Ferrari custom Testa Rossa (replica)

We would have loved receiving the assignment to build this Ferrari custom aluminum bodied car from scratch, but we didn’t. It’s too bad because we would have done a better job! Instead we received the car for service because the engine was making a metallic noise and it ran on no more than 6 of its 12 cylinders. We fixed all that but found problems with the suspension, the steering, the cooling system, the ignition system, the throttle linkages, the electrical system, body to chassis alignment, the paint, the wheels and tires, etc, etc.This car needed major sorting and re-engineering but it now runs and drives beautifully.

When first built she apparently had a vintage Ferrari V12 engine but that was replaced with a Jaguar V12 equipped with Electromotive computer controlled fuel injection and distributorless ignition and TWM throttle bodies, before we received the car, in an attempt to make the car more user friendly. Unfortunately none of this equipment had been set up properly, which is why it wasn’t running right (I imagine the carburetors and distributors on the original Ferrari engine weren’t set up correctly either). The metallic noise had made us wonder if the engine had a loose valve seat, or something like that, but after removing a cylinder head the cause turned out to be a piece of copper wire lying on top of a piston and making contact with the head. Not having air filters, the engine apparently just sucked the copper wire in. Luckily it didn’t do any serious damage.