I was contacted by a work colleague to go and look at this vehicle which had been standing for about six months, as it wouldn’t start. I diagnosed the problem to be linked to the starter motor which fail to turn the engine over even with a freshly charged battery. A decision was made to bump start the car and drive it to my house for further investigation. As well as curing the starting problem, it also was in for some much needed service work. The car started fairly easily, and although ran very unevenly, was driven some twenty miles back to the workshop.

After some investigation, it was found that the starter motor had seized up and would require replacement. A new motor was obtained and fitted to the vehicle which cured the problem. It was then set up on stands whilst I looked over the whole car. Unfortunately I found a number of problems, mainly due to the length of time it had been standing, and some electrical gremlins which probably were to be expected.

The brakes were beyond repair due to corrosion, and the paint around the rear wheel arches had flaked off in some areas. The metal wasn’t very rusty, but immediate action would be needed before returning it back to service. The owner of the car decided that he wanted to have it restored to it’s former glory befitting such a lovely marque.

So work commenced, firstly with the engine and mechanical items and then on to the cosmetic issues. The engine was stripped of most of the ancillaries, including the induction and fuel systems along with cam covers etc. A new set of brake discs and pads were obtained, then stove enamelled gold. All the corroded components under the bonnet were shot blasted, stove enamelled and stainless fasteners replaced those rusty old original items. A great deal of cleaning up and corrosion removal had to be done, but gradually the project came together as can be seen from the pictures. The electrical problems were ironed out and the end result was a beautiful Italian V8 running perfectly as it should.

The car was taken locally to have the two rear wings repainted, and the finished job was so good, it was impossible to tell any work had ever been carried out.

The wheels were curb damaged on the front, so all four were shot blasted and refinished complete with new tires. The wheel nuts were re-chromed and the finished items looked absolutely superb.

I made a new front number plate bracket as the original one was designed for a small Italian plate, which made it very difficult to fit a UK one. The new bracket was made of stainless steel and a set of new number plates installed to complete the project. The car was then deep cleaned inside and out, with leather treatment applied to the upholstery and special polishes to the paintwork.

The car really came out well, and after all the hard work I was delighted with the end result.