Titanium you say, I can see the sparks while posing . . . errr . . . scratching a speed bump at night on a cafe boulevard Greetz, Youssef
As I had the disaerator off it would be foolish not to change the oil. So out it came, 10 litres give or take. Image Unavailable, Please Login New copper sump plug washers are essential. Image Unavailable, Please Login In order to remove the oil filter on a spider you need to move the power steering reservoir out of the way. Image Unavailable, Please Login The new filter needs a smear of oil on the rubber seal. I bought the special Hills tool for the filter which you can see on the old filter in the pic - it has been said that it can be changed using universal tools but I am partial to buying new tools.... Image Unavailable, Please Login Next was to clean the mesh filter. It is removed by undoing these two 10mm bolts - it looked like this hadn't been off in a long while. Image Unavailable, Please Login An here's what it looks like. I cleaned it with paraffin, then soapy water and then left it to dry thoroughly in the sun. Image Unavailable, Please Login The disaerator also needed to be cleaned properly as it had been all over the place and could have all manner of debris inside which I don't want in my oil system. I started by cleaning the inside with paraffin agitated with a detailing brush. Then I moved onto soapy water and rinsed the inside and pipes with a hose. After it had dried in the sun for a couple of hours I then put my magnetic pick up inside and down the pipes just in case. I bought a new seal (green) - the old black one was in good condition but the seal is only a couple of quid so it went on my order. I lubed the seal up with a smear of oil. Image Unavailable, Please Login And then I carefully put it back in place. It was very straightforward although I did renew the three washers and M8 nylocs. Image Unavailable, Please Login All that was left was to fill with oil, warm up the car, check for leaks and ensure the level was correct. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I had noticed a strange unused connector near the washer reservoir. After poking around I also found a couple of (unmatched) connecters taped up. After consulting the wiring diagram it appears these are the level sensor and wiring for the sensor. The sensor works by shorting a signal wire from the dash to ground when the water is low. Image Unavailable, Please Login I pulled the sensor to have a look at it - it didn't seem to be much more than a float with a magnet and, I presume, some sort of switch inside. A quick test with the multimeter revealed it to be working. Image Unavailable, Please Login Next was to test the circuit in the car - I bridged the wires and the warning was lit on the dash. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login The seal was shot and it looks like the seal is only supplied with the sensor (£60) so I took the reservoir off and drained it. Image Unavailable, Please Login I used a socket to hold the sensor in place atop a generous bead of silkaflex for the night. Image Unavailable, Please Login The next day I set up a test rig in the sink in my garage - the seal was watertight and the sensor working. Image Unavailable, Please Login So it was back onto the car with it all together with new crimp terminals. I'm still puzzled why the sensor was disconnected and the wiring connectors different. Image Unavailable, Please Login
It's a complete mystery. Initially I thought the tank was replaced to add headlight washers were when the CS front bumper was fitted but delving into the history of the car it was supplied with the washers (the tank is smaller if you don't have headlight washers). Obviously, the red crimps are my repair if that's what you were referring to!
Next my attention was turned back to the front bumper. I unbolted my spacers that were bending the bracket back into shape - it wasn't perfect but it was a million times better than it was. Image Unavailable, Please Login I fitted the grills and shrouds - I'm really pleased with them, they look great and really lift the bumper compared to the tired look they had before. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login A new spire clip for my repaired tab. Image Unavailable, Please Login You will recall that the bumper was only held on previously with three bolts - the nuts on those were all different! I nipped out and bought some fresh M10 nylocks and washers. Image Unavailable, Please Login And it was straight back on with it. The bumper isn't aligned properly as that's a job for later. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Next job was to take off the door card. Image Unavailable, Please Login And here's the reason why - no vapour barrier. It would have been removed for painting but I'm at a loss as to why a new one wasn't fitted. This is very poor in my book, especially considering the weather we have in the UK. If the barrier isn't in place then water will get to the inside of the door card and rot it. Also note that grey foam strip is supposed to run along the top of the door - it looks like it had come off and someone had tucked it inside the door and forgotten about it. Image Unavailable, Please Login I had bought some polythene sheet to do this job but when I unrolled it is was so thin I couldn't use it. So I chopped up a very heavy duty shopping bag - some people will no doubt be aghast at the use of a plastic bag on a Ferrari but all that's needed is a waterproof membrane to stop the water. Image Unavailable, Please Login I started at the top with a good bead of silkaflex. Image Unavailable, Please Login Working down the front of the door I knew I had to create a space for the aftermarket speaker to sit in - in view of this I taped up the sharp edges of the door in case they tore the sheet. Image Unavailable, Please Login Where I had to cut the sheet to pass cables through I taped them up well to prevent the hole opening further and to seal it up as best I could. Image Unavailable, Please Login And here's the end result - not pretty but it's watertight and that's what matters. Image Unavailable, Please Login All that was left to do was refit the door card. The other side is a job for another day. Image Unavailable, Please Login
