The Ferrari Daytonas of Miami Vice

[Sonny-Burnett]

http://www.miamiviceonline.com/images/KDPics/realdaytona1.jpgand car 4 was just used for the interior shots till the end of the episode when he confronts his partner probably because of that story about the doctor not letting them use the actual daytona after it got somehow damaged in that brief scene.leading me to believe they were planning on doing exactly what they did with the testarossa and the detomaso pantera stuntcar with the daytona originally and it would explain why the tail pipes werent moved futher in until they were damaged in the hitlist along with the nose.

How'd you know the tailpipes and nose were damaged in HitList? I did see the frame bottom out in the fast drive scene. Did notice on one pic that Car 4 does seem to have its pipes even further out than later episodes. Still have to eventully move mine out a bit.Waiting for the shop to track down a reasonably priced aluminum radiator for me now. Drove it last evening and it was 85 at dusk, and the temp rose to 230F with the AC blowing just cool air. Think I need to see a 30 degree improvement in cooling performance with the combination of the radiator change and the addition of rigid insulation surrounding the radiator housing. Hoping the insulation will also improve AC functionality by directing airflow through it.

[Kavinsky]

During the Devo Scene of the second episode you can faintly see light shining off of the tail pipes and it looks like they shouldnt showing up if they were in there normal position:

freeze at 00:56, it just looks straighter than what they are right now.and the hitlist is the first episode where they bang the nose up pretty good and it looks like the area around the tail pipes is where the sparks are coming from:http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x12jv0_2-flics-a-miami-daytona-3_autofreeze at 3:16althought they banged the nose atleast on three occasions during S1 but it would explain why they seemed to be in a different position for the episode after it, No Exit: notice how it looks like the exahust pipe around the engine is hanging down, normally it seems to be completely flat like here:basically its just a hunch since there wasnt any real driving scenes during the daytime bits of the second episode.

[Sonny-Burnett]

at 00:56" data-cite="Kavinsky;233540]During the Devo Scene of the second episode you can faintly see light shining off of the tail pipes and it looks like they shouldnt showing up if they were in there normal position:[URL]

at 00:56">

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x12jv0_2-flics-a-miami-daytona-3_autofreeze at 3:16 notice how it looks like the exahust pipe around the engine is hanging down, normally it seems to be completely flat like here:basically its just a hunch since there wasnt any real driving scenes during the daytime bits of the second episode.

Think that panel near the engine/trans is a trans housing. Need to ck on mine next time is on a rack.Also I don't know how big a job (labor hours) it is to relocate my tailpipe assembly to move them further out from center. Anyone ever do that and can you describe what is involved in time and materials?

[Sonny-Burnett]

JN and CD, my AC really only ever blows cool air, not cold air like more current cars. Does your AC blow cool only as well, or do you get it cold?Am thinking that with the insulation redirecting the airflow through my condensor that will help some. But the Vette guys tell me that the 81 Vettes never really got cold anyway.

Would still be interested in how your AC is working, JN and CD. And how you solved any AC cooling issues you may have had. Mine is only blowing cool air and not cold and looking for some solutions.On the engine overheating issue, on a lark I decided to take the Daytona over to another mechanic I use for my other cars, though he specializes in Mercedes and BMWs, to have a quick look at the engine cooling. To my astonishment, in 10 minutes he solved my overheating problem, when the Vette "experts" at the specialty shop had been telling me I need an aluminum radiator and rigid insulation. He noticed the blade pitch on both my primary fan and electric fans were the same, yet they were spinning opposite directions. We determined that the electric fan was spinning clockwise when it should have been counterclockwise and so the fans were negating one another and really providing little cooling to the radiator.He switched the leads in the connector and 2 minutes later both fans were spinning correctly. I then drove the car about 2 hours around town at various speeds with the AC running, and let it sit idling for half an hour as well. After this fan reversal my engine temp ranged from 180 to 200F and averaged about 190F, right in the range it should be. It would previously have been running from 220 to 240F with the AC on. Unbelievable that the other shop never saw this when they wired a thermostat to the electric fan. Overheating problem solved at no cost other than a new thermostat for the radiator flow and the addition of a thermostat to the electric fan set to come on at 190 and off at 175F.

