Tom Yang's Ferrari Restoration

7/1/08: PF Coupe Exhaust, and Cal Spyder Gastank

7/1/08
PF Coupe Exhaust, and Cal Spyder Gastank

Since the exhaust on the PF Coupe was checked and fitted to the car, we can now paint it and ready it for final assembly. If we had painted it earlier we would have spent the same amount of time touching up the scratches.

Last week I was asking about the tabs below the rockers on the PF Coupe. Several owners responded and told me that they were mounting tabs for a trim strip that is supposed to cover the pinch weld at the bottom of the rocker. My 330 America has a similar one, but the reason I didn't think of this is because several of these tabs were missing on this car. This car will have to go without these for now until the owner either finds one or leaves it as a project for the next owner.

This brings us to a very interesting topic of bill-able hours. Kerry Chesbro and I were talking about the difference between working on our own cars and working on a customer's car. If my car were missing these tabs and trim strip, I would be hand fabricating the pieces and welding on new tabs, but when I'm being paid by the hour to work on these cars, the customer might not want to pay for the several hours of work to fabricate, weld, and paint these trim pieces. The time it takes to collect all the hardware and fasteners is often not even factored into the total cost of the repair. Finding a customer who really understands how much time it takes to do it right is not easy, but we also try very hard not to spend too much time on something to keep costs under control.

Another project I've been working on is getting a gas tank fabricated for the California Spyder we have at the shop. The original tank was pretty rusty and after a cleaning and sandblasting, we found a lot of rust and large patch on the bottom of the tank.

The whole bottom half of the tank was pretty thin with the patch falling out, so repairing this original tank was becoming a loosing battle. The best thing was to have a new one made from scratch.

François gave me the task of finding a competent shop to handle the fabrication, and I got bids from several shops. Although this was not a Concours restoration, we wanted a reasonable facsimile of the original tank, but did not want to spend $$$ for an absolute reproduction. The original tank was riveted together and sealed with lead solder at the seams, but reproducing these details for a car that is not headed for Pebble Beach seemed like a waste of money. Besides, under black paint, and undercoating, I wonder how many judges could spot the difference?

I was highly recommended a fabricator who had made a tank for another shop, and I decided to give him the job. John took the fittings off the old tank and welded them onto the new tank and sent back a beautiful copy of the old tank!

The baffles inside and all the dimensions were copied exactly. A thicker gauge of steel was used for the reproduction, so this tank will probably outlast another 50 years in this car.

The mounting tabs were intentionally left off so we can weld them in place to make a perfect fit to the frame rail of the car. After it's fitted, we'll send the tank out for sealing to insure the tank remains leak free for years to come, paint it black, and mount it in place. It's always a shame to have such craftsmanship hidden up under the car for no one to see!

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

6/27/08: The PF Coupe Starts, and More History on 5053!

6/27/08
The PF Coupe Starts, and More History on 5053!

After fixing the fuel pump, and a couple of electrical issues, the PF coupe was ready for her first start up.

There was very little drama as the three liter V-12 fired up on the first crank. I guess François has been doing this for so long that the engine needed very little tweaking to start and idle. As he adjusted the mixture and idle circuits of the three carbs the engine ran better and better. Before long, this car will be out of here!

As I was looking at some of the details that still need to addressed, I noticed two tabs just behind the front wheels. There was nothing left in out spare parts pile for this car that seemed to line up with these holes, so I was wondering if any PF Coupe owners could help out and tell me what goes here. E-mail me!

With the August 2008 "Forza" on the newsstands , I've gotten some great mail from the readership, but nothing could top the following piece e-mail:

Hi Tom,

I just read the article in FORZA about the restoration of your 330 America.
I owned sn 5053 from 1969 to 1971. I bought it in Philadelphia in 69 and later moved to Sterling Virginia.
I sold it in 71 to Sanford Brawley from washington DC. I lost track of it until I saw the same ad in Hemmings
that you did. It was a great car to own and I always wished that I would have been able to keep it.
My wife drove it daily during the time we had it. We also drove from Philadelphia to Chicago to visit relatives.
It was a great car to travel in with our two small children. I know that it originally came from New York before I purchased it. I was very pleased to see that it was restored. I have some old pictures of it that I will send to soon.

Sincerely
Phil Farber
San Luis Obispo, CA

I was so excited to get this e-mail as there was big gap in the ownership history of my car, and in one e-mail, I found the names of two owners! I immediately called Phil and had a pleasant conversation about the car. He purchased the car from a Sports Car dealer in Philly, and drove it with hardly any mechanical issues.

I'm trying to locate Sanford Brawley, and I found that in 2003 the AAIA(Automotive Aftermaket Industry Assoc.) awarded a Sanford Brawley with the "Automotive Aftermarket Executive of the Year Award," and I'm trying to find out if this could be my guy. If anyone had any leads on Mr. Brawley, please let me know!

Phil sent me some pictures he took of 5053 back when he owned it. She was still painted in her original dark red paint, and even sported a pin stripe along the side of the car!

I've known my car for about 9 years, and with these pictures, I've discovered she's had another life with someone else when she was a lot younger! Thanks for sharing Phil!

