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Brand new '81 262C Bertone Coupe . . .

TestPoint said:
For $0.50 more Volvo could have added an additional 6" of wire to all the connections and made it easier to assemble originally and today.
Click to expand...

Just because I'm bored at the moment.....
191,750 240's & 260's were built in 1981.
Assuming they all used the same console wiring, by leaving the wires 6" shorter and your $.50 estimate, Volvo saved $95,875 in 1981.
Now, over the life of the 240 / 260 series, but if we assume total production of 2,862,573 cars X $.50, Volvo saved $1,431,286.50 over the life of production.
I would bet that 6" of wire was closer to $10 savings per car though (material, assembly, shipping, receiving, stocking, distribution, and installation). Using that figure, Volvo saved $28,625,730!
All in good fun, and the car looks fantastic!
Steve
 
In the spirit of cursing the designers/builders for choices they made that come back to haunt the owner/mechanic -- spent 5 of the last 8 days helping a friend get his '62 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2 back on the road after a 9 year "nap". Fuel pumps front and rear, master cylinder work, caliper work, shifter work, replace starter, rebuild carbs --- not there yet. Let's just say that the Ferrari "mystique" has been, weirdly, enhanced and shattered simultaneously. If in doubt -- try taking the headers off both sides of the 3.0L V12. I invented new curse words.
 
^ Did he order parts ahead of time? Doubt you walk into AutoZone and find what you need.
 
LOL -- parts prices mean you only order once you know precisely what you need. So a certain amount of labor is needed BEFORE you order parts. The starter crapping out was a great example - no idea we'd need it until we got carbs/fuel system to the point we were ready to try and start.

You also have to have clarity on what you're trying to accomplish. A 'concours' restoration or refurbishment would mean sending the original starter off to be remanufactured. Let's put it this way -- the crapped out starter is worth $1000-$1500 as a "core". He's intends to be able to drive/enjoy the car. There's a fellow up in NY state who modifies a late model Japanese high torque/gear reduction mini-starter for use on the car. $400. Quieter. Turns over the motor faster. Pulls about 1/2 the amps of the old one -- leaving more juice available for, for example, the ignition system during starting. It's a win-win-win-win unless you're into concours. So that's what went in. We discovered the starter, shifter, master cylinder, caliper needs on Thursday afternoon. The replacement parts arrived Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning. Not bad from my perspective. Ring/Pinion - $8,000. Rebuilt rear end - $25,000. Engine overhaul - $50,000. Hopefully, we won't need any of that. Because not for the faint of heart.
 
Sorry for sidetrack....Tom, hope to see you in October. John brought the Citroen last year -- he's making a big push to bring the Ferrari this year as the featured "marque" is Italian cars. I will slum through with the 242 again hopefully.
 
HA! I'm just the labor -- my buddy John owns the car. As an old pipeline hand used to say -- "It ain't my cat - I'm just holdin' the tail!"



BTW - look closely - the black sedan outside the garage is an 850 T5R. And, me and my buddy got this Ferrari going back in 1986 after a 14 year slumber. We did it once - we'll do it again by golly! Hopefully, my buddy's at a point in his life where he can devote more time to keeping it going.
 
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Aw 70/71

I have listed in the 'wanted' section for a AW 70 or 71 transmission but am unsure about the fine details of this swap into my '81 Bertone with the B28F engine to replace the original BW 55 3 speed.

The 70/71 bell housing for the B28F is completely different from the 4 cylinder cars equipped with the 70/71. I believe I have to find a 4 speed transmission from a 6 cylinder be it a B28F or B280F. That is the first question: will a 70/71 from a B280F match up to the B28F.

Second question: Any issues with flex plate to torque converter connection with the B28F/BW55 vs B28F to AW 70/71 torque converter connection?

The Ford V8 gave me lots of experience with drive shafts. I make the assumption that I am going to have to change out the front portion of the drive shaft, maybe all of the drive shaft due to the extended length of the AW 70/71.

What about the transmission mount?

Any help with these fine details would be appreciated.
 
Tom if you want the one that was behind the even firing six it will cost ya a c-note + shipping.

You have to scare up a rear trans seal housing to drive the speedo.

Trans mount is pretty easy.

Driveshaft too. Measure it. Tell the driveshaft shop ya need one this long and balance the pair for a matched set.

P/M me.
 
Oh, No o o o o o

o o o o o! Mr. Bill ! ! ! ! !

I am out of excuses as to why I am not finishing this thing.

The carpet has been a real mental and physical road block. The ACC carpet is a reasonable replacement for the original in terms of fiber and color but it is certainly not in terms of steam formed to fit.

Two significant learning experiences to share along this long and frustrating journey.

1) There is no hope of making the carpet fit unless you cut it into two pieces like the original.

2) Before you order the carpet order a large roll of commercial double backed tape at least 1 inch wide. I used 2 inches wide tape.

Use the tape anywhere and everywhere the carpet doesn't want to lay down. That is why you need a LARGE roll of tape. I had some Avery Ultra High Adhesive (UHA) tape left over from my home building days but that and other brands are sold at Amazon, etc. Carpet tape or veneer tape.

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While still not a factory finish the results are certainly better than any reconditioned original 30 year old carpet.

My son is coming over in the morning to help me install the seats, hopefully without disturbing the work to date. Results tomorrow.

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Good tip about the tape. I vaguely recall seeing some double sided tape on the edges near the rear lower seat belt rollers. And also in front just behind the kick panels. Your interior is looking really nice.
 
Jack said:
need more tan front seat rear bolt covers for the correct trim color

-10 points
Click to expand...

Are you referring to the covers for back rear outside bolts? Never seen them in other than black but I have matching vinyl paint if appropriate.

The one you see is just laying on the carpet and is pretty well hidden installed.

You didn't catch that the screw in the side of the center console is black rather than painted to match the console.

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This Bertone was at the very end of the 1981 production run and I have found a number of things that are a little different from earlier cars. This one has butt cheeks and a full size spare rather than a flat plate for the compact spare. NEL621 has a Bertone one chassis serial number before mine and he has the compact spare
 
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Now I need to check my car since our cars are one digit apart in the production line. Jack may be thinking about MSGGrunts' thread where he's doing everything in tan. :-D
 
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