The Mechanical Rebuild of 18539 AND the 500 Mile Break-in Ride

Well everyone, Friday, July 30, 2010, was the official date of completion for the mechanical rebuild of s/n 18539, a 1975 365 GT4/2+2, at Gran Turismo in Alliston, Ontario, as well as the date of my pick-up at and departure from Ontario back home to New Jersey. The odyssey began a little more than one year ago. I will begin at the end of the story and, for those interested, we can double back and go through the rebuild process leading up to present day.

Before I get started, I must acknowledge, with extreme gratitude, the dedication and hard work exhibited by Brett, Scott and John at Gran Turismo. We, more correctly, they went through and reworked and/or rebult, as necessary, the entire power train from the engine back to rear diff, as well as updated/fixed/tweaked a myriad of other items that required attention along the way. Suffice it to say that the scope of work expanded beyond what I and they had initially envisioned, but the end result was nothing short of driving perfection—all accomplished with attention to budgetary limits related to the tasks at hand. I’d also like to add that while having the work progress at a distance of greater than 500 from where I reside, one would assume that this could result in some logistical issues. Brett and Co. were always available and responsive to all my requests for updates, etc., which greatly helped to bridge the distance.

Back to July 30&#8212;a perfect day, by any standard: Low-to-mid 80&#8217;s, sunny, clear and beautiful. I slide into the car to fire her up for the journey home. With the new gear reduction starter installed, I turned the key, waited for the fast-paced ticking heart beat of the fuel pumps to send the gas up to the carbs, stabbed the pedal a couple of times, flipped the key , <new starter engages>, and BHAAROoooom, the engine wrestled itself to life.

With the engine warmed-up, we headed out for the Canadian/U.S. border, with Brett leading the way. This initial leg provided 2 hours of non-stop, mostly highway driving. This is first real drive I&#8217;ve had in the car since the initial purchase back in the fall of 2008. Immediately, certain elements of the rebuild became apparent. The car&#8217;s ride is much smoother, no doubt as a result of the new, front-end suspension bushings and related rubber bits. Gone are the hard knocks previously felt/heard while traversing bumps and dips in the road. It&#8217;s a little difficult to explain, but the ride was smooth and firm at the same time. No jostling. Everything was absorbed and taken in stride, but with purpose.

As we progressed out of town onto the open road, I got to open her up a little more and the power through the rev range was fantastic. She pulled hard through all gears. Since it was warm day, the windows were down and the air was flowing freely into the cabin. I would soon learn that the gargling and burbling of the ANSA exhaust would become my constant companion all the way home&#8212;washing itself throughout the cabin via the open windows.

This trip to the border provided a great opportunity to get reacquanited with the car. As I did not have to be concerned with following directions, etc., I was able to focus on the task at hand and just enjoy the ride. Before I knew it, two hours had past and we were at our destination (near the border) to handle the necessary exportation paperwork. I recall getting out of the car and having a huge smile on my face, which had nothing to do with the fact that Brett was standing across from me smiling back (sorry, Brett&#8212;I know you had hoped otherwise), but instead was solely related to the last two hours spent behind the wheel. WOW! What a great ride and I was just getting started.

We dispensed with the paperwork and within 45 minutes, I was crossing the border into New York State. What lay ahead was about 8 more hours of highway roads through the beautiful countryside of New York State and Pennsylvania and, then, finally New Jersey. The main arteries that I used were 20A East, 390 South and 86 East, in New York, and 81 South/380 South, in Pennsylvania.

The 365 was in its element. It just devoured the highways. I got the sense that this was the first time in years that the car was able to breath properly and really strech its legs. While we initialy thought that a valve job was all that was needed to set the engine straight, as two of the cylinders showed low compression, upon disassembly of the block, we learned that two pistons were cracked and that one rod was bent--somewhat ridicuously so. Who knows how long the engine had been maintaned and/or previously run in this state. Well, all of that had been corrected now and a perfect symphony of twelve cylinders played before me and I had a front row seat all to myself.

As the 365 and I blazed down through New York and into Pennylvania, I could well appreciate that this type of journey was what Ferrari had inteneded for this GT. Paris to Monaco in a long afternoon or, since 18539 was delivered new through Motor S.A.S. in Rome, maybe a shorter but no less adventurous drive from Rome to Positano. Gone was the disconnected convenience of today&#8217;s modern cars. The ride was enagaging and the 365 almost demanded to be driven&#8212;although the demands were respectful and welcome.

As I crossed over into New Jersey and made my way closer to home, night was starting to fall. I flipped up the headlights and settled into to some nice light crusing and was soon off the highway and onto the backroads. Not long thereafter, I pulled in to my driveway, engaged the e-brake and turned the car off. I sat there for a minute still soaking up the experience, looked around and noticed the newly-installed radio. I then realized that I had not even once thought of turning it on during the entire journey&#8212;somehow that seemed quite appropriate under the circumstances.

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If I have done even a remotely adequate job of telling my tale, I would hope to receive some posts to the effect that &#8220;what this thread needs is some pictures.&#8221; So, in anticipation of that occurrence, I have included a few I-phone snaps I managed to take along the way. Mind you, the quality is poor and I had not intended to photo-document the journey. That said, I have included the following:

(1) 18539 @ Gran Turismo prior to departure
(2) On the road in Alliston enroute to the border
(3) 2 road-side pics of 18539 (taken while stretching the legs)
(4) Windmills in western NY State

For those who are interested, please post up some requests asking Brett to upload some pics and details regarding the mechanical rebuild. If there&#8217;s enough interest, maybe he will oblige us and walk us through what Gran Turismo accomplished.

Thanks for your time&#8230;.
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John, Fritz, Art, Alastair, thank you for the kind words--I really appreciate it. Dave, let us know what your search uncovers. Ken, I will send you a PM.... Brett, how about some pics?

 

Art, once you've completed your rebuild, maybe we can meet up with you in Princeton!

 

Brett, thanks for taking the time to post the pics.

Larry, how's the GTB coming along? To be honest, I did give some thought to recording the mpg. The tequila, however, quickly erased any interest my brain might have had in such an academic pursuit. It was just me, the 365 and the road.

J Ingram, I have no issues with you asking; however, you would probably be better served by giving Brett at Gran Turismo a call directly to discuss the work and cost breakdown. I have no issues with his sharing the economics with you. There was a bunch of work performed and he would better at unpacking the work and related costs and explaining them. http://www.granturismo.ca/

 

Larry, glad to hear about the GTB....disappointed that I was not there to go for a test drive with you, though. The '78 looks awsome!! I peaked at it while I was there. Are you targeting a date to have it back on the road?