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

6/20/08: The Long Road to Starting the PF Coupe

6/20/08
The Long Road to Starting the PF Coupe

The PF coupe that has been at François' shop is getting real close to startup. I spent the morning getting the exhaust installed, and roughly bolted in place. We're still waiting on the correct center pull style exhaust hangers, but I hung it with with some of the old hangers just so we could get the car on the ground and ready for the initial start up.

François and I had a list of things to complete before we could start the car, so while François went out to get some fresh gasoline, I tried my best to complete our list. When I got to filling the radiator with coolant, I came upon our first problem. Coolant was found leaking by the rubber hose coming out of the water pump housing. Thinking it was just a loose hose clamp, I cinched it up with a screwdriver. The leak persisted, so it required a closer look.

Crawling under the car to have a better look, I noticed the coolant on the hose was actually coming from the pipe and dribbling down the hose. The arrow shows a small pinhole leak from the pipe. The only choice was to drain the new coolant, disconnect the hoses, and remove the pipe from the water pump to have François repair the leak with some brazing.

As I working on reinstalling the coolant hose after François patched the leak, I heard him exclaim the next obstacle to starting the car. Of the three keys that came with this car, none of them fit the gas filler door! This car has seen two owners since the last time she was driven, so the whereabouts of the gas door key could be anywhere.

As François was on the phone with a previous owner looking for the key, I decided to try my luck with picking the lock. I made some tools from some hose clamps, but had no success. I understood the concept, but did not have the technique. It looks so easy on T.V.!

I decided to try another tact, so I opened the trunk to see if there was another way into the gas tank. I soon realized that the catch for the lock was bolted from inside the trunk, and within a few minutes, I had the filler door open. It helps to be slightly smarter than the lock!

It was 5 o'clock and we were ready to give it a shot. With the battery hooked up and François at the helm, he turned on the ignition, and started the fuel pump. My job was to look for fuel leaks in the engine compartment as the carburetors filled with fuel. Unfortunately, even with the fuel pump pumping, no fuel was reaching the carburetor bowls. Something wasn't working right. After all the hurtles we surpassed, we ran out of time and energy to start the car today. She'll just have to wait another day!

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

6/14/08: PF Coupe Exhaust Hangers and Forza Article

6/14/08
PF Coupe Exhaust Hangers and Forza Article

After grinding off the incorrect hangers on the PF Coupe's exhaust, it was time to fabricate new hangers to fit the stock hanger locations.

I first used jack stands and whatever was handy to set the exhaust system to the correct height below the car. I then used old expendable exhaust hangers to line ups with the mufflers. Francois then came around and tacked each tab in place on the mufflers. The next step was to pull the exhaust and weld each mounting tab firmly in place and hang the exhaust permanently under the car.

I'm proud to announce the release of the August 2008 issue of Forza that has my car as one of the features! Dom Miliano, the author and photographer of the article, spent an enjoyable afternoon photographing and hearing the story about my car. It was well worth the effort we put into the article. Thanks Dom!

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

6/2/08: PF Coupe Interior, and Bad Fuel Hose

6/3/08
PF Coupe Interior, and Bad Fuel Hose

With the transmission in place and the drive shaft doughnut installed, it was time to put the interior back in the PF Coupe.

After finding the right fasteners and all the various interior pieces in the pile of parts that came with this car, I had the interior installed. There are a couple wrinkles in the piece that sticks to the firewall that I'd like to fix, but otherwise this car is another step closer to leaving the shop!

We still have to hang the exhaust under the car before we fire up the engine. After cutting off all the hangers that were incorrectly welded to the exhaust, I suspended the exhaust in place to check for fit. Nothing seemed to be hitting against the pipes or mufflers, so the next step is to mark where the factory hangers line up with the exhaust, and weld in new tabs to hang this exhaust the right way.

Last week I mentioned changing out the fuel lines and I received a couple e-mails about how to identify bad fuel lines. I found a piece of old fuel line at the shop to illustrate the problem. Several years ago, a batch of fuel line was sold by all the parts suppliers. It was made in Europe and sold to Vintage Ferrari Suppliers around the world. It turned out that after some exposure to something in our fuel the rubber inside the fuel hose began to dissolve. The dissolved rubber would ooze out past the seams of the yellow sheathing, and sometimes collect at the lowest part of the hose as you see here.

Today, most of the suppliers have switched to a hose with a new formulation that is supposedly safe from dissolving in modern fuel. It's not easy to identify the new hose compared to the old hose unless yours is leaking a brown tar like substance from the seams. The bad hose is also has a dull yellow appearance when compared to the newer "fuel safe" stuff that has a glossy finish.

Check your hoses, and if it's leaking or oozing tar, it's time to change them out!

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

5/28/08: PF Coupe Oil lines and Exhaust

5/28/08
PF Coupe Oil lines and Exhaust

The work continues on the PF Coupe at François' shop. I made up new oil and fuel lines (man this stuff ain't cheap!), and I followed the routing of other PF coupes that people checked for us. For this car, the oil canister drains from the bottom into the sump.

