3500GT Barnfind

Thanks guys. I just got the exhaust manifolds back. I know it's not 100% original, but they do look a bit better. The paintless dent guy came by today, to see what I had in store for him. Does anybody know what the material is that Maserati used under the body panels, specifically in the wheel wells?
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Desert Dawg, thanks. Good luck on the Merak. The new mirrors look great.

 

Congratulations! I saw that one on ebay before you snagged it. It looks like a great car. We will definately be dealing with some of the same issues. I will update my progress this week.

 

Frank, the paint really looks great on your car. Are you going to keep it original? I hope so.

Here is where I am at. I decided to apply POR15 to the underside and engine compartment, after removing the exhaust system. The heat from the exhaust had removed some of the original undercoating in the exhaust tunnel. There was surface corrosion, similar to what I found under the doors. I am not finished, but so far I am happy with the results. I am removing everything from the engine compartment and rebuilding or refreshing it (such as the coils, water pump, etc.) I left my exhaust system at a shop to have a custom stainless steel system fabricated. There is currently a Stebro system on ebay for our cars that looks pretty nice. I will talk to the shop that has my system and discuss that option. I found a link here to a guy that sells the correct paint and stickers for the coils. I need to locate a source for the gaskets that go between the gas tank and the body, so I can reinstall the tank. A couple weekends ago I had my wife and both my sons helping me paint the underside of the car with the POR15...it was a great family bonding experience.
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Frank, after seeing the pictures of your car that you sent me, you are wise to leave it in pristine original condition. It is a slippery slope trying to preserve, rather than restore. I wish that I did not not need to dye the leather or paint the underside of the car. I was pleased with the results that I obtained on the wheels with fine steel wool and wax. Yours appear to be in much better condition. Thanks for sharing. Please feel free to post more pictures of your car and your progress on this thread. It sounds like both of our cars spent most of their lives inside garages less than 50 miles apart.

 

Ivan, I also used the Power Brake Exchange, 260 Phelan Ave, San Jose, CA 95112 (408) 292-1305. The cost to rebuild my brake boost, clutch master, and brake master (plus powdercoat) was $459 plus shipping. They did a great job and the turnaround was fast.

I am painting my vacuum reservior in a few minutes...how do you check the non-return valve?

 

Freshly painted looks way better than "patina"....I am having a hard time leaving well enough alone.
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Frank, thanks for the advice on the paint. I have been using semi gloss on everything so far, with the exception of the vacuum reservoir and the thermostat housing. I thought that they appeared to have been originally done in gloss. I would love to have a nice color picture of what the engine compartment looked like originally. With your experience at MIE, if you wrote a book on how to sympathetically restore our cars, I would buy it. I am relying on pictures that I have found on the internet...obviously, some of them are far from sympathetic. The first picture is mine on the day we pulled it out of hybernation. I am going to leave the incorrect radiator on the car ( I have the original) because it appears to be a beneficial modification. I just ordered the correct ignition wires and tube to replace the "Packard" wires and custom plastic tube.

I decided to paint the entire underside and engine compartment, because I couldn't stand to leave the slightest amount of surface corrosion untouched.

Brian Moore looked at my car when I was considering doing a complete restoration. He convinced me to not touch any of the paint or chrome. Your's appears to be in better shape than mine. Mine has been sitting in my garage for almost two years and the "patina" of the original paint and chrome has really grown on me. Your car is such a beautiful color (reminiscent of the color Porsche brought back for the limited edition sport classic 911) and in such great condition, I would resist the urge to chrome or paint anything. I do understand your dilemma.

My exhaust system was completely rusted out. Jacques at Maseratisource has a nice exhaust system that is polished stainless steel. I will probably use the center section from his system ( I can't use the rear section that he has because it is the later style dual exhaust) and have the rest fabricated in stainless by the shop that has my original system. I can't see going to the expense of having a new exhaust system made and not having it done in stainless. http://www.spdexhaust.com/
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Ivan, my wife was standing next to me when I read this. She already thinks that I pay too much attention to the car. She said she might have to consider divorce if she catches me sucking or blowing on car parts. We both got a pretty good laugh.

Thanks once again for your help.

 

Another use for pizza boxes and x-ray film.
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I have new cam cover nuts arriving shortly. Does anybody know the correct torque specs for the cam cover nuts? I would also appreciate a recommendation on the best spark plugs for the car. Thanks.

 

Eugene, thank you very much for the information. I also like the Bosch platnum plugs. I could only find the original plug numbers, which did not correspond to a modern plug.

 

I just received a box of new parts for the project, including a set of Cavis wires. Does anybody know how to assemble the ends?
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