The Restoration - part 2
Discussion
I can sympathise and I have my fingers crossed for you. The excitement of finding a classic is then always followed by the scary items, such as the condition of the body, does the engine need a rebuild and how many parts am I actually going to buy lol. My first project is finally getting put back together by the restorer and the list of parts on the order list are just getting longer and longer.
I wish you luck in the body condition
I wish you luck in the body condition
I am just back from the garage. and the scale of the task is now clear. The full work plan is set out below. I know that a picture paints a thousand words, so I will post some photos later (when I have had a little lie down in a dark room to gather my strength).
Assessment and Restoration Program for 1961 Maserati 3500 GTI
Chassis number AM1O1 1988
Bodywork
Following full inspection after blasting of bodyshell and phosphate coating of
all steel parts.
Measure, assess and fabricate new aluminium nose section. This is required
following poor repairs to cosmetic impact in the past. Nose has been drilled and
pulled and is heavily misshapen. This is required prior to cutting away affected
metal. It is recommended that a new stainless steel grill is made prior to
establishment of new nose panel/sections as front is not true or symmetrical.
Remove aluminium sills after measurement for access to heavily corroded and
damaged inner sill sections.
Remake 1.6mm sections and ‘backbone’ of inner sills (4 sections per side). Cut
away and remove all corroded steel.
Seam weld new inner sills to original patterns and fabricate outer new
aluminium sills, seam weld (Tig) as required and level.
Remove all floors. Fabricate new floor sections (corroded and badly dented)
with original ‘sandwich’ heat dissipation material.
Remove rear valences (centre and both sides). Fabricate new aluminium centre
valence and both rear wing bottoms.
Remake ‘space frame’ which is missing and corroded where present in steel.
Remake inner nearside and offside boot floors as required (steel).
Fabricate and remake front and rear wing! wheel arch sections. Remake and
replace wire formers to front and rear wheel arches (missing or corroded).
Rebuild nearside and offside door frames in steel and, repair aluminium skins as
required and re-shape.
Remake front tubular sections to bumper supports as missing/ damaged.
Remake front centre chassis panel (damaged).
Fabricate all front engine bay sections for heat/ sound prevention as per original
factory specification (modem internal insulators to be used).
Fabricate nearside inner sill heat dissipation system for exhaust.
Remake front to rear tubular sections for wiring conduction/ heater for rear of
the car — fit to inner sills.
Level/planish all outer body panels as required.
Etch prime entire bodyshell and underneath. Seam seal all under sections for
Texture (3M) rubber coating to provide modern protection whilst retaining
original appearance.
Prepare and prime outer bodyshell. Level by hand and re- prime as required.
Apply base coat and 4/5 further coats (typical total of 10 coats to be applied in
total). Finish body to ‘show standard’.
Approximate 600 hours sheet metal/fabrication and 300 hours body preparation,
sealing and painting 300 hours.
Total bodywork 900 hours.
Mechanical
Strip engine and carry out full inspection of all internals.
Rebuild engine including re-grind/ polish of crankshaft with all new bearings.
Re-bore with all new pistons to be fitted.
Rebuild of cylinder head (assuming serviceable condition). New valve guides
with new unleaded valve seats to be fitted.
All new valves to be fitted. Camshafts have been assessed (concern of fuel
pump drive gear on inlet camshaft) exhaust appears serviceable.
Rebuild of all ancillaries including starter motor, dynamo and waterpump
(replacement where not serviceable)
Full detail and blast preparation / repaint to original specification of all engine
parts to ‘as new’ condition/ appearance.
Strip and overhaul of gearbox + full reseal, all parts as required.
Re-build of entire braking system including full rebuild of all brake calipers,
replacement of pads, and discs (or re-engineering of original discs if required).
Replacement of all pipework and hydraulic system including master cylinder (or
re build if not available). Rebuild of servo (external cost).
Rebuild of suspension including replacement of shock absorbers, re-building/
replacement of leaf springs. All suspension bushes and rubber perishable items
to be replaced with new (as available).
Full strip and detailing of original Borrani alloy/steel wheels.
New period correct (or modern if preferred) tyres to be fitted.
Re-chrome of all existing parts if serviceable (advise replacement of front grille
surround and bumpers in stainless steel as per original — front bumper incorrect,
rear heavily damaged, similarly grille.
Total mechanical hours 480.
Electrical.
Full rewire of entire car in modem cable (with correct and original appearance.) Rebuild of fuse
box and all switches and lights as required.
Rebuild of original wiper motor.
Replacement/ remake of electric window motors/ mechanisms (were not fitted and are high current
usage anyway) switches damaged/ missing.
Rebuild of internal gauges and light units (possible external cost here).
Total hours 180
Interior
Full strip and rebuild/ remake of all seats. Metal frames to be repaired/ welded and painted.
Rebuild of seating cushions and remake to exact original specification of all seats and door panels
in 'Bridge of Weir' leather (best quality).
