My 60k-Mile Track Rental BAT Scud Project!

I may get flamed for this, but I've used a lot of products, all of which work fairly well (lexol, connelly hide food, etc...). But for ease of use, avoidance of damage to contrasting stitching, and overall end result I really like this basic Meguires product you can pick up cheap at any autozone: https://www.meguiars.com/automotive/products/meguiars-gold-class-rich-leather-spray-g10916-152-oz-spray

It also comes in a box of wipes which also work great (but tend to dry out if you don't use it up fast). It has cleaning, conditioning, and protection qualities and it goes on super easy, you let it dry a bit, then buff it out and I find that it leaves the leather clean and supple and won't stain/darken stitching. The caveat is that I use this on leather that is in pretty good shape already. If not, I use the leaterique system that consists of two parts, a rejuvenator (or something like that) and then the "prestine clean." You leave the rejuvenator on for at least 24 hours and really let it soak in. Then you come back with the prestine clean and remove the excess, which restores the "matt" finish and eliminates that soiled "shiny" leather look. I used to think that shiny look was just worn out and "polished" leather from years of use, and it turns out that most of that is just grime/oil build up on contact surfaces (shift knobs, door panels where elbows rest, steering wheels). This stuff works, and it is what I plan to use on my seats (and my dash upon removal to repair the defroster vents).

 

Ha, not in the biz. I'm an attorney (complex commercial litigator), and working on cars is about as as far away on the other end of the "work" spectrum as I can get, which is undoubtedly why I enjoy it so much. The "day job" pays the bills but it ain't fun as it is filled with contention, fighting, stress, and tension. Working with my hands and actually seeing progress made on these little projects is hugely gratifying (and very different than my legal cases which literally can wind through the courts over decades). I also grew up with a dad (also an attorney) who was constantly working with his hands and taught me the value of doing something yourself if you are able (which is why I've never paid someone to detail a car, trim my own trees and bushes, etc (although I did give up cleaning the pool and mowing the lawn about 5 years ago!). I just love bringing cars back. I've never done a full-blown "restoration" because I simply don't have the time or patience (or skill...yet), but I have little doubt that when I retire (in 25 years...I'm 44), I'll do a fair bit of that for fun. I would really love to take some classes and learn to weld, paint, do body work, etc., but those things will have to wait.

 

Just two little projects last night (had to shuttle kids around and wife was starting to get irritated that I have been spending so much time in the garage!).

Ordered the "R" and "Auto" button from Robbie at Sticky No More. I realize there are other options and they all have their pros and cons, but I just thought I'd report I was very happy with the quality, fit and finish of these two buttons. And they were among the cheapest offerings out there which was good! The "R" font is a little smaller and the illumination of the font is a little darker (likely owing to the thicker rubber), but but I'll take that in exchange for more robust rubber any day. This was a gratifying change as those buttons just tore me up every time I had to look at them or heaven forbid touch them! Also cleaned up all the recessed lines and engraving on the F1 aluminum trim plate. I don't think they cam black form the factory!

Ordered some additional airbox bolts off ebay (from a 456 but lots of Ferraris use these same slotted screw head airbox bolts). The obvioiusly non-stock and mismatched bolts was bugging bad so it felt good to correct these fastners! Now if I can just figure out how to keep them tight! They seem to loosen up after even just a few drives, but I'm reluctant to really torque them down for fear of damaging the carbon fiber. Might try just a dab of the lowest strength loctite in hopes of keeping them tightened down.

Just got a new driver's side radiator fan to replace the very "rumbly" unit that is in the car now. Will try to install through the wheel well but if that doesn't work I'll remove the bumper and clean out the radiators and make some diy scrape guards from ABS plastic while its off. I'm a "value proposition" type of guy and there is just no way on earth I'm dropping 500 bucks for two pieces of sacrificial plastic that no one will every see (even if they have fancy beveled edges or some other awesome feature that will just get destroyed with the first steep driveway approach!).

 

Not much work last night but I did manage to sneak away to clean up the pedal box area. Conditioned the leather kick panel, replaced three missing fasteners and one stripped screw, and also replaced the broken plastic throttle base trim piece. Rattles are slowly being eliminated!
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Ok, no dice getting the radiator fan out without pulling the bumper (there are two bolts on the leading edge of the shroud assembly that cannot be accessed through the wheel well), so...off with the bumper. Actually not too bad of a job. Found some cracked plastic shrouding so I epoxied that up nicely, and also took the opportunity to do a bit of undercarriage detailing "while I"m in there." I could not believe the amount of fine gravel/asphalt debris that was perched on basically every horizontal ledge, protrusion, or bump. Vacuumed it all up after knocking most of it free. Also used 303 Aerospace protectant on all the previously inaccessible plastic parts behind the bumper. I have found nothing better for breathing life back into plastic pieces. This stuff is used to treat exposed plastic on airplanes and it does a fantastic job of restoring that nice "black" look while also re-hydrating the plastics subjected to years of harsh environment duty. Take a look at all that debris!

I also got a kick out of the graphics used by Ferrari to identify the emergency trunk release. Its like they are saying "if you have been abducted and shoved in the trunk, to escape pull this lever and run like hell"!
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You are not the only one! This car is clearly not for everyone but a pristine low mileage example was not in my budget nor would such a car have been appropriate for my intended use (lots of miles!). So this was an opportunity I jumped on after a bunch of research and due diligence on this particular car. The gamble may turn out bad for me from a financial perspective as the engine may very well self destruct well before 20k miles from now. And if it does I’ll rebuild it and continue to enjoy it! With that said, I have a hunch I’m going to be fine. The car was driven hard but was well maintained. It makes no weird sounds, doesn’t smoke, pulls strong, and has no present or stored codes. I have a theory that Ferrari engines are very stout, and that most issues you hear about (with some notable exceptions such as f1 ailments, exhaust manifolds, etc) are due to lack of use. My car needs A TON of tlc for sure. And it’s never going to be a concourse winner or the envy of any local Ferrari meets. But I’m perfectly ok with that and mechanically I think it’s sound. Time will tell on this particular example but I’m sure having fun in the meantime!

 

Thanks all! As for the brakes, they were long ago converted to a Girodisc floating rotor set up. I HATE that they are boat anchors compared to the ccm's (I'm a "weight weenie" and it is pains me to have an extra ten pounds or so of unsprung weight dragging me down at each corner), but let me tell you, after just ordering new front and rear pads from Girodisc for a whopping $300 bucks (that's right, the rears are front pads for a subaru STI and the fronts are a super common shape that also fits C7 zo6's and GTR's), I'm glad they are there! The rotors have some life left but the fronts are just starting to show fine cracks so I'll replace the discs in the next 2-3k miles (Girodisc says they are fine until your fingernail can "catch" on a crack).

hwyman, that's a great story. I too have a manual gallardo that the wife can't drive (she will drive the scud once the ac is fixed!). Your experience also kind of proves a point I discovered during my due diligence. Although these cars were "track" cars, that moniker really only applies because they were "driven on a track"! In other words, most of the clients were first-timers and soccer moms who were (to quote a former employee I spoke with) "petrified at every corner." No race mode, no redlining, and instructor riding along for every mile! And weekly oil changes!

Got the car back together last night and the new fan is nice and quiet. It was only going to be 108 today in PHX so I drove it into work despite the non-working AC! wanted to put some miles on her as I'm going to start taking her apart again on Sunday to tackle the broken header bolts and a few other items (while I'm in there), such as the valve cover gaskets that are weeping. Figure access will never be better than when the manifolds are off. Falling in love with this new project car of mine. Might have to make it my daily driver!

Edit: yes, that's my low washer fluid level light on. had to drain out a bunch to R&R the bumper and forgot to add it back!


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Thanks for that advice. I had actually seen a thread or two on that and plan to inspect for levelness (I have capistros but I'm sure with enough heat cycles even the stronger aftermarket headers could suffer this problem). All new gaskets, studs, and nuts are incoming from Ricambi (they have a nice kit as a package deal). The good news is that I read that once the flanges are leveled out, its not likely to re-warp.

 

good to know! But mine were actually broken all the way through (as in the rubber was completely split and crumbling!) I did save them though lol!

 

Got a little more TLC done this weekend. Replaced the noisy/dusty/worn brake pads front and rear for Girodisc pads, and completely flushed the fluid. Very easy brakes to change and the motive power bleeder makes bleeding simple. Fluid looked surprisingly good so it must have been changed recently.

Then I did one "satisfying" job which consisted of detailing the rear hatch "lexan." The support cross bars were so dirty underneath I didn't even realize they were carbon fiber, and the little rubber "nubs" had left black marks on the hatch material. So I removed them, cleaned them, polished them with carbon fiber polish, conditioned the rubber pads and re-glued one, and then cleaned and treated every square inch of the hatch with "plexus" plastic polish (which is one of the products that is specifically recommended for the cleaning of Lexan and other clear automotive plastics). Turned out great and now I can see the carbon weave through the hatch.

My stud extraction tools arrived as well (along with my new header gaskets, studs, and nuts), so I guess I better get the car back on the lift and tackle that project. I have at least three broken header studs I can see so there must be exhaust leaks, so gotta tackle that now. Should be fun to try to get those out. Also got my motor mounts in but I'm waiting on some hardware that had to come from Italy. Excited to get those in as I'm sure it will improve the NVH quite a bit (mine are absolutely squished and have probably been like that for some time!) Will report back. Sharing is caring!
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