1988 Mondial Pictures

After owning my 1988 Mondial 3.2 Cab, and being on Fchat for about the same period of time, I have finally had the time to take and post a few pictures of my car. The car is in exceptional condition, I have done many of the small things that make a car of this age reliable for everyday use, I put on about 2,500km per summer season, it now has about 50,000km. I am the second owner, it was brought over from Switzerland to Canada, so it is a Swiss model with its various peculiarities. Still has the original convertible roof, paint, etc. in great condition.

A couple of interior shots show the replacement metal console, the ST Corsa vent and the horsie mats, such parts coutesy of the referrals on FChat.

The side fender shot shows Pinninfarina badges, instead of the usual Ferrari badges. I like the F badges on most F cars, but they seem more appropriate on the hard core sports models than on this type of GT Car. I also note the Swiss Flag badge on the rear shot, I thought it looked good so left it there to evidence the origin of the vehicle. Is the F badge in the rear over the mondial script OEM or was this added? Looks OEM to me. I think the rear shot with the shadow makes the car look like a hovercraft from Star Wars or something, maybe some enterprising F Chatter has already done that mod...

I have had a great experience with this car, I think it is a beautiful design, it has been more reliable than my daily driver cars, and I find it quite easy to work on for the essential maintenance items, like plugs, fluid changes, etc.. Other than a conversion of the A/C to 134, and a new Sanden compressor when I first purchased the car, I have just done
preventative things like replacing the relays, cleaning electrical connections, new cap and wires, etc. When I purchased the car I was a bit apprehensive about the maintenance and parts prices, but it now all seems like no big issue at all, although the parts prices still make me instinctively cringe, but some good F Chat tips help to know when there is a cheap way to go vs. just accepting the costs and getting on with it.

Anyways, just detailed the car, put in the fuel stabilizer, getting ready to put it away for the winter, such an unusually nice day here in Toronto, great day for the "last" drive.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Oops, forgot about the showroom...will repost there...

Interior was leatheriqued, lifted out lots of whitish gunk from old preservatives, but after two treatments, the leather is absolutely like new. Great product, another useful FChat tip, indeed. The previous owner always garaged the car in Switzerland, so it never saw any sun with the usual shrink and fade damage often expected in the Southern US cars. When I got the car, it still had the original Bridgestone tires (!) with lots of tread, I don't think the fellow drove it hard or much at all, but it had extensive main dealer records, eg. had valves adjusted, proper major, etc. It looks like no one ever sat in any of the seats other than the drivers seat, and with the rear convertible window almost like new, either the roof rarely went down, or Ferrari invested some plastic that lasts forever.

 

For my Canadian Mondial audience, there is a front plate requirement in Ontario. There were two little screw holes in the bottom of the factory bumper, I presume for a Euro plate holder of some sort, I just got two pieces of Aluminum stock from the hardware store, and bent two brackets to attach the plate. I angled the plate down a bit to make it look better, and its sits at the exact level of the spoiler, so not prone to damage. I drilled a hole in the frame bottom and with another piece of aluminum, attached the bottom of the plate frame to a hole I drilled in the fibreglass undertray of the vehicle, with a rubber/screw insert I got from Aircraft Spruce (another supply place F Chat tip). I made the sure the bolt was countersunk, so if one scrapes it wouldn't catch on anything. Looks like a factory install when completed, I think, and doesn't detract to badly from the design of the front. Poor 360/430 owners, the front plate really looks awkward on those cars.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I thought about the Modena coat of arms as an alternative, thought it was a bit too much...I found a couple of other choices, not sure which one would work best and confuse the most number of people who see the car (some have noted my Pinninfarina badge looks like its from a Lancia, which is correct)...

I recall the the prancing horse on the side used to be reserved solely for motorsports use, was often hand painted on the cars...is it really appropriate to use on modern road cars? (I admit it does look quite nice on most of the modern cars, not so sure on the 80's classics)...
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login