1988 1/2 Mondial? | FerrariChat

1988 1/2 Mondial?

Discussion in 'Mondial' started by ronfrohock, Feb 6, 2017.

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  1. ronfrohock

    ronfrohock F1 Rookie
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    I saw the half year being discussed in another thread and didn't want to hijack it but I really want to understand the significance of the half year.
    When I bought my car, way back when, the dealer made a big deal out of the fact it was a 1988 1/2.
    I've searched google and there is no real information out there for this.

    Please fill me in.
    Thanks
     
  2. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ
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    I'm fairly certain that 88.5 applies to the 328 and not the Mondial.

    And if I recall correctly, the .5 is when the 328 came with the ABS system.
     
  3. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

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    #3 nerofer, Feb 6, 2017
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2017
    I'll do it from the 328 point of view.

    The "half year" comes from the change of suspension that occured with car #76626, that was produced at the end of February 1988, so corresponding broadly with the middle of the Model Year in the US.

    328s produced after end February 1988 have a "new" suspension, that, by the way, is the same as the "Mondial" one. They can be distinguished from the "older" 328 by their convex wheels; track, wheelbase, suspension geometry, offset, anchoring points of the triangles, construction of the anchorage pylons of tubes on the chassis, etc...are different from the earlier serie, so much that the car was re-certified by the Italian department for road transporation: for instance, GTBs of the "first serie" were F106AB/R, of the "second serie" F106AB/PB.

    To the best of my knowledge, no change of such importance ("1988 1/2 or 88.5") occured in the "Mondial" production, so I wouldn't be surprised if your dealer was not confusing 328s and "Mondials"s history.

    But I am not a Mondial specialist...

    Rgds
     
  4. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

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    Not "with the ABS", but with the new suspension that had convex wheels and COULD get the ABS (the earlier couldn't).

    US 328s DO NOT not have ABS for the "1988 1/2" or "88.5" (= convex wheels, but no ABS), then all M.Y 1989 have ABS (= convex wheels, with ABS) this in the US.

    In Europe, ABS remained an option (paying, at your own expenses...) all along the production of the "Serie 2" cars until the very end. Some cars with convex wheels have ABS, some don't, irrespective if they are "1988 1/2" or 1989 MY.

    To be sure, you have to open the front Hood; if the brake fluid reservoir that is in front of the windscreen in the shroud surrending the spare wheel is
    - large and centered exactly in the middle of the windscreen, the car has ABS.
    - small and offset towards the passenger side, this 328 does not have ABS.

    Rgds
     
  5. moysiuan

    moysiuan F1 Rookie
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    I wonder if the "1988.5" had the KE3 injection like the Swiss market did, which was shared with the US market TR at the time?

    Pretty sure all 1988 Mondial's had ABS as standard. It is possible that dealers just refer to 1988.5 to emulate the 328 in the US market having ABS at that time, and which has become equated to mean a rarer/more valuable car. I have never seen a euro Mondial car referred to as 1988.5, while the US cars often seem to make reference to it presumably as a selling point.

    The Mondial was a good seller for Ferrari, so it is possible they did some tweaks near the end of production, while gearing up for the t. Maybe the climate control box, or some other invisible parts started to be supplied as t production was being staged? BMW and Mercedes were changing out models at that time, and many shared systems might have evolved as well.

    There are no dealer bulletins that suggest some sort of rolling change mid 1988, which would be issued if there were things of consequence going on.
     
  6. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

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    Actually, you wouldn't have seen an "euro" 328 IN EUROPE refered as to a "1988.5" by someone here.

    It is not that the "Model Year" was not used here for Ferraris; it was, so the car technically has a model year (it starts on July 1st each year in France, for instance), but only for the administrative purpose. For Ferraris, owners never ask if a car is a 1988 MY or 1989 MY, only the chassis number and date of production.

    And the Ferrari factory did not use the concept of "Model Year" as did the "normal" manufacturers for vehicles produced in large numbers either: the "volume" manufacturers tended to defer production changes towards the new model year, so there is a difference indeed.
    Ferrari introduced differences on the production chain as and when they thought fit, not with the change of model year ; proof is that the important change in suspension on the 328 for instance, which is the most important change during the whole 328 production, occured in February...

