I haven’t had much time to work on the coupe lately but I’ve made time to get the GTS ready for Bella Italia. There were a few minor things that needed fixed.
1. Small leak in the right rear caliper where the O rings are.
2. Extend the spare tire hold down for Campagnolo wheels
3 Seal the cabin better with some new aluminum pieces near the steering linkage
4. Adjusted the doors for a better fit
5. Water temp gauge quit working (bad ground)
6. Install a heater valve in the engine compartment
7. Fix a chip in the paint on the front left fender.
I did hang a few parts on the coupe. I decided to get a new wiring harness so there is only so much I can do until that arrives. I put in the emergency brake, gear shift and I’m experimenting with some expandable foam in a few places to better seal the cabin. Floor pan next week and at that point it can go off the rotisserie at any time. Jeff is busy designing Tee shirts hopefully ready for Bella Italia.

I’ve run the engine now through 4 heat cycles. The water pump leak has greatly diminished but not 100%. I’ll run it a little more before I take it off to solve the problem. In the meantime I began cutting some new aluminum to replace the old pan. It’s too big for my powder coat oven so I’ll be taking it to Electro tech in San Marcos. With Bella italia coming up it’s time to spend some time detailing the GTS.

Okay enthusiasts, it’s back to work. After fun and sun in Mexico I mellowed out after all I’ve been called worse than that. For those of you who find this a bore or redundant just tune out, it’s really that easy. There are others here who would get way more praise than I do if they would post. Jim S. made a whole new wiring harness on his own. Now I find that amazing. John C. bless is soul showed how things could be done on your own and inexpensively. We all have something to give here if we take the time. My contribution is photos of every part on our cars. I wish I had the knowledge that many of you have on here. I’m SLOWLY learning. Okay enough of that. I really thought I was going to start the engine today. I put the last parts on and connected the battery and then filled the radiator. Guess what?? Wouldn’t you know it a slow drip drip drip from the water pump. I spent the day taking it off and taking it apart and back together again. I couldn’t see why it was leaking and so reinstalled. I filled the radiator again in great hopes. The Dino Gods were not with me, probably because of all the hubris here lately. The same drip drip drip, only a little slower. Will have to sleep on it.

More engine pornography! Getting closer to see if it runs.

Today’s work on the engine. Hopefully will fire it up on the test stand in a few weeks.

More engine work today. The heads are on and torqued and will be checked tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll tackle the timing.

Today I spent the ENTIRE day working on the heads. It’s the first time I put the shims in and got everything adjusted right. A few shims I had to surface grind as those were the ones I didn’t have on hand. 2 buckets had to be slightly surface ground also, so the shim was above the bucket. I couldn’t imagine doing it without the tool that allows for removal of the shims without taking off the camshafts. It was hard enough having the tool and getting all the right shims in place.

I finally have all the parts for the engine and started that as well as finishing the gearbox. A few steps on the engine aren’t done in the exact order. because i forgot to get the new bushings hones so the wrist pins would fit. I ran them over to the machine shop and had an hour to kill so started working on the timing chains. I went to the cad plater yesterday in LA so I took the front hubs apart so I had more for the load I brought to him. He’s great. Drop stuff off, go to lunch come back and it’s all done.

Work is moving forward. This past week I took a break from refurbishing parts and actually put a few on the car. I reinstalled the 2 piece tub and riveted in place. Fiberglassing the seems to follow. I reinstalled the rear inner fenders which are a little tricky to get back in lining up the old rivet holes. Next is the pedal board which is a straight forward task, then the steering. I learned from last time to make sure all the parts easily slide together easily before you install. You need to start from the steering rack and individually slide each part in place working towards the steering wheel. I also stripped the aluminum gas tanks with aircraft paint stripper and a power washer. They cleaned up fairly easy. On the bottom of the pedal board there is a ring nut which socket is difficult to find but is a Ferrari tool FR 104. Luckily my friends at Cavallo Motorsorts in Carlsbad loaned me one. A decision has to be made soon on weather or not to replace the wiring harness as it is one of the first thing that need to be installed.