| Author | Message | ||
| Chris Richardson (Boozy)
Junior Member Username: Boozy Post Number: 174 Registered: 11-2001 |
A question about the 348: Mine had Eibach springs on it when I bought it. Are these stock or upgrades? They are black and say Eibach right on them. | ||
| Martin (Miami348ts)
Intermediate Member Username: Miami348ts Post Number: 2170 Registered: 5-2001 |
On the Pcars I am with you. These are horrifically abused. Mostly because the P-owners do not care about them as we do. It is a use item not a work of art. Most of them don't know about the cars history and treat it like a Mazda. But then there are millions made, so who cares for them anyways? | ||
| Martin (Miami348ts)
Intermediate Member Username: Miami348ts Post Number: 2169 Registered: 5-2001 |
Dave not quite sure what you are talking about. The 348 has a full co�rrosion treated frame and the parts are aluminum so they actually can not rust. The only place my 348 has rust is on the door sills , which were made from sheet metal with a metal screw. First the screw goes, then the metal. This is the only rust bug I could find to date on my car. | ||
| Dave Penhale (Dapper)
Junior Member Username: Dapper Post Number: 52 Registered: 4-2002 |
Michael, One of the worst high value 'rust ridden' cars I came across in my 6 months search was a 1997 Porsche 993, and I'm not just talking light surface stuff either, it was in hard to put right seams. Even main dealers dont seem to make any apology and are suprised when, after they've spouted about a car being unmarked you go around pointing fault. Whilst on Porsche, I love them and would dearly loved to have found a mint 993, but I looked at literally about a hundred cars in all. IME 'Never' are cars more badly treated by thier owners than Porsches. Most I looked at were sheds on four wheels. It didn't get much better when I upped the stakes and looked for early 996's. I am admittedly VERY fussy but then its a damned load of money so I make no apology for being fussy. I was also suprised and a might dissapointed to find that on the whole Ferrari's of 1990/1991/1992 era still suffer this, what I thought was an erradicated, Italian trait. | ||
| Michael Russell (Michael_russell)
New member Username: Michael_russell Post Number: 3 Registered: 6-2002 |
Hey Folks- Continue to appreciate the great information being given here, thanks everyone! As much as I would love to get a spider, regretibly, that is just not going to happen. That is going to be too much of a stretch.  Dave I must say that I am dissapointed to here how many cars you came accross that were in as bad shape as you describe, that is surprising to me. Especially hearing that many cars had rust?! I am familiar with Porsche cars, and I must say I cant immagine comming across a 1990 911 with rust?! Anyway, glad I know. I will Just make sure to look for it! Michael | ||
| Najib Amanullah (Najib)
Junior Member Username: Najib Post Number: 153 Registered: 4-2001 |
Have had mine for 6 months. Still thrilling every time I drive it. It has colour coded roof panel and bottom skirting. Looks much better in my opinion. Love the sound over 5500 rpm. These are great cars for a reasonable price. | ||
| Dave Penhale (Dapper)
New member Username: Dapper Post Number: 50 Registered: 4-2002 |
Whoaaa....Reality gap check here. From my extensive searching experiences over 6 months its not quite as simple as just 'getting a spider' or 'getting a late one'. Once I'd decided on a 348 it was a matter of finding 'any' 348 that I'd touch with a barge pole, regardless of age or body style. Most I looked at had what I would call very rough interiors. Most had rust coming through the paint on several areas (uk weather is not kind to, particularly Italian, cars). Almost all had evidence of poor repair work. Unless you are in the privaleged position of being able to afford new, you see a car thats MINT you grab it, the fact its a body style A and its year B are secondary IMO. e.g. I could have had a metallic blue 348 spider that was in the showroom at the same time for 3 grand less but did I, does a bear crap in the woods? | ||
| Bak-a-lack-a Bak-a-lacka-lacka ! (Chris_n_chicago)
New member Username: Chris_n_chicago Post Number: 44 Registered: 3-2002 |
Get a 348 Spyder! They have all the updates that the tb/ts needed and it is an open air extravaganza ! | ||
| Dave328GTB (Hardtop)
