use that other shop! <img alt="equalizer" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/karps18.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Ron is the guy I chose to make new seals for my equalizer, and another Ferrari shop has sent him their equalizer for rebuilding. Soon, he'll have the seals made, and not only will my car be back on the road, but so with other Vintage Ferraris that need this unavailable seal! Thanks Ron for doing what you do! </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari995.htm 7/15/10: Grand Touring Classics http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari994.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body alink="#ee0000" link="#0000ee" vlink="#551a8b"> 7/15/10 Grand Touring Classics <img alt="Grand Touring Classics" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/hofer1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> I stopped by Norbert Hofer's shop in Long Beach California. Grand Touring Classics is a shop well known for its quality of work and it's wait list to get in! <img alt="Grand Touring Classics" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/hofer2.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Norbert and I spent a lot of time chatting about the business and the people in it. It was the distraction he needed to keep him from restringing a window winder cable to a Ferrari! <img alt="Ghibli" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/hofer3.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> The conversation turned to paint work, and Norbert brought us over to a Maserati Ghibli he had at the shop. The paintwork was done by Junior's House of Color, a very big name in the high end of automotive paint.  <img alt="Ghibli" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/norbert5.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> The pictures do not do this car justice, but it may be the best looking Ghibli in the world. Junior's work is stunning, but if you have to ask how much it costs, you won't be able to pay for it! Thanks Norbert for taking the time to meet us. It's always good to put a face to a name, and now I'll know how to spot you when you're going incognito at Monterey! </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari994.htm 7/14/10: Betz and Peters http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari993.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body alink="#ee0000" link="#0000ee" vlink="#551a8b"> 7/14/10 Betz and Peters Betz and Peters have been a pair of names that come up in the Vintage Ferrari world quite often, and when Randy Ema told me they were five minutes away form his shop, I jumped at the chance for a visit. After a call and a change of schedules I was directed to garage set in a residential neighborhood. <img alt="SWB" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/betzpeters_1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> I knew I was in the right place when I heard the familiar sound of a lead hammer hitting a Borrani knock off coming from behind a high wooden gate. Behind the door I found Charles Betz and his son Brooke putting new tires on their personal Ferrari 250SWB. <img alt="TdF" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/betzpeters_2.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Charles Betz and Fred Peters became interested in Ferraris in the 60s when they both when they were school teachers. New Ferraris were a rich man's desire, but these cars soon became used toys of lost interest, but Betz and Peters' passions ran much deeper. Saving, buying, and repairing second hand Ferraris became their past time. <img alt="charles betz" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/betzpeters_3.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Betz (pictured here) and Peters began working on their own cars, and soon their experience led them to working on other Southern California owned Ferraris. Collecting parts and knowlege through a network of other enthusisasts around the world, Betz and Peters created a duo well known in the Ferrari show world by the 80s.  <img alt="166" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/betzpeters_4.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Now that both Charles and Fred are retired from their teaching careers, they have much more time to focus on their personal collection of cars. Brooke is becoming the face of Betz and Peters carrying on the job of restoring customer cars for Pebble Beach, and the elder craftsmen enjoy events like the Colorado Grande in their own cars. <img alt="375mm" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/betzpeters_5.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Behind the working shop was a store house of Vintage Ferrari parts. Some of these were from cars parted out many years ago, but they have also reproduced many parts for people in the trade. Betz and I had some fun testing my knowledge of each part he pulled off the shelves. <img alt="shifter" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/betzpeters_7.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Again, I found myself marveling at the details to these cars. The loved the opportunity to see the intricate details to these old race cars! <img alt="fred and tom" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/betzpeters_6.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Fred Peters (pictured left) with Tom Wilson chatted about all sorts of topics as I took pictures, and soon I heard the conversation lead to avaition. It turns out Peters is as much as an avaition enthusiast as he is into Ferraris. I wish we had more time to learn more! Thank you Charles,  Fred, and Brooke for opening your shop for us to see. It's a legendary place that I was lucky to see! </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari993.htm 7/13/10: West Coast Shop Tour: Randy Ema http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari992.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body alink="#ee0000" link="#0000ee" vlink="#551a8b"> 7/13/10 West Coast Shop Tour: Randy Ema My second day of shop tours was even more busy than the first one. To keep the entries from getting too long, I'll break them up over the next couple of days. We'll start with Randy Ema's shop. <img alt="Randy Ema's shop" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ema1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> I was invited down to Randy Ema's shop in Orange, CA after I met him at the West Coast Party. Randy owns a Ferrari 250GTE, but is better known for his involement in Duesenburgs. <img alt="Randy and Tom" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ema2.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" />(Randy Ema Pictured on left, Tom Wilson on right) Randy's interest in Duesenburg began as a young man, and it followed him into his life as scholar. His thesis for his masters degree in history was on the company and the brothers Fred and August. His studies began the lifelong collecting of all things Duesenburg/Cord/Auburn and even Bugatti! <img alt="factory drawings" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ema3.