    Rgds
     
  7. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Either deja vu or there was another thread recently where someone was told by a car salesman that there's a 88.5 Mondial.

    Would be interesting to find out what s/he was thinking.
     
  8. David Lind

    David Lind Formula 3

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    I have a 1988 1/2 Mondial. It's a US version 3.2 coupe with ABS. Manufacture date was August, 1988 which was right up against the initial Mondial t production.
     
  9. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ
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    According to Keith Bluemel's book, Original Ferrari V8, "ABS braking became available as an option on the 3.2 Mondial during 1987 and was standardized in 1988,..."

    I don't recall ever seeing an official definition of an 88 1/2 Mondial (yet?).
     
  10. ronfrohock

    ronfrohock F1 Rookie
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    My car was also produced in August 1988.
    The dealer - Ferrari of New England listed it as an 88 1/2 in their advertising.
     
  11. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ
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    That's my guess. Hopefully someone with first hand knowledge from 1988 will chime in.
     
  12. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Ron, Steve has already answered this question back in 2012. Guess we both missed it (or forgot).

    As you probably know, Steve has worked these cars for a very long time and is one of the experts whom I follow (when I can).

    http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/141979915-post17.html
     
  13. ronfrohock

    ronfrohock F1 Rookie
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    Ahhh. Thanks. Unfortunately, as I get older, my ability to recall is not as sharp as it once was.
    Agreed, Steve is the man for sure. He has helped me more than once, sharing his knoledge, patiently walking me through diagnostics.
    Thanks
     
  14. David Lind

    David Lind Formula 3

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    Ron, how long have you had your '88 1/2? I got mine in April, 2002 from Lake Forest Sportscars on the north side of Chicago. I would like to add that they were very nice folks to deal with.
     
  15. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

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    Sorry to nit-pick here David (I'm very prone to that, I have to admit...).
    The first production "Mondial T" is usually said to be #79596, which is a December 1988 produced car. I wouldn't say (here I am nitpicking...) that August 1988 is right up against December...
    (August produced Ferraris a rare in the Eighties, by the way, as the factory was usually closed for most of August in those days)

    Rgds
     
  16. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Now that you mention it, my observation as well from living in Europe during the mid to late 80s; low productivity during the summers months ("everyone" is away on vacation, too hot with no a/c)..
     
  17. David Lind

    David Lind Formula 3

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    That serial number system must skip a hell of a lot of numbers. My chassis number is 78408, and I can guarantee you that Ferrari did not make 1,000 (or so) Mondials between August and December of 1988. By the way, in the US most cars built from late August are deemed to be in the following model year. This includes US spec Mercedes as well.
     
  18. ronfrohock

    ronfrohock F1 Rookie
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    We purchased it April 2004 from Ferrari of New England.
     
  19. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

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    They built about 300 Mondials in that period of time, and about 400 328s.

    Rgds
     
  20. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

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    Italy was at the time a case in itself, as a vast majority of people took their summer vacations in the month of August, to the point of an almost standstill in some industrial sectors, so most factories actually simply closed their doors in August. The Ferrari factory in Maranello was completly shut down for three weeks, explaining that only a very small number of cars have an "August" production month.
    It is still the case today, but to a lesser extent: activity still slown down a lot in August in Italy, but not as much as it did in the eighties.

    Rgds
     
  21. David Lind

    David Lind Formula 3

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    Nerofer, was that shut-down in August tradition in any way a factor in the relatively recent F-1 August vacation shutdown?
     
  22. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

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    I don't think so, because since the nineties the Maranello factory does not close in August anymore. But during the nineties and the 2000s, F1 testing between races was still authorized, so they were always driving a car somewhere at anytime. If my memory serves me well, but I'll have to check, the F1 four weeks summer vacation shutdown came with the ban on testing, this to control costs...(supposedly)

    Rgds
     

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