Junior Member Username: Hardtop Post Number: 164 Registered: 1-2002 |
Michael, Probably more than any other model, the factory made continuous imporvements throughout the life of the model. Suspension changes were made in 91, 93, and 94. The ECU's were updated mid 90. The clutch, A/C, and alternator were all updated I think fairly early on. Other people or dealers should have the Vin#'s that accompany each update. Exhuast was changed in 93 and again in 94. The result was that the later cars were a lot better built and better driving than the early ones. Unfortunately, past about 1991, not that many were sold except the spiders in 94-95, so finding a late TB could be a challenge. I had a 94 TB challenge car that was very good to me reliability wise. Most problems seem to be electrical in nature, nothing major mechanical. The motor is the best feature IMO and has been proven to be very durable as well. Dave | ||
| Frank Parker (Parkerfe)
Member Username: Parkerfe Post Number: 942 Registered: 9-2001 |
David, the wheel spacers were designed to widen the track and improve the handling thereby. The fact that it helped fill the wheel wells improving the cars asthetics was a by-product. | ||
| David Albright (Dalbright)
Member Username: Dalbright Post Number: 346 Registered: 2-2001 |
Here's a before and after. Before:  After:  | ||
| David Albright (Dalbright)
Member Username: Dalbright Post Number: 345 Registered: 2-2001 |
Randy, the spacers are used to help the wheel fill out the wheel well. The 348's from 93 on up had wheels with a different offset that corrected this annoying asthetics problem. I also purchased the spacers from Koenig and it makes a world of difference when viewing the car from behind. The before looked a bit strange with the wheels inset to far. | ||
| Randy (Schatten)
Member Username: Schatten Post Number: 319 Registered: 4-2001 |
Martin - what's special about the $500 spacers? (I know what they do, just not sure on the price) Is there an alternative to say... H&R that would be a fraction of the cost? | ||
| Martin (Miami348ts)
Intermediate Member Username: Miami348ts Post Number: 2153 Registered: 5-2001 |
Michael, I own a 1991 TS and have it for 2 1/2 years now with my putting 16,000 Miles on it. I have had a clutch and flywheel done ($5500 together) and had my 30K service last year at $4,500. I also have a dealer license and have a 348TS I just bought that will have another 30K service done at the same cost. The 348 Spider we sold in January had a 30K done also at $4,500. This is an independant shop not Ferrari direct. At Ferrari you can expect to pay about $ 8,000 in general with all that little sh*t that will crop up. The suspension change was made in 1993. If you give me some time I can find out which serial number the change was made at. Another change was in 1990 the 2.5 ignition to a 2.7 ignition which is a big difference. Serial there I believe was 87500 something. I have put spacers on my car, same as Mark. Makes a great difference in looks and handling. The car came already with the top and lower body painted in red, but I would do that if it was not. The new car we have has the top but not the lower body painted. Looks different. Set of spacers are $ 500 from Koenig in Germany for the front and rear, easy to install yourself in 1/2 hour. As far as track, I had my car on the track a few times. One thing all of the 348s have is fast heating up brakes. Change the brake fluid to Valvoline Synthetic racing fluid, which has a 500+F boiling point. Otherwise you could lose the brakes. I did the last time I went. Otherwise the car handles very well, tailhappy for sure as Ernie said. See if you like the track and if you do like I do, buy a pure track car that you can setup for that purpose only. The 348 setup for track is too hard to be driven daily. You will be bouncing over the street instead of driving. 348s are great cars. The famous engine check light ... I guess we all have that  | ||
| Frank Parker (Parkerfe)
Member Username: Parkerfe Post Number: 938 Registered: 9-2001 |
I have had a 1994 348 Spider for a little over 18 months and 6500 miles now and LOVE IT ! It is my 5th Ferrari having owned a 328GTS, 400GT, TR and 330GTC previously. It is the most fun of any of those prior cars by far. A 30K sevice should cost around $5k or so, not the $11K you mentioned. While the motorized seatbelts can be annoying, I'm used to them now and don't even think about it. You can have the earlier 1989 348 or later 355 seatbelts retrofitted if you want to though. The later 348s were not that slow as they did 0-100kph in 5.5 seconds which wasn't that bad for that era. All in all the 348 is a wondeful car that will provide you with a lot of fun. | ||