Notice the weld on the inner fender next to the oil canister. The quality of the weld reminds me what I was told by a restoration shop manager when duplicating the welds that Ferrari made on their cars. "The best person to weld exactly like the original Ferrari welds is one of the girls from the front office!" Not to slam Ferrari build quality, but perhaps they put the apprentices on the inner fender welding.

After installing the transmission, and all the associated clutch parts, I took a look at the exhaust that came off this car. It was a fabricated stainless steel system that looked like it copied what was original. The cans and pipes seem to line up correctly, but it needed some work to hang under the car again.

On closer inspection, some of the original hangers were welded directly to the mufflers and pipes. Now I understood why they had to cut the hangers to remove the exhaust! Luckily, all the original exhaust mounts are still on the car, so we'll have to fabricate tabs on this exhaust so it will look better and function correctly.

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

5/20/08: Maserati Tipo 65

5/20/08
Maserati Tipo 65

One of the coolest things about working at François' shop is the variety of exotic vintage machinery that shows up, and what rolled off the truck this morning was no exception. This is a 1965 Maserati Tipo 65 race car driven by Jo Siffert at LeMans in 1965. It retired after two laps due to a damaged radiator, and a rule that would not allow a repair so close to the start. The car performed well for such a short time, and it was unfortunate to have it DNF before showing the rest of the world what she could do.

This car was auctioned in 2006 and was purchased by its current owner with the plans to restore it to her LeMans specification. Choosing François to do this work is very fitting considering Sicard was one of the mechanics working for Maserati in 1965 and was part of the crew who built this car and took it to LeMans! Before working for Ferrari, François worked for Mercedes, Matra, and Maserati, each with some great experiences. The time with Maserati was accented with the time working on this car.

This car is powered by a 90 degree four cam V-8 with dual plug ignition. It has Lucas injection, and was still running up until several years ago.

The plan is to get this car cleaned up for display in the next month or two, but after that, we're going to be stripping everything down to get her ready to drive! The modification to the nose section will be replaced with a new nose replicating the shape of the bodywork as she looked in 1965 at LeMans.

When Maserati constructed "body on frame" race cars, they used small tube construction to make the frame. This "Birdcage" type construction carried over into this car, and can be seen with the body work removed. As François inspected this car, memories of working on this car as a 30 year old mechanic came flooding back. He remembered trying to make this car in the four week deadline that the frame fabricator welded the frame as the mechanics worked on fitting the engine. When it was time to pull the engine after fitting it to the chassis, they found the welder had welded bars that wouldn't allow the engine to come out again! After a couple saw cuts, the engine could come back out, and the fabricator made the appropriate modifications!

After looking at Ferraris all day, it's been refreshing to see another car manufacturer's work, especially the unique work of Maserati. It's a visual feast narrated with great stories from someone who was there when it was all happening. What a treat!

I hope to take plenty of more pictures of this rebuild, and I am excited to even witness the restoration. I may even get to work on it a little bit if I have time between working on the lesser Ferrari road cars!

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

5/19/08: 250 and 330 Engines

5/19/08
250 and 330 Engine

François finished rebuilding the engine for the PF Coupe project we've been working on, so it was time to get her installed in the car.

This engine went in pretty easily compared to my 330 America. The cooling fan had to come off, but other than that, the engine dropped right into place. With the installation of the engine came a whole list of things for me to complete. The exhaust manifolds, oil lines, fuel lines, electrical connections, and throttle linkage all needed to be hooked up. I'll be pretty busy for the next couple of days.

The transmission had to come out to get the engine in, so it was cleaned and painted. We'll take a peek inside to make sure everything is in working order before we reinstall it in the car.

With the 250 engine removed from the engine stand, we installed Art's engine. It's a pretty greasy engine, but we'll be getting everything nice and clean in a short while.

Alvin has already started the process of cleaning and painting the engine parts with all the correct finishes.

We follow the process of me removing parts and degreasing them, then giving them to Alvin for the stripping, priming, and painting.

Soon we had the engine stripped to a bare block. After all the parts are cleaned, we'll do a close inspection of the piston bores and the crank saddles. The main bearings didn't look too bad with only a little extra wear on the outside caps. When the crank saddles are align bored, the crank will sit much better in the bearing shells.

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

5/15/08: 330 Engine Out

5/15/08
330 Engine Out

In discussions between Art, myself, and François, it was decided the best course of action was a full engine rebuild on Art's 330GT 2+2. With the rings being out of spec, the pistons out of round, and who knows what else could be wrong with this engine, it was too much risk to try and salvage the previous "rebuild." If we simply rebuilt the heads, the higher compression of the top end would have made the blow by in the cylinders even worse.

Wanting a reason as to how an engine could have been assembled like this, I was given as pretty good explanation by François. He said he knew of mechanics back in the day that used to rebuild Ferrari engines by simply installing a new gasket set and rings for the original pistons. With the new parts, the "rebuilt" engine would run better and seem rejuvenated for a short while. Many Ferrari owners rarely drove their cars, so when the evidence of an incomplete engine rebuild would rear its ugly head, it would be several thousand miles later, and probably a couple owners down the road. Who knows what happened to Art's car, but one thing's for sure, he'll get substantially more miles out of this rebuild when we're done with it!

