As I Found It! | FerrariChat

As I Found It!

Discussion in '348/355' started by mackb61, Jul 16, 2009.

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  1. mackb61

    mackb61 Karting
    BANNED

    May 17, 2008
    80
    #1 mackb61, Jul 16, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Gee! What a deal: 1994 Ferrari Spider, red/black, "ONLY" 29,815 miles showing on odometer, been sitting for 6 years in a warehouse, tires rotten, fuel still in tank, windows left open, door panel removed on driver's side, shifter knob missing, not currently registered, and complete with a topolino house guest. Sure, she's been ridden hard and put away wet, but with a little elbow grease I can get her running again. After all, it's just a car. Auto Zone or PEP Boys probably have all the parts I'll need. Ferrari. Red. Yeah! A chance to own a Ferrari. Couldn't get the money out of my pocket fast enough. Boy, if I could only go back in time.
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  2. junglistluder

    junglistluder F1 Rookie
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Mar 23, 2007
    3,557
    VA
    Full Name:
    Brendan
    i'm confused. you bought this car, and are now regretting it??
     
  3. hkbrandt

    hkbrandt Rookie

    Oct 30, 2007
    29
    Henderson, NV
    I think he means he wishes he could go back to a time in which the car hadn't been so run down and bought it then.
     
  4. mackb61

    mackb61 Karting
    BANNED

    May 17, 2008
    80
    Regrets? I'm not sure. In my naivete and knowing nothing about Ferraris, I thought I'd get it home, clean it up, replace the fuel, and drive it away. It turned out to be a lot more involved than that. It has certainly been an education.
     
  5. UConn Husky

    UConn Husky F1 Rookie

    Nov 11, 2006
    4,422
    CT
    Full Name:
    Jay
    Wow, crazy find...it is beyond me to understand how people could 'leave' a Ferrari someplace like this and let that happen to it! You are looking at major work to get it running reliably again...motor has to come out for new belts / hoses (should do that before even trying to start it!).
     
  6. Miltonian

    Miltonian F1 Veteran

    Dec 11, 2002
    5,966
    Milton, Wash.
    Full Name:
    Jeff B.
    Do tell. Lots of little piddly jobs, or anything serious wrong with it?

    Hey, congratulations!
     
  7. S-T48

    S-T48 Formula Junior

    Oct 30, 2008
    571
    Stevenson Ranch, CA
    Interesting! Give us a bit more info......
     
  8. moriaan1

    moriaan1 Formula 3

    Dec 3, 2006
    2,327
    Netherlands
    Full Name:
    Hans
    #8 moriaan1, Jul 16, 2009
    Last edited: Jul 16, 2009
    If the price is right, this is a very interesting find!

    Allthough it probably needs some money to get going...
    don't try to start it like this!!!! first look at the state of the mechanicals, or you might be in for "serious" money!
     
  9. BLAMPEE

    BLAMPEE Man Card Status: Never Issued

    I'm not normally one to ask....but who or what kind of person owned this and what did you pay for it???
     
  10. mj_duell

    mj_duell Formula 3

    Nov 20, 2004
    1,421
    S. Glastonbury, CT.
    Full Name:
    Mike
    +1 I must know.
     
  11. 50hdmc

    50hdmc Formula 3

    Oct 10, 2006
    1,211
    Michigan
    Full Name:
    mark s
    +2........any more pics of the interior and engine compartment? What sort of problems have you found thus far??
     
  12. RobS

    RobS Formula Junior

    Feb 18, 2004
    280
    Canada
    Full Name:
    Rob S.
    Huuuuge money pit right there !
     
  13. PaulK

    PaulK F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Apr 24, 2004
    4,603
    Michigan
    Full Name:
    Paul
    Talk about a real time capsule Ferrari!
     
  14. mseals

    mseals Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Sep 9, 2007
    24,468
    Kuwait
    Full Name:
    Mike Seals
    At least the wheels are on the correct sides....

    :D

    As has been said many, many, many times on this forum in this section... be most careful of the 'cheap' Ferrari...

    They just cost more.

    Mike in Kuwait
     
  15. SonomaRik

    SonomaRik F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 15, 2006
    6,880
    Sonoma, CA
    hmmmm. guessing $15k just to know how deep the pit is, but if you got it at a VERY low price, would be 'interesting'....not for me....
     
  16. wingfeather

    wingfeather F1 Rookie

    Feb 1, 2007
    3,653
    rock bottom
    I'd buy her for $4,000 cold hard cash!!!
     
  17. PAP 348

    PAP 348 Nine Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Dec 10, 2005
    99,174
    Mount Isa, Australia
    Full Name:
    Pap
    Congrats mate. :):)

    I would also love to hear more about this car. :):)
     
  18. islandguy

    islandguy Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 12, 2007
    1,423
    Northern CA & NV
    6 yrs isn’t really a long time. I know guys with cars that have been sitting in their garages for much longer than that. At least this one doesn’t have old appliance boxes and gardening tools stacked on top it.
     
  19. Blink355

    Blink355 Karting

    Dec 1, 2005
    67
    Saint Louis
    It will be interesting to hear what he paid for this car.
     
  20. ernie

    ernie Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Nov 19, 2001
    22,574
    The Brickyard
    Full Name:
    The Bad Guy
    Welcome to the 348 Brotherhood.

    No worries about the car. Run searches and read through the archives as just about everything you can think of has been covered on our cars at one point or another. Most of which you can fix YOURSELF and on the "cheap".

