Brett will post his progress photos here. promised by Christmas!
I could not figure out how to post the e mail photos. this project has been ongoing since June 13! so now I will see them all in on place
the 'heat' is always on Ross ! we've got four major projects on the go right now and all of our standard, daily service/preventative maintenance jobs... so ya, for three guys, the 'heat' is always on !
so, after four or five years of once-a-year phone calls from Signor Barnes, last year he started the 4pm phone call by saying "What's your address ?" rather than "Mitchell Barnes." I responded with my typical question, "Mitch, is that you ?" Over the next two minutes, he let me know that he was sending his car to me...no discussion of our current workflow, scope of project, condition of the car...nothing...that just isn't his 'style'...Mitch is much more of a 'just do it' type of guy... so, although I asked for 48 hours to coordinate my 350 mile round-trip to Buffalo (not including the necessary importation procedures), I got a phone call from the Buffalo warehouse at 7:15 the next morning, telling me that there was " a Ferrari, I think..." with two flat tires, two motors, two gearboxes, a shrink wrapped drivers door (???) and dozens of moldy boxes sitting in the rain outside... so, two hours later, after filing out all of the online import document's, we hit the road in the pouring rain to collect what was certainly the biggest jig saw puzzle we've yet encountered...and trust me, we've 'dealt' with a lot of puzzles in our 9 years. what's transpired over the last 14 months is a sympathetic 'refresh'' of his 1976 365 GT4 2+2... p.s. don't ask how we got a fully assembled V-12 on a skid into the back of my Suburban...that was just one of many 'little surprises' we encountered along the way... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
the reality of the situation becomes apparent... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Apologies, thought he was referring to pictures by Christmas but now it looks like he meant the finished car by Christmas??? That seems like a pretty significant job even if the shop was empty, so good luck!
no apology necessary John...it's easy to misunderstand Mitch...and, as a result, I misunderstood you ! the 'scope' of the project was easy to misunderstand (on our part and on Mitch's) because I just recently found out the Mitchell had never seen the car in person prior to shipping it to me... it went from California to a shop near Mitchell, where it remained for years before coming to us. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
what started out as a 'simple' engine repair/rebuild, turned into two motors, two gearboxes, 12 carbs, paint, mouse hair, leather...including a cracked block on one motor and a wiped out crank on the other. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Looks like Christmas unwrapping came a month early for you this year And I wasn't talking about the snow Nice project Brett !
thanks Rick...you really are one of the 'good guys' ! hey, I love the new avatar, btw...you've lost the glasses and gained a nasty scar since the last time I saw you...but you haven't aged a day otherwise ! ; )
progress... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
You ain't kidding! I can barely understand anything he types here! Nice progress Brett....keep the pics coming. Looks good.
Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzuuuuuuuss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I sure hope he didn't pay much for the car..............................'cos he's sure gunna keep you in snowshoes(or whatever else you wear over there)for ever...I'd have thought.
more photos to come, yes? I paid $28,000. hauled it from Calif. to Columbus paid $8,000 for some work. let it sit for maybe 3 years(Obama) hauled the car to Lexington to sit until 2013. I finally had some money. for me progress on the car was painfully slow, this is the first car I have had redone so I no idea how long . I damn near died six months ago, twice, once from a bad fall and then bad cancer care. so, the soon to be delivered car is exciting. for those that have put up with my poor communication, I did a recent post, Brian. 16 years of hospital, every year. brain damage from antithesis. chemo brain and two serious falls have been a challenge. but I am still going.
seats... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
body and paint...including new metal where US DOT side markers had been installed. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Brett, you're doing a first class job, my only question is : Will this model support such a complete restoration??
motor # 1... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
it's hard to say what the future holds George...but with 365 GTC/4's at $275K and 365 GTB4's at $700K, it seems to me that $80-100K GT4 2+2's are very, very 'safe'. that's where I am on my own car and I'm totally fine with it...
You know I met Mitch down at NJB Automotive days before his stoke. Really nice guy, he liked my '77 308 GTB. He has a whole mess of cars, most of which are a mess!