RESTORING THE SUSPENSION OF A CLASSIC V12 1972 FERRARI 365 GTC 4
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The suspension system on the car looked a reaaly sorry mess. I am not sure how many of the grease knuckles had been greased over recent times. The various suspension components were covered in a mixture of old grease road corrosion & a mix of dirt, dust & grime from many years of occasional attention.Of all the areas on an old car I think this is a really neglected one-out of sight & out of mind!!. Attention usually being reactive to a problem rather than pro-active for prevention. |
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The car was raised on my ramp & a wire brush & some degreaser was used to clean off quite an amount of road dirt, rust & old grease etc.To remove the suspension plates & arms I sprayed all the nuts & bolts daily over a week period a with a penetrating fluid before I even attempted the dismantling.When I eventually attempted the strip down almost all the nuts & bolts came apart without too much trouble The front & rear suspension assemblies were completely stripped down to the last nut & bolt. This was a major undertaking as can be seen from the pics on the right. None of these parts had been touched for the past 30 years apart from limited work on the brakes & replacement of the front shock absorbers. |
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The rear suspension plates were bead blasted & gloss powder coated & the resulting finish is excellent. All other parts were gently bead blasted & electroless nickel plated & all suspension bushes were replaced before reassembly. The colour of this nickel plating, a light silver grey, is an excellent alternative to cadmium plating which is now difficult to obtain. Health & Safety Regulations now make the cadmium process as it is highly poisonous, a very expensive & not a commonly used process. |
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The rear shock absorbers were overhauled at Koni but the load levellers proved more difficult. There are no Koni facilities to service these parts & I am at present hoping for the best as they are still function correctly.I have simply cleaned them up & repainted them teh correct shade of Koni orange.  |
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