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Through his interest in the Marque and the family, Ema aquired many of the original factory blueprints and tooling for these cars. He also has collected files on almost all the Duesenburgs made, along with specific ownership history. With over 40 years of collecting, his database on all the cars is staggering. His long time research into the car and the family led him to access to a lot of the personal items from family. He was even willed some of the Duesenburg estate after the passing of the grandson to the Duesenburg legacy! I couldn't think of a better aire to the records and artifacts of a family that would otherwise be lost to an uncaring world. <img alt="rear fender" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ema4.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> The front of Randy's shop housed many of his personal cars that were undergoing restoration. <img alt="engine" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ema7.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> These cars were designed and built in the 20s to be the finest cars in the world, and the craftsmanship shows. Looking at the details like the intake manifold and spark plug wire tubes show these people cared as much about design as they did about function. As cars became mass produced in later decades, much of these concerns were lost. <img alt="engine" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ema5.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> As large as these cars were, they were the most poweful and fastest cars in their time, holding records many years after they were set. To the untrained eye, they looked like large tall aniquaited cars of the yesterday, but I couldn't stop looking at similar features found on cars built 30 years later. <img alt="frame details" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ema6.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 526px;" /> One of the things I love when I visit shops is the chance to see the cars apart. Shows like Pebble Beach have these cars assembled and displayed as completed restorations, but my interest lays in the mechanical details. With this chassis, I could inspect how the suspension was laid out or how the brakes worked. The few minutes on each car was simply not enough time to see it all. <img alt="bugatti tooling" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ema8.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Randy has also aquired a lot of the original tooling for some Bugattis which were stored in another set of drawers. Labelled in marker, these drawers had tools that could make parts to cars worth millions, and yet I'm sure at a time these tools were worth little more than scrap steel.  <img alt="toys" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ema10.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 526px;" /> Randy's collecting continued with Duesenburg toys and models. I'm sure this is just a sampling of the larger collection of all things Duesenburg! <img alt="Cunningham" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ema11.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Ema's latest project is a Cunningham Roadster for his enthusiastic customer Jay Leno. It's freshly ressurected, and looks largely original, and will probably remain so. <img alt="bugatti cranks" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ema12.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 526px;" /> Everywhere I looked there was something else to see in the shop. I'm a big fan of Bugattis and the beauty in their engines, but rarely do I get to see how beautiful the parts are inside. Sitting on the floor were two Bugatti crankshafts. Although one was cracked and not useable in an engine, I found it pretty enough as a piece of art! Thank you Randy for taking time out to show us your shop. It was a real education and honor to see! </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari992.htm 7/12/10: Bobileff and Booth http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari991.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body alink="#ee0000" link="#0000ee" vlink="#551a8b"> 7/12/10 Bobileff and Booth While I was in Southern California, I wanted to see a few shops, so Tom Wilson, Zac Dugger, and I spent a day touring the ones in the area. We stopped by Symbolic Motor cars to see the progress on a Dino Zac was having painted, but I didn't get to photograph what I saw. <img alt="bobileff" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/bobileff1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 526px;" /> <a href="http://www.bobileff.com/" target="_blank">Gary Bobileff's shop</a> was in San Diego, so we arranged for a visit. <img alt="showroom" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/bobileff2.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> The oldest Ferraris on display was from the 70s, but the Bobileff Motorcar Company works on them all. <img alt="gary" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/bobileff10.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Gary was out back working on a Maserati Quattroporte with a customer that drove down from LA waiting for it out front, so he was a little busy. Luckily Carlo was available to show us around while Gary worked. <img alt="308 project" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/bobileff3.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Besides restorations and service, there are also projects like this one which was a normal 308 that will be converted into some kind of 288GTO replica. <img alt="apollo" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/bobileff6.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> A fairly rare Apollo convertible was undergoing a restoration. It's deep purple color should look spectacular when she's done. <img alt="intake runners" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/bobileff5.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> I also marveled at the intake manifold sitting over the engine. I hope I get a chance to see this engine some day when it is all done! <img alt="paint" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/bobileff13.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> It's not every day one sees a Lamborghini Isolero, but at Bobileff's shop we found three in various states of restoration. In the past several years, Gary's shop has become "the shop" for Lamborghinis. <img alt="Muria" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/bobileff9.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Murias, as rare as they are, are a common sight all around the shop. <img alt="3500" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/bobileff12.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Here's another Lamborghini, a 400GT in the paint and body area. I want to thank Carlo and Gary for allowing us the tour of the shop. Great stuff! <img alt="Booth cabriolet" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/booth1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Our final stop was in in Vista to visit my friend Dave Booth. Nestled inside a 25,000 warehouse that houses Dave's business is his personal garage where he keeps his cars, one of them being a Series II 250 Pininfarina Cabriolet. Dave owned and drove this car for many years, but decided to restore the car several years ago. Although there is much still to do, Zac and I felt when a car gets to this point after fresh paint, the momentum builds towards the finish! <img alt="GTE" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/booth2.