I spent today getting everything disconnected to pull the rest of the engine out of the car. Here's a list of things that needed to be done:
1. Pull radiator
2. Pull cotter pins and four motor mount bolts
3. unbolt bell housing bolts
4. unbolt exhaust headers
5. disconnect fuel and oil lines
6. disconnect clutch slave
7. disconnect temp senders
8. disconnect speedo drive
9. disconnect alternator
10. remove hood
11. disconnect drive shaft doughnut and u-joint
12. remove drive shaft
13. pull transmission
14. Pull engine.

If I missed anything, it became apparently obvious as the engine rose out of the car, but by the end of the day we had the engine on the floor, and I started removing the parts like the clutch, fuel pump, and water pump. The biggest battle was trying to keep from getting too filthy from all the greasy bits! Everything was covered in a layer of oil and dirt. It'll be so nice to work with clean parts when this engine goes back together.

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

5/13/08: 330 Head Inspection

5/13/08
330 Engine Inspection

François managed to get the heads off Art's 330 by the time I arrived for work today. Even after a supposed recent engine rebuild, the electrolytic corrosion on the head studs fought François all the way.

My job was to clean the oil off the heads, and get the valves off to inspect what was going on with this engine that would cause it to smoke.

With the valves off, it was very obvious this engine was a smoker. Carbon deposits were everywhere.

Art bought this car with a "fresh" engine rebuild, and put about 15K miles since then, but something wasn't right. All the valves wiggled with excessive play in their guides, so oil was leaking past the valve stems and into the combustion chambers.

Small problems were discovered every step of the way. The shims used at the bottom of the valve springs were not OEM, and probably not as hard as the originals, so they showed excessive wear patterns from the dual coil valve springs. Small bits of metal would have been introduced into the oil every mile this car was driven.

Not that this was a bad repair, but someone welded this head in its past. This clue would lead us to thoroughly inspect the repair and make sure it was done correctly.

Here's what a normal spark plug hole would look like.

And now for the worst of it! The last time Art drove the car, he heard a bad noise coming from the engine compartment, and shut the car down. He had it towed to François' shop, but when François started the engine, he didn't hear any bad noises. There was a strange light tapping, and an occasional swishing noise, but we couldn't recreate the noise Art described. François' suggestion was to pull the valve covers and take a look. From there, we found the worn valve stems, so the heads had to come off. As I got to this exhaust valve, it became evident what Art heard. The valve seat had cracked and part of the seat was rattling against the valve! The force of the valve motion pushed the valve seat back into place, so when we were listening, we didn't hear the rattling. With a light pry from a screwdriver, this seat fell right out of the head! At any speed of the engine, this dropped valve seat would have been catastrophic!

It was very obvious not all the valve guides were replaced during the last engine rebuild. The light colored one on the right is of the new material used in the modern guides, while the darker one on the left is probably the original ones installed by Ferrari. The old guides did not have seals at their tops, but all the guides, new and old, were machined to accept seals by the previous mechanic.

The seals were even a mix of two different brands.

With the evidence before us on the work performed on the heads of this 330 engine, we felt it would be best to at least check a couple pistons in this engine. Not to our surprise, the end gaps on the two pistons I pulled were beyond acceptable tolerances, not to mention the pistons themselves were out of round!? More on this engine next time!

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

5/9/08: Cleaning 330 Valve Train

5/9/08
Cleaning 330 Valve train

One of the projects I worked on this week was Art Suckewer's 330 engine by cleaning up some of the engine pieces. I'm constantly reminded by François that this is not a restoration, so I degreased the throttle linkage, cleaned up some of the surface rust and greased the bearings so there would be no binding. If it were a restoration, the throttle linkage would be marked for positions of the linkages and spacers, sand blasted, and sent out for black oxide coating. The linkage tips would be nickel or white cad plated, and the throttle stands would be cleaned and painted wrinkle black. Three finishes for one throttle linkage!

The interior piece got a lot more attention, with a thorough cleaning and inspection. All the roller followers were in good shape and showed no signs of excessive wear. The rocker tips, however were a different story. They'll all have to be removed and probably all replaced. A lot of them had worn sharp edges and chipped surfaces from wear against the valve stems.

As I cleaned some more engine parts, I found this inscription on the flywheel timing cover from a previous owner. It reminded me how special these cars are to their owners. Like a boy scratching his name on his favorite toy, Roy made his mark on this Ferrari. I found this very endearing!

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

5/6/08: Hiniker GTE Interior

5/6/08
Hiniker GTE Interior

I've been on the hunt for a seat pans to replace the horrible galvanized replacements found inside Gary Hiniker's GTE seats. I wasn't having any luck finding a set of used Series I GTE seats for donor pans, but I kept looking for alternatives.

A friend of mine with a GTE sent me a picture of his seat pans that were fabricated for his car when he discovered his original pans had cracked beyond repair. The work was done by Orlando Cairo at Eurocoachworks in Fort Lauderdale. The works was top notch, but a little too nice to be hidden under leather and foam!

