My 308 pictures are finally on my website

That is a lot of hard work Dave. Something to be proud of. I hope she'll run a long time with no problems so you can reap the rewards.

Nice treatment to the rear deck.

 

Awesome work.

Were you the guy who used the Simple Green on your block?? I remember someone saying they sprayed it on and left it to soak all night. Then someone else told them that was corrosive to the Ferrari block. Oh well!! Looks good to me.

I also remember aluminum polish or SuperBrite or something.

What did you use??

 

I was the one that used the Simple Green. I applied it to a very dirty grease ball of an engine. Believe me, it didn't hurt a thing.

I use Simple Green on cast aluminum only (like your engine block), not polished aluminum like your timing covers or polished wheels and you won't have any problems.

I used Mothers Mag Polish on the timing covers.

It also works very well on the painted areas of the undercarriage. Non-flammable and biodegradable.

I still use it extensively when ever I need to clean up a part before reinstalling it on any of my cars. I thoroughly rinse everything and blow it off with air.

I was told to STAY AWAY FROM ORANGE BASED CLEANERS as it causes crystalization in the aluminum.

DJ
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Here is a "write-up" of the process I used.

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When I bought my 308 it was obvious the previous owners didn't know how to clean or detail the engine bay, or just didn't care. Upon purchase there were dark stains from gasoline and oil as well as a layer of dirt on everything.

As customary with every car I buy I put it on jack stands two feet off of the floor. I pulled the plug wires and blocked off the spark plug wells with black rubber corks purchased at the hardware store. Bagged the plug wires and caps in plastic. Tape off the tops of the carbs with duct tape.

1.Spray down the engine bay, engine, transaxle and rear hubs with Simple Green and let it soak overnight.

2.Spray off the Simple Green with a pressure washer or high powered spray, (as required).

3. Blow dry with compressed air.

4. Spray down the 'Rough Cast' aluminum with NAPA brand Aluminum Brightener, part number 765-1458. For use on all machine finished, open pore cast aluminum.. WEAR EYE PROTECTION AND A RESPIRATOR! The active ingredients are Hydrofluoric Acid and Suluric Acid. Follow the instructions. It sizzles when applied! DO NOT spray on polished aluminum like the timing covers. I sprayed the carbs down and it didn't seen to matter.

5. Hand scrub with brass bristle brushes as required to remove stains and corrosion.

6. Rinse with hot water and blow dry. Be sure to flush behind the timing covers to remove any particle matter from the belts and sprockets.
NOTE; I removed the rear timing cover to inspect cleanliness after flushing and all was well.

7. Repeat steps 4, 5, and 6 as required.

8. Buff the cam covers and any other accessible areas with a rotary wire wheel to bring up the shine. Use light pressure and control the direction to achieve consistency in the shine. You can use a drill motor and assortment of wire wheel buffers.

9. Wipe down and scrub everything with lacquer thinner, a clean wire brush and a rag.

10. Blow down with air.

11. Spray with high heat clear. Use Diamond Clear from Eastwood Restoration. It's good to 300 degrees. No Yellowing or cracking.

12. I also did the bottom of the engine, CV joints, rear spindle housings and the rear heat shield. There has been no deterioration in 2000 miles.

It's alot of work but clean up only requires a light misting and blow down before a drive or a show.
P.S. For the timing covers I used Mothers Mag Polish Cream.

DJ








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WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING

It has been brought to my attention by numerous sources that application of Simple Green to aluminum alloys is harmful to the finish of the alloy. Examples given included alloy wheels.

I personally have not had the experiences exchanged in the following link. I believe the reason for this is because I was using the Simple Green on aluminum alloys that were DIRTY, OILY AND CORRODED to begin with. I was also using the Simple Green on 'open pore' castings (NON-POLISHED). This may be the difference.See the link below,

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5074

Thanks to the input and advice of other Fcar owners I am hoping that nobody out there has had any bad results cleaning their engines using the method I have described.

My last thoughts on this is, find a part or hidden place on your car to try this method on. If you like the results, great, if not then hopefully there was no real harm done.

DJ

[SIZE=+2]PS. Test results by the US Airforce show that Simple Green is indeed corrosive to aluminum. With that said you must also consider that nearly EVERYTHING is corrosive to aluminum INCLUDING WATER.[/SIZE]


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Dave,
Nice pics, thanks for sharing. Cool X 1/9! (And 308, of course).

Spasso, your engine is just too damned clean. Damn. Drive that thing in the rain or something and make it dirty. I could never have an engine that clean. I would never drive the car afterwards!

BTW, we use simple green to O2 clean the inside of aluminum scuba cylinders. Standard procedure. Just rinse it out well.

Birdman

 

Nice pictures - Very nice job on re-doing the cloth material with leather.

 

Thanks for the tips

 

my humble recent rebuild results .....
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MUCH better! What a happy little engine!

 

When replacing the fuse box with your own creation, why didn't you use the flat fuses? I do understand about the stock fuses...those can be found in any old German car