The 110,000 mile service, part 2

I've always thought an F40 was above a 328.

 

The glass "carrier" in the LHS door is looking a bit of a mess. Replaced both of mine earlier this year & they don't have many left in stock at Maranello parts. In fact ISTR they only had one side (the two sides are a mirror image of each other). So I had to buy two of whatever they had & then get the mounting bracket moved & rewelded on one of them.

Then painted them & used frame/windscreen sealer to seal the glass into the things (one of the problems with them is water sits down in the carrier).

Wouldn't be a terribly difficult thing to get made if you had to.

 

If you took the glass+ carrier out you'd be able to grind the heads off the bolts on one site &then cut the captive nut away on the other & get the glass out the carrier . Wouldn't be too hard.

Or are you saying you can't disconnect the carrier from the lifter mechanism? (in which case something like a dremel & grind the heads off the bolts in situ I would have thought.)

When I bought the two I have in my car now they had 3 or 4 left. As I said, I had to buy two LHS carriers & get one converted to RHS (just a matter of moving the bracket).

 

Tillman,

A bit of advice if I may from the "Been there and done that," perspective.

I could not get Connley Leather (Mad Cow & closed doors) so I went with leather from MB when I redid my interior a year or so back. MB leather is far above OEM in my book, much thicker and still as soft. It is GREAT for high-ware areas like the seats. But ..... its greatest assest turned out to also be its greatest liability.

THICKER turned out be very problematic. It was TOO THICK for everything else. All the gauges and switches etc fit tight to begin with and the leather wapping behind the part made it TOO TIGHT.

So, I had to go and cut/trim massive amounts of leather off to ensure all the re-rapped parts fit together with themselves and everything else. What ALLOT of work.


Just a friendly "Head's-Up" on what could go wrong with a good intention.


You might seriously look at getting different thicknesses for each application. But then, color and skin matching could become a PITA.

 

Or treat the metal as best you can in situ - its only a window carrier & if you really can't get it out then maybe just treat it for rust & just paint it in situ as best you can.

The big trick with these is a smear of frame sealant/silicon between the glass & the carrier to stop the water getting down inside & sitting in the carrier - thats what rots them. I have two new ones in my car, both painted & then the glass is sealed into them with frame sealant. Messy job but they should never rust again.....

 

Tillman...I've got to ask how much?

 

Had leather on mine for 10 years. Much better than the fabric - Its all around the rear window area and the inside of the targa (basically anywhere that was fabric as stock)

 

We can get Connoly here Mark. I have had one panel replaced on my drivers seat. I am in the process of restoring my seats to keep originality. Will be posting some photos in my thread when it's done but here a couple of before and now. Not finished yet so this is just work in progress. Definitly worth considering restoring over replacing, about half the cost as well.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I think get a carpet that kind of matches the body colour and then do what you like with the leather that doesn't clash. Too many different colours (especially strong colours) never works IMO.

 

If it were me I'd do all black, given the darker silver color of your car. Mine's Argento Nurb. and all black to me seems like the best option. I do, however, like a beige/tan with silvers, especially darker gray metallics but I dislike the two-tone interiors. Do black with all IMHO. Engine still running strong at 110K, that's very impressive, certainly a testiment to the benefits of using these cars. Wish I had even slightly reasonable parking options, I'd drive mine to work most of the time. Good luck in your endeavours.

Jeff

 

FWIW...you cant go worng with blk, and the tan looks good on that color....but if you wanted to go UNIQUE on the 328....the smoking color interior would be that boedeaux (ox blood) color all round...seats, and rugs and dash....that color combo is by far the best on the exterior color you have....it would look great.

I saw one exterior white/blood red (beredeaux) interior 328 at a car show many , many yrs ago...and everyone (especially the chicks) loved that car...was a definite crowd pleaser....the talk was all about the interior color combo ...the women called it lipstick color.

PS..in the texas heat, i would figure it might be a tad better, plus not fade as easily.

 

If you don't mind the stigma of using vinyl for the parsal shelf, I would recommend it over leather. You're not sitting on it, so you don't care about the "real" leather feel. If you're the typical owner and don't park it outside much, either will hold up. BUT, it just doesn't make sense to me to spend 10X the price for leather material vs vinyl, when vinyl is the superior product for sun/heat exposure. I used a mat black vinyl on my shelf, and I think it looks better than many of the textured leathers I've seen people add there. Plus, the price was so cheap, it was on the verge of free since I did my own labor. I just wish I could upgrade the shinny dash vinyl without taking the windshield out

 

Tillman,

What's your source for fabrics for the rear shelf and other bits connected with that? I'm considering what to use for mine as well.

Jeff

 

Tillman,

To break up the monotony of black, consider doing a contrast stitch using either silver or red thread. Subtle effect, but brings out the detail on the door panels, console and seats