Hopefully I will have more pictures to post tomorrow once the car is back at the dealership. There have been some hiccups with the parts supply from the German specialist but he assures us everything will be here by next Monday at the latest.
The new quarterlight windows have proven to be a challenge as the pattern parts are not exact copies of the originals so a bit of creativity has been required to fit them into the frames. The suspension bushes were also far more involved to switch out than was first thought due to the manner in which they'd been fitted. The build back up shouldn't be too difficult unless the new glass proves to be troublesome. The remaining mechanical work mainly involves switching out the cooling system hoses for new ones, fitting a new alternator, tuning the carb's and give the car a service.
If the last parts arrive to the promised schedule then it looks like we are on track to complete the car by the end of next week.
30 nov. 2010 21:05:19
fantastic paintjob. Wow, that will look amazing. I almost want to fly over and put it back together myself. It is sooo much fun figuring out how they designed each item. It really is reverse engineering sometimes. Droooooooool.
indeed shifting is ancient technology - so is a fuel burning engine.. I happen to like both :)
3 déc. 2010 11:43:36
The car is now back in the workshop and the new coolant system hoses are being fitted. It's lucky I decided to go this far as we've discovered that a hose that runs to the heater matrix has been trapped by one of the fuel tanks so little or no hot water has been flowing to supply it. Apologies for the low resolution qualities of the pics (my dealers camera is
Congratulations again for your choice of classic car
When you restore classics like this, it's best if you strip the car as much as possible to look for problem areas and things that need attention all at once. If you wait for things to develop problems before acting it will create delays, lots of frustration and higher cost of course, due to the repetition of the same dismantling work more than once.
I know the hard way, because when I restored a 911 3.0lt some years ago I followed a piecemeal approach, unfortunately.
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"Form follows function"
I have been following your restoration with great admiration.
When it's all done you may enjoy a great book by Stephan Wilkinson "The gold plated Porsche". A delightful tale of a restoration of a 1983 911SC Coupe. It will be a most enjoyable winter read in snowy England.
The Canepa Dino has to be spectacular to be voted best six cylinder car at Cavallino and a Platino winner. Market for the GTS in the USA is a tad over $165K but those guys at Canepa are going to ask $225K plus. I love the car. Even better looking as a Euro spec.
How many recalls have you had on the 458, mine a July production is on its third.
Best from sunny South West Florida
ISUK:
My 458 has been back in 3 times as well. Two were classed as service campaigns for breather pipe and breather vent and the other for the removal of glue from the heatshields was classed as a recall.
Yes I stand corrected.I had the same work done. My dealer did not distinguish between recall and service campaigns. Campaign 336 and 338, new dtml intake hatch for improved airflow and vapor inlet pipe.
I am going to give Canepa another call monday !
ISUK:
The Canepa car looks great. I'll be very interested to hear how you get on. I'm toying with the idea of going to see a GTS that's up for sale here as well. It looks pretty good in the dealer's photo's but will doubtless require some work.
Spoke to Bruce Canepa, he is asking US$246K. It seems a really awesome car.The market in the US has come back some with claimed prices in the low $200's. It was at Cavallino in 2007. I was there but have no recall of this particular car. Will research. In the USA the GTS is considered more desirable and this being a Euro model does not have the Federally imposed lights etc. With the cost of restoration in the US say min 1000hrs at $125/hr it's going to be difficult to replicate a Platino car including donor for much less than his asking.
Personally I like the Berlinetta more. A purer design. There was an original untouched example at the Museum in Maranello this summer. For ideas on originality and finish if you have not seen it maybe a quick trip !
Funny you should mention the 246GT at the Museum. I saw it back in March when I was at the factory to spec out my 458. I agree that the GT has the edge in terms of looks as the solid buttresses on the GTS give the side view a rather heavy appearance compared to the graceful and slender C pillar on the berlinetta.
I've kept my car as faithful to the original finish as possible. I did breifly contemplate returning it to it's original colour of Bianco Polo but I just don't think white suits the Dino very well so opted to stay with Rosso which really flatters the curves. I'm retaining the nero vinyl interior and have used the correct materials for any items that needed retrimming. It's going to be a usable car as opposed to a nut and bolt show piece restoration like some cars have been through. Any items that I take off and replace will be kept for potential future use. The only items I've decided to sell were the perspex headlight covers which were retrofitted around 2001. Those have gone to a new home in California.
Progress was slowed due to staff illness at the paintshop meaning around 3 weeks were lost whilst it was in their hands. On top of that the festive holiday season further delayed things but we are now underway again and it should hopefully only be another two weeks before the car is finished.
The build back up has begun and the engine and electrical system run up and tested. Apart from a couple of minor electrical glitches everything is great. The new windscreen has been fitted and the retrimmed dash is back in the car with the new heater control levers in place. The aluminium instrument surround was looking tired from various scratches and marks to it's original factory painted silver finish so this has been redone. The rear screen is being refitted on Monday.
The seats have been removed as the car is going into the trim shop on Wednesday to have sound insulation fitted to the floor before the new interior carpets are put in. The door sill vinyl is being renewed as is the vinyl on the A pillar finishers. The trunk carpet has been removed in readiness for the trim shop to line the trunk with heat shielding material before they fit the new set of trunk carpets.
All being well the car will be back at the dealer the following Monday and the remainder of the build up can be done. A carb specialist is coming in to set up and balance the carbs. Once everything has been tested the last items to go on will be the new wheels and tyres then the car will be delivered back to me
9 janv. 2011 18:49:41
993Targa:
Can't wait to see the end result..
+1 I can't wait to see a photoshoot in the spring sunshine with a 458 Italia and the 246 Dino GT side by side
RT Moderator - 997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm sports suspension/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen collection
I'll try to get some decent pics once I get the car back and will take a few shots besides the 458 and California to show just how much bigger these cars have become due to safety legislation. My dealer's camera is pretty hopeless as you can see I bought my other half a Sony NEX 5 camera as part of her christmas gifts so I'll "borrow" it when she's not looking
Another shot of the "mouse hair" dash. It feels great to touch as it's similar in texture to velvet and looks very 70's. The only other option to keep the car original was to recover the dash in vinyl and having seen a couple of cars which have been done this way I wasn't keen as it is more reflective in the windscreen and doesn't look as good either. Please ignore the shabby black carpets. They will be coming out and replaced by some lovely deep red new ones.
9 janv. 2011 22:02:30