Thanks Guido - I do and others do too: The on-road response from other road users and regular feedback from people passing by while parked are a good indication. Entirely positive so far, across the board.
Ron thanks and the thread won't end... I am driving it (aren't we supposed to??) and with it, issues come up. Things I missed/decided at the time not to touch, and new ones. I'll cover them here, so do come back. We all know how unreliable our Mondials are! So plenty to read from now on
Thanks John for your kind words. I have mixed feeling re the EZ Steering adventure. The actual set up was beyond anything reasonably acceptable. However, the steering itself works beautifully. I have no regrets having it in the car. It's very impressive how much more agile and modern the car feels. It's a superb addition for a classic car. The thing that gets me is the fact that none of the problems I encountered are related to its function and all of them are related to a total absence of quality control (and a blatant disregard for the customer). It's weird that a company gets the product's function so right and the delivery of it so wrong. The dimensional issues are easy to control - the knowledge for that part is freely available since the beginning of industrialisation... It's a big company converting many many car every year at their premises. I don't know what happened in my case and would want to believe it's an exception. The Hongkong Ferrari Importer has a superb service department with a Classiche workshop, and they were not only hugely helpful in getting my car functional again, they are also very friendly and efficient. A great thanks to them. And yes, some of the cars transiting through their facility are stunning. And their coffee is really good.
Happy Easter to Everyone! As of today my car's been back on the road for a year, and covered 7'700 mls without a breakdown. Here a summary of the issues that have arisen since and how I have mended them. A misfire developped gradually quite early on, lightly first but getting bad soon. Here the measurements of the resistance from the caps' contacts to the plug contacts: Image Unavailable, Please Login Also, the rotors and caps looked tired Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login New caps, HT leads, extenders, rotors, cork gaskets received from a reputable vendor Image Unavailable, Please Login Unfortunately, the 5 HT lead holes in the caps were too short, ending at the end of the screw hole. There was no way the HT leads would be securely fixed hitting the lead 2mm before its end: Image Unavailable, Please Login the screws imprint can be seen on the back wall of the hole, demonstrating how much too short it is - this is NOT the screw you see: Image Unavailable, Please Login The original holes were about 4mm deeper, permitting the pointed screw to dig into the insulation roughly 6mm before the end. Image Unavailable, Please Login So... drilling the holes deeper is the only solution: Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here the reference resistances with all new parts: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Problem solved. There was slight fuel smell once in while - then when filling up at one occasion fuel leaked out: Image Unavailable, Please Login I found the tank vent check valve unplugged, clamp missing: Image Unavailable, Please Login The hose end had split Image Unavailable, Please Login Easy fix, shortened and with a clamp it won't split and the tank pressurises perfectly since. Sometimes it's good to have a few mm "too long" a hose. I traced a developping rh front-end clonk and non-centred steering wheel to a slightly loose upper ball joint nut: Image Unavailable, Please Login Nut replaced and all other suspension bolts checked; none was loose and that did solve the issue.
Then the mileage counter slowed down to almost zero. It did continue to move a little but not even at 1/10th of the real distance. Image Unavailable, Please Login The only miles (not km-rated) counter I could source was a NOS US version. I fitted its internals of it to my RHD housing. Image Unavailable, Please Login Adjusting the 2-miles barrel to 139'295 was not easy - I admit I still don't really know how it works between the barrels and the rotating stops... but I did manage to get there (without turning all the miles!) and it counts correctly. Image Unavailable, Please Login I also added a secondary ground to the end of the daisy-chain ground to reduce the needle-jumping when turning the lights on: Image Unavailable, Please Login It does alleviate the problem to almost not-noticeable. The real solution would be to isolate the lights-ground and have all the instruments on the new one. That's for another time. All back in, clock set and working as it should: Image Unavailable, Please Login
Next the front bonnet wouldn't open. As the solenoid and wires checked out alright, the problem was within the IP switch. Image Unavailable, Please Login I suspect the PCB to be cracked - depending on the pressure exercised on the connector to the solenoid, it works normally or not. As the connector taps are riveted to the PCB, it isn't easily removable and therefore hard to check/repair. After re-fitting the switch block, it has worked ever since... A VERY annoying front-end squeak while driving over the small ripples wasn't suspension related as I suspected first - but due to a lack of lubrication of the bonnet lock WD40 is my friend. Took a while to find! Soon after, the passenger door central lock wouldn't lock. That made sense as it was unplugged - replugging the vertically fitted connector solved that one easily. It's not mechanically secured so I guess gravity did its job. Sometimes, 1st gear became impossible to engage from neutral - mechanically blocked. The drivetrain had settled since having been refitted with new silent blocks and the linkage needed a minor adjustment to its neutral positioning of the gear lever. That's done from between the tanks, so had to wait till I got the car on the lift. The work-around in the meantime was easy enough: While standing, in neutral, quickly release the clutch. Generally, 1st would engage normally after that. Takes a few seconds, and is greeted with angry honks and hands in the air from a busy driver behind. The moment for the gear shift alignment came when the dripping gearbox oil pan became a nuisance. Somehow despite the new gasket fitted a few month earlier it leaked, showing little drops on the nuts. Minimal quantity, big mark on the garage floor. Image Unavailable, Please Login Since the oil pressure warning light switch started to leak and messing up the nice clean engine, and 2 of the drive shaft boots ripped (stupidly not replaced before refitting, my oversight) I made an appointment to have these 3 things fixed. Image Unavailable, Please Login Messy here too - and the smell of burning oil when the exhaust got hot: Image Unavailable, Please Login Strangely enough, the morning the car went in I had a coolant leak - usually these things happen the day after you get the car back: Image Unavailable, Please Login A walk-around is useful, sometimes. So in one go, gearshift alignment, new sump gasket (fitted with sealant and no leaks since), new pressure switch and driveshaft boots fitted in one go, plus retightening of the centre coolant hose clamps, plus checking of the others (none was loose).
