Here's a pic of me pulling the engine out of my 612 yesterday!

OK, I am back to it!

My 612 was apparently owned by a much heavier man than me. The driver's seat was worn, both the bolsters and the leather. Passenger seat was like new.

A new seat is $9K so I passed on this. Also, you can't source the cushions or the leather separately. As such, I had the upper left and lower left portions of the driver's seat cushion (bolsters) reinforced by a upholstery shop. THen, I got to re-dying the leather...

Process: I used Leatherique products. First, Rejuvenating oil and then Pristine Clean. Then I used Isopropyl alcohol and cleaned the leather thoroughly. Then let it dry for two days. Then I applied the custom mixed dye. Requires a steady hand with contrast stitching!

I did two to three coats on most of the seat. It matches perfectly with the sections on the very same seat that didn't need it (the shoulder area and above.

Here are some sort of lame before and after pics. In the last pic, the front bottom potion of the seat had just gotten a third coat. Now I need to let dry for 48 hours before putting the seat back in.
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Well, I didn't really but it is hard to tell. Looks much better than it did!

 

Thank you! And today another milestone!

Over 7K since the rebuild and running strong!
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As an update...

The 612 is still running strong after 3+ years and 10K+ miles on the rebuild! Have been taking her out to the track and getting her up to 145MPH+ on an airport straight-away. I am not gutsy enough to go faster!

Currently finishing up a similar project on a 2013 Ferrari FF I got. Flood car out of Cleveland.

https://www.motor1.com/news/150736/ferrari-ff-flood-cleveland-ohio/



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Very interesting on the FF hydrolock question. Let me explain what I found...

The FF saw a much higher water mark than my 612 ever did. The 612 barely got any water into the cabin. But the FF got it up to the hip level. Interestingly, the FF engine was just about perfect. It did ingest water, but never hydrolocked. Either the owner shut it down in time (unlikely) or there is another explanation (that I will outline now).

Here is what happened after the FF was fished out of the pool of water that the video shows (which, btw is about 1 foot lower in the pictures than it eventually saw). The car went to North Shore Exotics in Cleveland. There the owner flushed out the engine of water, the trans and diff and ran the car through all 7 gears. The car then went to IAA in Cleveland (Insurance Auto Auctions). At this point I was watching it but knew nothing about it (i.e. didn't know that it went to North Shore, etc and ran). It was then brought to New Jersey and went up for auction in NJ at Copart two weeks later. At this point I dug in and did my research. I liked the gamble, so I bought it (likely $10K higher than I would have paid at the IAA auction but now I had the info).

When I took delivery, the starter was amost completely rusted up. I got one start out of it. That was it and the starter was toast. I then pulled the entire ineterior apart and starting going through every module, every seat motor (seats were all locked up), etc. I had to muck out every orifice, replace every relay, every fuse, most modules, clean all connections (thankfully fresh water flood). New oxygen sensors, etc. Car then ran perfect. Interior is back to "like new". Leather fared superbly. Current issue is that the TCM (which is in the trunk and was under water) has now decided to go out, so I am having it cloned onto a used one to save me the $7K pricetag for buying one from the dealer and having it coded (it is one of the few modules on the FF that needs to be coded after purchase of a new module). Will probably save me $6,500.

But here is the kicker on the hydrolock question (vs the 612). I noticed that the FF has these 1/2" thick panels that lie underneath the traditional air cleaner panels on the car. I wondered "what the hell are these"? I looked them up and noticed they are only spec'd in the USA and Canada. At that point, the loght-bulb went off and I inferred "ah ha!", these panels must inhibit the flow of water (if the intake scoops see water) and help block water ingestion to reduce the risk of hydrolock! Likely specified by the insurance companies (who can get $50K more for a salvage Ferrari that runs vs one that doesn't)...

So that's the short story. I started the project last November and am a couple weeks away from a perfect FF. It is highly optioned, 7K miles, runs awesome, perfect compression, etc. I had it fully "Expel" bra'd and Ceramic Pro'd. Body perfect. Absolutely perfect.

I can't wait to spend some time driving it. This winter too! 4-wheel drive!

I will post some pics of the project as it developed along the way. It's been fun. And since I now run my own shop for a living (2nd career), my capabilities to do this 100% right and efficiently has gone way up. The 612 project provided the foundation for that leap!

 

Here is the 612 in its current state! 3+ years later...

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And a few of the FF project as it progressed with interior pull apart. First pic simply shows the rusted out brushcard that was inside the starter motor.

Getting out disabled seats alone took about 14 hours! Removing seats that don't move it a total b!tch. You basically have to take them apart underneath the seat and extract them!
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That interior shot of the interior all shined up is AFTER I went through every square inch to clean it up. The below pic show basically the dirt reisdue that was left everywhere when the water subsided. Even within the seats!
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I will likely put up a separate and more thorough accounting of the FF project on the FF portion of the site. Interestingly, that "area" of the site hasn't seemed to be as interested in some early indications of the project as you all have been on the 612. Probably not as many folks in that FF/Lusso/F12/812 section that can relate (yet). Still too new and most folks not as "approachable" as us 612 or 599 guys! ;-)