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 526px;" /> On the other side of the shop was a GTE that I've heard about for years. Dave bought this car many years ago from the East Coast, and with any luck, will one day get to it after the PF Cab. <img alt="awating a transplant" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/booth3.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> This car lost its original engine by the time Dave bought the car, but he managed to buy a 330 America engine that became available. With a change in the position of the motor mounts, Dave should have a nice 330 America replica that'll be far more respectful than a GTO clone! </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari991.htm 7/11/10: So. California Sunday Drive http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari990.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body alink="#ee0000" link="#0000ee" vlink="#551a8b"> 7/11/10 So California Sunday Drive <img alt="gathering" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGRdrive2010_1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Some of us met back at Zac's shop on Sunday morning for a drive he planned for the back roads behind Oceanside CA. A map was distributed, and the plan was to meet for a brunch at The Pine Hill's Lodge near Julian. Here's a rough outline of the route: <img alt="map" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGRdrive2010.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 323px;" /> DGR Performance 1555 1/2 S Coast Highway Oceanside, CA 92054 Palomar Mountain Julian Pine Hills Lodge Rancho Sante Fe DGR Performance 1555 1/2 South Coast Highway <img alt="Zac's 550" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGRdrive2010_2.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Zac led the way in his 550 Maranello. It's a "Triple Black" car with black paint, black interior, and black wheels, and if that's not enough black, it's also got "limo black" window tinting. It might not match Zac's "surfer dude" image, but it makes for good contrast when he steps out of the car in shorts and flip flops! <img alt="1st stop" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGRdrive2010_3.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Our first stop on the way to Palomar Mountain had everyone out of their cars chatting about...cars. As much as we were excited to drive, everyone couldn't stop and look at each other's cars! <img alt="Dino" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGRdrive2010_4.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 526px;" /> The oldest car on our drive was this beautiful 206 Dino. You can see why it was so hard not to stop and look at this car! <img alt="case car" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGRdrive2010_5.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Tom Wilson and his daughter Colleen drove the chase vehicle but mounted a video recorder on the roof of their A6 Wagon in case they were able to keep up with the Ferraris. We'll have to see how the videos came out. <img alt="355" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGRdrive2010_6.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Here's Sam in his 355GTB. <img alt="Scudereria" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGRdrive2010_7.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Scott chose the 430 Scuderia over his GTE for this drive, and I can see why. This car was made for roads like these, and Scott was thoroughly enjoying himself. Since his passenger seat was available, it rarely went empty, and Scott was happy to share in the ride. I managed to record a podcast of my ride, so look for it soon! <img alt="850" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGRdrive2010_9.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> There were a couple non Ferraris, but were great to have them along. This 850 BMW tore up the roads right along with us! <img alt="993 4S" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGRdrive2010_11.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Wes and Shannon are "in between Ferraris," and brought out their Porsche 993 4S. They even let me drive her while they took the opportunity to drive Zac's 550 Maranello. I loved driving the 993 and found its all wheel drive system balanced and yet non intrusive on the sharp transitions. The confidence in this car made it much easier to drive fast when compared to the '72 911 I once owned, but the refinement made me want something a little more raw. I enthusiastically praised their car when I gave back the keys, but I think after watching everyone in their Ferraris, Wes may not be for long without a prancing horse in his stable again! <img alt="308" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGRdrive2010_10.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 216px;" /> Here's John leading in his 308 followed by Ed in his 360 Modena. These guys drove out from Arizona to join us this weekend! We had a nice brunch at the Pine Hills Lodge outside of Julian, and they managed to seat 25 of us without problem on a tranquil deck out back. After our meal, we stopped in Julian for some root beer floats and headed for the coast. <img alt="360" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGRdrive2010_12.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> The drive to the coast was even better than the drive up with a great combination of sharp switchback sections ending in long straights with safe passing zones. Some of the passengers may have complained of the tossing and turning, but the drivers were too distracted to care! <img alt="Del Mar Dinner" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/delmar2010_1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 263px;" /> We ended the day with a great dinner on the beach in Del Mar hosted by Tom Wilson and his wife Paula. Their house is right on the beach, and was designed specifically for entertaining. I don't think I could have had a better Southern California experience than what the Wilsons showed me! </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari990.htm 7/10/10: Southern California Cars and Coffee and DGR Party http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari989.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body alink="#ee0000" link="#0000ee" vlink="#551a8b"> 7/10/10 Southern California Cars and Coffee and DGR Party I arrived in Southern California to meet Tom Wilson and Zac Dugger to prepare for a weekend of Ferrari activities. <img alt="cars and coffee" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/calcarscoffee2010_1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Even though we had a big party to host at DGR Performance in Oceanside, California, we stopped by the "Cars and Coffee" event held in a parking lot an hour north off the freeway. Its concept is a gathering of car enthusiasts that starts at 6 am every Saturday and usually breaks up by 8:30am! Even with it's short duration, the amount and variety of cars that attend is impressive. <img alt="V-8 Austin" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/calcarscoffee2010_2.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> It's a big "cruise in" with no real structure except for car guys to come out early before the demands of the weekend take hold. Neat cars like this V-8 powered Austin Healey join in the gathering.  <img alt="Alfas" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/calcarscoffee2010_3.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Some guys try to come down enmass to park together like this collection of Alfas. A large collection of Porsches parked in an adjacent area. <img alt="Queen" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/calcarscoffee2010_4.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> The only Vintage Ferrari I found at the event was this 365GT 2+2, but the owner was not with the car. <img alt="mustang details" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/calcarscoffee2010_5.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> I loved seeing all the personal touches these owners had done to these cars.  <img alt="jump seats" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/calcarscoffee2010_6.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> I found neat things like this rumble seat in the back of this Mustang coupe. <img alt="rumble seats" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/calcarscoffee2010_7.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> There's not a lot of leg room back there, nor would it be easy for ingess or egress, but the idea was interesting. <img alt="Riviera" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/calcarscoffee2010_8.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Another car that really caught my eye was this nicely done Buick Riviera that was for sale. At $15,500 dollars, it seemed like a good deal considering the level of detail and modification! <img alt="VW water pump" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/calcarscoffee2010_11.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> The level of enthusiasm shows in what guys bring to this event. A VW transport owner brought this Volkswagon powered agriculture pump to share with the spectators. It's a perfectly working unit that starts with a hand crank. I'm sure thousands of these pumps were used all over the world, but to have one today in such original condition is becoming a rariety. <img alt="setting up" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGR2010_1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> After about 90 minutes at the Cars and Coffee event, we headed back south to prepare for the DGR event that started at noon. <img alt="various cars" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGR2010_2.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> By lunch we had a nice colleciton of cars in the parking lot, spanning 40 years in Ferrari history. Lunch was served, and all sat down to a delicious meal of Mexican food including tasty Fish Tacos! <img alt="party shots" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGR2010_3.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> The event was a very casual affair, and the owners had a great time swapping stories and showing their cars. I was honored when Randy Ema of the Duesenburg world drove up in a nice grey GTE! I've seen Randy on many appearances with Jay Leno on various pre-war restoration projects, but who knew Randy was a Ferrari fan! I was invited to see his shop after the weekend, so look forward to reading more about the visit later! <img alt="karps" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGR2010_4.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Ron Karp from Karp's Brake Service came down with other craftsmen to share their knowledge and expertise. I recorded some of his presentation, so look forward to hearing what Ron had to say about resleeving. <img alt="discussing Tom's GTE" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGR2010_5.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Zac of DGR Performance discussed his job at restoring a Vintage Ferrari, and used a near perfect example of a GTE that recently won at Cavallino to compare with Tom Wilson's GTE that needs the same treatment. <img alt="GTE" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGR2010_6.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Painters, Body guys, and Detailers were all available to help owners understand the process and what they can do to help. Where else would you find three GTEs spanning the spectrum of condition at the same time? <img alt="dino" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGR2010_7.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> As always I always love more looking at cars apart than all together and done, and Zac did not disappoint. A 206 Dino was brought over from the metal shop to show the progress on this restoration. <img alt="dino detail" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/DGR2010_8.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> As I always say it's sometimes a shame to have to cover up all this craftmanship with paint! </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari989.htm 7/8/10: Dino and GTC http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari988.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body alink="#ee0000" link="#0000ee" vlink="#551a8b"> 7/8/10 Dino and GTC <img alt="Dino" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/dino3.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> I completed a carb rebuild on a Dino before heading out to California for the DGR Party. <img alt="carbs reassembled" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/dino4.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> This car is not a show car, so there are a couple of details that are more for function than for cosmetic correction, but there are a couple of things we like to do for safety. <img alt="stud spacers" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/dino5.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> Dinos have an air box that is secured to the carburetors with small nuts, but on these cars, and later engines, they used small steel spacers on the rubber gasket in the air box. Before one removes this air box, it's important to count the spacers and make sure they're all there, because it's very easy to have one fall out when removing the air box and fall down inside the carburetor. Counting them insures you'll have the same number before and after the air box is installed or removed. If one of these spacers works itself into the carb and inside a cylinder, you can do quite a bit of damage. It's things like these that can really ruin your day! <img alt="glue them in" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/dino6.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 468px;" /> We use a little bit of glue when putting these spacers back on the bottom of the air box. Contact cement, or weather stripping adhesive works well, but you'll need something that will stick to the steel and rubber, but not make a mess like silicone glue. I look at it as a courtesy for the next mechanic that might be me! <img alt="Alex" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/murray1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> Another customer came by to pick up his car after a quick freshening. Alex has known about this black GTC since he was about 5 when his father first brought it home. He has since grown up, and recently inherited the car after his father passed away. The struggle to get the car was well worth the direct connection to his father and love he had for this car. It pleases me to know that Alex is the next steward of this GTC, and we'll continue to help him with her ownership. </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari988.htm 7/7/10: Dino Carbs and California Bound http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari987.