I had to tuck it behind the seat, in my 308GTB...LOL! I don't even belong in this thread, "I just happened to stop in here on my way to Australia"
Steve, I for one appreciate you keeping those rouge Ferrari concours judges in line. It's always nice to be reminded that when it comes to Italian cars, there was less emphasis placed on factory quality control, so therefore "different" does not necessarily equal "incorrect". Had they been German cars, on the other hand . . .
So you actually trained all your life to qualify to own a Ferrari? I didn't realize this was necessary. Personally, I just borrowed the money. Tom W
The fact that you have experience riding crotch rockets doesn't make you a better Ferrari owner, just a more likely organ donor. Furthermore, calling people "posers" because they embrace and demonstrate the attention to detail required to restore a Ferrari to concours standards is a tad disrespectful and foolish. Like many people who post in this section, I restored my Ferrari (1969 Dino 246GT) in painstaking detail and felt the journey was a big part of the reward. Finding the right parts and even the right hardware is really rewarding for people who are very detail oriented. Driving those same nuts off the car is equally rewarding for many of those same people. Finally, while I agree that the rigor of restoring and judging Ferraris is often very subjective and not everyone's cup of tea, it has its place in the passionate world of Ferrari ownership. The fact that you've got seat time on fast motorcycles (or that I've got seat time racing vintage F1 cars), while interesting, does not make either of us more qualified to own a vintage Ferrari. Like it or not, the ability to write a fat check for a vintage Ferrari (and yellow nylocs nuts, whatever your source) counts for a great deal if you want to acquire and maintain one of the cars mentioned in this section. Regards...Keith
Yellow Nylocs? What is wrong with blue? Where are the yellow ones, did you lose them? Nylocs are reusable many times, just read the book by Carroll Smith: "Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners, etc.". Regards, Alberto
Page 1 Ed http://www.heinbrand.com/de/ferrari.php?oberkatID=2 Alberto I want Yellow so they match my eyes, from doing all this parts seaching! Grant
Ed, plating itself doesn't hurt the nylon insert, but the proper (and necessary) pre and post heat-treatments for embrittlement will. Timo
timo, thanks for the reply. so, replating original nylock nuts is not recommended, but to replace? ed
Well, if one is bent on the idea of having O.E. nuts, they can be re-plated, but to retain "originality" in their appearance and somewhat proper locking integrity, nylon lock rings should be removed before aforementioned processes and then replaced with "new" yellow nylon lock-rings after. So it can done (and has been, with a very time consuming efforts), but if one can buy something very close (close enough for what ? Appearance ? To fool judges ? Or....?), it's probably more cost effective to do so, even at $ 7.-/each. Besides, how often they (nuts and bolts of a car) need to be replaced anyway ? Every 10 years ? 20 ? Once during ownership/restoration ? Actually and technically, they should be replaced every time they've been removed, especially nylocks. Timo
JV, My local plater's clear cad plating process works in a way that the nylocks come back with the nylon still yellow, so that is an option for you. It's a little more expensive than clear zinc, but it really looks fantastic (although I hear that it dulls more quickly). Clear Cad for me is a really great option if you are not doing absolutely every nut and bolt, because it is a little less bright than clear zinc, and it wont stand out as much when compared to the other "original finish" hardware. Even though the nylon is still yellow, it is probably not as good as it was when new - perhaps not the best option for suspension components.
I spoke to Hein today,[from the German company] he has told me, he found the company in Italy that made the nuts for Ferrari and Fiat, he got them to make them for him, so they should be as near to the original nuts as possible, plus Max has used them on his Daytona restoration and he said they where fine. Grant
Hi Cornelis, no it's not utopia or wishful thinking, but instead just sort of a "stupid" exercise of one trying to proof, basically to himself (again), that anything can be done. I for one, have found myself in these kinds of "cases" almost too often, and many of them much more difficult than this, especially considering that I don't usually get paid to spend all that time doing these tasks. So I guess it's like a hobby of mine where cost-effectiveness doesn't really matter. Yep, lots of us "crazy" people out here. John, it's not that difficult to replace the ring itself by making it from nylon stock, maybe spend an hour (or so), but I had to design and make a special socket to ensure that the ring would not slip out during first engagement of threads coming through. Once the threads were completely through the ring, it had expanded enough to stay in place. Timo
Thanks TTR. I think the way the nut is made is the ring goes in the socket like head of the nut then the socket is pressed inward giving the ring its "choking" power. It seems to me that your technique would give the right look, but I wonder if it would give the nut back its purpose and integrity. Whether the replacement nuts come from Germany or Newco Products, they do not exaclty look like the factory nuts. For this reason I would be inclined to go with Tom K's way of replating and maybe using blue Loctite. john
Timo, Only this: Functionality and reliability can save lifes, Aesthetics doesnot. Not all of us have would like to have a trailerqueen Ciao C.
Yes but if you are taking everything apart and have to buy new nuts anyway, why not get the correct ones? The extra cost of maybe a £1 or less per nut extra over blue nylocks is nothing in percentage terms when you are doing a full rebuild. Grant