Ferrari Mailing List: Reversing federalization

[Rick Lindsay (rolindsay]

Hello Friends,

   There has been lots written about federalizing European cars which
come into the United States, either as gray-market cars or as used cars.  
There's VERY little written about reversing those mods - especially
the ones that have failed.  And while this might be an environmentally  
incorrect thread, I write;

   I have two Ferraris, a standard specification 1979 308GTB, imported
to the States in 1986 as a 'used car', and an '83 Mondial QV 'true' 
gray-market car.

   The GTB, under the DOT and EPA laws at the time, received no major 
modifications.  None were required.  Still, the PO made some changes.  
Here's a look at the car as I bought it in 1997,
http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/308gtb1_1997.jpg and 
http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/308gtb2_1997.jpg .  These were the
pictures that our own Phil Tegtmeier sent to me in December of 1996.
That simple act, a fist full of long-distance phone calls, and the
subsequent drool, made me a Ferrari owner.  The important point of
these pictures is to point out the US side-markers that some PO had
added to the car.

   In about 2002 or so, Ric Rainbolt, as part of my repurchase deal, 
stripped every bit of trim off of the car.  Here's a look, 
http://www.aubard.us/MVC-042X.JPG .  You can see where the sidemarkers
were installed.

   In this bare metal strip, you can see the holes the PO had cut
into fenders, http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/Strip/STRIP04.JPG and 
http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/Strip/STRIP18.JPG .  The body shop
welded new steel into the openings, ground it flat - inside and
out - and applied primer,
http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/Primer/PRIMER08.JPG and 
http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/Primer/PRIMER01.JPG .  The turn signal
repeater hole is obvious and remains.  Once painted, here's how it
looked, http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/Paint/FINAL18.JPG . That's Ric 
Rainbolt with the car, from about 7 years ago.

   Here's how the car looks today,
http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/SideLo1.jpg .

   Now for the Mondial QV.  This was a true gray-market car.  When it
came into the US in 1983, it had reinforcements added to the doors, a
0-80mpg sticker applied to the face of the MPH-units speedometer and 
possibly other minor changes that I haven't caught.  The big change
was the addition of a lambda circuit to the K-Jetronic fuel injection.
A little plastic box with wires attached, was connected to a lambda
fuel pressure modulation valve.  Today, all that add-on crap is gone 
except the for valve and associated plumbing.

   In this picture you can see the hose going from points "A" to "C", 
http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/mod_reversal.jpg .  The pressure
modulation valve, labeled "B", is still there.  Now for the fear
factor; There are no hose clamps on ANY of these hose connections!
Never were!

   Next step in the de-federalizing is removal of this hose (and
valve).  To do this I simply need to remove the banjo-bolts, replace
the crush washers and replace the banjo bolts with shorter versions.
I picked up two of these bolts at a local Mercedes shop.  They
basically came from the scrap parts bin.  Here's a look at the bolts
being cleaned up on the wire wheel,
http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/banjo_bolts.JPG . They have been cleaned
and are now ready to put back into service,
http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/HPIM1394.JPG .  The crush washer visible
in the picture, is old and is being used only for measurements
(12mm ID, 19mm OD).  I have not yet bought new washers. 

   So, if you read this far you must enjoy restoration.  Must have
been a 3-day weekend...

rick
'08 M-B C300
'03 L-R Discovery
'96 BMW 740iL
'83 Mondial QV
'79 308GTB
'61 M-B 180b