I'm quite busy in this days... so, long story short: My '68 is in my garage from less than 2 weeks.



For being my first drive, it was a pretty long travel: 3 hours trip alone, in a sunny day with 32°C. But the car never over heated, the engine was strong and nothing bad happened.

For the first time I've crossed some car enthusiasts that beamed at me, and a children riding a bicycle say "wow" (that one was funny... something like see me 20 years ago, when I was 11)

I've taked my girl for a short ride, and then back to home. One of the best days in my life

Anyway, in this days I've checked everything I could in the car and there's my situation:

THE VERY GOOD:
The engine is a fresh rebuild, it runs strong and absolutely perfect. Oil pressure is normal and stable.
Someone in this forum was right: The aftermarket aluminium radiator worked perfectly unless the hot day and the long journey. I will keep it for a long time I guess...
The birdcage appears very solid: the pillars does not show any sign of rust, as well as the windshield pillars
My importer/restorer did a good job in securing the car: new brakes, suspensions, shock absorbers and a number of minor replacements...

THE GOOD:
Except for some cracks and scratch, the black paint is still presentable and well done. The body has some nonalignment but it's not a surprise I guess... I'm not in an hurry with the body

The interior had new seat covers and, although it is not like the original, had a carpet in decent shape with a light insulation. The door and roof panels are in rough condition and needs a replacement (there's also some bubba-fix in some points).

THE BAD:
The body weatherstrips are gone from a long time, but at least that was a long knew issue... Maybe this would be a good winter project.

The wipers are working, but the wiper door is not: The actuator piston screw is broken, same for the wiper door linkage. At least the vacuum circuit is functional... I'll need some replacements.

The speedometer is not working, I will inspect it in the next days to see if I need to change the cable or something else...

THE VERY BAD:
I've inspected the chassis and, ladies and gentleman, there was some hidden rust just in front of the rear wheels. Not a complete surprise, but I was expecting something less from pics... A good restorer near my town checked the car and, luckily for me, it appear to be a recoverable problem without the need of a frame off.

The rag joint is gone and need to be replaced. I've already buyed a replace from a forum member and I hope to fix it as soon as possible.

And that's all guys

 

Hi P,
Come on!!! ONE picture!!!!
That's a seriously good looking car!!!
It would certainly be nice to see some more pictures!
I'll bet it REALLY turns some heads in Italy!
Good Luck!
Regards,
Alan

 

PS: Forgot to mention: I've some oil leak from differential and gearbox (not severe, just some drops) and some electrical things to fix... nothing important anyway, I can enjoy the car even without the radio and the heater.

 

The next weekend I will accompany a good friend of mine to his marriage with this car, there will be an occasion for a lot of pics!

 

Beautiful black 68 you have there. I see it has NJ plates.Where in Italy are you ?

 

indeed the car comes from NJ, and I'm from Mantua (northern Italy):



EDIT: to be more precise, I live "in the county" of Mantua... but there's not much difference here

 

FORZA ITALIA.....

 

Hi P,
The beautiful photo is showing your villa. Right!?!!?
It might be wise to have a good back-up plan for the trip to the wedding. Old cars have a way of acting up at the MOST inopportune times!
Regards,
Alan

 

he he... If this was my home, then my daily driver would be an L88

That's a view of from Mantua's Lake. You can see the Ducale Palace on the left, San Giorgio Castle on the right and the dome of St.Andrea on background. There's also some other Renaissance monuments in the view. Mantua is a Unesco heritage, IMHO you had to see it at least one time in a life.