    I fully understand the "go back in time" statement. Made that one myself many times. But as you said, it has been an education. ;)
     
  21. ernie

    ernie Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Nov 19, 2001
    22,574
    The Brickyard
    Full Name:
    The Bad Guy
    Like me, more than he should have.

    Live and learn, live and learn.
     
  22. rbellezza

    rbellezza F1 Rookie

    Jun 18, 2008
    2,792
    Henderson, NV
    Full Name:
    Roberto Bellezza
    I hope you are not getting the ride of your life, I mean pocket wise ....
     
  23. mackb61

    mackb61 Karting
    BANNED

    May 17, 2008
    80
    #23 mackb61, Jul 17, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Here are some more pictures. Enjoy. Be thankful it isn't in your garage. At least it's a California car. No rust. LOL Adding insult to injury, the state of California let me pay for all the back registration fees at the DMV. Just over $3,200.00. Prior owner didn't place vehicle in a non-op status. He just let the registration ride (unpaid each year accruing penalties). I still don't have title, as the DMV won't issue it until car passes SMOG. Might be awhile. Again, not knowing anything about Ferraris nor being familiar with FChat, I proceeded to get it running. Hey, I've worked on lots of cars over the years. Yep! I drained out all the varnish that was once 92 RON gasoline back in 2000 (13 gallons), replaced both fuel pumps and all associated plumbing in the tank which had turned to a sticky gooey mess (resembles the interior parts), fuel filters, installed a new battery, refilled the tank with 91 RON Union 76 fuel and started it. It started. Sounded like crap, but it’s running. Now to drive it. Oops! Clutch pedal goes to the floor and puddle of brake fluid appears on the floor from this weird housing at the back of the car. Must be the clutch slave cylinder usually located on the clutch arm side of the transmission. Where is it? Is this thing an automatic? No! It’s got 3 pedals. Look at that. They hid the clutch slave cylinder inside this housing. I guess the flywheel/clutch is in there also. Never saw a car with the flywheel as the last component in line. I'm used to engine, flywheel/clutch, transmission. Not engine, transmission, clutch/flywheel. I remove rear bumper, muffler and bell housing. Taa Daa. Throwout bearing leaking. I somehow found Hill Engineering on the web and proceeded to order one of his throwout bearings. Nice piece. A work of art. I watch the exchange rate from British Pound to US dollar on the internet for approximately 4 months. I jumped and purchased it at $1.48 US to 1 English Pound. Bearing arrived two days later. Damn that was fast shipping. I installed the bearing, and replaced the bell housing. Had a hell of a time bleeding it, but finally ended up with a dummy cap on the fluid reservoir drilled and tapped for a ¼” pipe thread into which I installed an air fitting. I applied approximately 8 oz. of air pressure and system was bled. Now to drive it for the first time. Started it up again. (That’s right. I’m still ignorant about the 30K timing belt) It was only hitting on 4 of the 8 cylinders. One fuel pump wasn’t working. ****! It’s brand new. Drained the tank again and removed both fuel pumps. Even the new gas now had taken on the varnish smell. I checked the pumps and the one was stuck. I took a small screwdriver (most misused tool in the world) and broke the pump rotor loose. I applied 12 volts and it took off. (No fire. I must be living right) I reinstalled both pumps and refilled the tank with 10 gallons of fresh Union 76. Started engine. Hitting on all eight. " Now who's your Daddy”? I let it warm up a bit, checked the oil level, and backed out of the garage and started down the driveway. I haven’t reinstalled the muffler or rear bumper as I was anxious to drive my first Ferrari. A red one at that. It had been drizzling that day and the streets were wet. Rear tires on Ferrari are worn bald with cracks on the sidewalls. Fronts have a little tread, but cracked sidewalls also. I drive up the street maybe a ¼ mile, but the car is so loud without a muffler I figured I’d best take it home as the neighbors might not appreciate the noise. I flip a U turn and proceed downhill in the direction of my home. I have to make a downhill left hand turn to enter my street. I’m dying to floor this thing. In the middle of the turn, I’m probably taching 3,000-3,500 RPM. I don’t know if I was in 1st or 2nd gear but I decide to floor it. Four things were wrong: Wet Street, Bald tires, In middle of turn, Idiot behind wheel. Car got sideways so fast it would make a DEA agent crash a F40 into a tree. I got out of the throttle, corrected, and just missed ending up in my neighbor’s front yard. Yeah! I’m going to like this. Can’t wait to finish it.
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  24. Miltonian

    Miltonian F1 Veteran

    Dec 11, 2002
    5,966
    Milton, Wash.
    Full Name:
    Jeff B.
    Thanks for sharing the story!

    Just in case, it sounds like you probably did it correctly, but since you're new at this, do you know how to check the oil level? A LOT of new owners check the level when the engine is cold, and they overfill the tank enough to flood the engine with excess oil. Check it with the engine warm, either at idle or when you've just shut it off.

    Keep us informed on your progress. How can the DMV charge YOU for back license fees? I've never heard of such a thing. For your smog test, does your car still have catalytic converters, or has someone installed "test pipes"?
     
  25. mackb61

    mackb61 Karting
    BANNED

    May 17, 2008
    80
    Thanks for the tip. I learn something new every day. California at one time didn't charge for back registration. The new owner just had to fill out a "Certificate of non-operation". However, I believe around 1999, they went to the policy where if the owner/seller didn't place the vehicle in "Non-Op" status, filling out a form at the DMV and paying, I believe, $15.00, registration fees are due each and every year. There is no grace period and no getting out of it. At least I haven't found a way. Our registration fees have almost doubled since May. Vehicle still has the catalytic converters on it.
     

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