I've wondered how well the crack filler worked. Looks like I have a winter project!
The driver's side door panel was in worse shape than the passenger side. The leather on the top of the panel was damaged, perhaps from water or UV when the window was down. This required a lot of sanding and multiple treatments with the rejuvinator oil. There were also areas where the leather was ripped and there were some gouges that needed to be filled with the leather filler. Here are some pictures of the panel ready for painting (hope we have nice weather tomorrow.) The other picture is the map pocket which has been finished for some time now. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
On the GT4 there is a removable trim piece that conseals the screw that hold the door panel in place. On my car the metal catches that hold the trim piece were filled with glue, missing or grabbed the trim piece studs so hard that the studs broke off. The driver's side trim piece was held in place with velcro. On the passenger side panel I replaced the metal catches with 1/4 inch rubber grommets. The trim panel stays on when the door is slammed and comes off with gentle pressure when needed. I repeated this process on the driver's side panel. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The plastic handle on my parking brake was loose and broken and this made setting the brake difficult. I found this reproduction handle on e-bay for $10. From the ad it looked like the semigloss was not correct and I was going to re-paint it with gloss black, however, once I installed it I think it looks OK in semigloss. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Masking the driver's side door panel in anticipation of spraying the black dye. To mask the metal grommets (also the grommet around the hole for the lock knob) I put some grease which keeps the dye from sticking. Afterward I carefully wipe off the grease. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The light bulb on the door panel that shines inside the passenger compartment got mangled when I took it out to clean the inside of the lens. I don't know if this is an easy to find part. Anyway I tried to fix it. Although it looks discolored like it the filament is bad, the filament is was still intact. The end ripped off and I was able to put a dab of solder on the little wire on the end of the bulb and then drip solder through the cap so it re-affixed the end-piece and make electrical contact. I was a little surprised that this actually worked. I still need to get a new bulb to put in the little green bulb holder for the toolkit. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Your website is awesome. An unbuilt Pocher black testarossa is my Holy Grail and I have been looking since I got my 1:1 scale one in 2000. I do have the Pocher testarossa engine only kit but have hesitated building and transkit-ing it because the 1:1 testarossa is in need of a good engine detailing. My experience with building and detailing models is that time and energy is the same as restoring or detailing a 1:1 car.
The new and old fuzzy stips are lined up. The driver's side door panel has a very slight concave curve at the top (the passenger side did not) probably as a result of individual variation. The original fuzzy strip has some cuts in the metal part to allow the strip to conform evenly to the top of the door. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Metal cutting shears were used to make some cuts in the fuzzy strip in the same locations as the original strip. This allowed the strip to have an identical concave curve. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Two ways to line up the fuzzy strip on the door. Either re-use the old holes in the door (and use the old fuzzy strip as a template) or just use new holes (drill right through the new strip and door at the same time at new locations.) I tried to re-use the same holes in the door. This required me to use the old fuzzy strip as a template. The two strips were held together and the new fuzzy strip was drilled with a bit a little larger than 1/8 inch to give some play when lining things up on the door, as the holes are unlikely to be EXACTLY in the same place even with carefull alignment when drilling. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The new fuzzy strip with appropriate holes is placed on the door panel. Make shure the fuzzy part faces the direction where the window would be. I used one eighth by one quarter pop rivets. The rivets are placed through the holes (that hopefully align), to 'preview' the alignment and make sure the strip is straight (when I did the passenger door, the strip was about one eighth of an inch too high on one end compared to the other). Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I was a little more careful with the alignment on this door and it came out pretty nice. Only problem now is that I was about one foot short on the raw material to finish the part under the quarter window, so I am waiting for more from GT Carparts. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Had a nice drive Sunday, but after driving around with the lights on (seems to get dark around 4:00 pm now) it had trouble starting with the fans on. I never have had much luck with Interstate batteries and I avoid them. There was a column in Forza a few years ago about batteries and, it was also suggested that more shot Interstate batteries had been removed than others. Anyway, this battery came with the car and has continually needed charging, even when left to sit with the battery terminals disconnected. Image Unavailable, Please Login
The ferrarichat SEARCH function yields many opinions on 308 batteries, but the battery size is infrequently mentioned. I was fortunate to already have a group 34 battery in place. In case anyone get finds this thread looking for a 308 gt4 battery size it is: GROUP 34. Group 34 = L:260mm W:173mm H:200mm L:10 1/4" W:6 13/16" H:7 7/8" Image Unavailable, Please Login
Well here is an hours work. Looks like this is going to take some time... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I was missing the battery hold down. I got this one from Dennis McCann. Image Unavailable, Please Login
After suffering this kind of torture, I finally bought an Optima battery for my 308GTB. Haven't had a battery problem since. -rick/houston '79 308GTB #28133
I touched up some areas with Rustoleum Enamel Semigloss Black in the engine compartment and the underlying paint lifted! This is BRUSH paint. I don't want to spray unless the engine is out, complete rebuild etc. ect... Has anyone tried a brand of brush on semigloss paint that is compatable with the original paint? I just got some Krylon Latex Enamel brush on semigloss black and I will try that.
Certainly looking forward to your report. Many of us need to do minor touch-ups like you discuss. Hopefully the latex enamel will work fine. On my car, the one area the painters skipped when my car was painted is the black area just ahead of the windshield - the area where the wipers' shafts emerge. I think I am going to mask that off really well and refinish it in a wrinkle black. I have had great luck with wrinkle paint and it looks SOOO period correct (even if this application isn't). rick '79 308GTB
I thought I had a line on an original Corona fuel pump. The Superperformance website had one and I actually put it in my 'web basket' and checked out with it. Well, after a month it turns out that item was no longer available. I am not that surprised, as every other part source only had the Facet pump. So no hard feelings toward Superperformance. My repair on the impeller of my original Corona pump has held for a number of short trips combined over 125 miles. At this point I am going to probably take it apart again and verify that the rotor is still firmly attached to the shaft and continue to use it. I will probably get a Facet as a spare while they are still available. Who knows, in 5 years when I really need the Facet, they may be NLA. Interesting finding is that the fuel pump on the Lancia Beta Scorpion looks almost exactly like the 308 Corona pump. Functionally it may not be the same, though, as it only needed to supply a 1756 cc engine. Of course these original Scorpion fuel pumps are no longer available also...
The Rustoleum FLAT black seems to cover the factory black paint in the battery area. Since there is some rust in this area I want to use the Rustoleum paint. Other areas have been cleaned as much as possible and will need some Armorall, though, I prefer a clean surface to Armorall. Unfortunatly some of the black areas have turned whiteish and will need a coat of Armorall. Some of the flat black paint is still wet in this picture. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Most of my work is covered by the battery, but I feel better knowing how clean it is under the battery. So, the Rustoleum FLAT black brush paint worked well and blended with the factory finish in this area (the front battery area) without causing any ill effects of the underlying paint. Next is to take care of all that red overspray. I am going to have to use some type of brush paint again, because I just think that fixing overspray with more spray paint is like putting out a fire with gasoline. Image Unavailable, Please Login
