Am I nuts or is the placement of the heel pad peculiar on the Hudkin pic?
new AIR VENTS for the grill area - had news ones made - will get more pics, these were the only ones i could find at this time inserted new screen as well at the opening fyi on the technical side, the orig screen was spec'd at 20 lines per inch (whatever that converts to in MM) . we did the same spot welds and not so pretty welds on the sides to best duplicate the originals.....when these fit into place, the gap between the vent the fender is filled with a filler, like underlayment for the carpet (or jutt padding like) . Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here is the first pass of one of the 6 body side moulding that we decided to recreate for the Ellena. I have all 6 orig pieces, but they are pretty banged up, uneven surfaces and overall not up to the standard I'm pursing. Orig's were made from solid aluminum so we did the same on the CNC. We also duplicated the back and when they are done ill stamp in the VIN number like the originals have. Ill need to slightly knock off the edges when we polish them and we did make it a little longer so we can taper the fit to close the gaps for a tight look. Ill be able to make sets of these for others after i get mine done. I have seen several Ellena's without molding - so maybe i can sell a few sets to recover the cost. Enjoy..... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Good work with the moldings... We have a master welder here in Berkeley that might be able to rebuild your originals. He is rebuilding the fins on my oil pan lid that were dented or knocked off over the years. john
I personally think that stamping numbers on remade pieces is forgering and may mislead a future restorer. At least for me it is very important to know which parts/features are original and which have been recreated - and faked stampings makes judgement very difficult. I personally would likely stamp my intials on any remade part. To ramble on, changing the manufacturing techniques also tends to change the appearance of a part, even if the restorer rarely realizes it. In some cases I've noticed contours that would have been almost impossible to make with traditional methods but are easy to make with CNC. The most important thing with CNC-made pieces is to polish them properly so that the machine work cannot be seen on the surface at any lighting conditions. I've sometimes wondered how these pieces were originally made in the first place... It seems they picked up an extruded alloy profile, cut it to correct length and then shaped the ends. Have never worked with an extruded profile, would that shaping be done by forging? Hot or cold? PS. I think making sets available to others is a very good idea.
point taken on the stamping....im not one to deceive anyone -which is why I'm posting many pics of the build process - i wanted the stamp to survive because the orig's had the vin # on it, not all parts get the vin numb. Good idea with initials. it looks like my originals were custom welded on the ends and shaped. John, this orig piece in the pic is my best one....others pieces have been sanded down at places more that an 1/8 inch, due to fit or damage issues. Repairing them was considered - but getting them flat might never happen for a reasonable price.
Desperate need - ELLENA SEATS - - see wanted section for my ad!! Need help Worldwide - i have been searching, lots of request i have placed in Europe but nothing has surfaced. Reaching out to the WW F-Chat members, friend, families, enemies, and hopefuls .....pls pls pls... Maybe Maserati could be the same or close as sell - 3500GT?? thanks for the reading and helping!.