One of the seat pans they used as a template was still good enough to copy, so Art lent me his seat pan so I could make a couple of copies in fiberglass. Hopefully with a mold, we can make more if we ever come across this problem again.

We'll have to to find someone who can make a mold off this original part without destroying the original. I promised Art he would get it back unscathed!

Looking at the details of the original part, it was a pretty flimsy piece of injection molded plastic. I bet when Pininfarina designed this seat, the first pan was made out of aluminum, but when the seat went into production, they made the mass produced seat in this plastic material which was not nearly as strong as the aluminum in the same thickness.

I brought the seat pans down to our upholsterer to check it for fit before having the part sent out for copies. I also had a chance to see the progress on the rest of the interior.

They're doing a great job, and the color is very nice next to the silver exterior color. The rear seat has not been anchored, so the gaps in between the cushions will disappear when things are installed permanently. As with any high end interior, things are installed and reinstalled several times to check for a perfect fit.

The dash is out for painting, but the center console is coming along. It's so nice to see an interior without any wrinkles. I remember how much I worked on this piece with my car to get it to look this smooth!

With the interior coming together nicely, there are always more details to consider. The kick panels are pretty scuffed up and the chrome surrounds need to be repaired and replated. The raw material for these panels come from the tail panel of a 1957 Chevrolet Belaire, but they'll still have to be cut to fit. Now's the time to change these out.

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

5/4/08: The Drive Home and Final Thoughts

5/4/08
The Drive Home and Final Thoughts

It was 390 miles each way from my house to Richard Garre's shop, so Jay and I headed home on a beautiful sunny day. The Ferrari was running well, and I even getting 16 miles to the gallon in mileage! That's better than the 14 miles a gallon on the the trip to Watkins Glen. The engine must be breaking in after putting about 4000 miles since I put her on the road. With every mile, I appreciate this car more and more. Parker Hall once told me that I would learn to love my 330 America over coveting a Lusso, and I believe I see his point more and more every time I drive my car. On the highway in overdrive, my more powerful four liter engine pulls about 3100 rpm at 70mph. There is plenty of torque in the engine to pull quickly up to 90 without downshifting, but with a flick of the switch into 4th, the car explodes with power. It is so much fun to watch this old girl pick up her skirt and run with anyone who dares to keep up! I couldn't imagine how worn out we would have been hearing that V-12 engine spinning at 4200 RPM for five hours in the direct drive of fourth gear. Now I know why many Lussos were modified with an overdrive transmission!

The only minor glitch was at a gas stop when I got a clunk noise from the starter when it was time to leave. Knowing that the battery was fine, and the car didn't have a hot start issue, I felt it was probably the pinon gear stuck in full engagement not allowing the starter to spin up to speed. I left the car in gear and rocked the car forward, and tried to start her again. She fired over without a problem. Having both expereinced this before in old British cars, Jay and I took it all in stride.

I had a lot of time to think about what had occured at this party. Vintage Ferrari prices have gone through the roof in recent years, and the cars have become so valuable that I believe people are not driving them as much. The 2+2s are the last group of cars that are still relatively inexpensive so their owners can drive them and enjoy them, but it seems that the large shows don't seem to offer much to support our existence. I hope to fill this niche for Vintage owners who still drive their cars and even enjoy fixing them, so look forward to the next event I throw!

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

5/3/08: 2008 Radcliffe/Tomyang.net Spring Party

5/3/08
2008 Radcliffe/Tomyang.net Spring Party

The party officially started about 9:30 am on Saturday, but cars started rolling in at about 8:30! Richard Garre invited vendors to set up some tables to sell some automotive related items, so people had plenty to look at besides the cars inside the shop.

At 10 am we welcomed out guests and began a series of "tech sessions" beginning with one about leather interiors and their care. We also had talks about electrical repairs, and engine head repairs that covered antifreeze use and the effect of zinc in motor oils to camshafts. The last session was a talk about FCA judging procedures and what to expect at a Ferrari Club National Event.

Outside was where the real action was taking place. I was happy to see my 330 America joined by a Series II 330GT 2+2, along with a 365GT 2+2, but after the sixth 330 parked in the line up, I was getting blown away by the cars.

Soon we had about 15 2+2s parked in a row ranging from a GTE all the way up to a 456! It was the first time the 2+2s had precedence at a show where the 2 seat Ferrari owners were happy to park further down the line! Were were sandwiched by some great company with a 275GTB short nose at one end, and a couple of Maranellos at the other!

Richard's neighbor also brought out some nice cars and opened up his shop for anyone who wanted more to see in British iron.

Even the side parking lot was filled with some fabulous machinery from a Shelby GT350 to a Lamborghini Countach. There was no snobbery at this get together as all of us embraced every car that drove in because after all this was a party for car guys thrown by car guys.

There was a great chance to compare a couple Ferrari models side by side, and with a Daytona parked next to a couple 365GTC/4s it was my chance to look at the similarities.

If you've been thinking of buying a C/4 because Daytona prices have gone through the roof, you should have been at this party. All the owners were happy to talk about their cars and offer constructive information from real world driving experiences. Where else are you going to get that?

