8/29/08
Fixing Another America
Last week, Michael Greenspan was headed to Rhinebeck Aerodrome to meet
a bunch of Ferrari owners for a day out in his 330 America, but a brake
failure meant a tow to my house instead. Originally, the plan was to
have the car transferred to François' shop
for the repairs, but he was too busy preparing a car for the Rolex
Vintage Festival at Lime Rock. I explained the issue, and the Frenchman
assured me there would be no problem in my handling the repair.
The nut on the lower pulley worked itself loose and fell out, causing
the pulley to slide off the crankshaft and into a brake line. The large
headed nut is held in place with a lock tab washer that probably broke.
With an extra bolt from François' stash of parts, I used loctite
to secure the bolt to prevent this from happening again.
Not only did Michael manage to safely stop the car without brakes, he
also stopped before the loose pulley managed to do more damage. Only
one line was cut and I was able to save the fitting for the replacement
line.
Ferrari brake lines are bent pretty crudely. If you try to do it only
with a fancy tube bender, you'll never mimic the bends found in
original lines. I've found a combination of a tube bender, and the
shape of my thumbs makes for exact replica bends!
I used coated 1/4 inch brake lines for the replacements. It has a
darker color, and blended in better than the normal shiny steel lines.
If I were doing a concours car, steel lines would have to sent out for
copper plating before bending them up. I was pretty happy when the new
lines lined up perfectly. With a new bolt, belt, and brake line, 4969
was back in business.
Michael had a couple other things on his list of "to-dos," and I felt I
could do some without taking too long to complete. Since access to the
lower pulley bolt was easier with the radiator out of the car, it
was removed and pressure tested for leaks and boiled out.
An electric fan was previously installed, but didn't seem to be up to
the task of cooling the car in heavy traffic, but I found a good
solution for my car. A 16 inch Flex-a-Lite Trimline Model 116 just fits
in the confined space between the radiator and the front cross member.
It's so tight, the fan has to be hung in place before the radiator is
installed. I tried other models, and they won't fit, but this one works
great. Hopefully, this will give Michael the confidence to drive in any
kind of heat!
Speaking of 330 Americas, Sandford Brawley, a previous owner of my 330
America sent me this picture he found when he owned my car in the 70s.
Pretty cool! Someday, I'm going to repaint my car that original color!
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.
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