It’s always getting a light dusting Barry! I just love driving it in confidence that it’s done right and all the issues, be it mechanical or cosmetic have been taken care of. I couldn’t get one new so this is my attempt at recreating what it would be like from new and a touch better with the mechanical/material improvements.
So Elliott, whats the story on that other red car in the back-round? Another project possibly? Inquiring 348 minds would like to know.
Yes that is another project. My friends 348 TS I have completed a lot of work on it over the last 18 months in my spare time. It just won platinum too. And believe me it was far from a platinum car when he got it! I have 600 photos of it. I also purchased an all original 348 spider last year, did some minor corrective work and detailing and it won platinum as well. I have always loved the 348 it was the car that first turned me on to Ferrari. Here are both cars at the Ferrari Concours. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Elliot, Is there a FChat feed for the 348 similar to the one for your F355? I love looking over your accomplishments!
Thanks. No I haven’t taken the time to write it up. Not as motivated when the restore is not for your own car. It would be hard to top this one. I do post a bit on my Instagram @restored_by_elliott
Congratulations Elliott! The car looks stunning! I'm glad your gear lever is as it should be, silent. Well done.
Small update, the car has been running like a top. Just a couple of little items to address that have shown up. The throttle pedal developed a really annoying squeak, I had previously purchased the roller bearings for it, but never got around to replacing them. I took the pedal assembly off and removed the bell crank further back to clean out the old grease and fit the new roller bearings. The old grease was dried up like gum! Took awhile to clean it all up. Fitted new roller bearings, re greased and the difference was stark. Silky smooth action and importantly no more squeak! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The second issue I wanted to address was the lack of direction control of the HVAC panel. I tested the stepper motor and it is working, no stripped gears. Swapped in a a/c ecu from a working car and it was functioning. So I pulled the a/c ecu and ordered in 6 of the replacement chips to get them all refreshed at the same time. The ecu is off now to be repaired and I look forward to having the directional control functioning. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Elliot, thanks for posting the pedal photos. Mine makes some noise and isnt as smooth as I think it should be. Looking at how it's designed, no amount of WD40 would make its way into those bearings . I am putting this on my to do list.
What roller bearings did you use. Can’t find them here, so until I pull them and measure them....! Thanks
Part number 101677 you will need 4 of them. If you don’t want to change the bearings a thorough clean and re grease is suffice.
I had tried all sorts of lubricant but once I pulled the pedal I realized why that was not going to work.
Thanks for the post & pics. I fully agree the need to do this properly and dismantle the pedal. When I did mine I couldn’t believe the amount of crud that had got in there over the years considering I keep the cabin spotless. Afterwards the difference was like night & day. A very good return for a relatively quick & straightforward time investment.
Are there 2 upper and 2 lower? Parts diagram only shows need for 2? On install, is there a need for some type of grease?
There are 2 bearings at the pedal and two at the bell crank further back behind the plastic shroud. They are the same size. You will need to use grease yes. I used a ceramic grease for bearings.
LHD cars won't have the bellcrank, correct? Becasue the pedal is against the tunnel and doesn't have to do the crossing behind and under like a RHD car does. They'll only need 2 bearings. sjd
The LHD is only 2 bearings correct. Carmellini doesn’t list a location so I wasn’t thinking about LHD in the reply. Rhd cars have double the reason to perform this then.
Some updates as we are in covid lockdown and have been for 7 weeks so no driving! I decided it was a good opportunity to get the car on stands at home and pull the suspension for an overhaul. This was one of my last on the to do lists of mechanical overhaul and refresh. Project goals are to replace the suspension bushings, ball joints, update shock tower brackets with challenge update parts (as found on all later F355), clean all the components, replace all hardware and investigate shock options to improve the handling of the car to my tastes. Will have the car corner weighted and aligned once all the work is completed. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I had purchased the updated challenge shock mounts a few years back but didn’t have the stomach to tackle it at the time. I was always monitoring the state of the shock tower it hasn’t gotten any worse but it definitely needs to be done if I’m going to do any upgrades to the suspension and stiffen up the dampening. One of the pictures shows the separation of the bracket and the unibody it looks cracked but it’s the seam sealer that’s broken away. I will have to sand it all back, drill out the spot welds, pry off the old bracket and plug weld in the new one. It should be hard to replicate the OEM finish just smear seam sealer everywhere and coat it with and under body black. Its a project I wasn’t looking forward to doing but seeing as the suspension is all out and off its now or never. I think it will be transformative to the cars handling once this and the other areas I’m addressing are complete. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
After a lot of cleaning to remove years of road grime and the messy over spray of the factory black undercoating things were starting to look a lot better even without any zinc plating or part changes. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Elliot my 355 has exactly the same issue with those strut towers. They almost look identical in my car. I re-seam sealed mine and seam sealer been holding on for 2 years now without cracking. But if those updated struts are the fix then do it. It appears it's not hard to replace it at all, looks like a breeze compare to the modern cars. I work in the bodyshop and do this kind of work all the time. The main concern is to have it welded exactly in the proper spot, because suspension seats right in it. But with how 355 strut mount is designed it shouldn't be a problem at all.
Thanks Shurik, yes I was intimidated at first and thought I’d have to outsource this repair but from talking to a few people it’s pretty straight forward. Getting it lined up is probably the easiest part as the 4 holes for the shock can be used to bolt it in place while performing the plug welds. I haven’t stripped the old shock mount of coating to see the extent of the existing factory pinch welds.