At the end of the day we were all exhausted from throwing the best Ferrari party of our lives. The post party debriefing was full of minor improvements and changes to the schedule, but the most common thought was we couldn't wait until next year's party. Having been to many Ferrari events, I've watched the numbers of Vintage Ferraris dwindle to where a national event can only draw a few 2+2s to any event. The high priced 2-seaters are displayed by their caretakers and usually trailed to the shows, but we proved that there is a group of dedicated Vintage Ferrari owners that have been lost in the shuffle. I hope to provide a venue for the people who enjoyed this event to attend, and not just for Ferraris, but all things Vintage.

For those who didn't get the contact information on the vendors, here's a list of the ones in attendance. If you do call them, please let them know where you heard about them. That's insure they come to the next event we schedule!

-Alfa Romeo Collectibles
Mike and Vicki Mihm
1725 Powder Mill Rd.
York, PA 17403
717-741-5850
717-741-5850 fax

-Mamock's Automotive Electric
Pat Senatro
314 Legion Ave
Annapolis, MD 21401
410-267-7531

-Automotive Custom Care
Custom Upholstery
Fred Cooney
2977 Baltimore Blvd
Finksburg, MD 21408
410-833-4840

-Red Hawk Enterprises
Roll Glide car dollies and engine stands
484 Williamsport Pike # 11
Martinsburg, WV 25404-0000
www.rollglide.com
866-782-8068

-Baltimore Head Works
Russ Coldren
6340 South Carroll Park Drive
Eldersburg, MD 21784
410-781-7272

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

5/2/08: 500 Mondial

5/2/08
500 Mondial

It was time for me to head south from Upstate New York to the Washington D.C. area to attend the first Radcliffe Motorcars/Tomyang.net Spring Event, but before the party, I had some visiting to do! Over the years, you may have read about a 500 Mondial that has been owned by Robert Phillips for 50 years. This car is undergoing a complete restoration to enter in the Pebble Beach Concours D'elegance in August. It's the culmination of a lifetime of racing, driving, and hard work that will bring this car onto the lawn at Pebble Beach. Admiral Phillips invited me down to see his car in the midst of restoration, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity!

The plan was to drive down to Maryland on a Thursday, drop my car off at Radcliffe Motorcars in Reistertown, MD, and pick up a Rental car to navigate through DC traffic. Jay Fontenella, a fellow NY Ferrari owner volunteered to ride shotgun in the 330 America for the ride down. The 390 mile trip down to Richard's shop went without a hitch.

From there, we stayed at Michael Bayer's house in D.C., and headed out to the Admiral's workshop first thing in the morning. Bryan, his son and 365GT 2+2 owner, met us at his Father's house.

I've met the Admiral several occasions at other events and places, but this was the first time at his garage. The car was at another shop, but many of the mechanical pieces were being rebuilt in a small two car garage just across the Potomac from Washington D.C. Although this car had been raced, repaired, and rebuilt a couple of times before, this time around, the Admiral isn't missing a single detail. The car is also worth significantly more than the purchase price of about $2000 dollars, so making everything right is worth the effort!

The engine has been rebuilt and is just about ready for installation in the chassis. It was great opportunity to see all the details of this engine without them being obscured by the bodywork! I could have inspected all the details for hours!

If you know Ferrari history, these four cylinder Ferrari engines were designed to compete in a class where British 4 cylinder engines dominated. Using their knowledge in valve train technology and how to build a strong race V-12, they applied their efforts into creating a 4 cylinder engine that could beat the competition.
When the Admiral bought this car in 1958, she was a well worn race car, but he was determined to repair the damage and take her out racing. I can only imagine the wonderment of the guys at the navy yard hobby shop where the young lieutenant set up shop to fix his car!

Every part of this car told a story. This piston was from an original set that was in the motor when Robert was racing it at Bridgehampton NY. At about turn 5 near the back uphill, the Admiral hit the brakes and clutch only to have both feet slip off the pedals and into the foot well. Oil had coated the pedals from the engine making it very hard to drive back to the paddock. On disassembly, it was discovered that the top ring land of the piston had started to distort. Blowby had increased, and started to spit out of the oil breather at the back of the engine (you can see the breather on the engine shot near Robert's left elbow in the picture above). As the race progressed, oil found its way through the cracks and seams of the firewall, and coated the pedals.

There were so many parts with so many stories we tried our best not to keep Robert from his work. Even the starter motor was neat! It's operated with a lever that moves the pinion into the flywheel, while making the electrical contact to the starter motor. Eliminating some of the electrical components insured reliability where failure was not an option!

Next stop was Edinburg Virginia, a 90 minute drive out to David Carte's Restoration shop. Those that are not familiar with David, he has restored and won at Pebble Beach with several Ferraris, along with other premier shows around the country. Robert Phillips has hired the skilled hands of Carte's shop to undertake some of the Mondial restoration, and the body is just about ready for paint.

Bryan Phillips is seen here intently listening to David (in green) to some of the repairs they did on the car.

