TVR T350
TVR T350
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FERRARI
TESTAROSSA
FERRARI
TESTAROSSA
This car has been standing for about 8 years and arrived with a heavy misfire and uneven running. Initially it was thought to be a fuel problem, but after some diagnosis it was found to be the ignition leads breaking down. Four of them were found to e open circuit and the others all had wildly different resistances. This all added up to a very poorly running engine. Also, as the car had only done 7200 miles from new but was built in 1992, the cam belts hadn’t ever been changed. So it was decided that the belts needed replacing along with a service and some cosmetic enhancement. The photos show an interesting story of the removal of the engine, and the resurrection of an iconic classic Ferrari.
The exhaust has been removed along with the intake tract. There is an enormous amount of work required to remove all the components necessary before the engine can be removed. Most of the work is done from the underside of the vehicle, the engine will be removed on the lower subframe with the body raised to allow the whole assembly to be withdrawn rearwards.
The vehicle being prepared for the body to be lifted up. You can see the sling attached to the rear chassis tubes and the lift in place ready to raise the whole body. The front of the engine is supported on a jack to steady the lower subframe.
The photo on the left shows the body raised to allow the complete engine/subframe assembly to be rolled rearwards away from the shell. It is a enormous engine and is a considerable weight to roll along. Plenty of manpower was required to safely move the unit into the workshop. The photo on the right shows the body minus the power plant, not a picture you see very often on such a vehicle. There is quite a lot of cleaning up and cosmetic enhancement to do to both to the body and the engine unit .
The engine is now set up in the workshop, and work commenced to remove the cambelt covers so that the old belts can be replaced with new ones. It’s not a terribly difficult procedure, but it’s made all the more easy with the engine removed from the vehicle.
The left picture shows the engine with the cam belts removed. The unit was cleaned and various bolts replaced with stainless items. The whole engine is to have stainless fasteners fitted as fas as possible, partly because many of the existing bolts are rusty or damaged and of course as a cosmetic enhancement. The shot on the right shows the belts installed and correctly tensioned, waiting for the covers to be refitted.
The engine set up over the pit for cleaning, it’s a huge power plant and took a considerable amount of work (and solvent) to bring it back to it’s former glory. Most of the nuts and bolts have been replaced with stainless items which really makes a difference. It makes a tired looking engine look amazing once all those rusty bits are removed.
The engine being positioned under the body before it is lowered back on to the subframe. There is a suprising amount of flex in both the subframe and the body frame which made it quite tricky to get it all the bolt holes lined up.
The engine has now been re-united with the body and re-assembly has been started. Here you can see the whole rear of the car removed for cleaning and some repairs to be done. There are an astonishing number of bolts used to assemble the all the rear end, all of which will now be stainless.
Most of the rear end has now been re-assembled with just the bumper and black trim panel to go. Here you can see the exhaust and lower panel fitted along with the lights and rear grill.
The rear end now completed with a new number plate to finish the job off. It’s starting to look the part once more. The front number plate was damaged, so that was replaced as well.
The shot on the left shows the exhaust system fitted along with the lower body panels. On the right the rear bumper and a new number plate installed. Incredibly labour intensive work, everything is held together with M6 bolts.
The new ignition leads installed which was the cause of the misfire and the engine cover being fitted. It’s a three man job to fit as it’s quite heavy and awkward, much care is needed to avoid any damage to the paintwork.
The throttle linkage was badly worn and damaged but unfortunately was unavailable to purchase from Ferrari. So I decided to make the part that was worn myself. It uses a very fine thread pitch M10x1.00 which is rarely used these days, but only took a few minutes to machine.
The cable that releases the engine cover had snapped and needed replacing. When removing the trim and carpets, I found evidence of a mouse that had been living inside. Some of the leather had been chewed but thankfully none of the wiring. Once the new cable was installed, the cover opened a treat.
The finished engine bay with the air filter covers all fitted. The rest of the pictures show the finished vehicle restored back to its former glory. The Testarossa is one of Ferrari’s most iconic models ever designed, certainly a big head turned as it roars past.