[Brian W]

Strong work, S-B!FWIW my A/C is not hooked up at the moment, but I had mine out on Saturday in Dallas for several hours of both around town and freeway driving. I still have the stock 1971 'Vette gauges and it read just a hair under 210 (the marking in the middle of the gauge) consistently all day. It didn't move up or down noticeably at all.-BW

[Kavinsky]

you gotta be ****ting me Sonny, so they put one of the fans on ass backwards?!oh my god, cue facepalm! oh well atleast you can cancel that order and get back to work on that interior!anyways that reminds me I need to look for that dash assembly for you again, should be a few new hits out there by now, no luck on the momo but I have a few ideas with that.and atleast you know that your car will function alright even if one of those fans is broken and Nice to see that your back brian, hows your car doing besides the cooling system?

[jurassic narc]

Would still be interested in how your AC is working' date=' JN and CD[/b']. And how you solved any AC cooling issues you may have had. Mine is only blowing cool air and not cold and looking for some solutions.On the engine overheating issue, on a lark I decided to take the Daytona over to another mechanic I use for my other cars, though he specializes in Mercedes and BMWs, to have a quick look at the engine cooling.

Had mine converted to the new coolant (R232???) and it has worked fine since then. I had a lot of trouble with the vacuum switch that directed the air from defrost to mid-level to the floor. I ended up using a Jaguar switch to make the air go to the correct level and that has worked fine.I seldom use the A/C as the cool air is sucked out as I drive. But being able to direct the warm air really extends the season for driving with the top down.

[Sonny-Burnett]

=jurassic narc;233775]Sonny-Burnett;233654]Would still be interested in how your AC is working, JN and CD. And how you solved any AC cooling issues you may have had. Mine is only blowing cool air and not cold and looking for some solutions.On the engine overheating issue, on a lark I decided to take the Daytona over to another mechanic I use for my other cars, though he specializes in Mercedes and BMWs, to have a quick look at the engine cooling.

Had mine converted to the new coolant (R232???) and it has worked fine since then. I had a lot of trouble with the vacuum switch that directed the air from defrost to mid-level to the floor. I ended up using a Jaguar switch to make the air go to the correct level and that has worked fine.I seldom use the A/C as the cool air is sucked out as I drive. But being able to direct the warm air really extends the season for driving with the top down.

Interesting ..so it sounds like your AC blows just cool as well, not like more modern AC systems which blow cold air? am asking because the Vette guys tell me the 81 Vettes didn;t cool that well but I am skeptical given their big miss on the engine overheating. My coolant was converted already. I also get less air pressure on the driver's side vent than the passenger side. And very little flows from my round defrost vents. Makes me wonder if I also have a vacuum switch problem.

[Sonny-Burnett]

you gotta be ****ting me Sonny' date=' so they put one of the fans on ass backwards?!oh my god, cue facepalm! oh well atleast you can cancel that order and get back to work on that interior!anyways that reminds me I need to look for that dash assembly for you again, should be a few new hits out there by now, no luck on the momo but I have a few ideas with that.and atleast you know that your car will function alright even if one of those fans is broken and Nice to see that your back brian, hows your car doing besides the cooling system?[/quote'] Actually the electric fan was already on the car and was installed correctly, but the relay was damaged so the fan wasn't working. I asked them to install a thermostat on the fan and make it operational again. The switch they installed was wired in reverse. One would think that a 30-year mechanic working on Vettes would notice the direction of the fan was wrong after installing the thermostat and testing the fan. Just like a ceiling fan you just need to check the blade pitch to know which way it should turn. The electric fan is mostly hidden in the main fan housing so I never noticed it either. Think my new guy is now going to get more business from me, starting with getting the AC to blow colder and some other less significant issues.Re the dash assembly, am very disappointed I have yet to find one. Is really setting my restoration back.

