Eye sockets: Restoring the headlight buckets

A little over a year ago we posted our special find of NOS headlights. For those who missed it the post is here:

http://dino246blog.blogspot.ca/2011/12/nos-headlights-may-be-long-lost-re.html

Today we managed to finish the housings that these lights reside in. Not that it took a year to do it but some of the pieces took some time to source out so now we have a complete assembly. Among these are correct to original brass rivets that hold the spring clips that fix the large headlight rings in place. These rivets were set with a special tool Dad made on the lathe from an old bolt.

Once installed they look OEM perfect; its just too bad they cannot be seen. In addition every part was either powder coated, re-plated, or cleaned. Note the large dish shaped ring which is galvanized and not plated. Another assembly ready for final installation.

Now for some before and after photos

A Christmas tale...

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the shop, not a ratchet was turning, not a Weber did pop.

The shop coats were hung on the hangers with care, knowing restoration work would resume in the New Year.

Dino shirts were folded all neat in a stack, as gifts for the helpers to cover their backs.

When near the hoist, there arose such a clatter, I stopped staring at gearbox castings to see what was the matter.

Then I lifted my cap away from my eyes, I saw a most welcome surprise…

A speed shape in yellow, some leather and rug, all samples to show the assembly to come.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us working on the Dino

 

Top tip: Properly sealing the inboard CV drive flanges

A common problem on both Dino's and Ferrari 308/328 cars is the contamination of the inboard CV joint by poorly sealed drive flange splines. If gear oil leaks through the flanges it dilutes the grease in the CV preventing proper lubrication and causing premature wear.

To prevent this I would like to share a procedure that I thankfully learned from David F. at Ferrari Service of Bedford (www.fluentinferrari.com)

First up is using the correct sealant and in this case we use Permatex RTV sealant that is resistant to gear oil. Gear oil has certain friction modifiers that attack regular RTV sealants so it is necessary to use the appropriate material for the application.

Next up is a look at the spline that leaks. The outside diameter is kept dry by means of a seal but oil can still creep through the splines and into the CV.

The RTV sealant is spread neatly but liberally on the inside of the splines of the CV flange. Note also the mark made to show the location of the indexing hole.

The CV flange can now be slid into position. Leave the overflow of RTV as it will serve to act as a final seal.

With the drive flange installed now the mounting bolt and washer must be installed. Note that the notch in the large washer goes in the hole marked by the line. Also you can see the overflow of RTV has been flattened by the large washer making a nice large continuous seal under it.

Lastly using some bolts and a large pry bar, the flange is held stationary while the prescribed torque is applied to the fixing bolt.

One last look inside: Finishing the gearbox

Before closing the gearbox we had a chance to shoot some photos of the inside before it was all shut tight. It is a real pity we cannot display the internals as the Dino gearbox is really quite a nice looking piece of engineering. Alas it has a job to do and is now ready for many miles and surely many smiles.

Restoration tip: Change all of the seals!

When working on an Italian car you will find that there are seals and o-rings everywhere. Some are obvious and others are a little harder to find. To find them all it is important to get a parts book and check EVERY assembly piece by piece to make sure you have not missed anything.

Case in point is an oil seal that is in the speedometer drive unit on the gearbox. Previous 'experts' had just tried using more and more silicone to try and stop a leak without knowing that there is a dedicated oil seal deep in the assembly. Sure enough disassembly revealed a seal that was hard as a rock and crumbled upon touching it.

We found such mechanical sins all over the place as previous maintenance and re-builds only replaced the most obvious seals. We are adamant of replacing every millimeter of rubber on the car so it is essential to use the parts book as your guide.