La Bella Ferrara - 20 year project getting closer

[nelsonj]

My 20+ year project 124 (fondly named after a little Italian pastry shop in NY, NY) is reaching a major milestone: full body and paint along with bumper retrograde and door-ding rail deletes.

When I brought her to the body shop, they originally said "maybe at the end of August", then "for sure" by Columbus day, and finally "absolutely" before Thanksgiving. I was hoping to debut it at the Turkey Trot on Sunday, but chances are slim to extremely slim that will happen (but they may start re-assembly tomorrow, and they work on Saturdays...so possible.)

It is getting very close, but I realistically expect to have it a week from Saturday.

Anyway, I have Picasa page with "before & during" pics found at the link below for anyone curious about my psychosis:

http://tinyurl.com/2atqah5

Resto-purists might not approve - I understand. I am going after an unapologetic SoCal take on the classic Italian theme rather than an original, out-of-the-showroom look.

Hopefully I will have the "after page" up next week. (Lots of bling to come including just chromed/repaired old-style bumpers, front overriders, stainless upper/lower grill, dual bullet mirrors, and chrome Fiat hubcaps with beauty rings...)

[BEEK]

looks great, im sure it was worth the wait

[TulsaSpider]

Looking gooood!

[Foster48x]

Great color! Looking forward to seeing it finished.

Rick

[nelsonj]

I keep making the shop e-mail me pictures so I can see how things are going. Getting very, very close and I really think it will be ready this weekend. Not like I am getting anxious or impatient or anything...

I posted more construction pictures here with new pics at the end:


http://tinyurl.com/2atqah5


Tick, tock, tick, tock....

[azygoustoyou]

It's looking good Nelson!

[nelsonj]

Well I got my little gem back late last Saturday. It has either been raining or dark when I was at home and I have not had a chance to get her out. On Thursday, the sun was out, so on my way to the airport, I took a few pictures in front of my house with the top down. (More photo ops in better So Cal spots will follow at some point...)

On Saturday, I hope to put on new "old" rims with chrome Fiat hubs caps and chrome beauty rings. New springs and shocks on the way to lower the ride. That should be the finall "look" at that stage.

The new photos are at the very end (5 or so).

http://tinyurl.com/2atqah5

A few minor corrections are needed, but overall I am pleased with the shop work.

[fiasco]

Looks amazing Jeff! Beautiful color and I love the retro bumpers. Outstanding!!!

-- se

[nelsonj]

A beautiful day here in Southern California, so I took Bella (and my cousin visiting from out of state) to the beach for a few pictures.

She now has her hubcaps and beauty rings, as well as the MI Shorter Shifter (fun!), new shifter boot and interior light.

Here is link with a bunch of new photos:
http://tinyurl.com/2ezytad

Ok...I will try to post some of my favs....hope this works


On Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) near Zuma in Malibu


Also on PCH



Point Dume



Entrance to Zuma beach. This Spider made many a trip here while I was an undergrad at UCLA.


Point Dume lifeguard shack.


Point Dume beach.


Overlooking Point Dume in Malibu.



Malibu home (not mine) and my Spider.

Fun, fun, fun but I should have put on sun screen. BTW: How's the weather in Canada today?

[narfire]

Well.. in the sunny okanagan it was... sunny and warm for this time of year. No snow on the ground,all melted, and can work outside in a sweat shirt. Give it a couple of days and all bets are off though.
Nice car, great colour.
Chris

[wachuko]

Beautiful car, and the right color

Enjoy it in good health!!

[nelsonj]

Just put in the new steering wheel. IAP wheel and hub adapter. After I figured out what I was doing (basically there were no instructions) I have to say everything fit perfectly and all the needed parts were included (except the Fiat horn button). I would give IAP a 10+ on fit, quality of parts and no-hassle install. I would give them about a 7 on price (a bit pricey, but given the no hassle factor, I think worth it). My car is the "old" style so I needed the hub adapter. It looks like it is drilled to take just about any wheel. I believe my wheel is a Nardi pattern, but I think this will take a Momo also. It fit perfectly, and the horn wiring and hookup also worked perfectly. My turn signals still "return off" after I complete a turn. Every part was just about perfect.

Pic of the wheel:


and here is the full dash



Note the IAP wheel came with just a plain black center horn button. I removed a FIAT emblem from an old gear shift knob and crazy glued it to the center of the horn. I think it came out pretty good.

Also note, one of my many personal "touches" is a location swap of the tach and the (140Mph) speedo. The Italian setup with the tach on the right just drove me crazy because it was backwards from EVERY other car I have driven. Sorry purists - I just wasn't willing to deal with it.

Next step - clear glass on my clock. I read there is a gentleman here that does a great job on rebuilding clocks...

[TVST*R]

Nelson,
Who did the paint?
I've cruised Zuma a million times...great drive.

[nelsonj]

You asked "Who did the paint?"-

Next Auto Body
805-581-6170 - 1378 E Los Angeles Ave # E, Simi Valley, CA 93065

I think they did a great job - but be patient if you use them.
More than the paint, they really did a great job prepping the body, getting all the dents out, getting it straight and restoring all the lines. Lots and lots of sanding by hand. The bumpers are retro fit (replacing the tubes) and they did a good job with the adapted mounts, and opening/closing the turn signals.

I would definitely recommend them IF you are willing to trade time in the shop for quality. Price was reasonable, but not cheap.

Based on all the LA area Spiders on this board, I am thinking we need to set up a "cruise PCH" event. Start somewhere in Ventura ( how 'bout it VenturaAce???) and end up in Santa Monica/10.

[nelsonj]

Several updates...
About three weeks ago I decide to "finish" my trunk. It only had one wood panel, so I decided to make two new ones to fully cover the spare tire and trunk. I also added carpet. It turned out ok, but it looks much better than before.



It was a nice day, and I had a new trunk, so on a whim I grabbed my camera, headed to PCH to take some glamor shots...

Near Cal State Chanel Islands



Along PCH near Port Heuneme


Well, to put a ruin to an otherwise great day, on the way home I started hearing a "ticking" noise, and then the car died. I had to be flat bedded home...not the type of "trailer queen" I had in mind.




The timing belt slipped - and I today determined I did major engine damage and will have to repair/replace the head.
Here is what Bella currently looks like...(after I scraped all the carbon off the piston domes.)




I think what happened is there was a large amount of "grime" in the timing gears. This filled up the gear teeth, made the grip too shallow, and the belt could not grip. The belt was only about 3 years old and 10k miles. Inspect your gears for "gunk" - and if you find much, you need to clean/replace your gears, figure out what's leaking and fix it, and change the timing belt before driving much more. Don't take a chance - inspect!

And the stripped down timing belt. The "ticking" sound I heard was either the belt slipping, or more likely the valves making light contact with the cylinders. Uggh.


There are more photos under the "Engine and Tuning" section - search for "Freewheel vs. Interference".