Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Hello from the South

[Robert W. Garven Jr. (rgarven]

Robert W. Garven Jr.

rgarven [at] gmail.com

 "The Ferrari is a dream - people dream of owning this special vehicle and for most people it will remain a dream apart from for those lucky few." Enzo Ferrari

On Jun 5, 2014, at 10:36 AM, francis newman <francis [at] fntn.co.uk> wrote:

Hi Robert and all

At this stage in my learning curve carbs are not something I want to get involved in. Maybe one day. Did a 230 mile round trip to my brother om Monday/Tuesday to give a talk on Ferrari to his Probus club. Car ran really well. I know it is running rich but I checked the plugs afterwards and they look pretty good, but that was a good long blast. I don't think they would be so good after shorter runs.

I always check in the engine compartment after a good run, and I noticed some liquid on a chassis part under the driver side engine end of the CV joint. A bit off poking around and I found a split boot (gaiter we call it over here) so the liquid was congealed molten grease!

So have it booked in to my local Ferrari indy shop (who have looked after the car for the last 15 or so years) to get the mixture sorted and the boot. Maybe one day I'll learn how to do it myself but meanwhile I just want to have it running properly and enjoy it.

A couple of points.

1. This boot was secured by a clamping ring. The other side isn't. There are some posts on Fchat showing 308 boots which suggest that the boot has a flange that fits into a groove on the differential end of the C/V joint. No clamping ring. Is that correct on the GT4. Maybe a wrong boot was used in the past.

The shaft should have clamps on both ends, which are near identical except for the grooves on the shaft dont get them switched around. This is one of the easier and more fun jobs I have tacked several times! I used Redline CV grease. Glad you are enjoying the car!!!

2. I suspect the previous owner had the car set up a bit rich to achieve max output on a dyno. I am not too bothered about achieving max figures. Just want the car to run nicely in all conditions, short or long journeys. Is that a good choice?

Next thing to sort is the A/C.  A 2 hour drive even on a moderately warm UK so called summer day makes a pretty warm cockpit. I suspect all the gas has leaked away through lack of use but will get the system checked prior to spending money on the gas.

11 weeks of ownership. 1200 miles driven. Learning more and more about the car. Loving it.

Not enough time to do all the things I want to.

In no particular order (but I will have to make a plan).

Fit a heatshield between exhaust and rear trunk ((It has a  "very loud" Stebro exhaust which has no studs for a heatshield so I would need to anchor it to the trunk. Non original I know, but there are enough other non original bits that it doesn't concern me).The previous owner told me that teh exhaust is coated and it doesn't need a heatshield but I'm not sure I agree.

Re connolise front seats.

New carpets and mats

Tidy up surface corrosion on frame extensions, anti roll bar and coil springs.

See what scrapes need sorting out under the car

Clean up engine compartment.

New tyres. Mine are 11 years old.

And the big one. Complete repaint over next winter. There are enough bits that need rectifying to warrant it.

So enough to keep me busy for quite a long time

And of course, I know I have to post pics - and will do in due course. In fact I will write a blog on my ferrarimania.com website which I haven't touched for more years than I can remember!

Put a new battery in it last week. What a difference. On start up the engine sounds like it's turning over at twice the speed and fires almost immediately. $90 or so well spent.

Francis

On 31 May 2014, at 03:35, Robert W. Garven Jr. wrote:

Francis,

Glad to hear you are having fun. Your car has the fixed bulbs right. The US cars have a sealed beam type. Actually the carbs were one of the easier projects I tackled as all the parts only go in one way!  HA

Rob

<Weber Exploded View.jpg>
Robert W. Garven Jr.
rgarven [at] gmail.com


"The Ferrari is a dream - people dream of owning this special vehicle and for most people it will remain a dream apart from for those lucky few." Enzo Ferrari






On May 30, 2014, at 5:39 PM, francis newman <francis [at] fntn.co.uk> wrote:

Hi Rick and Rob

Headlights didn't go according to plan The plastic holders just didn't work. So a trip to a local fasteners shop gave us all we needed, (sum total $3 ) new screws and all was well and I will refurbish the rusty wells over the winter.

Rob - yes there is rich and rich. Once again I had cylinder one not firing (wet plug) and changed all the plugs. Now fine.

No Rick. Carburettor stuff beyond my competence to sort. So over to the shop.

Yes - pics soon

Onwards and upwards.

Got to prepare a talk on Ferrari have to give on Tuesday, so not much time to post further.

Best

Francis









On 30 May 2014, at 13:11, Rick Lindsay wrote:

Hello Francis,

Have being doing work.

:-)

Can't remember when I last reported but latest stuff has been replacing
the outer headlights with new ones, replacing all headlamp bulbs with
H1 nd H4 and completeley rewiring them direct from the battery with
local relays tirggered from the original circuits.

I replaced the headlights in my 308GTB with flat-face lens and reflectors, and halogen bulbs. I did not rewire or go to a relay switched system but the improvement was considerable. I also just replaced the headlight lamps in my Volvo 1800ES.  I used Sylvania blue-white sealed beam lamps and the improvement is astounding; weak yellow to crisp, bright white.

They now work as intended and are a zillion times brighter1

Tomorrow my friend and I are going to replace the original rather worn
out  metal headlamp cup hoLders with some more modern plastic ones.
Will then post some pics.

Please do.

I know that is non original, but I would rather something that works
properly. I will retain the old stuff in case a future owner wants to
return to originality.

That is my work model as well. I try to avoid non-reversible changes.

1,000 miles so far.

Excellent. Running better all the time I would bet! These cars like to be driven. I could make up some physics to explain that but I'd rather just enjoy it.

Next step is getting the carbs reset as it is running rich.

Do you have emissions testing as part of your MOT for old cars? That varies state-to-state here. In Texas there are no inspections required for old cars. (Old defined as >= 25 years.)

Running rich is better than lean. Lean translates to lower power and hot. And one might ask; Is it rich all across the power band or just at idle?

Do you plan to rebuild your 40DCNFs? If so, doing it yourself? The job is not hard or even complex but it is long and tedious. Fortunately, your carbs probably need nothing more than adjustment, since you drive it a lot and its running well.

I let my 308 sit unused for a long time when my mom lived with us, and before she died. We did little more than care for her for over a year. Once I got the 308 back out I noticed a 'stumble' when adding a little Wellie. Stomp it and it would go like stink but small throttle opening produced a very unsatisfying stumble-lag-then-go. The problem was gum built up in the accelerator pump circuits. The added air was not being enriched so the charge leaned out, and the engine stumbled.

If you choose to adjust and re-sync your carbs yourself, please let me know. There are numerous tricks that make the process much less tedious. But before you do anything, make sure you have a nice, clean, correct air filter. A clogged-up air filter can cause rich running!

Best regards,

Rick

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