F40 LM Restoration

German?

 

= heavier and bulkier

 

Hello

Just wanted to chime in how great this thread is. I grew up in Modena and still remember when the 1st F40 came out it was in a showroom on the Via Emiglia right across the street from my grandmother's house (she was also family friend with Enzo as we lived a couple blocks away from them and my grandfather was a director at Fiat). Long story-short, that F40 was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen (and I'd seen everything since 1973 including Ferrari, Lambo, Mazerati, Lancia, Pantera, etc prototypes masked to conceal their identity) and I will never forget the raw beauty and power the F40 inspired in me when I got to sit inside it. Since then it is the ONLY Ferrari I ever dream of owning. It is purity and grace. This project and all the info is amazing to read and i can't wait to see and read more! Keep it going! Good luck! Vai! Forza!

 

Another possibility as I have been also wondering why. For some strange reason they decided to mount the oil cooler next to the radiator in the nose of the car and this might have been a consequence. We are reverting to the original LM position in the rear clam as aside from anything else, routing the oil pipes through the cabin was not helpful.

 

nor very safe i'd imagine (if failure), odd arrangement

wonderful thread BTW thanks

 

Well, this really is as low as you can go. From where we were to where we are and given where we are my time frame has gone out of the window as like all restoration jobs, this one has ballooned! Bear in mind this car recently went to the Le Mans Classic twice, driven in both directions and apparently never missed a beat.

In conditions reminiscent of a Victorian workhouse the chassis is now being blasted back to bare metal and from there the build up can hopefully start in earnest. Interesting to see the central battery position. Suspension parts still being fabricated in Italy by Michelotto but we hope to have them within a week or so but he missed my birthday. Biggest issues remain on what we are to do with the engine etc but more on that to follow.
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Great stuff Tim, hope you are well.

 

Perhaps it was an airflow issue in the normal rear position that prompted them to move the oil cooler to the nose, adding much weight and making for a toasty cabin. Maybe something to keep in mind.

The silver looks good.

 

That is the raw metal, not even silver yet. needs priming then epoxy. This is just the stripping process.

 

I thought it might be as you can se spots. Just that silver looks good, much better than as it arrived.

 

Man, when you see the F40 frame, it's not hard to understand why the car weighs as little as it does. It certainly doesn't scream "beefy".

 

True but remember that in these images the longditudinal side strengthening bars which cross brace the side of the engine have been removed, as well as the cross brace on top of the engine. If you add those, it begins to look a lot better.

 

Looks like you're well on your way - cool updates! Might be worth checking for a thread on the Field car (last seen taking its namesake literally on a golf course lawn up north?) - was at the Freshman auction in Santa Monica a while back; where it featured a number of Michelotto pieces.

 

What is the 'Field Car'?

 

1992 Ferrari F40 Serial Number 90568 - history page

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFgTMYEaWlc[/ame]

 

i second this - silver would look incredible:
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The frame will be silver, not the car!

 

how will unoriginal color changes and modifications affect resale of the car? not objecting, just curious

 

If Tim ever sells the car I'll paddle across that darn pond and personaly give him a good lashing!

 

It's an LM conversion. In short, the better the mods and improvements, the higher the value. That's all there is to it.

 

Have any of you had scratches on the bits that I have circled? it is when the front hood rubs onto that area.
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if you read the start of the thread you will see this is not an original Michelotto car but one of 27 converted by privateers for racing. Consequently it has been continuously evolved and all I am doing is continuing that journey getting closer and closer to full LM and am using Michelotto LM parts. When finished it will still be red but a far better car than I bought and thus substantially more valuable as. Aside from anything else, it will be far more usable. If it had won Le Mans I would not have changed a thing. It did not!

 

I think silver, white, and black would look great in that order of preference.

 

I don't. Mine fits perfectly and symmetrically with even gaps on both sides.

 

I know - just offering a thought on what WOULD be a fantastic color