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body alink="#ee0000" link="#0000ee" vlink="#551a8b"> 7/7/10 Dino Carbs and California Bound <img alt="Dino" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/dino1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> I got an e-mail from a Dino owner looking to have a tune up done on his car. His normal shop was too busy to take his car and he asked if I could help. Francois's shop had an extra space, and I had a couple of days before I was heading out to California, so things worked out perfectly. As much as Francois likes to work on Vintage V-12 cars, many of his customers have Dinos as well, so he's certainly not a stranger to these V-6 cars. <img alt="carbs" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/dino2.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> The carbs needed a rebuild so we began with a tear down and soaking in carb cleaner. <img alt="DGR Performance" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/duggershop3.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 263px;" /> Zac's crew have been furiously working on getting his shop ready for <a href="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari986.htm">the party in Oceanside California</a>. I leave New York for Los Angeles on Friday, and can't wait to help Tom Wilson and Zac Dugger with last minute party preparation. Although the party and drive on Saturday and Sunday have been the focus of my trip, I'm planning a bunch of other things during my stay. I hope to make it to the "Cars and Coffee" event on Saturday morning, and I've got a couple of shop tours lined up on Monday and Tuesday as well! It's going to be a crazy 5 days, but as I always say, "Sleep when you get home!" See you in California!   </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari987.htm 6/30/10: Invitation to the Southern California Vintage Ferrari Event http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari986.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body alink="#ee0000" link="#0000ee" vlink="#551a8b"> 6/30/10 Invitation to the Southern California Vintage Ferrari Event With just over a week away, the Southern California Vintage Ferrari Event is almost here! It's hosted by Zac Dugger, Tom Wilson, and Myself, and if you need an invitation, click below for the PDF. <a href="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/Join%20Us%21%201st%20Annual%20SoCal%20Vintage%20Ferrari%20Event.pdf"><img alt="invitation" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/invitation7_10.jpg" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 468px; height: 718px;" /></a> See you all there! </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari986.htm 6/24/10: Welding the Alpine and more West Coast Plans http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari985.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body alink="#ee0000" link="#0000ee" vlink="#551a8b"> 6/24/10 Welding the Alpine and more West Coast plans. <img alt="Sunbeam" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/alpine6.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> I was tuning the carburetors on my Sunbeam Alpine the other day, and noticed a cracked weld on a brace in the engine compartment. My Sunbeam is a little rough looking, but it's an unrestored car with 40K miles. It's mostly original and I often struggle with whether to restore it. The paint is faded, and she has her share of dents and some fender rust, but the chassis and interior are in great shape. Without a decision on what to do, I continue to drive and enjoy her, using her primarily for local errands and ice cream runs with my daughter. I drove down to my friend Jay's house to have him weld the brace and to see what he had going on at his home shop. After we moved his wife's MGA outside my Alpine was moved into position. <img alt="Jay Welding" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/alpine7.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> Jay's a fellow Ferrari owner that also has a love for British cars. He owns a few MGs and Land Rovers, and has restored several of his own and customer's cars when he's not working at his day job. <img alt="welding the brace" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/alpine8.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> After covering the area with a weld blanket, we cleaned the area with the broken weld. <img alt="welded" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/alpine9.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> The combination of a poor original weld and a large gap, the bracket was destined to crack, but with much better penetration on the new weld, the bracket was good to go. Now I have to figure out what to do with touching up the original paint near the weld! <img alt="before and after" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/duggershop2.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 263px;" /> Tom Wilson's GTE has been delivered to Zac's shop for the show on July 10th. Karp's Brake Service along with other vendors are planning to use these two cars to demonstrate what is involved in restoring a Vintage Ferrari. As much as I'm looking forward to co-hosting this party, I'm looking forward to meeting the vendors and learning something!  Reminder: July 10th, 2010, Oceanside, CA, Inaugural Zac Dugger, Tom Wilson, and Tomyang.net West Coast Party. <a href="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari979.htm">Click here for more details!</a> </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari985.htm 6/20/10: Hartford Concorso, and Moving a GTE for the West Coast Party http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari984.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body alink="#ee0000" link="#0000ee" vlink="#551a8b"> 6/20/10 Hartford Concorso, and Moving a GTE for the West Coast Party <img alt="Hartford" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/hartford2010_1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> I spent my Father's Day at the Ferrari Club of America/ Northeast Region Hartford Concorso held at the State Capital in Connecticut.  <img alt="Buddy's car" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/hartford2010_2.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> A local children's hospital benefits from the charitable event, and one of the activities is a ride in a Ferrari to the show. Here's Buddy O'bara's 330GT 2+2 dropping off his passenger. All the owners tell me how rewarding it is to take these kids struggling with their illnesses for a ride in their cars, and to have their arrivals announced in front of a cheering crowd. <img alt="330 America" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/hartford2010_3.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Michael brought his 330 America and in true 2+2 style was able to escort three passengers in his car! <img alt="vintage cars" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/hartford2010_4.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> There was a good turn out of about a dozen Vintage Ferraris with a ton more modern machinery, but I've begun to wonder about shows like these. