Pretty quiet on the home front

Things have been pretty quiet lately on the home front. Why? Partly due to the weather -- it's been cold and my shop is not heated. Earlier this month, I had started to rejet my carburetors. To try and lean things out a little, I'm going to drop back from the 0.57 idle jets to 0.55. To maintain a richer mixture at open throttle, I have some 130 main jets to replace the existing 125. It's all a bit of voodoo really to get the jetting just right. We'll see how it works out. I've replaced the idle jets and leaned out the mixture. Now I just need a window of clear weather to drive the car and fine tune it.

The other reason for the quiet on the 308 side is my other current project. Earlier this year, a friend of mine was selling his old truck -- a 3/4 ton 1969 GMC stepside. Because TK's truck has a camper on it all summer, I've been wanting another truck to haul stuff around without needing to go through the hassle of pulling off the camper. So I bought the truck and I've been planning what to do with it. It runs, but not very well.



Last week, I found another truck on Craigslist. It's a 1967 Chevy pickup that I could use as a donor. It has ok doors (to replace mine which had rust holes in them), a running motor (better than in the '69), power steering and few other odds and ends I can use. I pulled the motor a few days ago and as luck (or lack thereof) would have it, the block is cracked (doh!) and unusable. Oh well, I'll use what I can and hopefully I can recoup some of my loss by parting out the rest of the truck.

Oil change

I finally changed my oil. Those observant readers will note that I have not blogged about changing the oil since 2009. Yes, I admit it -- this is my first oil change since the car's been back on the road. Overdue yes but better late than never.

Rather than using a synthetic, I'm running good old fashioned Castrol GTX 5W-30 dinosaur oil. Word is that these older engines will leak oil with modern synthetics and it's not like I need even more leaks. What do you call a Ferrari that doesn't leak? Out of oil!



Just for kicks, I decided to cut open the old UFI filter. Not much to the inside of a filter. Just the paper element, a spring and a seal. The one thing unique about 308 filters is the stand tube (the silver metal tube in the photo). Since the filter is installed upside down on the top of the engine, the stand tube keeps oil from draining out of the filter.



I cut out a section of filter paper and used a vise to squeeze out the excess oil. In the paper, I can see a few small specks of metal -- probably one speck every three or four folds. I think this is ok and nothing to worry about. If there was more metal specks, then that would be something to worry about.

Good things come in pairs

I suppose it's only fitting that since TK has two horses in the barn that I have two Ferraris in the shop. She has her horse and a friend's horse and now I have my Ferrari and a friend's Ferrari.

My buddy SL had been actively looking for an F360 for months. After seeing lots of duds, he finally found the perfect car in Tour De France Blue. This beauty came from Texas and it's absolutely stunning. He doesn't have a place to keep it so I offered up the extra stall in my stable.



In addition to his car being amazing to look at, it's amazing on the road. It has over twice the power as the 308 and it really plants you in seat when you get on the gas. I can't imagine what a new 458 is like with less weight and more power.

Let's not forget SL's co-pilot -- Ferrari Barbie. In her Ferrari racing suit and matching helmet, she's a total hottie!