Any past or present Ferrari owner(s) on Pelican???

[michael b.]

Originally Posted by Banning

I just ran across this thread.
Since owning a Testarossa for 8 years, being Vice-President of the Ferrari Club...

...Misc ramble deleted...

Remember that all Ferraris are not created equal and you should check all available models in your price range.

For instance, a Mondial was mentioned early in this thread as a good car to own.
The Mondial is an entry level Ferrari, inexpensive, fairly reliable, but very slow and at the bottom of the list of Ferraris to own. I would suggest to stay away from it if possible. Sorry, but you will end up being made fun of, at least in the Ferrari Club.

The Dino was mentioned and is still to this day one of the most beautiful Ferrari designs ever manufactured. It was the first Ferrari to attract my attention back in 1973. I fell in love at first sight. The Dino has unbelievable re-sale value and has skyrocketed in the past few years in price. It is a small car with a 2.4 liter V-6 engine that is mounted sideways, and so it is probably the slowest Ferrari available but incredible to look at.

My advice is to stick with Porsche unless you have no choice and are "driven" to own a particular Ferrrari. Check all the available models in your price range and definetely have the car checked by the Dealer.

Good Luck, see you on Mulholland.

Hey ban.

I was pointed this direction from a fairly large group of Ferrari enthusiast's over at a similar forum. They had been particularly amused by your Mondial & Dino comments. Its no big deal, and no offence meant but I did want to clear up a few things in your post.

To begin you actually made some inaccurate comments on both steeds so I thought I would present you with a few informational bits.

First off my personal Mondial t coupe has never found a Testarossa it could not beat. Drag strip, road course - whatever. It has fun playing with that wide machine like a fat cat-nip mouse. Here is a quick video of my "very slow" Mondial t taking part in a Ferrari Club event at a drag strip, and winning fastest 1/4 mile run of the day for that matter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1maYzWhJ0k0

The best run was only in the 13's but that was sufficient to best all Testarossa's as well as any others that day. You see when Ferrari was on their last version of the Mondial (the T) they really did a great job. The engine grew from a 3.0 in the beginning to a 3.2, then to the 3.4 liter like in the 348. It was rated at 300HP, had a drysump lubrication system (to get the engine low in the chassis), a transverse mounted transaxle and semi tubular chassis mounted on electronically selectable & adjustable suspension to enjoy it all with. A far cry from something someone would need to be forewarned of. And think of the rarity. Ferrari only sent 43 Mondial t coupes (my favorite & the most rigid) to the USA period. That would make them rarer than even an F40. Made fun of? No. Not in the enthusiasts Ferrari clubs I belong to.

As for the Dino... You state that it too is slow. But let it be known that when piloted correctly that small bore machine can produce lap times that are considerably quicker than the 2.4 liter may suggest. It is all about momentum and not torque. It may not be a wonderful stop light to stop light car, but it is a fabulous momentum machine and when driven correctly would surprise you & the Big Testa in the hills of Cali. These are Ferraris by all means. But not Hemi Chargers.

Nevertheless I wanted to take a moment to try to shed some light on this thread as I am a current dual/multiple Porsche/Ferrari owner and find that too many fables are told of cars like the 400i, the Dino, Mondial, 456 and that more research is needed by posters like you before painting your picture with such a wide brush.

Enjoy your drive on Mulholland.

[jryerson]

Originally Posted by grudk

You guys digging the 512BB/BBI should drive one. In my hunt I tested four (two carb'd, two injected). Only one (injected) was well-tuned, and even that one had pedestrian performance by modern standards. It's a crazy heavy car. 930 trounces it.

I have a 512BB as well carbed weighs 3300lbs wet on the scale not much more than a late 930 I also have a early Viper Green Metallic 77 930 with all mods and while the P offers performance over the 512BB and is more tossable the F is the most raw fun car I have ever driven over later Ferraris and my 355. The noises are straight from a a 60s F1 car and well as the driving sensation. I will never sell the BB nothing like it.
My first F was a 328 I enjoyed it very much until I drove my 512BB and was blown away by the 512 nothing like 12cylinders in a flat 12 with Webers. Performance is spirited in the 328 but its not nor ever been a world class performer as the 512BB in its day and even now.

Mondials are for a different type of F owner someone that likes to cruise and maybe has kids or the need for 4 seats not a Mullholland Canyon blaster both 308\328 or Mondial would be left in the dust by any modern semi perfomance car made today they also have tricky handling due to sideways mounted motors except the T Mondy and high center of gravity as well. A hopped up early 911 such as the Mull RSR or 930 driven well would have time for a latte at Starbucks till they showed up.

[Banning]

Originally Posted by jryerson

I have a 512BB as well carbed weighs 3300lbs wet on the scale not much more than a late 930 I also have a early Viper Green Metallic 77 930 with all mods and while the P offers performance over the 512BB and is more tossable the F is the most raw fun car I have ever driven over later Ferraris and my 355. The noises are straight from a a 60s F1 car and well as the driving sensation. I will never sell the BB nothing like it.
My first F was a 328 I enjoyed it very much until I drove my 512BB and was blown away by the 512 nothing like 12cylinders in a flat 12 with Webers. Performance is spirited in the 328 but its not nor ever been a world class performer as the 512BB in its day and even now.

