Hi Geno, I reckon it will cost me between half and three quarters the cost of what i paid for the car to complete the restoration including the engine work. Things like the six carbs are extra but i have been looked after there. To the downside yes it is a heavy lump of money to lay out, but the benefit is I will get the best 275, to my specification, my colour and my trim. If you think of it like this - amortize that lump sum over the next 10 years, hopefully all i will have are regular service bills and maintenance because all the horror stories have been taken car off. From previous experience you can easily spend $100k maintaining your car over 10 years, just none of us like adding it up! cheers Mark
Great project. Enjoying following your progress. Your car must have visited the same shop as mine. I too found surprises when the paint was removed during my restoration. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi, glad you are enjoying the restoration. Your car is absolutely stunning, thanks for posting, its beauty gives a real goal to aim for! many thanks Mark
Ouch, I know that feeling, I hope it was only the nose that needed attention! I hope your restoration is coming along well and you will soon be back on the road. cheers Mark
A big thanks to: Feranza JOEV - Joe Flinch - Peter El Cheapo Doctor Mark thecarreaper FXEFFECTS CarreraCaballo - Joseph domtoni - Domenic for all your kind words and support over the last few pages, it is greatly appreciated and I am very glad you are enjoying the thread. Cheers Mark
hi, now the new tail section is fitted, here are a few pictures of the boot lid getting test fitted for shape, alignment and panel gap. Still a lot of fettling and adjustment to be done to get it just perfect.... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I can't believe the precision of those butt-joints between the old and new sections - just mind boggling!! I need to know how they trimmed the respective panels - I can't imagine how they would do that so well. Thanks again for sharing.
Apart from the fact you know what the body looks like under the paint, is there anything particularly wrong with filling and painting over repairs like this? Obviously, you would want to be sure there is no rust, but besides that?
And THANK YOU for this outstanding documentary of the restoration of this beautiful and rare piece of automotive history Kudos to the old school master sculptors, as well! Greetz, Joseph
Once the fabricator is satisfied with the "new" sections overall size(overlap) he will fit in place and scribe the edge to the original body. Once scribed either side can be trimmed depending on which the fabricator thinks is best/easiest to trim. It will usually be trimmed with hand shears, unless there is a large overlap, in which case a power shear may expedite the process, but the final trim cuts will either be ground to fit, or trimmed precisely by hand. This is most critical to an overall good final result because it allows for more precision welding which in turn minimizes distortion caused by the welding process, which in turn allows for a repair that needs no or minimal filling. If done properly, and with enough patience a repair such as this could be metal finished with no evidence whatsoever, except for the possible butt weld itself. Good job Mark! Regards, Mike Regalia
Brett, This upper nose panel is/was available, and would be the easiest way to properly repair this terrible workmanship. If not available, it's not a difficult panel to refabricate. Regards, Mike
I'll partly answer for Brett,as he is a Kiwi living in Aussie, he's probably still tucked up in his woolen underwear. I had the (dubious)pleasure of meeting Brett recently at a carby rally in Victoria,his car is finished and in Gallo.A great,and detailed resto is captured on an Aussie thread the title of which has gone blank. I'm sure someone else will get it up before me,something like 'It's getting closer' Anyway we're a little off the subject of this brilliant,unfolding story of Mark,s
Thanks Mike, much appreciate the detailed answer - a lot more detail than I would have gone into at this late hour! Also to answer the question on filler - filler when used in this quantity is a real evil - the slightest knock can cause it to crack, its qualities deteriorate over time, its heavy, it can sink and leave visible lines- its also a cheap way of avoiding doing the job right! If you ever go to sell your car and any sign of filler is detected, most buyers will walk away. Filler is good if used to skim a panel to remove tiny imperfections, but you should leave no more than a shadow in any one place. cheers Mark
Thanks Mark, mines all done mate. Finished in November last year and have already done 5000 ENJOYABLE miles in it. Yes, I was able to get panels out of the UK, and like Mark I cut out any bad sections including replacing door skins etc. We used lead (wiping - there's a link in the thread below on page 4 of my car being wiped) to blend in once welded. Anyway, not to highjack Mark's thread. I'm enjoying watching this, back to this thread..........
Thanks Simon, last highjack (promise Mark). Here's the link. Just jump straight to page 10. How a car should be driven after being restored. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182130
Since your'e doing the car to such a high degree, I would suggest metal finishing as much as possible. On the steel areas that might need to be filled slightly I would recommend leading those areas. This makes for a paint job that will last 'till your sons a grown man, and perhaps longer! Great job!! Mike
Hi John, The stitches I think you are referring to are actually spot welds(mig welded most likely due to small burn spot) spaced enough apart to fix the two panels together properly, and then they will be seam welded to fill the gaps so there is a continous weld from one end to the other. No gaps or holes should ever be left in the weld when completed. Best, Mike
Thanks Mike. What is the reason for the continuous weld? It seems excessive and would only result in warping. Why not just fill with lead? Thanks. john
You always want continuous integrity of the metal. Lead is not strong enough and over time it would work its way out to the top layer of the paint in a imperfection(crater). All materials(steel, aluminum, lead, plastic filler, primer, paint) all have different expansion and contraction properties when heated up(on a hot day say) or cooled down(on a cold day). When these "cycles" take place each of these materials actually move(expand and contract), and if you left gaps to be filled with a filler(lead in your case), that gap would show itself over time in the top paint surface. You could color sand and remove it until you were blue in the face and it would return due that movement. Mike
Hi Brett, I went through your restoration link, page by page - absolutely love it! Congratulations on a fantastic job, the car looks great in Giallo. all the best, many happy miles of motoring. Cheers Mark
Don't worry Mike, the old boys in Italy don't know what filler is, they only work in metal as you will see in some pictures to come. I was only suggesting if using filler at all - just use it as a shodow to take out tiny imperections. Everything on my 275 GTB is meatalised, no point going to all this effort and then getting the plastic padding out! cheers Mark
Although you can't see the seam welded area if front of this chap, in this picture he is grinding flat the newly metalised area where the panels are butted together - those sparks are certainly not coming off plastic filler! Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thanks again Mark for the wonderful restoration thread. Makes me hope one of my investments comes good and I can buy a 275 GTB !! and do the same job you are having done.
Hi Domenic, I hope your investment goes really really well, and you can buy a 275 GTB that does not need all this work! Cheers mark