[Sonny-Burnett]

Strong work' date=' S-B!FWIW my A/C is not hooked up at the moment, but I had mine out on Saturday in Dallas for several hours of both around town and freeway driving. I still have the stock 1971 'Vette gauges and it read just a hair under 210 (the marking in the middle of the gauge) consistently all day. It didn't move up or down noticeably at all.-BW[/quote'] Hi again Brian.... glad you're back. Sounds like your temp is not far from normal operating range and probably is ok at that temp. If you are concerned I would check your fans first, as I learned the hard way. Mine now is consistently 180 to 190F mostly and does not exceed 200F with the AC on.

[Kavinsky]

well atleast it wasnt quite that stupid, but really you would have thought that after all of this they would have atleast double checked the fans to make sure it was running right and moving in the right direction, anyways its still worth of this:

sorry I just had to get that in and what other machines do you have serviced there?and atlest that should pretty much cover most of the mechanical issues with the car, no luck finding a damn dash though but I do have a few alternatives to the momo here:it might be worth asking this guy if its 13.5 inches in diamiter since that seems to be the standard for boat wheels:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CONTENDER-BOAT-STEERING-WHEEL-MOMO-LIKE-NEW-/280693192342?pt=Boat_Parts_Accessories_Gear&hash=item415a9e3696and then theres this one:http://cgi.ebay.com/car-LEATHER-STEERING-WHEEL-13-5ins-personal-italy-/280692015910?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item415a8c4326with the dash your best bet would probably be to travel to a few salvage yards looking for them and just keep at it till you find one, theres gotta be someone with a crashed 78-82 vette out there with a good dash.

[CameraDaytona]

I would ask anyone selling a Momo wheel how they are measuring it. If they are measuring from the middle of the wheel rim to the middle of the opposite side rim, the 12.5 inch measurement would be correct. If they are measuring it from the outer point of the rim to the opposite outer point, 13.5 inches would be correct.While it is correct that C3 (68 to 82) Corvettes never got the interior really cold, they should blow "cold" air (probably about 55 degrees depending on the outside temp - measure your air temps leaving the AC ducts coming out of the dash). Generally, the heater/AC fan was not strong enough to get the car really cold, but by 1981 the cooling system should be adequate to "cool" the car but not get it "cold". That said, you should really get the system checked for adequate Freon amount - check the prssures going into and out of the compressor with a set of AC gauges. Service manuals (or search the Internet) will tell you the correct pressures. If they are too low, you need more Freon which will result in poor cooling. (Also, check to see if the compressor is kicking in and out frequently which also indicates low Freon.) If the system is old, it probably has F12, which is hard to find these days. The system may have been converted to Freon 134A as JN said he had done. This is available at any auto store. Your air flow problem (passenger vs driver sides) is probably a sticking "air door" which is not opening/closing correctly. You can test their operation and may be able to see the actuators move under the dash.Good luck. Don't expect the car to cool like a modern car, but it should keep it tolerable inside the car.

[Kavinsky]

hmm that does give me more to go on and judging by how much trouble I had wrapping my head around how that messurement system worked I wouldnt be surprised if theres a few others who had that same issue with it.as for the air conditoning I do remember Leno also mentioning something about a guy he used who had some sort of new improved air conditioning he made for old cars that should fit in the old ones place, Ill have to look it up latter.

[Kavinsky]

here's the video leno did on a company called vintage air, it might also be worth looking intohttp://www.jaylenosgarage.com/extras/car-parts/vintage-air-1/http://www.vintageair.com/catalog.aspthey have a kit listed for the 68- 76 model corvette but I dont really see anything for the 1978 - 1982 model.