Mondials are for a different type of F owner someone that likes to cruise and maybe has kids or the need for 4 seats not a Mullholland Canyon blaster both 308\328 or Mondial would be left in the dust by any modern semi perfomance car made today they also have tricky handling due to sideways mounted motors except the T Mondy and high center of gravity as well. A hopped up early 911 such as the Mull RSR or 930 driven well would have time for a latte at Starbucks till they showed up.

Absolutely correct! (I'm still laughing and really needed it due to dental work done today, thanks).

Yes, the 512 BB is one of Ferraris finest cars that uses the flat, 12 cylinder, 5 liter powerplant that is well-known for it's horsepower and incredible torque.
(The Testarossa powerplant is very similar to that of the BB, almost the same).

Of course the body of the BB is exquisite in design and execution and was built to house the massive boxer engine that is located just behind the driver/passenger firewall.

A friend of mine named Larry O'Rourke owns a beautiful example and regularly wins concourse events with his flawless red 512 Berlinetta Boxer.

It's' one of the most alluring Ferraris and lives up to it's reputation well.

[Ferraripete]

Originally Posted by jryerson

I have a 512BB as well carbed weighs 3300lbs wet on the scale not much more than a late 930 I also have a early Viper Green Metallic 77 930 with all mods and while the P offers performance over the 512BB and is more tossable the F is the most raw fun car I have ever driven over later Ferraris and my 355. The noises are straight from a a 60s F1 car and well as the driving sensation. I will never sell the BB nothing like it.
My first F was a 328 I enjoyed it very much until I drove my 512BB and was blown away by the 512 nothing like 12cylinders in a flat 12 with Webers. Performance is spirited in the 328 but its not nor ever been a world class performer as the 512BB in its day and even now.

Mondials are for a different type of F owner someone that likes to cruise and maybe has kids or the need for 4 seats not a Mullholland Canyon blaster both 308\328 or Mondial would be left in the dust by any modern semi perfomance car made today they also have tricky handling due to sideways mounted motors except the T Mondy and high center of gravity as well. A hopped up early 911 such as the Mull RSR or 930 driven well would have time for a latte at Starbucks till they showed up.

cheers jeff!

[jryerson]

Originally Posted by Banning

Absolutely correct! (I'm still laughing and really needed it due to dental work done today, thanks).

Yes, the 512 BB is one of Ferraris finest cars that uses the flat, 12 cylinder, 5 liter powerplant that is well-known for it's horsepower and incredible torque.
(The Testarossa powerplant is very similar to that of the BB, almost the same).

Of course the body of the BB is exquisite in design and execution and was built to house the massive boxer engine that is located just behind the driver/passenger firewall.

A friend of mine named Larry O'Rourke owns a beautiful example and regularly wins concourse events with his flawless red 512 Berlinetta Boxer.

It's' one of the most alluring Ferraris and lives up to it's reputation well.

thanks Chris, one of these days soon i am going to drive my early 930 to the Mullholland area id like you to drive it for me down Mull to get your impressions as well as any tips you may have to improve its performance and handling maybe at a group meet there for show, its a blast at 400 plus hp in a light early 3.0 homologation special. It would be a special treat for me i remember that article as a kid about you guys in the 70s tearing it up i was so jealous then, good times!

[jryerson]

Originally Posted by Ferraripete

cheers jeff!

Regards Peter as well.

[Banning]

Originally Posted by jryerson

thanks Chris, one of these days soon i am going to drive my early 930 to the Mullholland area id like you to drive it for me down Mull to get your impressions as well as any tips you may have to improve its performance and handling maybe at a group meet there for show, its a blast at 400 plus hp in a light early 3.0 homologation special. It would be a special treat for me i remember that article as a kid about you guys in the 70s tearing it up i was so jealous then, good times!

Early 930's are awesome cars, and are one of Porsches best looking cars IMO.
They are almost perfect and need almost nothing to improve upon. Perhaps a little tweak here and there to slightly improve performance. The trick is how to drive a turbo correctly to make it haul a$$, and then they are lots of fun.

Yes, it was a great time back in the days. We got away with...a lot! Heh, Heh.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=323773

also, www.themulhollandexperience.com

Please watch the thread and come up to Mul when we meet, we would love to meet you and see your car.

Best regards, Chris Banning

[jryerson]

Originally Posted by Banning

Early 930's are awesome cars, and are one of Porsches best looking cars IMO.
They are almost perfect and need almost nothing to improve upon. Perhaps a little tweak here and there to slightly improve performance. The trick is how to drive a turbo correctly to make it haul a$$, and then they are lots of fun.

Yes, it was a great time back in the days. We got away with...a lot! Heh, Heh.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=323773

also, www.themulhollandexperience.com

Please watch the thread and come up to Mul when we meet, we would love to meet you and see your car.

Best regards, Chris Banning

Sounds great.

Regards

Jeff