3500GT Barnfind

I replaced both master cylinders on the car and the hard line from the clutch master to slave cylinder. The brakes and clutch are now working properly. I had to partially disassemble both of my old master cylinders to reuse the rods that connect to the pedals. I was amazed when I took off the dust boots on the ends of both master cylinders. The metal was severely deteriorated. It was obvious that they never should have been rebuilt. The only way that they could have been made to work is if they were sleeved....they were not. My mistake was trusting the shop that did the work on them. They obviously never pressure tested them. I sent the master cylinders to them three times. If I had just pulled them apart myself and examined them, I would have seen that there was no way they were ever going to work.

I was able to run my car through the gears on a lift and the transmission appears to be fine. It goes smoothly into second gear for the first time since we have owned the car. I did not drive it on the street yet because I wanted to make sure the clutch was adjusted properly. My friend Rafael, who owns the shop that my car has been at for the past three months, was kind enough to adjust it for me last Thursday. The following day, it was towed back to Brian Moore's shop for some paint work. Rafael was kind enough to let me work on my car at his shop, while using his lifts and his tools. I can't thank him enough.

Unfortunately, a week and a half ago, a caustic chemical accidentally got sprayed (by person(s) unknown) on the front of my car, while it was at the shop. It was sprayed on the hood and nose of the car. I spent three hours trying to rub and wet sand it out. The chemical ate through the paint to the point where it could not be sanded out. I submitted a claim to my insurance company and I am currently waiting for an adjustor to examine it. Brian told me that the front of the car will need to be repainted. We both agreed that the only way to make the car look right is to repaint the entire car. Hopefully, my insurance will pay for the front half and I will pay for the back. I will be doing all of the unskilled labor, such as removing all of the bright work, to save some money on the cost of the paint job.

Aside from the unplanned paint work, the only things that I have left to do on the car are to install the fresh air vent hoses, reinstall the center section of the headliner, and tune the Webers.

 

Pete, thank you for the kind words. I am disappointed that the car will no longer be considered "preserved". I have always had a hard time ignoring the door dings and other imperfections in the bodywork and paint....otherwise known as "patina". Brian Moore is an artist when it comes to paint and bodywork. I have no doubt that when he is finished, the car will look much better than it did before the paint was damaged.
I will need to restore the wheels, since the car is going to be repainted. I would appreciate any advice on how the restore them myself.....such as: the correct color to paint the centers and how to go about polishing the outer alloy rim. I will be having some of the chrome replated, especially the parts that are difficult to remove (grille surround, and all of the trim around the tail lights, head lights, fog lights, and turn signals).

 

Peter, thank you. I am sad to lose the original paint. The only solution that makes sense, at this point, is to paint the entire car. I just got the "ok" from my insurance. We start the work tomorrow. On the positive side, I really enjoy getting to hang out with Brian Moore. He is a master at his craft. He painted my Rover & Porsche last year and I got to help him. I hope that some of his knowledge rubs off on me.

Marc, thanks for the link to the solenoid. It is a difficult part to find. I will pass that information on to the next owner.

 

Hi Wilfried, Happy New Year! Thanks again for all of your help over the past three years. When I go to the paint shop on Tuesday, to finish stripping the brightwork off the car, I will take pictures of the car and master cylinders. There was no brake fluid in the area behind the boot. The cylinders had a rough finish on the bores and the aluminum on the end was disentigrating. The owner of the shop took one look at them and told me that it was no wonder that they did not work. The brake master bled, but would not hold pressure. The clutch master never bled. As soon as I installed the new masters, they both bled perfectly. The clutch and brake systems work fine. I still need to adjust the carbs. The car starts with difficulty and does not want to stay running. I saw that the fuel pressure was low, when I was working on it Friday (1.5 lbs.). I will adjust it back up to 2.5 lbs, before I try to synchronize the Webers.

 

Wilfried, good luck on the suspension. The Koni shocks that I installed on my car were the same as the Jag sedan.

My 17 year old son helped me remove some of the bright work today. Here are a couple of pictures. Can anybody identify the Italian relative to the right of my car(in the last picture)?
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

velocetwo, I hope I get to meet you. If I am not there, don't be shy about lifting the hood.

Il Vecchio, I am impressed. I thought that might be difficult because it is stripped apart and there is so little showing. I think the Dino coupe is one of the most beautiful cars of all time.

 

Il Vecchio, good luck on the lottery.

Here are a couple pictures from today. My 17 year old son is in the background of the first picture. He put in about eight hours on the Maserati in the past two days. I am lucky to have such a great helper. Tomorrow I will remove the door handles and windshield wipers. We are not removing the windows, so I am almost done with disassembly.

It is amazing how plain the car looks without all the bright work. The stainless steel trim pieces, that run the length of the rear fenders, really make a huge difference in the appearance of the car.

My car is in good company, as evidenced by the last two pictures.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I have seen that Iso before...it turned out gorgeous.

 

Hi Frank, the stainless steel strips were attached via studs that are soldered to the bottom of the strips and protrude through the tops of the fenders. There are 5 per side. The furthest to the front is accessed through the top of the wheel well. The remainder are accessed from inside the trunk. The passender side can be accessed through the battery compartment. The driver side studs/nuts are easy to see and remove from the trunk. The studs had a single washer and 7mm nut securing them to the fender. The nuts/studs had putty on the top and bottom of the fender. The putty must be removed, before you can see the nuts. I can take pictures of them tomorrow, if you like.
Image Unavailable, Please Login