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing my friends and talking cars with them, but how do these shows bring the crowds back year after year? There's not much to do after the cars are parked, and many people park their cars and leave them unattended, so spectators really don't get a chance to meet the owners or learn about the cars. Some guys only want to win an award, but for those looking for something else, it seems there's not much choice. It's also a long day for both spectators and owners to stand around the cars in the sun. I've gotten some good feedback from people all around the world about how things are done differently, and there are some great ideas. I've been to a lot of different shows and have been trying to formulate what will make a show more interesting. I hope the <a href="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari976.htm">upcoming show I'm co-hosting in Oceanside California on July 10th</a> will be a little different. It's a kind of an "open house" for Zac Dugger at DGR Performance, and a kind of "Tech Seminar" for California craftsmen, and it's a kind of a Party to gather Vintage Ferrari owners together in Southern California. <img alt="4247" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/4247_2.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 263px;" /> Tom Wilson and Zac Dugger, my co-hosts, worked this weekend getting Tom's GTE out of his garage and onto a trailer to Oceanside for the party in a few weeks. <img alt="4247" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/4247_3.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 263px;" /> As much crap we've been giving Tom for not progressing on his restoration, luckily he didn't take the car too far apart where they couldn't roll it onto a trailer. <img alt="4247" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/4247_4.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 263px;" /> The plan is to have Tom's GTE parked at Zac's shop as a "Before" and Scott's freshly restored GTE as the "After" example. We'll have a host of professionals from body guys, painters, and mechanics, discussing what part of the job they would do on a car like this except to part it out! I think it'll be very educational. Reminder: July 10th, 2010, Oceanside, CA, Inaugural Zac Dugger, Tom Wilson, and Tomyang.net West Coast Party. <a href="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari979.htm">Click here for more details!</a> </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari984.htm 6/13/10: Simeone Collection http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari983.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body alink="#ee0000" link="#0000ee" vlink="#551a8b"> 6/13/10 Simeone Collection <img alt="Simeone Collection" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/simeone8.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> I recently was invited to join a group of automotive enthusiasts to see the <a href="http://www.simeonefoundation.org/" target="_blank">Simeone Collection</a> in Philadelphia. I visited the museum over a year ago, but this visit would include a tour given my Dr. Simeone! I was very impressed with the collection on my last visit, but to meet the man behind the collection was an opportunity not to be missed! <img alt="tour" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/simeone9.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Dr. Fred Simeone (pictured in the foreground) introduced himself to us, and began his tour of the Museum. He began by explaining the overall concept of the museum was to show how competition spurred the development of the automobile. The cars are arranged in chronological order set in dioramas of the particular race or type of event. The Doctor's collection consists mainly of sports race cars, and less so of full race cars like Indy or F-1 cars partly because of personal taste. Dr. Simeone collected these cars with an eye for the design and beauty of these road cars. They were fast competition cars, but many of them could be used on public roads. <img alt="tour" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/simeone10.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> As we progressed down the line of cars, Dr. Simeone shared little tidbits of information and insight that were great. His knowledge of in each car only scratched the surface of what he really knew,  and I'm sure there is a fascinating story behind how each car came into the possession of the Simeone Collection! This Corvette Grand Sport pictured above is a recent addition. Not only is the history of how the Corvette team set out to beat Carroll Shelby is interesting, but also the story of the two subsequent owners before being acquired by the Simeone Foundation. <img alt="hillclimbs" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/simeone11.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Each display focused on a particular type of road racing or circuit, and it was also a cultural history lesson on the type of racing popular from country to country.  <img alt="tour" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/simeone12.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Many of these cars are unrestored examples Dr. Simeone purchased many years ago. He prefers unrestored cars because they preserve the history of the car, and directly connects the car to its previous owners and drivers. In some cases, a full restoration was necessary because the car was too far deteriorated, but every effort is made to preserve originality. Some cars on display may have the patina of a 60 year old car, but many of them have been mechanically refurbished so any one of them can be fired up at will and driven in  the back parking lot! <img alt="gas station" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/simeone13.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> Dr. Simeone's attention to detail and encyclopedic knowledge was fantastic. His knowledge went beyond simple knowledge of automotive history, but he understands the engineering innovation that made one car ahead of its time among all its peers. <img alt="Alfa 2.9" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/simeone14.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> After lunch we were all invited to wander around the museum to take a closer look at the cars. Dr. Simeone offered us access beyond the ropes and even offered to show us under the hoods of any of the cars. My friend Jim and I were especially interested in taking a look under the hood of an Alfa 2.9. This supercharged straight eight is not something you get to see close up every day, and to have its owner give private viewing was even better. <img alt="inspecting the engine" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/simeone15.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 233px;" /> As in any car show, when the hood goes up, gear heads gather! The neat thing about this car is next week the Alfa Club is meeting at the museum to watch this and other Alfas drive in the back parking lot of the museum to celebrate 100 years of Alfa during the Alfa Club's national meet. Too bad I won't be able to join them in the celebration. I want to thank Dr. Simeone for the wonderful tour of his collection and Abi Singh for organizing this tour. Reminder: July 10th, 2010, Oceanside, CA, Inaugural Zac Dugger, Tom Wilson, and Tomyang.net West Coast Party. <a href="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari979.htm">Click here for more details!