Remake of headlining by hand to original specification in correct materials, with sound deadening
to roof fitted.
New' Wilton' carpeting with leather binding in choice of colours to original pattern.
Rebuild/ recovering of dashboard to original specification.
Total hours 240
Reassembly/Manufacturing
Full reassembly of entire car with all new rubbers and fittings as required.
Time includes remaking in-house of obsolete parts and fittings as required.
Road testing and tuning.
Total hours 450
Estimated total hours = 2250
Assessment and Restoration Program for 1961 Maserati 3500 GTI
Chassis number AM1O1 1988
Bodywork
Following full inspection after blasting of bodyshell and phosphate coating of
all steel parts.
Measure, assess and fabricate new aluminium nose section. This is required
following poor repairs to cosmetic impact in the past. Nose has been drilled and
pulled and is heavily misshapen. This is required prior to cutting away affected
metal. It is recommended that a new stainless steel grill is made prior to
establishment of new nose panel/sections as front is not true or symmetrical.
Remove aluminium sills after measurement for access to heavily corroded and
damaged inner sill sections.
Remake 1.6mm sections and ‘backbone’ of inner sills (4 sections per side). Cut
away and remove all corroded steel.
Seam weld new inner sills to original patterns and fabricate outer new
aluminium sills, seam weld (Tig) as required and level.
Remove all floors. Fabricate new floor sections (corroded and badly dented)
with original ‘sandwich’ heat dissipation material.
Remove rear valences (centre and both sides). Fabricate new aluminium centre
valence and both rear wing bottoms.
Remake ‘space frame’ which is missing and corroded where present in steel.
Remake inner nearside and offside boot floors as required (steel).
Fabricate and remake front and rear wing! wheel arch sections. Remake and
replace wire formers to front and rear wheel arches (missing or corroded).
Rebuild nearside and offside door frames in steel and, repair aluminium skins as
required and re-shape.
Remake front tubular sections to bumper supports as missing/ damaged.
Remake front centre chassis panel (damaged).
Fabricate all front engine bay sections for heat/ sound prevention as per original
factory specification (modem internal insulators to be used).
Fabricate nearside inner sill heat dissipation system for exhaust.
Remake front to rear tubular sections for wiring conduction/ heater for rear of
the car — fit to inner sills.
Level/planish all outer body panels as required.
Etch prime entire bodyshell and underneath. Seam seal all under sections for
Texture (3M) rubber coating to provide modern protection whilst retaining
original appearance.
Prepare and prime outer bodyshell. Level by hand and re- prime as required.
Apply base coat and 4/5 further coats (typical total of 10 coats to be applied in
total). Finish body to ‘show standard’.
Approximate 600 hours sheet metal/fabrication and 300 hours body preparation,
sealing and painting 300 hours.
Total bodywork 900 hours.
Mechanical
Strip engine and carry out full inspection of all internals.
Rebuild engine including re-grind/ polish of crankshaft with all new bearings.
Re-bore with all new pistons to be fitted.
Rebuild of cylinder head (assuming serviceable condition). New valve guides
with new unleaded valve seats to be fitted.
All new valves to be fitted. Camshafts have been assessed (concern of fuel
pump drive gear on inlet camshaft) exhaust appears serviceable.
Rebuild of all ancillaries including starter motor, dynamo and waterpump
(replacement where not serviceable)
Full detail and blast preparation / repaint to original specification of all engine
parts to ‘as new’ condition/ appearance.
Strip and overhaul of gearbox + full reseal, all parts as required.
Re-build of entire braking system including full rebuild of all brake calipers,
replacement of pads, and discs (or re-engineering of original discs if required).
Replacement of all pipework and hydraulic system including master cylinder (or
re build if not available). Rebuild of servo (external cost).
Rebuild of suspension including replacement of shock absorbers, re-building/
replacement of leaf springs. All suspension bushes and rubber perishable items
to be replaced with new (as available).
Full strip and detailing of original Borrani alloy/steel wheels.
New period correct (or modern if preferred) tyres to be fitted.
Re-chrome of all existing parts if serviceable (advise replacement of front grille
surround and bumpers in stainless steel as per original — front bumper incorrect,
rear heavily damaged, similarly grille.
Total mechanical hours 480.
Electrical.
Full rewire of entire car in modem cable (with correct and original appearance.) Rebuild of fuse
box and all switches and lights as required.
Rebuild of original wiper motor.
Replacement/ remake of electric window motors/ mechanisms (were not fitted and are high current
usage anyway) switches damaged/ missing.
Rebuild of internal gauges and light units (possible external cost here).
Total hours 180
Interior
Full strip and rebuild/ remake of all seats. Metal frames to be repaired/ welded and painted.
Rebuild of seating cushions and remake to exact original specification of all seats and door panels
in 'Bridge of Weir' leather (best quality).
