The Restoration Starts Here: 275GTB Shortnose 07333

This is a great question !

Back in my hot-rod days, we would move wheel openings around,
and then braze in pieces of EMT (electrical-mechanical tubing) to "finish"
the openings.

Go to Sears, get whatever size you prefered: 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4 inches, etc,
buy the (inexpensive) tube bender, and be out for less than $10, tools included.

Trim the opening to a pleasing shape, bend the EMT to match - a good job
needed no Bondo - and brass weld the tubing to the "raw" fender.

Leave the tube "open" a little on both ends, so water would not get trapped.

No "cavity" to hold water.

Rinse and repeat with all other openings.

We wern't always bright enough to use templates,
so sometimes the openings were different side-to-side.

Unless your car spun, nobody saw both rear openings at one time anyway.

Scott

 

I really feel for you,a mate purchased a Boxer about a year ago and is going through a similar but different kind of hell with it.
It was bought as a resto but is more total rebuild.

 

i just don't know what to say. again i ask...where is mike sheehan to defend this un-hit pristine example??

 

You have an amazing attitude Mark. Well done.

This is an incredible thread. When finished, the story behind 07333 will be one for the ages.

 

+1, she's found the right owner and will be glorious once more.

But my jaw is still on the floor, I have to say.... Incredible.


Onno

 

Can't wait to see how they straighten all that scarred metal. Are they going to have to carve an entire wooden body buck?! After being hammered back into shape, is the body going to be a couple of mm's thinner than it was before in these areas, or are you going to have to weld in entire new sections?

Quick question, when rebuilding the battery and brake master cyl box, will you install some reinforcement steel (i.e., thicker than stock, etc)? How far can you go beyond original spec to reinforce historically weak areas of the body/chassis without diminishing the value of the car?

AWESOME THREAD!!

 

Just ... *wow* !

 

i totally agree! cheers mark!!!

 

Well said, especially the buyer beware portion! The odds of any car of significant age being "no stories" are basically nil. At this point it becomes about small verifiable stories vs large and terrifying, as we see here. Regargless, it seems Mark went into this eyes open (unlike some peoeple, god help whoever might buy something like this for full price and have no clue!). Thanks again for letting us share in the journey!

 

So was this car purchased at a significant discount? If so, on what basis did you know it should be bought at that price?
Seems like everything was as it should be on the surface.

 

Agreed, it's a sort of an automotive "archaeological dig" with old cars. Fascinating, scary and expensive all at once.

But there is no better feeling than looking at and driving the finished product knowing it was done right. Plus, it's a legendary car and worth it.

What he said.

 

Interesting, some body parts are severely wrinkled but the frame is perfectly straight!!!
This type of wrinkling is not from parking bumps, this was definitely some sort of collision!
Like somebody said in this thread: "Paint lies, metal doesn't!"

What is the next procedure?
Grinding off the wrinkled parts and replacing them?

Exciting thread

Greetz,


Joseph

 

Mark,

You're a courageous man!

I can see why you sourced the restoration of the body in Italy; anything nearer would be too close to home and dangerous to your mental health

Imagine how much faster she'll be with all those pounds shaved off!

.

 

Great project.

Will almost be a replica once done given how much work you doing!