</a> </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari983.htm 6/4/10: Side Glass Etching, and Mystery Transaxle Solved! http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari982.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body alink="#ee0000" link="#0000ee" vlink="#551a8b"> 6/4/10 Side Glass and Mystery Transaxle Solved! <img alt="side glass etching" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/275sideglass5.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> When restoring a car, I notice things that I may have never paid attention to before, and on this 275GTB restoration I completed, I see this little etching on the side glass. <img alt="side window glass" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/275sideglass2.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> This etching is a manufacturer's stamp that is found on various pieces of glass on the car. It changes from car to car, and sometimes year to year, but some judges look for this kind of stuff at shows. It's also nice to have them to match the other pieces when replacing glass. This 275GTB had some bad scratches on the original side glass and some chips on the edges. With tempered glass, buffing the scratches out was not an option for the risk of breaking it. Having worked at a picture framing shop when I was a college student, I learned glass is an interesting material. It bends a lot more than one would think, but push it too far, and it'll break into a million pieces. With the tempering process, it's heat treated to be stronger than normal glass, but when it breaks, look out! The only option was to have a custom piece of glass made for both sides of the car. Luckily, 60s Ferraris have flat side glass, so the process of making new glass is less complicated. My local glass shop made new blanks and had mounting holes drilled in the glass before sending it out for the tempering process. <img alt="etching" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/275sideglass4.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 442px;" /> The next step was to have the stencils made. A clean undistorted photograph was needed to be made of the original piece of glass and a reference shot was needed so the stencil maker would know how to size the stencil. "Studio Still Life 201" from Art School sure came in handy with how to light and photograph glass! With a clear photograph a vector graphic is made for the final stencil. Only one stencil was needed since the glass manufacturer applied the stencil to the same side of the flat piece of glass. On one side of the car, the etching is on the outside, and the other side, it's on the inside and backwards when looking at it from outside. There are two ways to etch glass, acid etching or sand blasting. The original method was done with sandblasting. After researching the types of stencils needed for each process, and the resolution needed to reproduce the small print, I decided to go with sand blasting the etch on the new glass. <img alt="sand blaster" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/sandblaster1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> I bought a mini sandblaster kit. It's available from large art supply stores and comes with the appropriate grit for this process. It also comes with the correct fittings to use shop air, so when the can of propellant runs out, I can use regulated low pressure shop air. <img alt="applying stensil" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/275sideglass6.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> Unfortuantely, for the time it took to have the stencils made, the glass was already installed on the car. I didn't want to hold up the assembly process to apply the stencil, so they had to be applied at the end. The only problem was masking the car off to contain the fine sand blasting grit from getting everywhere. The stencil is peeled off it's backing and applied to the clean glass. I masked the area thoroughly and blasted the little stencil. <img alt="stensil" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/275sideglass7.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> I've been looking at dozens of etchings since I began this project, and there is not a lot of consistency. Some original stamps are heavy without much detail and some are faint and barely visible. The ones I reproduced look clean and crisp. The stencil maker did a great job reproducing the etching. It's a ridiculously small detail, but fun to carry out the whole process! <img alt="Flamina gearbox" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/petroski16.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> On my last post I showed pictures of a mystery transaxle, and within 8 hours of posting, the e-mails started coming in! It's a Lancia Flamina transaxle! Several people sent links to sites and pictures showing the same transaxle out of Lancias. <img alt="display transaxle" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/lanciabox1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 263px;" /> My friend Steve said these were factory displays for showrooms. It's questionable if there are any guts inside these displays since the display engines were often empty of internal parts. Thanks everyone who responded. I LOVE the power of the internet! Reminder: July 10th, 2010, Oceanside, CA, Inaugural Zac Dugger, Tom Wilson, and Tomyang.net West Coast Party. <a href="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari979.htm">Click here for more details!</a> </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari982.htm 6/3/10: Mostly British, Part II http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari981.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body> 6/3/10 Mostly British II <img alt="parts" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/petroski7.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> My tour continued with Fred Petroski's <a href="http://www.mostlybritish.com/" target="_blank">Mostly British</a>. Even though it was mostly British, there were shelves of Ferrari parts mixed in.  <img alt="wheels" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/petroski8.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 468px;" /> In his wheel room I found a couple of sets of Borranis along with alloys for some of the V-8 Ferraris. <img alt="330s" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/petroski10.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 468px;" /> In a second building I found several Ferrari 2+2 bodies in various states of dismantling.  I wish I had more time to crawl over these cars to find PF numbers. I tried to look for some in the obvious places, but wasn't too successful. It's a good thing I'm up to date with my tetanus shots! <img alt="GTE" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/petroski14.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> A third building had even more interesting stuff including this pretty straight 250GTE. It has lost it's drive train already, but is too nice to end up in the other building with all the cut up cars. Fred is thinking of making some kind of "bitsa" Ferrari with the pieces he has in his collection, but until then, she waits. <img alt="mystery Transaxle" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/petroski15.