the 330GTCFERRARI fix all my problems thread

Thanks for your reply, BIRA. So you've had to have a new FC (Classiche?) 250 SWB engine rebuilt as well as a MM (250?), 275 and 250 LM engines rebuilt. It's quite worrying that a new engine should go bang so quickly. Was it under any warranty being new? I know you said you don't over rev the engines but do you think that the rebuilds were needed because of the racing conditions the cars were under? Sounds like you must have spent a huge sum of money on rebuilds.

 

You need a slab, a lathe and a man who knows what he is doing. How many hours can he put on that thing to make a crank?

 

To be precise, the SWB was not a FC built engine, the block was new. And being charitable I won't say who did the engine in the UK. Although some people seem to have different experiences..
The 250MM was just a tired engine and we rebuilt it in Italy. Was perfect afterwards. The 275 was more interesting, the engine was new when i bought the car ( and i am sure of that as I bought the car,,from the guy to whom i sold it before,,,) and it blew up after 1500 km. But the guy who did it, in this case in Germany, could not provide any garantee. And I sold the car as is, pretty disgusted. I was told that the source were faulty valves and for sure the valve broke.
The LM engine had significant previous competition history but was not used for some time when I bought it and the block ( again not the original LM block which is in a crate) was leaking so we decided not to rebuilt this one but do a full brand new engine. We did the engine between Tour Auto and Le Mans Classic, not too bad!
And I can confirm, this is a lot of maintenance, but again if the cars have to stay in a garage or a museum, then I am not interested. On the other hand, when I sell cars they'd are always in superb condition,,,and when I buy, they seem always to require, with few exceptions, a lot of work. May be my standards are higher, or I don't know how to buy(?) or I should not sell any cars anymore and keep what I have!!

PS:just finishing to rebuilt a Stratos Gr 4 engine, 250 hp on bench,,and next will likely be another 275 which seem not to have been running for many many years...did Alfa TZ engines, 2 other Alfa engines including a prewar one, Maserati, ,,, at the end after 30+ cars, you get used to it...

 

I have the same problem, it's called obsessive compulsive disorder!

FWIW, I rebuilt my Daytona engine 5 years ago. It wasn't damaged, just worn but I went right through it with new everything, except crank and rods. The parts (mostly sourced in the US) cost $19K, the machining was $7K. So that's $26K excluding labour (and excluding carbs and distributors). I would have thought at least 80 hours to strip, clean, replate, rectify and reassemble - it took me all of that and more to do it myself.

Valve gear is more complex in a single cam engine, so additional cost needs to be allowed.
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Great guys!!! Highly recommend!!!

 

I agree here that the pieces that make up the water pump assembly can be the problem. When I had my GTC engine rebuilt 2 yrs ago we had to do some fabrication to replace a part of the pump where the surface that would not seal properly. I don't remember the specific part other than it required some investigation to figure out where the problem was. 45 year old engines will show metal corrosion in the most inopportune places.

Sorry for my ignorance.......I'm just the driver

 

Karl Ludvigsen wrote in the 1950s that the Lampredi four was the most technically advanced engine of its day. It is a very difficult motor to work on, which is probably why so many of the 4 cylinder cars that came to the US lost their motors in favor of small block v-8 chevys and the aluminum Buick/Offy motor.

You are correct that the Lampredi fours do not have "heads" as they are typically understood; the cylinder liners screw up into the crankcase - the cam boxes sit on the crankcase, but the bottom of the cam boxes are not the top of the combustion chambers. No rockers; cam followers/rollers on the cam lobes act on the valve stem.

I do not know how many people in the US are qualified to rebuild a Lampredi four, but it is a short list.

 

You are definitely more technical than me!! Best regards to you and the Admiral.
PM

 

That must be one interesting looking set of ports. This sounds like a very interesting engine. I'm wondering the angle of valve separation?

 

Article and video of rebuild by D K Engineering's David Cottingham of Ferrari 857S s/n 0588M with 3432cc 4 cylinder Lampredi engine.

Forza article here: http://www.forza-mag.com/issues/118/articles/reunited#.UHbIV6PeySo



[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_DfIQ9LUPY[/ame]
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Really fascinating piece. Those cam lobes are tiny.

 

This is interesting: http://www.ferraricraft.com/2010/11/4-cylinder-ferrari-engine/

 

'Narrow' Yes, 'Tiny', NO, Far from it!
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If you have original carbs, stick with them as they are better castings that the repros. If you have them off and are considering a rebuild or need parts, see here.

http://www.piercemanifolds.com/

 

Would the narrowness of the lobe be a factor in limited durability?

 

I do NOT object to trained and talented people performing valuable service(s) and being paid accordingly. I have a great friend who owns a paint/body repair shop who I swear is more talented than Leonardo DaVinci and you should see how he handles the insurance claims adjuster--15k for repairing 8" scratch etc.!

YET it is a TRAVESTY when a trained and talented Cardio-Thoraic surgeon gets $1,200. usd for by-pass surgery!! Explain that to me--as someone mentioned--"it isn't brain surgery"--your're right--the MD makes LESS than a clutch rebuild! Think about that.

OK, back on-topic.
Jack

 

You bet. The loaded contract area pressures are quite high but the Snap Open, Slam Shut ramp design doesnt compliment things.

 

THAT is messed up and has NO justification. I would have guessed 8-10 times that number at a minimum

 

There's an old joke about a doctor that goes to pick up his Mercedes from a local repair shop. When the shop owner tells him the bill is $2500, the doctor replies "I'm a surgeon and even I don't make that kind of money!". The shop owner replies "I didn't make that kind of money either when I was a surgeon".

 

These pics are of a tipo 111 2-liter motor. The diagram is from the infamous document Jaguar put together when it bought a 750 Monza and dissected it. Also, in my post above, where I said "crankcase" I meant to say "block". The crankcase is below the block. the bolck fully contains the combustion chambers.
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Purchased my 330 GT from them about 6 years ago and am very happy with the car and the support I've received from them. The fabrication work they do is pretty amazing.

 

What do the coil springs do, just keep the follower planted?

john