Here's a pic of me pulling the engine out of my 612 yesterday!

Lots of progress today! The upholstery guy came by my shop to do the headliner and tighten up the upholstery on my rear deck items.

Here are the shots...
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OK, so I've got most of the interior put back together and thought I'd post some shots.

Also, final picture of the window switch repair. Multiple iterations with black RTV and this puppy should work forever!
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Thank you! I will admit; however, the bottom cushion of the driver's seat does need a re-dye to be perfect. All the other seats in the car are perfect. As such, I am doing research as we speak on how to restore and re-dye the seat. I like Leatherique products. The question is do I want to take on doing it or is there someone out there that I can send the cushion too and have them do it.

I think I could do it myself but would need to pull my old automotive paint sprayer out and figure out how to use it to spray the dye. Anyone have anyone to recommend if I farm it out?

Thanks,

 

To remove the whole switch assembly, you need to pull the entire door panel. The first step for that is popping off the switch trim. You need a thin pry tool and you slide that in on the top of the switch plate to release and rotate upward and rearward. The bottom doesn't get pryed, it just has a curve portion the holds in down and in.

PM me if you need more instructions.

 

Some updated progress and pics.

First pics are of the interior. It is almost completely done now. New Pioneer AVIC-NEX8000 installed with modified bezel, etc. Passenger seat back in the car. Only thing left is to button up the drivers steering wheel shroud (new plastics coming as old ones were all sticky), install driver's seat, install new floor mats from Westwind and "dead pedal" from Ultimate Pedals.

The last picture shows the block all ready to build. Had one new liner installed, the rest of the 12 cylinders honed and then I prepped "the deck" (which means cleaned up gasket surfaces, etc. and am ready to assemble. I decided to replace to other pistons so waiting on those, making it a total of 3 new pistons (with rings) going into the motor.

I was also able to remedy all lingering electrical gremlins. Most recent was HVAC fans not working. Turned out to be the BIG fuseable link near the battery that feeds the starter and some other items (including HVAC). The previous owner must have tried to start the car with the engine hydrolocked and blew that huge fuse in the process.
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Some engine prep and diagnosis shots.

The first two are the additional pistons I decided to replace.

The third is just a lot of pistons for show!

The last two show an issue which likely all 612 and 575 engines will face. Light pitting at the edge of each head gasket where it seals to the outer cylinders on each bank. The block gets pitted and then coolant can leach out. Fortunately it gets blocked on all sides by other coolant passages or the main cylinder compression seal, but it is not ideal. I plan to fill these pits with JB marine weld and then smooth with sandpaper.

It is very important to do regular coolant changes on your cars to avoid this! I'd suggest drain, flush and fills every two years. It may not prevent this issue completely but it will help. Be sure to use the proper coolant and also NEVER use tap water. RO or distilled only.
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It is certainly coming in handy! Out of pure interest, I "self-taught" myself at a very young age and ran my own motorcycle, lawn mower, snowmobile repair business in high school and ultimately then worked later in high school as a truck mechanic at U-Haul and added car repair to my "at home" business. I was financially well off for a high school kid and drove exotics like a Dodge Charger Shelby, owned 7 Renault Fuegos (where I learned most of what I learned to date on those cars!) and some crazy high end snowmobiles.

After high school, I did my BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering at MIT and went directly to Ford Motor Company as an engineer. Focused mostly on fuel and ignition systems and plant operations.

After another 15+ years post MBA, I've done my rounds in the corporate world but my love for cars keeps pulling me back. I am working on launching a new business which will help car owners make informed and confident decisions around servicing their vehicles (and not to get oversold or ripped off)... more to come! I am a few months away from launch.

Cheers!

 

Couple more prep shots...

hone and some of the good pistons.
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Thank you guys for all the kind words.

I will post some more pics later. Last night I filled the pitting on the block deck. need to send it and then block completely ready. Just now I was cleaning and prepping the 12 cylinder oil sprayers with their new O-Rings. These are the very first items to go back into the block.
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Thank you all for the kind words and encouragement. I am glad my fellow Ferrari enthusiasts are enjoying the transformation of this car!

Today I filled the pitting on the block deck with the JB Weld Marine epoxy. All sanded and ready to go. Also finished installing the rear back-up camera and was able to install the new main fuseable link that arrived (from Renault). $15 versus $100 from Ferrari for the whole battery module. Also finished assembling the driver's side footwell panels.

Tomorrow the real engine rebuild begins. I plan to do a final block cleaning. Will install the piston oil sprayers, and will then get the crank laid in and plasti-gaged with the new main bearing shells. Will post pics along the way...

I've got 10 pistons I can install but waiting for two more. Once those arrive I can finish all the cylinders up, install the sump and bolt on the heads. From there, do the the cams and timing, install the headers and will drop in the motor. I plan to put all the intake and injection back on once the motor is in the car (as opposed to having it installed first like the manual says) as this give more room to operate and also allows me to turn the motor over with no fuel and plugs to build up the oil pressure prior to any loads being placed on the new main and rod bearings.

Stay tuned!