Kerry's 250 GT Pininfarina Coupe Restoration (1643GT)

Fuel Filler Door

When I got around to installing the fuel filler door, I realized that the lock I thought was for the door wasn't right. 

   
I wonder what it goes to?

As these locks are the same as on the GTE models, TomS had a spare.  However, the one he had was a little worse for wear.  Someone had taken it apart and all of the upper springs and pins were gone.  In addition, the pin used to allow the lock to only rotate 1/4 turn was missing along with the pin used to hold the locking lever in place on the back.  Plus, I needed to key it to the ignition key.  So another lock to take apart and re-key.  The problem is that I don't have much in the way of spare pins and springs.  I made the upper pins from some brass stock that I cut down to the right diameter.  I had an extra lock for the fuel lever on the 330, so cannibalized it for the springs.  The other missing pins were also made and voila, a working lock that fit the fuel filler door.

A lock also requires a rubber pad underneath it so the paint isn't damaged.  When I first did my 330, I just used an O-ring of the proper diameter.  Since then, I've gotten a little fancier.  Among other things I now have is a large sheet of 1/16" thick sheet rubber, just the thickness for this application.  In addition, I've added a set of hole punches to my tool collection.  This lock has flats on each side so it can't rotate once installed.  I've tried to figure out how to use the hole punches and be able to make ones with flat sides, but never came up with a good solution until now.  The concept is so simple, I feel pretty stupid in not figuring it out a long time ago.  The problem is how to cut just a section of the circle on each side so you can cut the flat sides between each cut arc.  After cutting the outer diameter, use the inner diameter sized punch and just position the rubber and punch so only the portion you want cut is on the backing surface (I use an oak board).  The other portion just hangs over the edge and doesn't get cut.

Once you have cut both arcs, use a cutter to create the flat sides and you now have a rubber pad that exactly fits the lock.  Well, perhaps after a couple of tries.

Here is the lock installed in the fuel filler door.

The other issue is mounting the fuel door on the car.  The early PF coupes had a heavy hinge that the door bolted onto.  This is on a Series 1 car, courtesy of Chris Coios.

The later (Series 2?) cars used a simple spring as both the spring and hinge mechanism.

My question was what kind of washer or clip holds the spring to the studs?  I asked another Series 2 coupe owner for pictures of his car and got back the following:

As you can see, his only had a single stud and a fender washer was used.  Probably not what Pininfarina used originally.  My local PF coupe owner has been out of town, so I hope to get a picture of what his looks like pretty soon.

As you can see, this picture has two studs like my car.  I just need to make the clip and use an appropriate sized washer for the other stud.

Here's the fuel door ready for installation and on the car.