What happened to that Cape Town "Backyard Find" Ferrari?

The story about an abandoned Ferrari found in a Cape Town suburb backyard became of the most shared articles on SentiMETAL to date. Now we visit the Ferrari 308 GTB to follow the restoration process. 

Words and image: Wilhelm Lutjeharms 

Last year we published an article on a very rough-looking Ferrari 308 GTB that was finally extracted from the backyard of a Cape Town residence. It had been abandoned outside for more than a decade and several people knew about the car, but it seemed the previous owner was never ready to sell. 

Eventually it was advertised and an enthusiast bought it, and immediately the car was put on a low-bed truck and the restoration process was started. The restorer responsible for bringing the car back to its former glory is none other Carlo Viglietti of Carlo Viglietti Motors, the gentleman and specialist we’ve featured before. 

A few days ago I paid him a visit to touch base and see the car for myself. 

State of affairs

The transformation, as expected, is quite impressive. Even knowing how a rust bucket can be transformed, it is still jaw-dropping to see the result in real life. The car has been beautifully painted black, the original factory colour in which the car was ordered, while several parts have already been fitted. These include, but are not limited to, the suspension, wiring loom, cooling pipes, radiator, steering system and parts of the lighting and the braking system. It is not often you get a chance to see a Ferrari mid-restoration, which allows you to notice areas and parts that will never be seen again as they will be hidden from sight in the near future.

Carlo took me into the one room where the engine rebuild has basically been completed. It looks brand new, but then again, it basically is. It has been blasted and cleaned, fitted with new pistons and rings, gaskets and every perishable part has been replaced. That's not all, the carburettors have gone through the same process. These must still be assembled, and looking at the tiny bits that make up this system, I again realise that these technicians are truly masters of their craft.

The pedal box is also on the table and that has also been completely cleaned, coated and rebuilt. 

The car’s original condition

“This has probably been the worst car I've had to deal with since I started working on cars in the 1970s. The rust had really settled into every nook and cranny of the car. Even when I wanted to take the seats out, the bolts holding the seat rails down were so rusted that I had to use a small angle grinder to cut them loose. That was also the case with the suspension parts, where a lot of bolts were seized.”

“Under... let's call them normal conditions, the cars I’ve restored are usually running and you can easily start to take it apart. That was not the case with this car.”

After completely stripping it, to every little nut and bolt, every aluminium casing had to be aqua blasted. While the engine parts were sent away for cleaning, Carlo tackled, among other things, the carburettors. He took them all apart, the shaft, the butterflies and every other piece. The pedal box also had to be stripped and rebuilt with several parts sent away for cadmium plating, while the pedals themselves are powder coated. The body was done by another specialist and neatly painted before it was returned to Carlo.  

Rebuilding the car

“You have to work in a methodical way. Often a long time passes between the smaller projects within the restoration. I’ve done it so many times, and the memory of doing it is in your head, but you have to use the spares book to double check every part.

“It is quite satisfying in the end, especially seeing the car coming together. After these few years of work, it is now starting to look like a car again. The next important part that needs to be decided on is the exhaust system. A standard system can be fitted, or a Tubi exhaust, for example. At least I can move the car now, as I can fit the wheels and push it around. Soon I’ll also fit all the brake lines.

"One important upgrade is the coolant pipes that run within the pipes of the chassis, in the middle of the car. These have been replaced with stainless steel pipes as they would last longer versus the original aluminium units, and to replace them at a later stage is a massive, engine out, job.

The auto trimmers are also currently busy with trimming the interior. Carlo points to the vents which must still receive their foam surrounding parts. Then the dashboard can be installed, followed by all the trim and then the carpets. The wiring is done, it just needs to be connected and all the electrical motors throughout the car have been serviced. 

Carlo explains that once the car is done, he will spend some time with it to make sure it is running perfectly. This entails testing the engine, the transmission and the suspension setup of the car. Then it will be handed over to the owner, who then needs to put two to three thousand kilometres on the odo before it needs to be serviced again to drain the fluids while the engine bolts also need to be torqued again. Then, finally, the car will be done!

Look out for another update in the coming months as we have cheekily asked for an opportunity to pilot this car when it sees daylight again and those wonderful pop-up lights flip open again.