Remake of headlining by hand to original specification in correct materials, with sound deadening
to roof fitted.
New' Wilton' carpeting with leather binding in choice of colours to original pattern.
Rebuild/ recovering of dashboard to original specification.
Total hours 240
Reassembly/Manufacturing
Full reassembly of entire car with all new rubbers and fittings as required.
Time includes remaking in-house of obsolete parts and fittings as required.
Road testing and tuning.
Total hours 450
Estimated total hours = 2250
The aluminium body means that, before blasting, it didn't look that bad (unless you could look from the inside). The biggest issue is that the steel space frame that sits under the aluminium panels is in a pretty bad way. It has either rusted or reacted with the aluminium. The steel needs to be replaced, but it is now clear that almost every panel (other than the roof) will need to be cut away and repaired. The pictures below show the state of the wheel arches.
Now for the floor and the sills. These cars have an interesting quirk in that the exhaust runs up the driver's side in a channel by the sill, and on the passenger side there is another channel which has running through it (i) a pipe that takes hot air from the engine to demise the rear window (no, really) and (ii) electric cabling. Paul said that the cabling is as thick as the cabling for a cooker in your kitchen! Hopefully the pictures below illustrate all this.
The first set are the driver side floor/footwell:
Now the passenger side:
Heating/cabling conduit:
The first set are the driver side floor/footwell:
Now the passenger side:
Heating/cabling conduit:
Some photos of the boot and rear seat arrangement. Points of interest are the evidence of prior work in the boot area (the gold is from brazing - i.e. using brass - this was a new one on me, but apparently it's not used anymore because it's not strong enough), and the piece of wood that is attached to ensure the rear parcel shelf sits at the right height. I am told that is original!
Now for the engine. It was a pig to get apart - not difficult to see why from the photos. Believe it or not, this was running before it was stripped. I'm glad that Paul didn't run it for any length of time! The biggest concern is that the head seems to have been worked on before and it is not clear whether there is enough thickness there. The unit is going down to Brands Hatch for stress testing to make sure it is OK before anything further is done to it.
Back to the horrible stuff. And there is nothing to put fear into a man like this:
This needs specialist TLC. It appears to have been pumping fuel into the engine oil. See comments above about how glad I am Paul didn't run the engine for any period of time before taking it out of the car..
There is a spline in the middle of the camshaft that drives the injection unit:
This needs specialist TLC. It appears to have been pumping fuel into the engine oil. See comments above about how glad I am Paul didn't run the engine for any period of time before taking it out of the car..
There is a spline in the middle of the camshaft that drives the injection unit:
You've now seen it at it's very worse but everything about it still looks like a piece of art (albeit a mixture of Damien Hurst and Tracey Emin). Stunning car, epic project, and it will be worth every hour and every penny. Keep the updates coming 
Paul
Paul
Edited by The Surveyor on Saturday 14th December 19:10
The Surveyor said:
You've now seen it at it's very worse but everything about it still looks like a piece of art (albeit a mixture of Damien Hurst and Tracey Emin). Stunning car, epic project, and it will be worth every hour and every penny. Keep the updates coming
Paul
Cheers Paul!Paul
Edited by The Surveyor on Saturday 14th December 19:10
Your thread has been quiet for a while.
johnfm said:
2250 hours -estimated
Plus materials and parts.
Is this why people buy the best possible condition car they can. Ouch!!
Somebody bought this at auction 18 months ago when it was advertised as needing cosmetic improvement!Plus materials and parts.
Is this why people buy the best possible condition car they can. Ouch!!
I went in with my eyes open. It was inspected in advance and the plan was always to give it the same level of restoration as the Alfa had. I don't believe that there is such a thing as a cheap restoration when you are talking about 50 year old Italian exotica. These cars were more expensive than the contemporary Aston (DB5) and Ferrari (250). Hopefully, one day it might be as appreciated as those cars.
SprintSpeciale said:
The Surveyor said:
You've now seen it at it's very worse but everything about it still looks like a piece of art (albeit a mixture of Damien Hurst and Tracey Emin). Stunning car, epic project, and it will be worth every hour and every penny. Keep the updates coming
Paul
Cheers Paul!Paul
Edited by The Surveyor on Saturday 14th December 19:10
Your thread has been quiet for a while.
That awful underseal is off now, all fully repainted, getting there....
SprintSpeciale said:
I went in with my eyes open. It was inspected in advance and the plan was always to give it the same level of restoration as the Alfa had. I don't believe that there is such a thing as a cheap restoration when you are talking about 50 year old Italian exotica. These cars were more expensive than the contemporary Aston (DB5) and Ferrari (250). Hopefully, one day it might be as appreciated as those cars.
I can't speak for everyone, obviously, but I would just like to say that without people such as you, I believe the classic car world might wither. I applaud and thank you for your efforts, dedication and generosity in returning a beautiful car to its pomp for future generations.Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff