Ferrari driving simulator

[Graham]

Oh, I think all of these toys get their temper up now and then. What infuriated me about the Ferrari was that it could manage to break even when it hadn't been driven. Like the time I left it in the my garage for a week or two and came back and found all the fluid for the brakes and hydraulic clutch in a pool on the floor, with no resistance left in the pedals. $2000. Or the time one of the catalyst ECUs malfunctioned- two or three trips to the Ferrari garage and THEN a trip to the dealer, since Ferrari won't allow the independents to have the software to diagnose the EFI system and its peripherals, or the time the main circuit panel melted, and had to be replaced, or the time the AC leaked and we had to order an entire AC unit from Maranello, which took months to get and TWO disassemblys of the entire dash of the car to put in, or the three alternators it ate, etc etc etc etc

It was fun to drive- the problem was that after all those breakdowns, I was always apprehensive about taking it anywhere of any distance, figuring I would come home on a rollback. Despite all that, I did drive it 15K miles over seven or so years, and finally sold it when it was facing a 12-15K major service bill, requiring the steering rack to be replaced (come on!) and the rear window regulators replaced for the second or third time. I just got fed up- at that point, I didn't like the car, I could hardly trust it, and if I spent 12-15K it would make the car easier to sell, maybe, but not worth any more that it was at that point.

I wish the owner after me well. If the Mondial had been built by Toyota instead of Ferrari, or Honda, he'd have something. As it was, it was a POS and I am glad not to have it. As far as my fellow tifosi, as they call themselves, well....I like the folks in the Mini Cooper club a lot better. More my types.

Jim, I have actually thought long and hard about getting an F355, and I have to say that your experiences here are honest and brutal and have to a small degree put me off the whole shebang...

I have a chum who had a Testarossa for a year, and after returning to the dealer six times in that year, he basically became so scared of driving it even slightly hard that he sold it for a huge loss...

And as for the tifosi, don't get me started. I joined the forum in the UK, and they are not exactly a lot of fun....

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

Pete, which thread is it in? I can't find it.

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

I reset my password for Ferrari chat, but I still can't get into that area. Maybe they've banned me

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

Tell me which thread it's in. I would like to see it.

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

Jim click here FerrariChat.com

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

I can't figure out which thread it is in, that's the problem. Is it in an area of the forum that is subscribed-access only, Pete?

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

I can't figure out which thread it is in, that's the problem. Is it in an area of the forum that is subscribed-access only, Pete?

Sorry Jim you have nailed it, I posted it in the silver subscribed forum.
Sorry for mucking you about.

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

Found it. Pete, I am glad they liked it. And, since I am not on their forum posting this, I will tell you all: the process of creating a genuine GT40 from scratch has been the most difficult work of my like as an automotive hobbyist. I spent a lot of time shopping for the Ferrari, which ought to have been an enjoyable process and might have been has I bought a different car, like a 328. Nothing about the whole process of acquiring and owning the Ferrari, most of which time I spent feeling helpless and trying to figure out who to trust, has been anything like the GT40 process. the GT40 process has been about getting involved, learning things, doing things, and accomplishing things. This has been long and difficult, too (seems to be a feature of things I take on!) but the reward at the end will be a completely unique car- one more added to the small number of authentic (to one extent or another anyway) GT40s. There is a lot of the GT40 I can work on myself, or will learn to, just like I am able to work on the Cobra or my boat. When I look at the car, I see all the choices I made, parts I spent months tracking down, things I found myself, things made from drawings I did myself (I found I was good at making little drawings and patterns for things) and all the rest.

Finally, the GT40 would not exist without my having been encouraged to see the project through by my friend Chuck Wray at Dew Motorcars in Virginia. For better or worse (and it is now looking better, dare I say that) the car would not be here without his advice and his telling me I could get this done, especially at the beginning. (later on I had so much money and time invested that there was no question of stopping- I couldn't afford to ) I met Chuck because I wanted a Ferrari, and he was the local authority on them. I no longer have the Ferrari, but I do have many great friends that I met because I owned it.

Which, if you think about it, is one of the big payoffs to this hobby- the cars are great, the people are even better, I think.

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

You are right about the people Jim, I have met a lot of terrific people because of the GT40, but also met a few because of the 355 as well.
Not all Ferrari owners are the wankers that non Ferrari types tend to make out. I think there is a fair amount of jealousy and envy in some of those comments.
If I had to part with either car which one would it be? No contest the Ferrari would go.

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

Absolutely right- one of my good friends up here in MD has a 328 and loves it. He did everything right- picked the model carefully, sorted through all the available cars, found one with all the records and no stories, and got a through PPI and test drive. Loves the car. He bought it in Las Vegas, picked it up and drove it to MD- everyone said he was nuts, including me. Car ran perfectly and has continued to do so. It may help that he is one of the best mechanics I've ever seen- used to build drag and dyno test motors for Racing Head Service in Memphis, TN, years back.

But even when I owned a Ferrari, I still wanted a GT40, and in fact I started this project while I owned the Mondial cabriolet. This feels more like doing something- I didn't want to be the kind of owner that just writes checks.