The Mondial was a race car, and there is a lot of evidence of a hasty repair done at a paddock somewhere in the world. This panel covered the transaxle, and holes were crudely cut in the aluminum to access oil fill holes and areas of the shift linkage. This panel will probably have to remade to make it look as it left the factory.

I was very fortunate to have access to this car before the restoration was complete. It will be great to see her done and on the lawn at Pebble Beach, but seeing all the details that will be covered with the shiny bits is what I love!

Even David's shop had a shelf of parts that were waiting to go back on the car. The plan is to have all the pieces at all the different shops and garages to converge at Carte's shop for final assembly. With three and a half months to go, it's coming down to the wire!

David's also working on a 365GTS.

They're completing the suspension rebuild and things are moving along nicely.

As Ferrari parts get older, and it becomes more and more difficult to restore parts and make them work as they left the factory. These are Marelli coils from the 50s that have a particular look that the judges look for at the top shows, but making the old coils work is sometimes impossible. David has found the solution by inserting a modern coil inside the old coil! When it's all put back together, no one will ever know the difference. Clever and beautiful work David! Thanks for letting us in your shop, and giving us some insight to what it takes to win Pebble Beach!

The next stop was to John Whittington's shop in Woodstock Virginia. John used to work at David Carte's but has recently set out on is own to focus some specific details in automotive restoration. John's specialty is automotive wiring and specialized plating like nickel, black oxide, and gold cad. Here's John (in green) showing Michael Bayer and Bryan some of his work.

John fabricated the Mondial's wiring harness by using the original one as a template. He has all the correct sheathing and connectors to replicate the harness exactly, so the results were beautiful. While I was visiting, he mentioned he has a spare 250 harness he made when copied one previously. All he needs is a circuit board from your car to transfer all the hardware to make a complete harness. If you're interested, I can put you in touch with him!

John has also taken on a Lusso halfway through a restoration. Some of the car will have to be done again because the previous work was not very good, but I believe she's in good hands now.

Hopefully none of the parts got lost in the transfer between shops. Good luck John!

We headed back to D.C. after a long day of looking at Ferrari parts. We were all exhausted, but we still had the Radcliffe Motorcars/Tomyang.net party to attend the next day. What a way to kick off the weekend in Washington!

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

4/27/08: The Spring Tomyang.net/Radcliff Motorcars Party is this Saturday!

4/27/08
The Spring Tomyang.net/Radcliff Motorcars Party is this Saturday!

It's finally here! This Saturday May 3rd is the Tomyang.net/Radcliff Motorcars Spring Party. Since it's announcement, this event has grown in scope and size. There will be tech demonstrations, cars on display, and lots of Ferrari experts to talk about these cars. You don't have to have a Ferrari to attend, but don't forget to bring your enthusiasm for Vintage Ferrari.

More information can be found here at the official announcement.

Below is the schedule of activities for the day:

10:00 - Leather Interior (Fred Cooney -Automotive Custom Care)
11:00 - Starters, Generators, etc. (Pat Senatro -Mamock's)
12:00 -Break for lunch, (meet the members of tomyang.net at reserved table)
1:00 - Cylinder Head restoration (Russ Coldren)
2:30 - Concours Judging Panel Discussion

The times of these events are rough estimates and may run late or early depending on the interest.

The latest addition is the 2:30 event where a panel of FCA Judges will be on hand to discuss judging Ferraris at a National level. Richard Garre and I decided instead of having a Concours at the Party, it would be more useful and educational for owners to ask questions about entering their cars in a FCA Concours or similar event. I believe Parker Hall, Sam Smith, and Dick Merrit will be in attendance, and it would be great to have a open forum to ask some questions. Between these gentlemen, there is over 75 years of Ferrari knowledge and experience!

As always, I'm trying to create an event that I would love to attend, so I hope you feel the same way. If the weather turns against us, there is plenty of room inside to have our party, but I've made the arragements for a clear day. Hope to see you there!

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

4/25/08: Ferrari Valve Trains

4/25/08
Valve Trains

François' got a 250 PF Coupe engine on the engine stand for a rebuild. François likes to do engine rebuilds in the evening when the phone stops ringing and there are no distractions, so progress moves forward after I arrive at his shop!

I was put to the task of fitting some of the valve train components. New valve guides will be installed, and the steel spring shims had to be fitted to each guide. The guides are just a couple thousandths thicker than the inner diameter of the shims, so I had to chuck them in the lathe, and take a little material off each guide until the shim passed freely. This will insure a good fit when the valve springs are bottomed out on the top of the head.

I also cleaned, inspected, polished, and reassembled the rocker assemblies, making sure everything was well oiled and operating smoothly. With multiples of 12 for every part, I was kept busy for most of the day!

We pulled Art Suckewer's Series II 330GT 2+2 into the shop for some diagnosis this week. Art is an owner and Tomyang.netter that had some problem with his car sometime after the Fall Party. He described a knocking noise from the engine, and decided it was best to have the car towed to François' shop.