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 468px;" /> Petroske is always buying and selling parts. He recently picked up this mystery transaxle, but has not been able to figure out what it belongs to. There are no obvious markings. I told him that this website attracts some pretty knowledgeable people, and perhaps some sharp eyed viewer might know where it belongs. <img alt="mystery transaxle" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/petroski16.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> It has inboard Dunlop brakes, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's of British origin. <img alt="mystery transaxle" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/petroski17.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> <img alt="mystery transaxle" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/petroski18.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> If anyone knows what this is, <a href="mailto:tom@tomyang.net">e-mail</a> me. </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari981.htm 6/2/10: Mostly British, Part I http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari980.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body> 6/2/10 Mostly British, Part I <img alt="Mostly British" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/petroski1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 468px;" /> I headed north to visit a place I had heard of for many years, but never had a chance to see until now. <a href="http://www.mostlybritish.com/" target="_blank">Mostly British</a> is owned by Fred Petroske, and has a stash of Vintage Ferrari parts along with his massive collection of British car parts. His shop is located in a little town off the St Lawrence Seaway in Upstate New York, about a four hour drive from my home in what I considered "Upstate NY!" Fred's within shooting distance of Canada, so he's pretty far upstate. Petroske started his business in 1973 restoring, repairing, and selling parts for British cars. His Jaguar parts collection grew, along with Healeys, MGs, and TRs. During the collector car crash of the late 80s, Fred noticed how cheap derelict 60s Ferraris could be bought and sold, and began buying what he found. He's managed to carve a nice little business scouring the world for parts, and selling them to people in need. <img alt="stash" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/petroski2.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> After many years of speaking to Fred on the phone, I thought it was about time we finally met, and Fred was kind enough to give me the grand tour of his stash. <img alt="radios" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/petroski3.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> Each shelf was another surprise, and we would stop and discuss the nuances of the parts. Not only did he have a collection of Blaupunkt radios, but a stack of various face plates. I know there were a couple of times I had a client or a fellow owner that needed a particular plate, and there it was in Fred's pile. I considered buying a couple, but I resisted the urge to start my own parts stash! <img alt="GTE seats" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/petroski4.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> Not only was it amazing to see all the parts, but it was also very educational! I found a set of Series I GTE seats upholstered in blue velvet! It looked original, and I tried very hard to find a PF number on the seat, but was unsuccessful. Maybe next time, I'll be a little more persistent and take these seats out in the light to have a closer look! <img alt="jag parts" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/petroski5.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> The organization was pretty good with areas set up for doors, trim pieces, and mechanical parts. The Jaguar parts far out numbered the Ferrari parts, but if you looked carefully, you could find the row of GTE and 330 parts. <img alt="radiator" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/petroski6.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 262px;" /> Some of Fred's parts had a better story than any other use. This radiator came from 365GT 2+2 that was found in tidal river, missing for years. The only foul play involved was destruction of a good car by its owner who was probably trying to avoid paying taxes on the car. When Fred got the car, he said everything was rotted. Any aluminum was completely gone, including most of the engine block and timing chest. He did manage to salvage the crank and some of the trim pieces. The Borrani rims were gone with only the spokes sticking out in mid air! I would have loved to have seen pictures. To Be Continued... </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari980.htm 5/26/10: West Coast Party Plans http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari979.htm <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><body> 5/26/10 West Coast Party Plans Zac Dugger, Tom Wilson, and I have been working hard at organizing this <a href="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari977.htm">West Coast Party for July 10th</a> and we're really excited. Zac sent me a list of Vendors he will have available at his shop for us to meet: Car Detailing: Keith and Collin from Diamond Detail have agreed to come down and put on some demos Metalwork: Jake's Custom Coachwork will be here with metal working displays Paintwork: Peter Hognes Restorations will be here to go over aspects of top level paint work and what to look for Driving Simulator: My friend Enrique has agreed to bring his race simulator trailer over for people to check out his full motion racing simulator that he builds for training the F1 drivers Racing and support: I am going to talk to Chris Duggan at Cavallo Motorsports about have his transporter and some race cars over to go over that side of the Ferrari world. Transportation Services: JP Transport can be here with their trucks to go over the costs of using a professional transportation company <img alt="Tom Wilson's car" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/4247_1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 263px;" /> There will be several cars on display that Zac has at his shop, and we're even working on getting Tom Wilson's GTE down to the shop to do a side by side "before and after" comparison with Scott's Cavallino winning GTE 2169. <img alt="shop" src="http://www.tomyang.net/cars/duggershop1.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 263px;" /> Zac's shop is on a large piece of property with plenty of room for parking. It's going to be a lot more than just a car show, but a very interactive event! If I weren't involved, I wouldn't miss it! On Sunday July 11th, Zac's mapped out a drive for anyone who wants to join us for a drive through some Southern California back roads. Here's link to a <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=116543632392852322640.000486978084737e09798&ll=33.238688,-116.449585&spn=2.315514,4.938354&z=8" target="_blank">Google Map of the route</a>. I'm going to be bumming a ride with someone, but from the looks of previous drives Zac's done, there should be a good turn out. </body></html> http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari979.htm