What to do... end of the line for an 8... Maybe

have to take responsibility. Rust didn't destroy your, neglect did. And that neglect allowed the rust to do its work. It didn't happen over night.

The Italians bought a lot of cheap steel from Russia and it found its way into almost all their cars.

My suggestion would be to do some soul searching and decide if you really want to own one, and accept all that goes with it. If the answer is yes, it may be wiser to find a new one, keep the best parts from yours in the back of the garage...interior, engine, wheels, master cylinders, trans, clutch, handles, glass, regulators, electrical, brakes, etc., etc., etc. Those parts can upgrade the new car you find, and become back up parts for when work is needed.

Perhaps a metal smith would enjoy trying to save the body of your car but I don't think it is practical for you to do it.

 

Not using it for 5 years.... Was it stored indoors and thoroughly cleaned before putting it away for such a long time? I think proper prep work for long time storage would have made a big difference. Anyways, best of luck, but it would be a shame to sell it for spares. Better to let it go cheap to someone willing to bring the Mondial back to life. There are less and less of them around....

 

how about some pics? $30K seems like a lot, but hard to know until one sees the extent of the rusting. Sell the 8 and get into a T Cab,lots of decent choices around for those +/- $40k, updated elecs, 3.4 engine...

 

Can I provide some inspiration?

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/mondial/350474-1980-green-mondial-8-rebuild.html

 

I hope you save it because I hate seeing *any* of the classic Ferraris written off. The Mondial may not be the most loved model out there but at least it drives and feels like a proper Ferrari instead of a video game on wheels and Ferrari will never make cars like that again. You seem to like the car and it fits your needs, so why not have the body work done and brew up a special powerplant for it so that the end result will be truly special to you?

If you do decide to move along, seems to me the 308 GT4 might fit your needs. Personally, I'd love to see you in a 348 because that might portend some cool bits coming out of the NFF Skunkworks.

Still, I say fix the Mondial. You know you want to.

 

I say fix it if you love it. When it's broken down you can have the chassis, arms, etc coated, and can prime and seal the inside of all the panels. You can also coat the undercarriage in waxoyl.

Living right on the ocean is tough.

 

Not quite; Russia didn't have enough hard cash to pay for the license fees (and some parts they couldn't manufacture) for LADA cars based on FIAT designs so they paid in sheet steel rolls. Unfortunately for us, FIAT accepted this BAD DEAL...

 

ive often wondered about this legend, surely all untreated steel rusts pretty fast?
To the OP, go on youtube and see how stuff is restored, im amazed by some of the rescues. They begin as total basket cases.

 

Ben, not a legend... the metal was partially rusty "inside" before it was transformed into a car. That's why you get rust spots in some undamaged areas from inside out (protected inside and undamaged exterior paint but still rust bubbles).

 

Even that... problem is still inside.

 

If I remember correctly, I read probably a decade ago somewhere that Ferrari rustproofing improved somewhere in the middle of the Mondial run. My 3.2 had some uncarriage rust mitigated back in 2008, but thankfully I've had no body rust issues yet. And I drive my Mondial to the beach every summer. I would suggest you not sink a ton into the 8, as your location near the salt air will always be a problem. I'd suggest as others finding a driver QV, 3.2 or t without rust and enjoy. You'll spend the same but end up better off medium and long term.

 

interesting regarding the steel, similar problem happened on British cars in the seventies due to the strikes at steelworks, inferior steel was sourced elsewhere and ..... you know what happened.

 

+1.
Bought an 83 Euro coupe in 02. Was a nice 10 footer. After a while realized it would require much$$ to make it the way i'd feel comfortable for the long haul. Sold it what i paid for. Bought the 88 3.2 coupe. Both were the same color scheme too. The 3.2 seems much better put together as well. Many quality updates.
Spent lot of time in a TR. Never found it too cumbersome on back roads as you often read about.

Wanted to add, Besides the 3.2 bumper update haven't you made some other mods?? Lets hear about the mechanical side of you car. Back in the day had Fiat X1/9's. 74, 79 then and 83. As they rusted out just transplanted the good parts to a newer less rusty donor

 

Dings dents and rust bring freedom. Knowing these cars are basically panels
Welded or bolted to a stout steel frame I'd probably drive it as is. If it's considered gone there is nothing to loose in continuing to enjoy the car. And if parting out is possible then you can put that off and let it keep rusting and cruising. The parts will likely only go up in value too. And if you enjoy it with freedom someday it may be worth saving.

I purchased a car out of San Francisco many years ago. That ocean breeze is no joke.

Pretend it's a worthless fiat that no one wants but you love and enjoy it.

 

It's a mondial 8. It's not worth fixing at the 30k number. The car, as you are describing is worth max 15k. Fixed and in mint shape what..35k? However, if you love the car then cost to repair shouldn't matter. IMHO, scrap it and buy somthing else.

 

I like to think of it this way…

We are all really custodians of the cars we have chosen to admire/own/drive, so let’s all put a little back… If everybody before us just looked at the financial side of the cars they owned, they would have scrapped so many older cars & let’s face it they did… leaving nothing for future aspiring owners, if you love the car for what it is.

Car enthusiasm shouldn’t be about how much money they owe or will pay you, those people are who have spoilt the whole car enthusiast passion..

Spend some time & money as can be afforded on what is a great car, that you know the history of and make it live to pass on to the next generation of Mondial owners..

Too many people in the world looking for what they can get out of life rather than looking to leave something or give back.. Let’s all try and pass on a better car then we bought…

The world is becoming way to much a throw away world…hopefully when we get to old and costly to fix our children don’t just flick the switch and buy a newer model… LOL 

Save Her I say.. 

 

My advice would be to part it out, then take the body shell to an auto recycle yard and have it crushed. That way, mine will be worth more money.

If I were you, I would start by getting a garage. How does a man live without a garage anyway ? Install a window AC unit, and the salt air problem goes away. Now for the rust on your car, use phosphoric acid. Only don't get any on your skin because it burns like a mother******. Small parts can go into the metal rescue. I just did my expansion tank, and it came out looking like brand new with metal rescue. For exterior refinishing, take it to a professional body shop. It's not going to cost 30k, sheesh.

https://www.amazon.com/Gallon-Grade-Phosphoric-Remover-Clean/dp/B06XZSW3QX/ref=sr_1_1?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1493019385&sr=8-1&keywords=1+Gallon+85%25+Food+Grade+Phosphoric+Acid+Rust+Remover+Clean+Etch+Metal

https://www.amazon.com/Armor-Protective-Packaging-MR5GAL-Rescue/dp/B00HNKBOFA/ref=sr_1_2?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1493019424&sr=1-2&keywords=metal+rescue

 

I remember a similar dilemma in the past where an older gentleman had who loved his tired old Porsche 914 that he had owned for a long time even though it's not a particularly well loved model in the marketplace, it fit him perfectly. But it had rusted and needed to be restored and the cost exceeded the value of the car.

The shop asked him, "If you could walk into the Porsche showroom today and buy this car new, how much would you pay?"

The gentleman said, "Hell, I'd pay $40k to buy this car brand new today."

And the shop owner said, "Well, there's good news for you, because you can have the car back brand new and you just saved yourself $10k."

Of course, you have to extract for the Ferrari numbers ... but the sentiment is the same. What would you be willing to pay for a new Mondial 8 today?

 

Nicely stated. Agree 100%.