TVR T350
TVR T350
MENU
MASERATI
GHIBLI
MASERATI
GHIBLI
This vehicle had developed a starting problem and was requiring a much needed service as no work had been done on it for quite some time.
It came to me on a trailer, and was duly set up on stands in the workshop for the mechanical work to be carried out, and also there was cosmetic work needed as well.
There was corrosion on the front cross member, and the wheels had a fair amount of kerb damage on the edges and refurbishment was required. The engine was stripped down and fluids drained prior to refurbishment. The following pictures tell the story of the rebuild before the vehicle was presented on the Maserati stand at the NEC at the Classic Sportscar Show 09
Here is the car as it was when it first arrived, unfortunately not running which was down to some relays that controlled the fuelling and foreign debris in the fuel tank
The intercooler and throttle body removed and all the fluids drained.
So work began stripping the engine down as not only did the customer want the engine to run properly, but it needed to look the part as well.
As can be seen, a great deal of corrosion had occurred on the aluminium which would be shot blasted and stove enamelled.
The bumper and lights removed, and the front cross member is to come off to be shot blasted and painted.
Cross member removed along with the coolant radiator which needed rebuilding.
This is about as stripped as it got, the cam belt has been removed and a new one will be fitted. Doesn’t look very pretty in it’s present state.
I started to clean the engine bay, replacing rusty old screws and bolts with shinny polished stainless ones.
Oil catch tank in the foreground, freshly painted.
Ignition amps installed, engine protected with plastic sheet.
Heat shield installed after cleaning oil and dirt.
Under side of plenum, ready to be fitted to engine.
Plenum chamber being assembled.
New cam belt fitted, covers installed with crankshaft pulley and cam sensors. These cars seem proned to cam and crankshaft sensor failures, so I replaced all of them for maximum reliability.
The front cross member fitted with stainless fasteners.
All the wheels and brakes fitted, it’s starting to come together now.
Rocker covers and plenum chamber installed.
Coil packs and ignition wires installed. Two of the coil packs were faulty and had to be replaced.
Fuel injectors fitted and ignition amps, fuel rails next.
Fuel rails installed along with injector looms, and you can see the new fuel delivery pipe at the rear of the engine.
Taking shape now, headlights fitted, intercooler pipes and most of the engine components.
The finished engine, looking very much the part. The intercooler tubes you can see have been made from stainless tube and polished. All the hose clips are stainless steel, and the coolant header tank has been replaced.
The old rear brake discs were unsalvageable, so were replaced and stove enameled gold.
Here are the new discs fitted, note the drilling in the disc.
I think this has the desired effect, the wheel bolts have been re-chromed and the centre caps replaced.
This is the car completely finished on the morning it was due to go to the NEC to be displayed on the Maserati stand.
New number plates have been made to the existing Italian format, the customer has retained the original registration that the car came with.
A beautiful machine, I was very pleased with the end result. It has breath taking performance to match it’s looks and that lovely Italian soundtrack.
The next few pictures are of the car on the stand at the NEC. Some of the photo’s are a little blurred.
