Very strange .......

We have to move fast here,
pull the smaller socket and take a peek.

Looks likt the spherical is almost home !

(Pardon the camera
shake - only so many hands...)
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

One more squeeze,
and we should be home.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Looks like we are home !

This would be better done
with a proper hydraulic press,
but I don't have home access to one.

Do'in the best we can.

Snap ring is partly in place to check the "fit."
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Thanks for the kind words.

I suspect, that while the factory was
racing in the 50's and 60's (far before my time),
that "saliva" was an acceptable "assembly lube"
at the track.

Do Italians have strawberry jam ?

 

Spherical retaining circlip going in.

Notice that part of the clip is (almost)
in the (correct) second groove.

The "squeeze" part is in the (incorrect) first groove.

This would be a problem later, for sure !
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

While installing the clip rings, my friend Jon
and I "invented" a cool mechanical trick......

Measure the width of the two "eyes"
in the snap rings in the shock "eye."
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Flip the shock over and repeat.

If the two measurements match the distance
measured when the snap ring was in place
without the Spherical in place, that the
snap rings have been confirmed to be
properly in place !

I've been wrenching for 50 years,
and had never thought of that......
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Yeah, it's the 50 year thing, and I
am not yet "completely digital."

 

The spherical wants to be well aligned before the
shock goes into the suspension,
as later experience will show.

The spherical is impossible to align by hand,
so we made a tool from an old 18" 3/8 ratchet extension.

With little effort, this allows the spherical
axis to be aligned with the car and the shock.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Good eye one one reader !

_____(private) PM'd me to offer a question about the old british
motorcycle transmission in the background of the above photo.

And YES it is for a 60's Royal Enfield Interceptor !

I had owned the bike in the mid-60's, selling it to get a
(whatever could have possessed me...) Harley Davidson.

Short story is that after 42 years, the bike found it's way
back into my garage. The owner having located me through
word-of-mouth and DOT records.

The bike is being restored (when I get this car back on the road),
and soon will be running again.

Hasn't run since 1972.

Wow, wish my first Ferrari dream would re-appear too !

(1960 250 Convertible Pinninfarina )

 

On go the spring adjusting rings.

Do these before anything else,
since they "load" only from the bottom.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Easy to now add the rubber "bump stop."

I re-used the old one.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Just as a passing thougth......

My Team went to Maxton NC for the HOT ROD Magazine
Land Speed Racing meet this past weekend. We
(Rider: Shane Stubbs of Houston TX) set a new
world record on my stock-bodies Suzuki Hayabusa
with a one-mile accereration run of over 264 MPH.

This was the fastest wheel-driver (car or motorcycle)
run in the history of the sport.

We were traction-limited of the record run, so were only
able to use about 500 of the 636 rear wheel horsepower available.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

You will notice the exhaust pipe exiting the turbo in the right front of the bike.

At the end of the mile traps, there is a brind, downhill right hand turn, which, ay 264 MPH seems to come up pretty quickly.

Shane was touching the exhaust pipe to the ground on most runs.......
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I called Ferrari of Atlanta several times about
my "home service network" problam, and they
in the service department were very helpful.

When we prepared to install the shocks,
we were advised that it was not necessary to "pre-charge"
the shocks with fluid, but we did it anyway.

We are using the specified SHELL DONAX TA.

I suppose there are other suitable substitutes - maybe
even better stuff - but for the time being, I
would rather go with what Ferrari calls for, and have
less risk of having to do this all over again.

More about that later.............
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Pump the shock a few times to draw
fluid in, and expell the air.

Refill as necessary.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

OK: Some potentially satisfying time,
putting the shock(s) into the car.

Below is a diagram of the parts needed.

Drawing is from the RICAMBI web site.

I bought all my parts from these folks, and
it all came quickly. Nice folks,
and easy to deal with.

I draw your attention to part # 28 on the drawing
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Here's a close-up for those of you that
do not have that feature on your cell phones....

Also remember the bolt, #29.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

We decided to attach the fluid hose to the shock with the banjo bolt,
and the proper NEW copper washers.

The bolt was slightly tight.

That allowed us to introduce the shock into the car full of fluid.

After placing the shock in about the right position, the
fluid hose was firmly connected at both ends to prevent fluid loss.

We were told this was not necessary, but we did it anyway, for 2 reasons:

1) If the car had to go down the road, the $1900 shocks
would not be dagaged by running "dry," and

2) If the existing power steering fluid was "contaminated" ( more about this later),
that the new shock would not
receive a large "shot" of "bad" fluid.

You will see that, with the shock in place, with the rubber seals installed, that the
#28 spacer washer OUTSIDE the spherical joint on the left side but not the right.

This spacer washer adjusts the stack-up length of the assembly,
so that the aluminum lower shock mount is neither too tight or too loose.

If it were too loose, the alloy would be "squeezed together," put under stress, and might fail.

Likewise, if the assembly is "too tight," the alloy could be bent outwards,
and also have an increased liklyhood of failure.

The spacer washers are available in a variety of thicknesses from RICAMBI

(The photo is a "try fit," to make sure everything was going to go together properly)

I will explain later why this was a very good idea..........
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Well, we found that we had to give the second shim a lot of “encouragement” to get it to slip into place. Once in, the alignment of all five of the holes that the attachment bolt enters was problematic, and we needed (again) a “special tool” to get all those holes to line up.

So, we took a smaller bolt, and ground it down with the tapered end
to make an “alignment drift.”

I had plenty of such drifts on hand, but they were
all to long to fit, hence this tool.

Pencil for scale..................
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

So, we made a (yet another) try fit,
and made sure that we could use a bronze
drift to ease the correct bolt into place
eventually.........
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

OK! Both shocks are in.

You can see the tight working space
a little better in these pic's.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login