Next the passenger window wouldn't move but the motor span. The clamping nuts weren't tight enough. I have a tendency to go too lightly on threads, especially used ones. That was fixed easily, and been normally working since. An exhaust leak developped and was traced to a loose clamp - probably fatigue bending of the clamp collar. The washer also made a nice jingle: Image Unavailable, Please Login Shortly after, the exhaust leak was back sounded differently - header of cyl. #1: Image Unavailable, Please Login That had to come out and get fixed - the car sounded like a Porsche... Bit tight, at the limit of what you can do with axle stands in a car park: Image Unavailable, Please Login There were signs of a previous (not so nice) repair, and it looks like that's where the current crack started: Image Unavailable, Please Login then travelled along the entire perimeter Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login The inside shows a clear temp gradient: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Overall, a very nice stainless steel piece: Image Unavailable, Please Login
#2 port also had repairs done previously: Image Unavailable, Please Login My trusted local welder did a very nice repair: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login I took the grinder to the older repairs and cleaned up both the inside and outside in the hope to get better heat gradients but not having thick blobs hanging in the hot exhaust stream: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Refitting is a bit of surgery, new gaskets and hight temp grease used: Image Unavailable, Please Login Taking the wheels off helps a lot.
The angled heat shield goes in after the header is in but not completely in position. Wiggle both to get things in place - it interferes in the process and somehow does fit. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login next the link pipes go on with new gaskets Image Unavailable, Please Login Job done: Image Unavailable, Please Login Sounds A LOT better when it sounds as it should.
Just recently, both the glove box and the fuel filler flap solenoid stopped working one after the other. The glove box solenoid fired when normally when powered directly by 12V so I decided to rebuild both centre console switches. Out they came: Image Unavailable, Please Login The metal collar comes off with a bit of convincing, and with a sharp knive, the heat-soldered pins can be trimmed so the plastic housing can be opened. Image Unavailable, Please Login The contacts were pretty burned: Image Unavailable, Please Login Everything cleaned up easily Image Unavailable, Please Login With the soldering iron, I was able to reweld (lightly) the housings: Image Unavailable, Please Login This solved the glove box problem; it works to a very light touch again, as it should. It did nothing to persuade the fuel filler flap - it would fire when the flap was open, but not move when the flap was closed. Not useful. I somehow suspected the solenoid had gotten weak. There was a child play incident about 10 years ago when my son kept pressing the button and fried the solenoid solid. I at the time removed it, freed it up and it did work again. Till now. So I decided to pull and rebuild it. Image Unavailable, Please Login The coil did look burned Image Unavailable, Please Login Its resistance was 2.5 Ohm Image Unavailable, Please Login Unpacking Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The spool was pretty burned Image Unavailable, Please Login So I printed a new one: Image Unavailable, Please Login The wire is 12.4m long and has a diameter of 0.38mm; ordered and arrived: Image Unavailable, Please Login By calculation, that did return the 2.5Ohm.... rewinding it is really difficult... Image Unavailable, Please Login Finally - it's really tight with the "thick" connections sticking out. Image Unavailable, Please Login Check Image Unavailable, Please Login "special tool" to help refitting - I did drill a hole into the plunger so I can attach a wire to pull the solenoid up the pillar: Image Unavailable, Please Login easy refit - and same issue - not opening when closed but working when unloaded. I checked the plug on the car side - 12V delivered but the ground returned 3.7 Ohm! That would explain the loss of power, I thought. Well - I did find the ground on the chassis, below the 2 engine bay connectors on the suspension tower. And the thread was full of chassis paint - I didn't clean it obviously. I corrected that and the ground at the plug now returns 0 Ohm. There are 2 more grounds on that chassis point which I don't know where they lead to - ignition? It did not change the fuel filler flap solenoid's lack of action... Next I reduced the hinge spring load to the minimum: Image Unavailable, Please Login And I removed the idiot light plug switch, which has a pretty strong spring. Et voilà - the flap works. So, it was the spring load of the light switch that put so much pressure on the flap's latch that the solenoid couldn't open it. I have reduced the tab's angle a bit so the switch is not touched by it anymore, and disconnected the cable for the time being. The question remains as why this switch seems to press more recently than in the last 39 years... this used to work! I will eventually reduce the