1966 404 Coupé Injection Restoration

2 minute(s) of a 255 minute read

Don't ever buy a 404C unless you are planning to do a full restoration like this one, or it has a photo-documented restoration from the past 15 years.  All the Pininfarina cars are the same - lots of rust traps.  By rebuilding it completely, the metal all ends up being protected as it never was before, and more than 50 more years of use in good weather should be possible.

3-11-2017

Today's visit to the shop was very interesting, even though no work to speak of had been done to the car due to some time off for the main bodyman. The Hydrovac tank, brake backing plates and fresh air intake grille were all painted in satin black and ready to go. The tank in particular is on display in the engine compartment, so the finish has to be good.

Mike said that the target budget estimate is still valid, despite having done a very thorough amount of metal work to this point, perhaps a bit more than originally anticipated.

After the metalwork is finished, there are about 200 hours of labour involved in doing the preparation for painting and the paint itself and of course none of that has started yet.

There was a Porsche Turbo 930 version from the eighties in the shop after a hard front end hit. Mike said that its repair would probably come in at $60,000 for its rebuild. He encouraged me to buy as much agreed value insurance as possible, to ensure that any eventual collision is likely to lead to a repair.

3-25-2017

March 24th, left front fender is welded on; other side will be done next week, and then some final welding and metal trimming will be done before paint preparation begins.