[Sonny-Burnett]

I would ask anyone selling a Momo wheel how they are measuring it. If they are measuring from the middle of the wheel rim to the middle of the opposite side rim' date=' the 12.5 inch measurement would be correct. If they are measuring it from the outer point of the rim to the opposite outer point, 13.5 inches would be correct.While it is correct that C3 (68 to 82) Corvettes never got the interior really cold, they should blow "cold" air (probably about 55 degrees depending on the outside temp - measure your air temps leaving the AC ducts coming out of the dash). Generally, the heater/AC fan was not strong enough to get the car really cold, but by 1981 the cooling system should be adequate to "cool" the car but not get it "cold". That said, you should really get the system checked for adequate Freon amount - check the prssures going into and out of the compressor with a set of AC gauges. Service manuals (or search the Internet) will tell you the correct pressures. If they are too low, you need more Freon which will result in poor cooling. (Also, check to see if the compressor is kicking in and out frequently which also indicates low Freon.) If the system is old, it probably has F12, which is hard to find these days. The system may have been converted to Freon 134A as JN said he had done. This is available at any auto store. Your air flow problem (passenger vs driver sides) is probably a sticking "air door" which is not opening/closing correctly. You can test their operation and may be able to see the actuators move under the dash.Good luck. Don't expect the car to cool like a modern car, but it should keep it tolerable inside the car.[/quote'] I do have the converted AC system but the air is not that cold. The Vette shop replaced my compressor last year and charged the system, and they claim the condensor is fine. Am going to the new guy to get his opinion since he solved my overheating issue. You're probably right about a sticking actuator as the defrost vents don't seem operational either.

[Sonny-Burnett]

hmm that does give me more to go on and judging by how much trouble I had wrapping my head around how that messurement system worked I wouldnt be surprised if theres a few others who had that same issue with it.as for the air conditoning I do remember Leno also mentioning something about a guy he used who had some sort of new improved air conditioning he made for old cars that should fit in the old ones place' date=' Ill have to look it up latter.[/quote'] I'm always asking the sellers to measure the outside diameter of the wheel and so far none have been at 13.5 inches. Hoping to not have to invest in a completely new AC system after already replacing the compressor.

[Sonny-Burnett]

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/extras/car-parts/vintage-air-1/http://www.vintageair.com/catalog.aspthey have a kit listed for the 68- 76 model corvette but I dont really see anything for the 1978 - 1982 model.

Thanks....need to get the new mechanic to look at it next week if he can. This guy is an AC specialist in addition to many years servicing primarily BMWs and Mercedes.

[Sonny-Burnett]

[B">

Would still be interested in how your AC is working' date=' JN and CD[/b']. And how you solved any AC cooling issues you may have had. Mine is only blowing cool air and not cold and looking for some solutions.On the engine overheating issue, on a lark I decided to take the Daytona over to another mechanic I use for my other cars, though he specializes in Mercedes and BMWs, to have a quick look at the engine cooling. To my astonishment, in 10 minutes he solved my overheating problem, when the Vette "experts" at the specialty shop had been telling me I need an aluminum radiator and rigid insulation. He noticed the blade pitch on both my primary fan and electric fans were the same, yet they were spinning opposite directions. We determined that the electric fan was spinning clockwise when it should have been counterclockwise and so the fans were negating one another and really providing little cooling to the radiator.He switched the leads in the connector and 2 minutes later both fans were spinning correctly. I then drove the car about 2 hours around town at various speeds with the AC running, and let it sit idling for half an hour as well. After this fan reversal my engine temp ranged from 180 to 200F and averaged about 190F, right in the range it should be. It would previously have been running from 220 to 240F with the AC on. Unbelievable that the other shop never saw this when they wired a thermostat to the electric fan. Overheating problem solved at no cost other than a new thermostat for the radiator flow and the addition of a thermostat to the electric fan set to come on at 190 and off at 175F.

The above was at ambient temperatures of about 73F or so. Today drove in 90F ambient temps at speeds of 25 to 60mph and the AC on. The temp was higher... at between 200 and 215F but still think this is in normal operating range. CD and JN, seems normal to me unless your cars don't get this warm?

