7/16/09
The Cobbler's Shoes and Meeting with Tomyang.netters
It's been a little quiet with the posts on this website, but that does
not mean I have not been busy with Ferraris. I've been presented with
an opportunity to manage a restoration and I've thrown myself into the
challenge. I've also been driving my 330 America when the opportunity
presents itself, and it's been a ton of fun. As with any old Ferrari,
there are always little things to do, and one annoying problem I had
was a leaking steering box.
The large nut that holds the steering arm needs to be removed, but
clearance is limited. If this arm can be removed, none of the tie rod
ends need to be unbolted. The trick to gaining access is to unbolt the
four bolts that secure the steering box to the frame of the car. With
the steering box loose, it can slide forward to get a wrench on the
32 mm castle nut.
Before any of this is done, the steering shaft has to be disconnected.
I marked the shaft so everything would go back together as it came
apart. That's all the time I had for my project. She'll have to wait
until I have more time to continue!
I've got two big trips coming up in the next several weeks. The first
one is a road trip to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for the Ferrari Club of
America National Meet. I didn't have plans to go until I was asked by
newly elected Regional Director of FCA New England, Sam Hallowell
(Congratulations Sam) if I would like to join him in driving his
Ferrari 365GTC/4 from the East Coast to Wisconsin for the event. It's
been several months since my last long distance
road trip, so I jumped at the chance. As we started to plan the
drive, we realized two other Vintage Ferraris were headed out from our
direction, so now we have a caravan of old Ferraris driving out to the
event in the true spirit of Ferrari motoring! I've appointed myself
"Ferrari Cruise Director" and have also made plans to meet Vintage
Ferrari notables along the way and feel this drive might end up more
fun than the destination!
We'll be arriving in Elkhart Lake in time for the FCA Concours on
Thursday July 30th. After the Show, I'd like to meet anyone at the host
hotel, the Ostoff
Hotel, for drinks and possible dinner. We can meet at the Hotel Bar
between 6:30-7:30ish and make decisions from there.
The same weekend of the FCA Event, is the Oshkosh Fly In. Although I know
a lot less about aviation than I do about cars and Ferraris, planes
have always fascinated me, so the timing is perfect to attend an
aviation gathering that is talked about all over the world. I've only
got one day to take it all in, and I know true plane buffs will tell me
it's not enough time, but something is better than nothing.
The second trip is my annual trip out to Monterey in the middle of
August. I've got another road trip planned from San Jose down the coast
to Monterey. The car is to be determined, but I know we'll be arriving
in Monterey in style considering last year's ride was in a 330GTS!
Historically, tomyang.netters have met on Thursday night of Monterey
(August 13th 2009), and this year there's a change of venue. There's a
restaurant in Carmel Valley, just off of Hwy 1 called Swiss Bistro. It
has plenty of parking and can accommodate us for dinner. http://swissbistro.com/
(I'm told from someone who's been there it's not as tacky as the home
page suggests!) I've reserved the smaller of the two rooms that can
seat 32 people, and with more than 15 people for dinner, there will be
no room fee. Since the tomyang.net gatherings run about 30 people, I
don't think we'll have a problem for dinner, but I'd like to get some
kind of head count so I won't have to book the larger room. e-mail me. Drinks between 6-7pm,
Dinner at 7 pm.
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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