It was like Christmas the other day with several items all turning up at once. First opened were my new strad diffusers. Now actual strad items wont fit on a regular 360 rear bumper for two reasons. First off the strad bumper is recessed to accept the diffuser trays, second the centre grill on the strad is slightly more upright than standard which means the trays stick out rearwards. I worked with Prosport to overcome these issues - I have to say it has been nothing other than a pleasure to deal with Mike and Roy over the last few weeks. The first issue was overcome by inserting plugs into Prosport's mould. This meant that the protusions that sit in the strad bumper recess wouldn't be moulded. You can see the tray is flat and will sit against the stock bumper. Image Unavailable, Please Login The second issue was fixed by slightly trimming the rear edge of the trays so they didn't stick out. Here are the proper strad trays: Image Unavailable, Please Login And here are the modified trays: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login I had a template which was made at the same time the trays were trimmed - this helped locate them properly. Image Unavailable, Please Login Clamped and taped into place awaiting final adjustment: Image Unavailable, Please Login Both trays were held in place with two self tappers which allowed me to make final measurement checks and be 100% happy before drilling the bumper. Image Unavailable, Please Login Bolted up and washed off. I'm very happy with the result. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Amazing project and you're doing some fantastic work. I can't wait to see more updates in the future!
In with the diffusers, I also received my brake calipers back. I had them bead blasted, then powder coated in white primer and baked, then finished in yellow powder coat and baked. The finish is as good as OEM and much better than I'd be able to achieve at home. Image Unavailable, Please Login I spent a couple of hours tidying up the edges of the paint where they were masked and applied the decals. I'm really looking forward to getting these on my car, they are going to look awesome with the black wheels and yellow shields. Note that the "F" on the word Ferrari goes at the top of the caliper. You can determine the orientation by the way the mountings are placed and the little arrows stamped on the side. The arrow indicates the direction that the disc travels through the caliper when going forwards. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I'd been on the look out for a pair of these for ages and my patience finally paid off - I am now the owner of a pair of genuine CS mirrors. I couldn't use the replica ones as I need them to fold to get the car in my garage. Image Unavailable, Please Login
The CS ones are the best all rounder, road car CF mirrors; > excellent styling > garage friendly, practical (folding), > have motor adjustment (easy adjustment wired to existing loom controls), > decent sized mirrors (practical) > excellent visibility > good aerodynamics. > good weight > rare and expensive The others CF ones are not strictly replica's of CS mirrors. They are actually a carbon copy (excluse the pun) of the 360GT Challenge racing car mirrors,. An Exact mould of the race cars. > good styling > not garage friendly, less practical > no motors (less weight) > good visibility > excellent aerodynamics - better for racing than CS mirrors > excellent weight (less weight than CS mirrors) > excellent price (the copies anyway..) One extra value add on either of these mirrors compared to stock ones is the +10hp you get from removing the air restriction from the original over styled huge ones which prevented the airflow hitting the air intakes undisturbed.
At high speeds, yes due to Ram air effects! I couldn't believe it myself but yes. The aero was particularly bad around the mirrors but the stylist's won the war on the 360. On the CS,430 the aerodynamics won over and the stylists had to adjust the mirror design to be more efficient.
A day of hard work but little in the way of photo's. I started by fitting the rear bumper and grill back on. I did take a load of photo's of the diffuser fitted but they came out very dark and aren't worth posting. A friend popped over in the afternoon and we fitted the calipers and braided hoses. We worked our way from the n/s rear to the o/s front as you would for regular bleeding. The while system was flushed through with fresh DOT4 fluid. Image Unavailable, Please Login I bought a Sealey power bleeder - this bit of equipment is brilliant and is truly a one man bleeding system. Well worth £50. Image Unavailable, Please Login We took the car for a test drive to test the brakes - the pedal feels great with the braided hoses, I can fully recommend them. I took some pics but the sun was setting so the calipers look a little orange where they are in the dark wheel well - in real life the colour match is spot on and I am so pleased I went to the effort of changing them to yellow. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Here's a rear shot but it's too dark to pick up the diffusers but I can report that they do look and fit great. Image Unavailable, Please Login
