You are both correct ! We mulled over how to do it as one piece but just do dificult . I did insist he align the diamonds so it gives the impression of one peice altough even the original is 3 chunks as you are aware . If you notice the pattern, its really just a square on its side as opposed to a true diamond . i was all gung ho to have someone sew a diamond pattern by hand but that proved too costly so I found a quilting company that ran it thru their machine in 5 minutes and this was what i settled on . It will take a real expert to tell although now I guess i just told the world... oops. Maybe one day soon i will actually drive the F..... thing. Gary 8394 I am suppoosed to pick it up wednesday ..... no kidding
I did manange to find a guy who fabricated this for me finally. this close up of the paint was precutting and buffing for all you critics out there> hey i am curious to know how many series 2 owners have my type grill . After alot of research and comparison i know its original just diffent thats all . Back in 71 as my car tricled down the line Guido the grill maker was most likely off with some sick livestock that needed tending i guess ..LOL gary 8394 Image Unavailable, Please Login
Gary, Nice touch with the Coronado mirror. About the wheels, don't want to add more "BS" but I can assure you that when I got my car the rims had not been repainted ant they were NOT silver... Maybe the new rims purchased from the factory in recent years or the last decade or so were painted silver but mine in Aug. 1970 were not. Philippe M. S2 7987
Probably green ... Not silver Philippe? My original, very beat up spare is silver. What color would you call it? Bob S.
No, no, no ... not livestock Gary. He was tending the Lambrusco! So what, you have a series III grill or what? More pictures please. Color looks fantastic in that light! Rubio. So where are the 3 pieces of hood blanket joined?
mine is a series 2 grill in metal and still has chrome headlight surronds unlike the series 3. Gus in Chicago has the identical grill. the 2 main ribs running top top bottom are where the splits occur under the bonnet. cant get anymore pics until i get the car Gary 8394
Bob, Gary, I would call it grey with a shade of silver-blue in it, a bit like the Austin-Healy painted wires wheels. Strange yous were silver because our cars were really close on the "production line"... Philippe S2 7987
i did not do anything to my spare rim yet as it has a crack in it and it looks original and its for sure silver but who knows for sure.... Gary 8394
We might just have differing definitions of silver. I'm sure the wheel production line did have some variation in color but probably not all that wild. The color pewter comes to mind. But I'm not going to lose any sleep over a potential loss at Pebble due to wheel color issues. Bob S.
Espada dudes : Picked up my car today proceeded to fill both tanks, added octane boost . Started with a backfire ?? at the gas station. previous gas by the way was only in there for a week as the tanks were out for the bodywork . It then settled into a nice idle and off I went . it was already heated properly before i left paint shop . Drove 35 k and then pulled into a coffee shop to meet a friend and upon leaving a few minutes later it would not start!!!! It finally started but would only stay running if i had the gas really depressed and once i shifted to first and let off it bit it would stall. After a few times it eventually would not start at all .So after an irritating flatbed ride home here i am . Last time i drove it was december and then it was for almost 3 hours without incident post rebuild. I will speak to mechanic in the morning and got some advice from Gus in Chicago already ( he thinks my points are outa whack as same thing exactly happened to him after a redo on the engine as well). Any and all comment here is most welcome. Gary series 2 8394
Hi Gary, If the car was running just fine before you started the painting process and no one has touched the ignition I can't see how the points are off. It's hard to "bump" into the points and screw stuff up. Yeah the rotational timing could be bumperd if the distributor was left loose. If it was running properly when you left can I ask if you ran it at all briskly during the 35k? If so, was that in the beginning or at the end of the ride? I think you said your tanks had already been rebuilt but what I'm getting at is what sounds like a fuel filter possibly clogging up from junk in your tanks. The Espada has the fuel filter in one of the dumbest spots directly over the rear exhaust. It's also it's not easy getting it properly sealed again so be careful! I dumped my stock filter for a very nice in-line filter that can be purchased anywhere as well as removed and installed very easily. No one can see the fuel filter back there except your mechanic. I got flatbedded after a 30 mile run this way right after I had finished my carbs and ignition project. My wife and I spent the night in a flea bag hotel with no luggage too! Thus the genisis of the fuel tanks project. Just one idea but there is certainly plenty of other stuff to check out too! Once you're running again I suggest a series of short distance, close by shake down runs so if you feel it beginning to falter you can get home quickly. I have to ask this as well. Are you carrying a couple of fire extinguishers? I have a friend who caught his Islero on fire on the way home from the restoration shop. No fire extinguisher on board ... He was very lucky as someone spotted the flames from the rear and someone with an extinguisher stopped to put out the fire. Get as big ass Halon (current equivalent) one as well as a good normal one. The Halon saves you from an awfull clean-up mess. I expect that the guys who did your engine work can sort this out pretty quickly but you can check the fuel filter pretty easily without removing it. Just disconnect the fuel line at that junction spot in the engine compartment and use a clear quart sized jug to see if the fuel is flowing nicely. With an assitant and lots of caution you can then measure the fuel flow. Disconnect the ignition coils first. Chin up. You'll get there. Bob S.
