Mondial t Coupe with Valeo - collectability

Ah ha, that you may but I am talking finess here not brute strength.

 

Can I just add my unsolicited .02 here.

I am unabashedly one of the Mondial's biggest fans. I am consumed with this car and have a voracious appetite for anything Mondial related.

I also recognize that my passion may not be contagious. I further recognize that others have legitimate criticisms of the Mondial--whether I disagree with them or not.

To own a car like this, we have to accept the good with the bad. I am the first to present a counterpoint to a criticism or a stereotype of my beloved Mondial, however, in order to have any credibility, I also must acknowledge its faults, and its perceived lack of virtue among certain members of the Ferrari community.

Certainly, there is a way to express criticism with tact. Regretfully, that is a skill lost on some of our members, as demonstrated by one of the posters in this thread, IMHO.

However, when our passionate defense prevents us from distinguishing legitimate tactfully expressed criticism from "bashing" we lose the high road.

Finally, I caution all of us to resist the temptation to quelch any dissent regarding the virtues of the Mondial, its collectability, etc, lest we become a support group rather than a subforum.

I will get off my soapbox now and go back to the garage.

Thanks for reading.

 

Well said Joe.

 

Joe..You are 100% right regarding my previous post as being less then "kind"..But I have learned that being a member of this forum, requires a little bit of give and take to get a point across. My post IMHO, opened a few peoples eyes regarding the Mondial Valeo. It was inteneded to be a stab in the gut, and to get the mind working, not only towards the owner of the car, but others who enjoy this fine auto. I do not regret it a bit.

It seems to me, many of the posters on the forum have very, very thick rosso shaded glasses and it takes a bit of poking to bring out the realities of ownership, however hard it is for them to admit it. Its not a bad thing to have passion, but a line must be drawn at some point. I hate to see people throw money away, get discouaged, and never buy another Ferrari again.

I love Ferrari's, but at some point you must call a spade a spade.

 

tbakowsky, yes, you have given me a pain in the gut - but it's due only to my continual laughter

Keep it up. The joke is getting funnier with each of your posts.

Cheers, Hank

 

Me too but I must say I have now passed my pain in the gut, some people have no idea. It is a bit like commenting on the cramped cabin room in a 246 not having ever owned one. I would not dare to comment as I have no experience of ownership, I may think it but without actual experience and real knowledge I would not dare to insult those who are exalted enough to know first hand.
I suggest all those who wish to provide negative comment re the MondialT or any other model should go out and buy one and then provide us with erudite gems.
Hows your left knee Hank? Mine is really good.

 

the 'consultant' seems clueless as to the Mondial Valeo, like its some sort of service nightmare,simply not the case

 

With all due respect, your comments above are absurd. You were rude and your comments were not constructive. Own it, don't try to spin it. Your attempts to recast your prior comments reads like you are the self proclaimed Ferrari Messiah, and that's just plain silly.

At the outset, you would have been better served by amplifying whatever perceived point you were making with a detailed analysis rather than inflammatory rhetoric. The only thing you got people thinking on this thread is whether you have any credibility moving forward regarding this car or any Ferrari for that matter.

Just my. 02

 

Now that we have thrashed that: how about the foot pedal off-sets

[or is there still more to repectfully disagree about?]

 

LOL--

If I may derail the thread for a moment...

Out of curiosity, am I the only person who has to wear driving shoes in the Mondial. I literally cannot drive the car with my fat feet unless they are bound so tight in driving shoes that my feet resemble a Chinese girl from the Tang Dynasty.

Between that and a steering wheel with adjustments that range from bus setting to gauge blocker, the Mondial is a case study in ergonomics.

Also, can I vent that I rather the Mondial Cab not have been provided with rear windows than to live in constant fear that they will one day fail, forcing my car to live forever with its top in the up or down position.

 

In my case I MUST wear driving shoes. Heck, I drive the 456 almost every day when the wife isn't sneaking out early and grabbing it

today, I am wearing driving shoes for THAT as my size 13" shoes just can't get in there.

BTW: Carry real shoes at your destination: Driving shoes suck as walkers.

As for your rear windows: YES, I am actually installing hidden ports in both rears areas to get in there WHEN it happens again. VERY Costly!!!! don't get me started on THAT one.

