September 2019

I received the bill for the September work and was pleasantly surprised to see 88 hours of work, though not necessarily wanting to see the bill amount.  So, I stopped by to see the progress.

The interior people found some time to work on the seats, but I didn't get a chance to see them as they went to lunch just before I left.

They are working on the rear bumper to check the fit.  It's all in copper until everything fits properly.  Then the final chroming will be done.

One of the items on the invoice was putting the car on the 'Picture Frame' and getting it aligned.  I have seen a rotisserie used when working on a body, but never heard the picture frame nomenclature. It turns out that is is a frame (on wheels) that has a framework that can be rolled back and forth the length of the car.  Then there is a so called picture frame mounted on the framework that goes up each side and overhead.

The chassis is bolted to fittings that are welded to the framework at the rear suspension pickups and the engine mounts.

   

The picture frame rolls down each side.  You can see the wheels in the lower right.  They work similar to an amusement ride with wheels above, below and to the side of the I-bar.  Since the chassis is bolted parallel to the frame, one can measure to each side (or down from the top) to check that the bodywork is identical for each side.

One thing that I did not expect was that the passenger rocker was quite rusty on the inside.  In the process of repairing the rear of that fender, they cut a small hole in the rocker panel for better access.

This opened a can of worms or rust in this case.

       

One thing I have always cautioned older Ferrari owners is to never use a Ferrari jack to jack up the car.  You can see why as the outside metal looked fine, but the supporting structure inside the rocker was toast.

But Dennison has the expertise and tools to make identical replacement parts.

One of the machines they have is a Eckold Piccolo Kraftformer shrinking and stretching machine.  Not only can you make the holes like those in the rocker above, but it can shrink metal.

Of course, they also have an English wheel for forming fenders and other sheet metal parts.  Here is the replacement rocker exterior.

From some of the damage in the right rear fender area, it seems that a tire blew and shredded into the inner fender panel.  Your can see the hole torn by the tire.  There were also lots of rubber bits inside the fender area.  It looks like that someone had just put some fiberglass for a patch.  Not watertight, so probably that is why this rocker is so rusty.

   

The doors have the window mechanisms in place and are being fitted to the body.  Their hinges had to be drilled and oversized pins used to get them to open and not sag.

   

If you remember, the hump in the rear had been torched and bent apart, probably to change the clutch without removing the transmission.  That has been cutout and replaced.

       

The hood has been cleaned with the underside painted and is ready to be fitted to the car.  Note, that is Butch Dennison holding it.

   

The minor dented areas have been dollied out so the bondo will be a thin coat.

The right rear fender had enough dents plus needing to be removed to replace the inner fender panels, so it will be replaced.

   

So plenty of work got done.  I'm glad that the project is going forward again.