I was going to go the iginition route but Bob pretty much some it up. Be patient, take your time. This will be realtively easy to sort out. Some may know that I was chasing a simular problem with the Countach. But I had to do all the steps like everyone else.
gents my 35 k was virtually all highway so i had it up to a max 0f say 5000 rpm and drove at 70mph most of that time. Mechanic is going to doa house call for me in a few hours i will keep you all posted Gary
gents who ever said points wins the large stuffed animal. My mechanic drove with the boss one hour today and met me at my house at lunch and found the new points were closed and not opening > so minutes later it started and all is good for now>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Did I mention he did a house call! Gary 8394 P.s thanks all and thanks to gus !!!!
Weren't opening? huh? Exactly how do points, which are burried deep inside the dizzy, get f*cked up while at the paint shop? Sounds wierd to me Gary. Short local trips for a while ... Bob S.
maybe they left the key on at the paint shop? but if that was the case they would have been fried and it would of never got me half way like it did??? Anyways went to the Thursday night italian gathering made it there and back with no issues !! thrilled about that ! Gary 8394
Yeah I had the same thought except you're using some kind of ignition boxes aren't you? That should prevent burning out of the points? Also, if that were the case how would your mechanic "really fix" that in your garage so easily??? The cam on the dizzy pushes the points open so if they're fused together how exactly does that work? They were fused in the open position??? Keep digging Gary. Either that explanation is BS or ??? But if it's now really running properly and relaibly well THANK GOD and enjoy! Bob S.
Gary, Glad to hear that it was as simple as that! Bob, The same thing happened to me after installing new points. I lubed the cam lobe but the rubbing blocks on the points had to wear in a bit. My car went 50 miles before loosing tach signal and finally all spark. Never had that problem again!
Why you guys still deal with those 4 sets of points crammed into the dizzy is mystifyin' ... Gus, How do the points stick closed and then begin work properly with wear or is it all because of a mis-adjustment to begin with? Have you picked a stuffed animal yet? A Bull? Bob S.
Yup. I did a few years ago. It works very nicely. You can do a lot of it yourself and then have someone with a Sun distributor machine perform the final alignment. Look here: http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/UNX3Sy3eEymCFPNCl9tpLl7NnazTNE4eoorLik-ciKv4Otmm7n40hT0SjkqWKLu9DCIGuwZ4JpOCSY0f0oxgUfZVkXDteA/Espada%20Distributor%20conversion%202.doc It's in VLG group files section of Yahoo. Bob S.
I have heard about this pertronics system but really wish to avoid changing anything that is not stock . Yesterday i put over 100k on my car and it ran wonderfully however being a newbie when i filled it up "AGAIN" i forgot to put in more octane boost i and now when i shut it off it runs on so a second or two max ? I still think i need to fine tune timing still . Also i am running about 100c coolant temp with both fans on all the time.The Painter, upon reinstall of rad, used a premix anti freeze rated at -40c i suspect not enough water. Any one using "Water Wetter" in rad ? Should i add more distilled water? Also center brake bottle looks as if its boiling thru cap slightly and messing things up More importantly is it overheating fluid to the point of concern ( fade or worse etc)??? Gary 8394
I don't know Gary, I've never had any need for the octane boost and mine is set to stock advance. I also rebuilt my dizzy and had the advance checked (see my write-up) so maybe your ignition is not set correctly or the dizzy is malfunctioning when it advances. Your engine and mine shoukld have identical specs. With the Pertonix system the entire thing resides inside the dizzy and it's nearly impossible to detect that it's on the car. You don't need the resistors and condensors anymore so I just left them physically in place but there's no activerwiring connected to them. If you know how the stock system works and look closely yon can spot it but it's not like having two big honking MSD boxes on there. It's very subtle. You can get replacement coils that look identical to original Marelli ones very reasonably and then just use a couple of Bobileff's coil stickers to make them look correct. It might not work at Pebble beach but probably everywhere else it will be OK. Si is it real hot there Garylike 80F or more? If your water temp gauge is correct then 100 is high if it's say 70F outside. Once you get into the 80's and up it will rise. These are terrible hot weather cars, too much glass and not enough AC (if any). The brake fluid reservoir boiling??? Something is very wrong there. Are you sure it's hot or are you just getting leaking out the top? Are those new reservoirs? How full are they? You do need to leave some room for expansion. I've never had any issues. Water wetter is for use with straight water. It's never made any difference in any of my cars. But others claim it works for them so ??? Of course you need to dump it in the fall. Is the temp going up quickly or very gradually? You could try burping the cooling system again. Bob S.
