Dino Restoration

I like that red car. You have good taste in cars.

 

Beautiful, love the blue

 

That flame jobs gonna look awesome!

 

Jon, your job looks absolutley fantastic.

You're about a month ahead of me doing a near identical job. My 246 GTS is still having metal done and about 2 weeks away from paint. All my suspension is done and awaiting the car for asssembly. I've just got to build the engine and box, which I have all the parts.

I was just curious as to what arrangements you have made for your door gap alignment....

The car I'm doing had perfect alignment when sitting on it's wheels with all the door assembled... but upon stripping and total car dismantling, there is approx a 5mm misalignment of door to panel (door is high)... allowing for some settling on the suspension points and weight of door parts.

And, as you are aware.. there is no adjustment of door hanging on a Dino...

 

That is exactly the gap you should have minus the doors guts! You Are EXACTLY at the same stage as me with 07528 GTS.
G P

 

Whilst you cant do a lot about adjusting anything on dino hinges if the door is sagging and there is too much verticle play you can remove most of this by making oversize pins.
My doors were bad when the car arrived having what i assumed were standard size (9mm dia) pins. I made a new set at 9.3mm with the greasehole drilled full depth and cross drilled to allow better coverage and both doors now open and close smoothly with no unwanted movement hope this helps.

 

That red car is a Maserati Merak, a competitor to the Dino but with a few more comfort features and quieter due to the double paned rear vertical glass window to separate the engine area.
The name Merak was taken form the lead pointing star in the constellation Ursa Major.

Judging from the engine compartment lid, it appears to be the rarer SS version.




.

 

Beautiful cars, Maserati Meraks. When Top Gear did the "Italian Exotics for £10,000" feature, Clarkson bought a car sold to him as an 'SS' but then found a bill among the service history for a set of SS badges. Hopefully no one else gets duped in the same way

 

I think he did a nice job on the flames, also!

See my profile for another Dino blue example.....

 

FERRARI Logo looks great on that floor Very sharp!!!!!

Juice

 

Sadly he blew the engine up and it now resides at Eurospares (UK) where it is being parted out...
http://www.eurospares.co.uk/breaking2.asp?page=19

 

Yes very sharp.

 

That's a shame breaking a car just from a blown engine....

That's like dumping your gf for having a sprained ankle.....

 

I would start by protecting that super paint job so it doesn't get nicked and scratched as you put in the floor and all the other parts.

 

Just beautiful Jon. Car and shop! And BBQ! That BBQ will be a great help in getting everything back in. Without completely ruining your back.

Tease us with your planned sequence of rebuilding. And how is the engine coming after all these weeks? Can't wait to see the car come alive again.
John

 

It looks like an assembly line in that garage! Fantastic garage! Judging by the quality of that I am interested to see your progress on the Dino....

 

Jon - looks great. As mentioned in the PM, there is little you can do to protect the car, other than going slow and keeping tools on a tray so that you are not bending down and lifting tools over and over. I tried to protect mine during reassembly with plastic bubble and blankets, but they quickly got in the way. Press ahead, and drink a lot of Scotch! It hides the little scratches.

I would put wiring in before the radiator. You will be reaching in around the battery box and fans and lamps, etc. to run the harness. The radiator will get in the way. The handbrake mechanism should be put in before the foam on the engine-side firewall, as the cable must find its way through the foam.

Do not forget to reinsulate the tube running the length of the passenger area. This is the tube that the two coolant hoses run through. As you recall, there was a fibrous cloth insulation which you removed. It actually has a purpose. It keeps heat from the coolant hoses from entering the passenger area. I would use a cloth-type heat shield, as you have your floor out and it will be easy to rap that tube now. I did not take out my fiber-glass floor, and hence could not get around the tube. I will have to use an expanding foam to accomplish the task.

Hydraulic lines should be reinstalled first. In fact, you will find it easier to put them in before the fiberglass panels and arches.

The bottom floor pan should be added near the end of the assembly on the rotisserie, but don't forget to pop-rivet it on while the car is upside down. It is a REAL BEAR to try to put the floor pan on after the car is off the rotisserie. Of course, the throttle mechanism and cable should be assembled and run prior to closing the floor.

As I think of more tricks I will post them. The re-assembly is still fresh in my mind (I dream about metric brake fittings on the caliber, and SAE fittings on the proportioning valve).

Jim S.

 

I have been quietly watching and enjoying immensly the process. Absolutely beautiful so far...

paint protection suggestion: 3M low tack plastic tape, the kind that new cars have on the hoods. Check 3M website..

Grab some and apply it once paint cures...

Good luck

 

Looks fantastic. I used to have a Maserati Merak ss just like yours you have on the lift

 

Oh another comment on the Merak. I have built several Merak engines, so if that is one of your future projects, I can help.

ok, back on topic now.