330 GT bodywork & paint

[owen]

I haven’t been posting much, since 330 has been in bodyshop since Oct ’05. Is now painted and we’re waiting on new rubber to arrive. Clearcoat, buffing and reassembly remain. Has been “almost done” for past year, though, and I’d planned on waiting to post photos when it was done.

But, since we’re all getting older……

Here’s car at RPM in Vermont prior to my purchase.


Delivery - which was especially cool, since it was the first time I’d seen car in person. Was great buying from the Markowski’s, plus having Tom and Yale check it out - the car was exactly what I was looking for and I was very happy with it.


Two months later – a truck came over into my lane and chewed up the door skin, front fender and wheel.


Bare metal. Green tape covers areas that need repair. Other than accident damage, body was surprisingly good. A few stress cracks, perforation in nose and old repairs to sills needed to be fixed.











Primed and ready for repairs and filler.







Ready for final sanding and paint. Body is perfect and cavities rustproofed, so it should last longer than me.




Painted in Blue Sera. Awaiting clearcoat and final buffing.




Hadn’t planned to repaint prior to accident, but it is going to look fantastic when it’s finished. I saw the buffed hood in the sun and color is great. Will post more photos when it’s finally done.

[tyang]

Hi Owen,

Looks great! Thanks for posting. I think it'll be worth the wait.

Here's when I went to look at the car:
http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari.html?ferrari497.htm

Tom

[Art S.]

Hey...that color looks familiar!

Owen,

It's going to look great!

Regards,

Art S.

[John Vardanian]

Hi Owen,

A beautiful car made even more beautiful! These 4HL cars are so handsome.

What had to be done to the damaged area exactly? Thanks.

john

[owen]

John - Fortunately, while damage was ugly, it was not too deep. Shop was originally going to try to locate a replacement fender, but decided it was better to just repair old one.

They cut out the the section behind the wheel well and straightened out the rest of the fender, including the rear upright section where the door hinges attach. You can see the result of this work in the photos of the primed car. The heater box, door internals, etc. were all fine, only the flexible vent duct had to be replaced.

A panel was formed and welded into the cut out section behind the wheel well and the door was reskinned. The louvered vent in the fender was completely destroyed, but the shop fabricated a new one that is indistinguishable from the original. None of the other trim was damaged but the front wheel had to be replaced.

I know this type and quality of metalwork is what it takes to properly repair and restore these cars, but it certainly impressed me to see it done. You just don't see many examples of this kind of skill and craftsmanship.

[John Vardanian]

Thanks Owen. It sounds like a group of really competent guys working in that shop.

john

[Stephanm]

Great color choice Owen, I am addicted to Blue Sera, Just painted a 246 GTS and a 512 BB that color. The shade looks much the same as my two cars.
Amazing that the damage was so focused on that area, must be that the wheel took most of the impact as the sheet metal damage seems minor.
Must have really twisted the steering wheel out of your hands!

[Stephanm]

That car had very old paint on it before Owen bought it and there could have been some serious hidden rust and damage. Had the car been a Scaglietti junker in a similar situation the only thing holding it together would have bee the paint! PF cars are so well built, it is as though actual adults designed and built them!!

[owen]

My 7 year old son was in the car when I got hit, but fortunately it was a fairly low speed collision (I was stopped between other cars and couldn't get out of the way) and impact wasn't too dramatic. At least he's learning defensive driving early - I think he's still on the lookout for 18 wheelers that get too close!

I thought quite a while about the color but decided this was the way to go. Amaranto was the original color, but I didn't care for the bits I could still see on the car. Plus, I'm going to use the original orangish tan leather when I redo the interior. Should look great with the blue but I'm not sure about the original combo.

[John Vardanian]

Owen,

That orangish brown color, or as I call it pumpkin, is the perfect color interior for an old Ferrari and it looks so warm after some 10-12 years of wear.

john

[owen]

Bodywork and paint on my car was finished a couple of months ago and I finally got around to taking some photos to post. Apparently, one's sense of urgency and concept of time is altered when you enter the vintage Ferrari restoration zone.

To recap, I purchased the car in August 2005 and was in an accident in October of that same year. Damage was confined to front fender and skin of driver's door but I decided to have it stripped to bare metal, get some rust through on sills repaired and repaint entire car. Was told it would take "a couple of months."

Almost 3 years later - see below for results. I'm sure finish is better than when it rolled out of the factory. Original color was Amaranto and it had been repainted black. I changed to Blue Sera and it looks great on car.

Haven't had much time to do anything else to car since I bought it so I still have my to do list. Nothing major, just a lot of stuff like seat belts, electric fans, etc. I was concerned about it sitting in the shop all this time but it runs fine and doesn't seem to have suffered from inactivity.

At RPM in Vermont before I purchased



Accident damage



Repair & repaint process






End result

[Dr. Ian Levy]

Hi Owen
In my opinion there is no better colour for a big Ferrari than Blue Sera & your car looks absolutely beautiful-but then again I am a little biased.
Congratulatins on your choice.
Regards
Ian L

[tyang]

Hi Owen,

Are you bringing the car to Cavallino this year? She looks gorgeous! I know the wait was ridiculously long, but it looks like it was worth the wait. Congratulations!

Tom

[PSk]

Most impressive. Concrats.

Pete

[josh]

Looks great! Whoever did your body and paint work did a beautiful job!

[by the way, I went back and fixed the image links in the first post so everyone can see those pictures as well. After our upgrade to phpBB3, html is no longer supported in posts]