Hi, i would recommend to mark each new set of Body Side Mouldings with your (full) name, year (2015 or 2016 whenever you finish them) and eventually name of your town. This helps future generations to understand it and to locate the person / company and the work done. If you add the serial number of each car then i would suggest to mark them accordingly, e.g. "replacement for 718". With the modern technics to mark objects it should be possible to write more than your initials on the rear side of the Body Side Mouldings. Above said is what restaurators of old paintings do (mark their full name, their town and the year and any remarks what kind of work they have done) on the rear side of the wooden frame of the painting. This is standard practice since hundreds of years and makes sense. I would even recommend to place a comment about your work (again with year, full name, your town and what kind of work was done) on a easy removable plate on a position which cannot be seen on first glance but on second glance, for the same reason for future generations. Sure you are proud of your work and that plate will refer to your high quality work. Hope the above mentioned recommendations do not upset you and congrats to the huge work. Best regards Ben
Found the correct door weatherstrip for the ellena - Fiat 600 and A.R.Giulietta Spider per Cicognani. Another issue resolved...ill post the profile for the doors for future reference. Additionally - some more progress pics of the first pass of some finish work on the rear trunk, tail panel area. Getting the gaps correct.... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here are some updates on the finish work on the car....so now everything, including the door jams from the mid front fenders to the back of the car is done ready for primer....been skim coated twice - straight as an arrow. This week, ill install the windows and moldings again to ensure the fit and closure works properly before we say done. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I was able to purchase a correct radiator and blind setup from a friend overseas who has helped me immensely with his knowledge and parts. The rad was crated and shipped but sustained some damage to the bottom side - so in the spirit of what I'm doing we completely disassembled the radiator for restoration and a new core. The bottom piece is a new FIM piece from GTO engineering (thanks to Tom S ) and i began the process of swapping over the parts and making the necessary repairs to the top tank as well. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
transfer of parts and test fit on the car. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
More finish pics....sorry for jumping around on the pics Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
starting some work on the front suspension, steering etc Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
other areas under way as well Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hood Hinges on my car were both bent due to the hood flipping open while the car was towed backwards in the day...(thanks bradley) - -anyhow - another good friend who has an original Ellena took his hinge off his car and sent me his so i can duplicate the exact curve needed to correct hinges. It worked out perfect - hinges reformed, new pins made and drilled for a nice tight fit on the pins. Additionally - it would have taken a lot of work to straighten the hood and the frame - so i bought another hood with that front and rear end from TS and although that hood was perfect on the frame - it to suffered a lot of dents on the top side which was covered by body filler. It was easier to make a new skin for the hood, thus what you see below. This week we are working on taking the old skin off and on with the new!! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The top of the door moldings (i had only 1) which the car needs 4....i have the following made on the CNC so we have the inners and outers now and i am ready to fit them to the car. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
New bushings on the finished suspension links and a few pics on the inside of the trunk finish work. MOLTO BENE!!! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The upper tank and the radiator blind mechanism was in beautiful shape.....a few small dents that i will straighten with the upper tank off. Both items are in resto process now....pics of follow Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Front brake distribution block for the front brakes was split in two pieces. Mounts on the front cross member in behind the radiator next to the motor. These are virtually impossible to find - so i resorted to having this one welded together and then i sent all the parts to Karps Brake Service and Ron resleeved it and rebuilt the unit. I hear a lot of bad things about this part, like locking up the front brakes etc, so i need to see when i get it in what is happening. Some owners i have hear eliminated this completely and some have taken all the guts out and supposedly it works fine that way. I don't know.....so ill see when we get the brakes together and working or not! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Clutch/Brake Peddle box has been restored as well - - i have some disassembled pics somewhere.....new bearing, new paint and reassembly. Looks great and moves nice an smooth. My car takes 2 master cylinders - one for the front and one for the back brakes. Some cars had one i believe. Anyhow, the brake masters are rebuilt and ready to mount as well. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Back to the radiator lower tank..... I had to swap over the threaded nut that held the petcock.....the old bottom cover had a rim around the hole to secure the nut by solder . In order to duplicate the same on the new bottom, we made a tool / punch and die - to make the hole and the rim. See below the results....was real neat! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ed, thanks for sharing, this is a real treat, much appreciate it. I just went thru assembling my front suspension and steering. Unless you know which shim came from where, be prepared to spend some time on setting up the front suspension, but it's all good fun. I do not remember a set screw in my idler arm shaft. I tend to think that this is the first time Ferrari used the front booster cylinder so maybe this first generation was not as well engineered as the later ones. But the later ones seem to work fine. It would be good to hear from folks who operate theirs without this booster, if there is any appreciable difference. Keep it up, you are doing good by resurrecting this rare Ferrari. john
My 330 car did not have the set screw....so i believe it is an early thing My shims are stacked neatly in a pile....so it will take some time I'm sure..... I have your cotter pins ready to go out....sorry for the delay