430 GogglesPisano's F430 Ownership Journey

I just finished a vintage camper restoration so I took a chance with the resin I had on hand. We have a local store that sells it:

https://www.tapplastics.com/product/fiberglass/polyester_resins/tap_bond_coat_laminating_polyester_resin/37

They’re a chain but I don’t know how far they reach.

Not sure that would be the most ideal resin if that was the top coat but I think I should be good for the little amount I did use to just smooth things out and anchor the mat. They do have high heat resins I can switch to if this fails but you might consider those from the get go if you’re starting fresh.

 

not a drive by but a quick cold start. Need to find a local stretch of road that isn’t full of traffic.

 

Look what the friendly UPS man dropped off today

This will be a fall/winter project along with a few other things so stay tuned.
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I’ve had my name on the list for quite some time now so I don’t think my price may be reflective of current pricing since some OEM pieces are getting harder to find. I would recommend getting in touch with George directly though (@modificator ) as he’s pretty responsive.

I haven’t unwrapped everything yet as I really just wanted to see the shift tower since that’s the most impressive part. However, what I can see looks very high quality. Already had my wife hold the tower down as I pretend to drive

 

Friendly reminder that old relays cause problems. Did this a while ago when I replaced my F1 relay with the one from Scud Ing Swiss but was cleaning things out today and came across my old ones.
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Wanted to update this thread with some of the recent mods I posted about….

1. My front end was way too high. Had it lowered and aligned. Total taken out about 3/4” to make it level with the back.
2. Installed my Morimoto tail lights and decided to have a quick shoot to highlight these two things


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Managed to find some free time today and did a quick project. Installed my Forza controller and added some heat shielding to the side engine panels. I’m going to install a manual switch on the dash for the controller at a later date, but wanted to go ahead and get this in since it’s a quick install by itself.

For the heat shielding, I want to expand this to all the engine panels but wanted to experiment with the rear most as they’re easy to remove and they had to come out anyway for the controller. I purchased some really thick DEI heat barrier: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JVAMONQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Made some templates of the backside using blue tape and cut out some panels to stick on. I kept it all a bit away from the edge and from the vent holes so you don’t see fibers poking through. The contours prevent a flat piece install so I used two patterns to complete the job. Here’s hoping this keeps my lights a little cooler at least.
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Yeah. I scrubbed the back to prep and cleaned with thinner to give a clean surface. Should hold up in the heat.

 

I posted a while ago how bad the mounts were for my center brake light. I finally decided to dress it up a bit since I had extra heat shielding and a free hour.
I yanked out the super flimsy stock heat shield and flattened it to trace a template. I bought some corrugated aluminum sheet for another project and cut a small section off to remake this. I added an additional layer of the fiberglass aluminized mat so it’s basically a replica of the stock piece only with better components.
Folded it neatly, passed the wires through and reinstalled. One of those things I’ll never see again but I feel better because of it

I also added some new aluminum washers against the body panel to keep corrosion at a minimum. Topped it with a stainless washer and stainless bolt.

Sorry if the pictures are out of order. Not sure how to organize them.


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Guess what I’m up to
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BTW, does the tooth rack suppose to stay on? I see no way of removing it from the end of the piston.

 

I wish Unfortunately, John guessed it as top related. Sending off my front latch piston to get rebuilt. I know the rest are not far behind, but I don't have time/space at the moment to pull those out and just want to make sure I can enjoy my car for the summer.

 

That's what the instructions I read said, but there are zero circlips there. I could only find one clip at the end of the tooth rail. The piston was attached to the clevise by a collar that was locked on with a pin punch from the side and that first black pin was flush on both sides so it must have been pressed on.

This next fall/winter I want to yank them all out along with the pump and send it out to have it all rebuilt.

 

Back in and working great. Plus no leaks

Pushing the lines into the fittings was a bit of a pain but I think they’re fully seated. At least I didn’t see any weeping or dripping after a few cycles.
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