PS: Having lived in the Orient/Taiwan for a number of years in the 60's I always wondered at the old time-women with those small feet...they truly looked painful.

 

I don't know what you guys are talking about. Driver ergonomics are perfect in the Mondial. The steering wheel is perfect for European style driving where you grip the wheel from the sides and underneath. Don't even think about crossing hands in a turn. Also the pedals are nearly perfect for heel-toe driving, although with my size 12 sneaker I did install a wider gas pedal to tighten things up a bit. Jeez folks, this is a Ferrari. Wait a minute....I get it, this is a trick question, the Valeo has one pedal for each foot. No need to worry about heel-toe or crowded pedals...another feather its cap.

Dave

 

I knew I'd start it....


where's the consultant when you need them

 

If I may derail the thread here a bit also, has any of the other Valeo owners tried the "sporty start" described in the manual? It says when in neutral keeping the engine at the maximum permitted rpm you can engage 1st gear while going to full throttle. I've never had the nerve to try it. It sounds similar to the "launch start" with the F1 system decribed in my 575m manual. BTW I've not tied that one either.

 

Totally Rik !! I've almost caught my breath, so - I need more absurdity to keep me laughing

Cheers, Hank

 

Apparently no one told Ferrari that t/348 gearboxes are made of wax. I drop the hammer at 3000rpm from time to time and get a pretty good burn-out. I would think 7600rpm would just be a lot of smoke. Or maybe the computer just slips the clutch in. I tried that manually once in our t and the car smelled like burnt clutch for a week with no noticeable gain in acceleration. Honestly, I can't fathom not trying it at least once. If the book says do it, by goodness I'll do it. If the book says don't do it, I'll limit it to once.

Dave

 

Hi D. T. & G,

I guess I'm a wimp I'v had Rachel, going on 7 years, and I have yet to try that one !
I keep remembering my younger years - breaking axel keys in my 48 Ford's banjo diff. Between the power from a very hot flathead - connected to rear tires that were "a bit" oversize - maybe I just didn't know how to do it right - - but I never forgot it ........

I did see a Utube video where a Valeo launch was made at mid 3000 rpm - looked quite cool !! Guess I just enjoy not having to push a clutch pedal, while still enjoying the fun of shifting through that beautiful gate.

Love to the three of you,

Hank

 

Some of the fun things I have discovered in the valeo. You can do great heel and toe changes as you dont have to co ordinate both feet and your gear arm. You can do great hill starts as you learn to left foot brake so the hand brak only gets used when parking. You can chage from 5th to 3rd or 4th to 2nd unlike f 1,s. I have sort of attempted a launch start but only did it at about 2000 revs and even then I was nervous however I have done some flat to floor quick gear changes and they go well. I always blip on down change as I have learned its quirks well now and I am quite relaxed. I still momentarily think on take off " Is this going to work again?" and so far it always has.
You can change shoes whilst driving as you only need one foot at a time.

 

Thanks Hank, Tiziana is completely unimpressed when I skid the Mondi and G just gets mad at me, so mostly I behave myself.
dave

 

the one damn thing I do NOT miss about the Mondial...those damn rear windows. Sometimes pulling up or pushing down on the window while holding the switchworked. Sometimes popping the switch out and cleaning it helped. There was never a single fix.

I like the offset, and being 6'5",never a problem. And yes, like a woman, I have a closet full of driving shoes (Piloti).

I enjoyed my 456 but found the Mondial to be more viceral and exciting to drive. I miss it.

 

Ahh, just left the city and had one of those r 32 vw golfs wanted to play.... see ya later the valeo T did a good job of him. Not that I condone racing on a city street.

 

That is why we are talking c o u p e man! The coupe is devoid of any rear window issues. That alone makes it collectible

 

Yes, they are an issue and probably in every nook and cranny: Hate to even think if the windows work and all the rubber bits will need replacing.

Now wonder though, with factory KMs only, it is collector's price of $125,000 USD. Since a RHD, cabriolet, which would be amongst the rarest of Valeos, I would say that is an auction waiting to happen.

Guessing it also includes [at that time] Ferraris most expensive issue, $7,500+ 7 piece USD luggage set [hopefully].

Noticed the filler side being Euro type.