[Kavinsky]

Jurrasic your website (the price of addiction) is down right now, I just clicked on it trying to find a bigger version of this flyer of the stunt car (possibily the last shot of it before it was dissasembled) that I noticed on Coopers page:http://www.miamiviceonline.com/showthread.php?1834-RARE!!-FERRARI-DAYTONA-INFO!-(McBURNIE-COACHCRAFT-REPLICA)and it said it couldnt connect for some reason.

[jurassic narc]

Here are photos of my car with the dash cap out and then the finished product, with some other additions to the interior. It was worth the wait for me, and I am very pleased with the finished product. You can see a larger version in the Photo Gallery.JN

[jurassic narc]

http://www.miamiviceonline.com/showthread.php?1834-RARE!!-FERRARI-DAYTONA-INFO!-(McBURNIE-COACHCRAFT-REPLICA)and it said it couldnt connect for some reason.

We are in the process of updating the web site.That is the Camera Car in the photo (notice the tag number).

[Kavinsky]

Indeed I saw your post on the other thread after this and your dash came out niceactually I kinda like the look of the wood on yours. I may have to rethink somethings now and it should give Sonny a better perspective of what the wood will look like on his.just curious what model steering wheel did you go with for yours, is that the momo model 78 or the monte carlo wheel and what size and is that pretty much it for yours now?and 200 to 215 is the normal operating temperature for your car right?

[jurassic narc]

Indeed I saw your post on the other thread after this and your dash came out niceactually I kinda like the look of the wood on yours. I may have to rethink somethings now and it should give Sonny a better perspective of what the wood will look like on his.just curious what model steering wheel did you go with for yours' date=' is that the momo model 78 or the monte carlo wheel and what size and is that pretty much it for yours now?and 200 to 215 is the normal operating temperature for your car right?[/quote'] It is a Momo, but I can't recall the model or size. It was one of the first things I added back in 2005. I have the chrome piece for the top of the windshield, but to put it on I will have to either purchase a number of parts or do some modifications to the trim on the car now. As far as the interior goes, I will eventually modify the door panels. The car operates at 180-190. It rarely gets over 200, now that the cooling system works correctly. And the A/C blows cold. With the top up the car will cool down, but I seldom drive with the top up. With the top down the A/C will blow cold, but is pretty much sucked right out.JN

[Kavinsky]

What about the tire size and possibly the placement of the mirrors?Sorry but it looks like the mirrors are too far up the door pannels in my opinion on either side compaired to the MV car and it looks a little unbalanced because of that and with the tires I think the fact that they dont fill up the wheel arches may be why your car was getting lift at 100 mph, because of the extra air pressure around the tires between the tires and the body.and I know that on the old 65' shelby GT350 and even the ferrari 458 italia theres vents on both of those cars in the wheel arches to prevent that from happening and in the 458's case its been rigged up to create more downforce on the body, rather than just relieve that pressure around the wheels and the body.if its not that I know that on the Miura (which is known to have front end lift at 100 - 120) they used to change the shocks to further rectify that:http://www.lambomiura.com/rest30.htmhttp://www.lambomiura.com/

[jurassic narc]

http://www.lambomiura.com/rest30.htmhttp://www.lambomiura.com/

I may address the mirrors when I change out the door handles. Since the mirrors need to be changed out anyway (Vitaloni Prontos, not Tornados), I won't do anything till the car is in the shop.There are far too many issues associated with tire size to change the tires for now. Transmission, rear end and speedo, to name a few. The floating is most likely due to the front suspension, rather than the size of the tires. The car will certainly run out a lot faster, but I enjoy pushing it around curves and corners in the mountains. There is a place near Dawsonville called the Devils Elbow that is just too much fun. And that's a place wher 35 is fast, your holding second gear and trying to keep at least one right wheel in the ditch so you don't loose it!!!