Thanks Michael, brave is a nice way of putting it ...
The front of the car has been collecting dust mainly. Here is a shot of the new radiator fans with the bigger blades. I put all the fiberglass panels on the car today so it is actually starting to look like a 308 again. Helmut Image Unavailable, Please Login
Wow, I must say the dash is kicking my butt. I have been working for about 3 days now to re cover the dash and I am still not done with it. I will post some pics this weekend. Its an endless stretching and gluing process. Helmut
Ok, finally I feel like the dash is pretty much done. I am not going for ultra original so therefore the vinyl I used is not the glossy original kind but I chose a more modern look that is used in BMW's and Mercedes these days. I don't want the glare that came with the original. Next is the console and the pieces around the windshield. Helmut Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Your car looks absolutely beautifull, congrats. I can only imagine the mental effort it takes to keep a project going for 4 years, but with the end insight it is paying off. Soon you will be back on the road and be able to enjoy the results of all your work. Enjoy the ride.
Thanks Doug! It is definitely crazy all the time that gets eaten up by such a project, finding parts and for a decent price if possible, trying to figure out how everything goes together and then not being able to do what was planned because some part is still missing, which is necessary for the specific task etc etc. I now got the dash in and put the instrument cluster together, polished the metal plate. I had to rivet some threaded inserts into the left side of the dash (replacing the original metal inserts which got lose in the fiberglass) in order to install the little clock part of the dash and to be able to remove it in case something breaks and needs to be replaced. I got the steering wheel refinished (Jack from GAHH did a great job) installed the new column switch assembly, btw its quite a bit cheaper when ordering it from the UK (about 750$) rather than buying it from the US source ... Got the alternator rebuilt, installed a Optima Battery and everything is working Fine tuned the headlights and so on. It almost looks like a car again after all the years. Helmut Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Helmut, super nice work. So nice to see a guy who takes the time to do it right, and knows what he's doing. Absolutely wonderful. Quick question - where did you get the better/larger rad fans from? Different motor? Larger fans? Both? Thanks!
Thanks Cliff! I bought the fans from Rutlands, I think there are cheaper fans out there (308 crossreference sticky post) but I wanted to make sure that they are the correct ones without having to spend a lot of time researching them. Helmut
Beautiful - and exactly what I would like to do to my 308GTB's dash! Care to share where you sourced the awesome vinyl? Thanks!
Helmut, excellent work and perfect attention to detail !!! The A/C condensor looks new ?? If it's new where did you purchased it ? Thanks, Dave
Helmut, The car looks spectacular!! Nice work. Where did you get the alternator rebuilt? Looks like new. I need to do the one from my 328, just curious who you used and what it cost you. Thanks, Steve
Hi, I bought all leather Vinyl Carpets from GAHH. http://www.gahh.com/ Thanks Dave, that's the original condensor, but I did get a new compressor from Lucas, http://www.lucasautoair.com and they may have a condensor similar to the original. Thanks for the kind words, I first checked Ricambi for a new alternator about 1900.- (ouch) then GT Carparts, still about 1100.- and then took it to NAPA parts and had it rebuilt for 85.- and it looks like they did a really great job. Everything I can see inside of it is new incl bearings of course. Helmut
Helmut, looks awesome. I'm confused. Is your dash vinyl or leather? I see on the GAHH website they sell bulk vinyl for around $60 a yard. is that what you used? Any tricks to DIY dash recovering? Did you have to heat anything? Just pull and glue?
Its Vinyl, I can't even imagine doing it in leather. Yeah it's basically a ongoing pulling and gluing, some areas around the instrument cluster you have to heat with a blowdryer to make it stretch even more. I work in very warm climate (socal) which made it also easier to stretch. The black vinyl gets hot fast when sun hits it. I used epoxy glue that dries very fast and did very small patches at a time. You also need a bunch of clamps. Helmut
I am in the process of installing Nicks IDX and realised that I need to install the computer in the trunk, so I am finishing the trunk first. GAHH is making the carpet for it. Instead of all the crazy rockwool nightmare that is in there originally I am using Dynaliner and Dynamat extreme to keep the heat out. Dynamat extreme went on the bottom of the fiberglass panel as the metalpart always has to face the heat source. I already used a bunch of layers of that stuff on the firewall and below the trunk, above the exhaust. By using those materials I am not re-creating the watertraps which the car comes with from the factory. I wouldn't be surprised if most 308's have some serious rust under the trunk, I actually would recommend anybody who wants to keep their car in good shape to remove all the trunk panels and get rid of all that rockwool stuff. Even when you wash the car, water can get in there and it gets soaked up by the insulation and then over time the damage happens. I also used threaded inserts instead of rivets for the fiberglass trunk floor, so I can easily unscrew it and remove it in the future in case I want to see whats going on in there. Helmut Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I have been working on it almost every day lately, sometimes taking forever with little tasks, but some moments of excitement are creeping in now as there are some finishing touches in sight. At least I have to keep telling myself that. Some of the major stuff was installing the Eurobumper in the back which took me quite a while to position it just right and finally getting it all in place. Put a new rubber gasket on the bumpershocks, so no water can get into the sub-trunk area when washing the car and spraying water at the bumper. Sealed all the little gaps etc. Worked on the console again, installing Verells beautiful metal levers, that was exciting as I bought those from him years ago and I kept wondering when those will finally go in. I ordered some new switches along with other little (but expensive :0 ) stuff here and there. Got the trunkcarpet started but lacking some pieces. Helmut Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
