Any F car owners on here ?

[K9Torro]

Ok no flaming, I am looking at a 88 Testi was wondering if any other Pelicans have a F car lurking in the deep dark corner of the garage that could give me some advice on them.

Todd

[javadog]

Sure.

What exactly do you want to know?

JR

[K9Torro]

Hey JR, I have been on the F-chat site reading as much as I can, this is a one owner car with complete service records, 36K miles recent major service just completed 1988. Just looking for any input on what to expect or problem areas. Lots of info on earlier cars on F-chat but not alot on the 1988 and later ones.

Todd

[Zeke]

You have to know that a Ferrari is a money pit. If you can afford an expensive hobby, why not?

I'd contact the closest independent Ferrari guy. Or maybe not the closest. One fellow who you might try and correspond with is Norbert Hofer of Gran. Touring Classics Inc.

2780 Temple Ave
Long Beach, CA 90806
(562) 290-0110
gtclassics@verizon.net

No website that I know of, but he is one of the top Ferrari guys in the world.

[K9Torro]

Hi ya Milt, The major service was just done on this car, can't I get 30K miles out of it before a major hit is felt ? The Testi's were around so long and the powerplant stayed the same pretty much so all the bugs should have been worked out ?

Todd

PS...My cars are my hobby but I really dont need a pit right now,

[Zeke]

I don't hang with the Ferrari guys, but I've never heard of just driving one for 30K miles w/o some maintenance and expense and more often, quite a bit of expense. I'm sure you'd want to change the oil once a year or every 5K, whichever comes first. Somehow I don't think the Ferrari owner gets by with just a simple oil change. I hope you don't take this wrong, but if you don't know, I'd sure look into it before buying a car.

[daepp]

What ever happened to Motion? His blog doesn't even work any more.

[Cdnone1]

One of my best friends has had a bunch of them. They are great cars. The only problem is that the are very, very expensive to repair and maintain!
There use to be a site that showed common parts that Ferrari shared with other manufactures so you could source parts without the F-car tax but Ferrari had them shut down.
I've always found them a blast to drive but just glad I didn't have to pay for them when something went wrong.
I have never wrenched on one so I have no opinion on whether they are DIY friendly



Steve

[javadog]

Todd,

There were a few issues with the TR. They had a differential problem that usually became noticeable when the diff came apart and took the case with it. Big money to fix. Mine chewed up first gear, which wasn't surprising given the amount of torque they make and how small the gear was (few teeth.) Don't hot rod the car in first.

The car will have 4 catalytic converters on it (if the exhaust is stock) and a pair of electronic boxes that monitor thermocouples in the exhaust, to warn of overheating. These boxes give false readings and are an expensive pain to deal with. If the car has lost the cats along the way, make sure the owner gives them to you in a box, as it's huge money to replace all that.

The fuseboxes give some trouble. Check them often. Window regulators can need replacing.

Lots of bushings in the suspension and few owners ever service or change them. Frankly, most cars never get enough service work done, regardless of what the owner thinks. These cars last a long time, if properly serviced, yet that means taking things apart periodically to check, clean and grease stuff. It's expensive, which is why it never gets done. I dropped $30k on one of my cars in the span of 2 years. Most owners don't do that.

Most of the body work is aluminum, which will dent under hand pressure. Look for dents in the front bonnet and engine cover. They are hard to get in and out of driveways, as the front overhang is long.

Parts are getting hard to find. Half the stuff is obsolete through the dealer network and the independents are having a hard time supplying things. You might want to visit with a parts guy to see if you can readily get bushings, shocks, brake parts etc. I sold my TR a couple years ago and still have a 328GTB. Things like shocks aren't available any more for that car....

Make sure the PPI is done by a dealer that has a mechanic that knows the car well, preferably one that has been schooled on that car, back in the day. If you use an independent workshop, consider the case of the guy that bought one and shortly afterwards lost a cam belt from an independent shop having failed to tighten things properly. I recall his pocket was the one that got picked for replacing a zillion valves and what not.

If you ever intend to re-sell the car, make sure it has all service records from new, all tools, all manuals, etc.

Good luck,
JR

[the]

I've always wondered why there are so many TRs available for $50-something K these days . . . one that has had nothing done to it since the Clinton administration probably isn't a great deal and is hard to offload to a knowledgeable buyer.

[126coupe]

is this the car you are talking about??

[126coupe]

I like this much better

[K9Torro]

Milt that is the reason I asked this question on here, to learn more about these cars. I have been on F-Chat for months now reading over postings there but alot of those people are not real helpful for some reason. And almost none of them do their own wrenching. I still have three P-cars and the Lotus, just always wondered about these Testi's and how they were to drive.

JR, thanks for your posting it is what I was really looking for. The one thing that bothers me about this car is the low miles for it's age, the 30K was just done by a dealer I have seen the doc's on the service, basically it has been serviced at the dealership that sold/delivered the car it's entire life but has been a garage queen along with the guy's other 34 car's. He has offered it to me at a fair price I think from what I have researched on them but that leads me to wonder just how much I will be spending down the road on it.

The, actually there are quite a few of them in the $40-something K range these days, which is a real shame with them costing well over 175K for the later 80's models, talk about losing value. If you really shop around and buy a high miles car you can get into one under 40K.


Todd

[K9Torro]

126 the pic you posted was a 1992 or later Testi, the front facia changed slightly from the 1988 that I am looking at , the rest of the car is basically the same. The 1988 had yellow turn signal lenses above the driving lights and a chin spoiler which the newer cars do not have.

Todd

[HarryD]

You can always ask the fellow who posted this: Forgive me 911 Board, For I have sinned...

Some of his other threads on this topic can be seen here:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/search.php?searchid=2999963

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by K9Torro

PS...My cars are my hobby but I really dont need a pit right now,

If you don't need a money pit, you don't need a Ferrari.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

If you don't need a money pit, you don't need a Ferrari.

Well stated.

[K9Torro]

Heard that I did, I guess I just better pass it by. Cause I don't need a money pit.

Todd

[911Rob]

Hey Todd,
I will be buying a Ferrari this year too; I really like the TRs too, but I understand that they're a difficult car to maintain and I really don't want to go into a car that old. I've decided on the 360 Spider, between 2000-2002 year. Prices have fallen in the US on these cars, but not in Canada yet.

As for being a money pit; its all relative. A guy driving a Honda will tell you that a 911 is a money pit and so a guy driving a 911 will tell you a Ferrari is a money pit. JR has some great advise posted above. If you're planning on buying an older 88TR for $40K, you're likely gonna get some challenges with it, but what a sweet ride!

My vote would be to be careful, but if you can afford it, then go for it!

[Racerbvd]

Are you using a shop in Jax???