Art has had an intermittent smoking problem with his car as well, and it was time to see if we could find the proverbial smoking gun. Unfortunately, after disconnecting the fuel line, removing the spark plugs, ignition wires, and throttle linkage, we removed the valve covers to find everything in order. One area François wanted to check was the timing chain tension, but he found it to be tight with very little play. Nothing was loose or rattling, but when we removed a rocker assembly, we found a problem.

All the exhaust valves showed excessive wear at the top of the valve stem. A tappet presses on this area to open the valve on every cycle of the combustion process. Both surfaces are hardened, but once the harder surface of the steel is worn away, the softer steel is worn at an exponential rate.

Most of the intake valves were in decent shape showing normal wear.

Further inspection of the valve guides and seals could explain the smoking, but we were disappointed there wasn't something to show Art that could explain the noise. Another possibility could be a broken piston ring, but that inspection would be even more involved.

Unfortunately the wear on the exhaust valves has to be addressed sooner than later. If this kind of damage continues to happen, catastrophic damage could occur. The top of the valve stem could split, and the spring retainers that hold everything together could let go, dropping the valve into the combustion chamber.

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

4/11/08: Cal Spyder Electrics

4/11/08
Cal Spyder Electrics

Before I took a week off for a vacation with my family, I worked a little bit on the Cal Spyder at François' shop. The gauges were installed and the connected to the wiring harness. It took a lot of "eyeballing" to make sure everything was level and lined up. The last thing you wanted was a cockeyed gauge for the owner to look at!

After the gauges were installed, I checked and double checked the connections to the wiring harness. The wiring was remanufactured during a previous restoration, but not all of it followed the original wiring schematic, so I had to make sure nothing was connected incorrectly. After a certain point, there was nothing left but to cross my fingers and connect the battery. I'm happy to report there was no smoke, and besides a few bad grounds for the turn signals, all the circuits I connected worked.

Spring Party Update:
I will post the request on the main page, but If you'd like to bring something to the party, bring a dessert like the last party. Michael Bayer had generously offered to provide the food for the party on May 3rd, but I think it would be great to supplement the food with some local desserts. Thanks! Are you getting excited about the party? I know I am!

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

4/5/08: Preparing for the Spring Party

4/5/08
Preparing for the Spring Party

I spoke to Richard Garre, my co-host of the 2008 Spring party, and he told me that he and his wife Patty have sent out over 500 invitations! I asked what were we going to do if everyone we invited actually shows up, and he felt his shop could handle it! I'm excited about all the work Radcliffe Motorcar has done planning this party, and it should be well worth the trip to Maryland. Here's where you can find the schedule and official invitation.

One suggestion was to designate a time and place for members of this website and forum to meet and put some names to faces. Richard will have tables and chairs set up for lunch, and I will reserve a table for us to meet between 12 and 1pm while lunch is being served. Even if you've had a chance to meet me, please stop by for other members of this site to say hello!

It's been a long winter, and I haven't touched my 330 America since I installed the throttle linkages months ago. The weather is finally getting a little warmer in the Northeast, so I've been slowly taking my cars out of winter hibernation. Besides charging the battery, I was trying to decide what I could do with the Ferrari without getting too involved. I plan to drive her down to the DC area to attend the 2008 Spring party, but starting a project that's too involved could sabotage my trip. I decided to fit and paint the front radiator pan that bolts behind the front chin. I first checked for fit, and collected the right fasteners. I'll paint the pan when the weather gets a few degrees warmer.

Whenever I work on my Ferrari, I'm constantly reminded that these cars were hand made. You can see the individual hammer marks that someone made when this panel was formed in a small factory in Italy over forty years ago. As the world moves on towards a disposable society and mass produced profiteering, I sit in my garage and marvel at the products forged one at a time by craftsmen long gone.

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

4/4/08: Boxer Trivia

4/4/08
Boxer Trivia

I've been knee deep in this Boxer Major Service at François' shop, and the while I was borrowing tools from Bill Pollard's shop, the talk was also about Boxers because he had three more at his shop! Jim Grove, one of Bill's employees, worked on these cars when they were new and getting Federalized at Amerispec. Boxers were not imported to the U.S. by Ferrari, but independent shops that were approved by the Department of Transportation were allowed to modify these cars to meet American specifications of the day. Whenever you see cars sold in this era, DOT papers mean that the car was modified officially by a shop to meet the American standards and certified by DOT. Amerispec did a lot of these cars.

One modification was the installation of side impact door beams that the European specification cars did not have. A small hole was cut in the door jamb where an impact bar could be welded at both ends of the inner door.

Jim showed me a door that was Federalized by another shop, and how if differed from the Amerispec mod.

This modification was done by Amerispec. This plate is larger and tied into the latch assembly. Jim explained that each door bar was hand fitted in place and carefully welded not to damage the freshly painted cars. The plates were were usually painted black, but this one was painted to match the body color. When Jim was cutting these door plates, he kept every plate from every car he modified and wrote the serial numbers on these pieces in case DOT wanted proof of the work done on these cars. Jim still has the box of plates, and if you have a Boxer that was Federalized through Amerispec, Jim may have your plate!

So the next time you're at a Ferrari show, you might know a little bit more about a Boxer than the judge in the Boxer class!

Just a reminder, I'm looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.