spring pressure on that switch and reconnect the warning light. In the meantime, the flap works perfectly. That last issue that arose about a month ago was a hesitation under wide-open throttle acceleration, regardless of initial engine speed. It felt like the accelerator pump on a carburettor equipped car wasn't functioning, or a faulty rev-limiter, or carb-icing or over-leaning on a piston aircraft. When driving at constant speed or accelerating at civilised pace, the engine ran perfectly, it would start hot and cold without any issues and fuel consumption was normal. The only strange indication I had was the rev counter coming alive a few seconds after the engine started, which I found odd. But else it was working normally. I checked the free movement of the fuel injection air measuring plate, which was perfect. I checked the rev counter by measuring the engine speed at both coils, and both got the correct signal from their respective ecus. So that sensor was obviously working. With a strobe light I checked both banks' behaviour when accelerating the engine and both banks did advance. As I couldn't see the flywheel marks due to dirt I don't know if they move correctly - but since both do move with and without vacuum I consider that each of the tdc sensor is working. I also checked their resistance at the disconnected plug - it should be 700 Ohm: Image Unavailable, Please Login So that's basically ok. The car side plugs are color coded. Nice, makes checking/connecting easy. What is was in the end were 2 things - one was a left-over from the leaking oil pressure switch earlier in the year. The rear sensor plug (rpm) was full of oil: Image Unavailable, Please Login The second one is age related - the blue plug (tdc 5-8) was missing it's metal clip and some plastic bits holding it. It had slipped half out. As a temporary fix, I used cable ties to secure that connector. The engine spins up perfectly again.
I also cleaned the backside of all my wheels - first time in 10 years Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login A very successful exercise. These foam rim cleaners really work.
"while I was in there" doing the rpm sensors... that flywheel cover had to be cleaned up: Image Unavailable, Please Login Repainted and new rubber cut Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Great updates. Reminds me a bit of the George Bush (the Elder’s) quote about history being over … or an old European car’s restoration being complete … both keep demanding our attention I totally admire you ability to resuscitate little things like that solenoid winding. I could also take some electrickery diag and repair lessons from you. Only surprise: that no one else has remarked on that upper ball joint boot cracking … seems typical of “today’s rubber parts”. best regards, John
John you're right it requires constant attention to keep it on the road in reliable condition. Luckily most of the issues coming up are minor in the bigger picture of a daily driver classic car And most issues are self-repairable. My thread is up-to-date now - the restoration and first year of driving reporting was done after the completion of the restoration and first year of driving - for time reason. I am trying to share things in real time now. And yes, I had noticed the cracks in the ball joint boots. They were 1 year old at the time. Keeping an eye on them. A bit strange.
Over the last few months, a WOT power loss issue became more and more apparent, manifesting itself at increasingly lower rpms. It felt like fuel starvation, or no ignition advance. Other than that, the engine ran very nicely, starting/stopping as it should, and no issues at any constant rpm up to 6'000. Air: The throttle plate does open, no bird nest in the intake, clean filter, air measuring plate moves freely, all air hoses connected. Ignition: The strobe lamp shows that banks advance, tach working, sensors check out normally, all air hoses connected. Fuel: All hoses connected... As the fuel pump was the only old component in the injection system, and the the injection system control depends on the correct input pressure being delivered, I had a suspicion there. So I changed the pump before digging any deeper. Well, no change with the new pump. But, there is an inlet filters at the fuel distributor, which turned out to be clogged: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Cleaning it out Image Unavailable, Please Login Light came back through the filter and air blew trough it very easily after cleaning. There is also a filter at the WUR inlet port, fed by a line from the fuel distributor. Not clean either: Image Unavailable, Please Login Grease infused Q-tips helped clean it Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Not quite sure what it is and where it came from... everything was clean when refitted 18 months ago. Cleaned: Image Unavailable, Please Login Anyway - Problem solved 100%, engine pull super clean again. What a pleasure. Have a good weekend all.
Nice! Also on my ToDo-List to check those filters. Just FYI: The Filter on the distributor can be bought for 4-5€ new: Febi Bilstein 19947.
Wow, great find. I knew there was a filter in the WUR but not in the distributor. I will be checking mine shortly, though I don't have the symptoms at this point.
