Well finally the day has come! Hopefully this is the start of a great journey to return one of Enzo's great Ferraris back to the road, back to its original color & interior, back to stunning condition. I am doing this for me, when the car is finished I intend to use the car as much as possible, I have no fear of using it, if it needs restoring again in 10 years so be it. I spent the day down the garage (www.joemacariservice.com) working with the Peter Da Prato (good Italian boy) the Head mechanic of the Classic Department. We stripped out the brakes, suspension, trans-axel, prop, engine, all ancillaries and many other small part. Here are a few pictures to give you a flavor of our days work......so far no major drama or nightmares! Please enjoy, I will do my best to keep the post up to date and answer any questions. I also welcome any observations, advice or criticism. I have enjoyed every minute on FerrariChat, I have learned a huge amount and meet some great people who have shared more than I have to give, hopefully this is my opportunity to give a little back. thanks Mark Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
and just by closing time, we had the engine out! Not a bad days work for two old mates that grew up fitting lawn mower engines to their push bikes! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
What a great project. Those two post lifts look really slick BTW. I've never seen that design before. Please see if you can find out who made them. I'm looking forward to this thread. Subscribed...
Mark- Have you had your car long? I went on the shop's web site, and what a great shop you chose. Looks like you're in great hands! You've embarked on an interesting and rewarding journey that cost a few bucks. It's great to hear that you plan to drive the car as much as possible, even after a comprehensive restoration. Good Luck. Geno.
They even have in the floor lighting, great touch. Looks like being a classic thread Mark, will you be putting a lawn mower engine in it? just kidding, i had to try to get you back after your finger nail comment. Good luck with a great car. Grant
That's the right attitude, but you shouldn't need to restore it in 10 years again. Quality work stands up to the test of time very well, just as long as you keep on top of it. My 330GTC is stunning in every respect and that work was done 20 years ago, and she's been driven in the rain too. I expect it to last at least 20 more if I treat her just like the previous owner did. It's all down to the quality of the work - I have seen cars that were restored after mine already turned back into a basket case. So, with the looks of that shop you're using I think you should be fine. Enjoy the restoration - it's a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to doing my Boxer later this year. Onno
Mark, Great, another restoration thread, much looking forward to following the progress. I have been around 275's very little, so seeing one in detail will be an added bonus. Your motivation and intentions speak for themselves. Would you, at the start of this thread, tell us a little more about your reasons, and maybe document why the car needs a complete resto? Good luck! Jack.
hi - the car does not really need a full restoration, it was used regularly and raced right up until when I bought it last August, but I am a bit of a perfectionist, hence the restoration. Although the car is 45 years old, it is new to me, I want to put my mark on it. I have a passion for cars, going back many years and everything I have ever worked on, restored, race prepared etc has been done to the highest standard I can achieve or that the budget will allow. As the current custodian, I want to return the car to its original beauty and color scheme - not because I am mad for authenticity, but because I really like the combination of Argento Silver with red & black interior, if I didn't I would have no hesitation painting it a color I like! As you will see throughout the process I will be swapping a few of the original parts for more upgraded parts that offer greater efficiency, performance and safety - i.e. brakes, suspension, alternator, cooling fans, radio (Becker Mexico), 6 carb conversion etc etc. But I will keep every single original part, they will be restored and boxed for preservation. if I ever sell the car (and I hope I don't), all the original parts will stay with it. hope this helps, Mark.
Thanks for that info. Have to say the pics looked more like after than before restoration. Thank you for bringing this fantastic car back from the resale red ferrari fleet to its original colour. Argento does suit a 275 much better.
Every mechanical component has now been removed from the car. The body, complete with interior, glass, chrome, trim and electrics is mounted on the dolly ready to be sent to the bodyshop for the restoration to begin. Once the shell is strip back to the bare metal we will get a true picture of what lies ahead.......... Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi, my new Ferrari Classiche engine block and liners arrived from the factory this morning! It is absolutely stunning to look at and beautifully made. The car will be back from Italy in about 1 month, where the body and all non mechanical parts are having a full restoration. I will post some pictures soon. cheers Mark Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
because my other engine is in the workshop in London, and i prefer our own engine builder, Peter Da Prato, to transfer everything across and do the rebuild. So several reasons - logistics, Peters work is of exceptional quality, we can take our time to achieve perfection, and it is cheaper than getting the factory to do it.
My car had a non-matching number engine, replacing it with a factory Classiche engine is the best option I have until i find my original engine (may never find it engine No. 07333). the factory have updated all the records to note my new engine against my car. The engine that was previously in my car is a correct 275GTB engine, type 213. Its sitting in the workshop in perfect condition, cleaned, greased up and ready for storage. I know the car it should be in and i am in contact with the owner.
Hi Marc, That is quite an adventure....I would have understand if you want to put the original but non matching number engine aside and race with the classische....but installing a new engine in stead of a non-matching is quite challenging IMO. I would have kept or will keep the original non matching. But that's me. Great you share this with us. Are all the peripherals also available at classische? Ciao Oscar
I have done this because i hope to repatriate the original non-matching engine with the chassis it left the factory in, back in 1965. If i am successful the last place i want that engine is in my car, as i want to use my car a lot when the restoration is complete. I can't bare the thought of my car being off the road for another long period of time while I source and rebuild another engine! There are a lot of parts/peripherals available at classiche, much more than you would think. The cottage industries around Maranello do I fine job in producing new parts. A lot of them are made by the artisans that produced them originally.
This was a thread on the old board about 7333, when Bill Gammon was selling it (in 2002): http://www.ferrarichat.com/discus/messages/251280/144048.html Sadly, the pictures seem to be gone, and the rest of the thread wasn't our finest hour, but you still might find it interesting.
Many thanks - yes i found this old link over a year ago. Bill Gammon was representing the Estate of the Late Henry Payne who owned the car back then. I have been in touch with the family and they have been very helpful, they are very happy I have the car and a full restoration is in progress. I am looking forward to sending them pictures of the finished restoration very soon!
I see the logic in all this, speaking for myself. Do you know what happened to your original one? I have a Ferrari, where the original engine did not make it thru warranty period.
Sadly not - the trail has gone cold. My hope for the future - the more cars that go through the Classiche program, the more we will discover. There are so many engines out there that have been re-stamped to match their chassis numbers - I am sure if every owner checked their engine number against their internal numbers there would be a lot of shocked owners out there. I have spent a huge amount of time researching this and basically because it amounts to fraud or deception the trail very quickly goes cold with everyone concerned having no recollection of anything concerning the engines history.