Aussie based GT4 # 17369 under full restoration. Ex UK car so all rust removed and restored to original Blu Ribot. Hope to have back on road for Summer cruising at Christmas.
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Are you taking it from 4 rear lights to 6? Looks like a outline has been marked out for the extra light but there is no center hole for the wiring yet? or was this panel new metal that you put in?
Car was exported from UK in late 70's as far as I can ascertain. Car originally was white from Factory(which I think looks great on the GT4) but before delivery, the UK dealer asked for it to be in Blu Ribot, so it was stripped and resprayed at the Ferrari Factory before shipping. It has 6 (3 x 2) rear lights and these will stay original. Rear panel we believe is still original but will be returned to black, not silver as when we took over the car. The third light on there when removed is only a reflector lens, not a powered light. Is this correct?
It is indeed a reflector, and there are no wires to it - so no 'hole'! Looks good, keep up the hard work ;-) Howard.
That looks great Robert. Hope you get it back on the road soon. Is that a lotus Cortina parked next to it? Cheers Al
Yes, Lotus Cortina. Good spotting. Rust was in both sills, and both front and rear side panels down low as well as bottom middle of front screen and as one can see in the photo, the spots around the rear screen. Complete replacement of outer skins and also sub chassis members on both sides. We've also completely restored all brake components including piping,fuel lines,all suspension rubbers in fact all rubber parts underneath as well as new Mille Miglia exhaust system;the list goes on. The car was in very good original condition but 40 years on… you know how it goes. Internally,completely original in excellent condition. Original mats etc.
Its a 1985 local Australian made GM Holden VK Commodore. We have a annual race here in Australia; the iconic Bathurst 1000 where Ford and Holden have gone head to head for many years and more recently opened up to other manufacturers. If you like racing, check it out on the web and I think you can watch it live, again via the web. The VK was a very successful fast unit which was popularised by one of our local race hero here, the late Peter Brock. Not mine, belongs to a friend.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0Qf3yuofVE]Peter Brock Bathurst winner, sideways in the '84 HDT VK Holden at Goodwood Festival of Speed 05 - YouTube[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqM87WJEPc0]Bathurst 1984 - Peter Brock '05' Lap. - YouTube[/ame] M
LOL! As a Fiat-phile I'm glad you put that 'era' in! Just kidding... but as an aside if anyone is interested in a genuine, mint 131 Racing a friend is selling his.
Good to see it is being restored and will be back in its original colour. Robert, if you know the original UK registration number I would appreciate it for my records.
I think the first UK rego was UGH90M. Ordered for delivery by H.R. Owen Ltd. Tony Willis has been excellent in helping us track the vehicle. Some "Classic" pricing has recently come to light. It cost all of GBP£15 to deliver the car to Owens in London by lorry from Dover and the 4 gals of petrol supplied with the car were invoiced by Maranello at GBP£1.54. Oh to have petrol at that price again as each time we fill it in Sydney, it is well over AUD$140+ The respray at Ferrari was very good as we have only found parts of the original white around the windscreens and some remaining on rear quarter panels. The colour was changed after a letter dated June 8th 1973 from Maranello Uk to Ferrari. The Nero colour inside as stood the test of time well. We needed to repair two panels on the leather trim, one on each of the front seats and were very fortunate to obtain a 40 year old Connelly hide from a local supplier in Nero so perfect match. We have spare hide for any future repairs. One hole looked very much like a cigarette burn!
Thanks, if I discover any early history about your car I will let you know. I have it as first registered in the UK on 7 November 1973 which given the colour change request in June indicates that it took a while to be repainted and delivered to the first owner, which was not unusual in those days.