| Mark McKenzie (Redcar)
Junior Member Username: Redcar Post Number: 108 Registered: 4-2001 |
I've had my 348ts for just over a year now, and I'm very much in love with the car. I painted the targa top and the black lower panels red to match the car, and put spacers on the rear wheels so they have the spider offset. I'm not crystal clear on the midstream rear suspension upgrades, but I know part of it was the wider track created by the additional wheel offset. Beyond some shock valving, caster, camber and maybe springs, I don't know if the actual suspension geometry was changed. I freshened up the interior with aluminum pedals and an aluminum shift knob. To me, the car looks much more current with the red top and lower rockers and the additional wheel offset. With a body color top, the ts looks like a tb, but with the flexibility of having a removable top. I did have to replace the starter, the water pump, and redo a poorly performed 30k. And I have the infamous random ck engine lights, although the car continues to run perfectly until the lights randomly shutoff again? I think all American 348's, EXCEPT for '89s, do have the horrible running mouse seat belts. This might help justify a really good deal on an '89. $11,000.00 sounds awfully high for a 30k, mine was less than half that, with a water pump. | ||
| Michael Russell (Michael_russell)
New member Username: Michael_russell Post Number: 2 Registered: 6-2002 |
Thanks everyone I appreciate you help with this issue. Ernie, thanks for the tip about the difference in the clutch. I will make a note of that. Stanley, thanks for the link, that looks like it will be very usefull. Frank, I am sorry to say that I am not at that stage yet. It may still be a little while before I get to make the purchase. Trust me when I say I know ALL about "stock market stupidity". Thanks again everyone, very helpfull! Michael | ||
| Jack (Gilles27)
Member Username: Gilles27 Post Number: 381 Registered: 3-2002 |
Frank, are all the cars going, or just the 348? Any chance you'll reconsider? | ||
| Frank Bussi- Sottile (Caruso348)
New member Username: Caruso348 Post Number: 7 Registered: 5-2002 |
Mike; I'm not sure which 348 you've seen for purchase. Do to some stock market stupidity on my part, I do have a really clean, freshly serviced 348 tb up for sale. I'll be out of town from 6/14 thru 7/4, so get in touch with me prior to or after. | ||
| Stanley DiGuiseppi (Standig)
New member Username: Standig Post Number: 16 Registered: 5-2002 |
Mike You might log on to 'ferrariclub.com' then go to FAQ section they have a breakdown of 348 differences. | ||
| Stanley DiGuiseppi (Standig)
New member Username: Standig Post Number: 15 Registered: 5-2002 |
I recently bought a 348ts. I don't really intend to run the track but I do intend to test the top end. So far had it to 120 and it handle to me as good the testarossa I had. I am always amazed at how smooth its performance is. Getting on the highway and accelerating at higher rpms is a thrill you don't soon forget. I don't see as many 348's for sales as I thought I would see. Maybe 348 owners like myself find it difficult to part with them. Take you time though and get one with a clean history. Happy hunting.... | ||
| Jack (Gilles27)
Member Username: Gilles27 Post Number: 378 Registered: 3-2002 |
Michael, I'm not the biggest 348 fan, but judging by their drivers' loyalty I have to respect them. If the service has been done, consider it money not spent. | ||
| Ernie Bonilla (Ernie)
Member Username: Ernie Post Number: 296 Registered: 11-2001 |
The 348 in very under rated. The 30k is what is recomended by the dealers. The Factory Ferrari service book says it should be done around 52k. How ever regardless of milage you should do it every 3 years. The cost for the major tune-up can run you $3,500-$6,000 depending on who you have do the tune-up. The dealers will always charge more, and just because it is a dealer doesn't mean you will get better work. The high cost of the major service is due to the entire motor having to be removed from the car, in order to get to the timing belt and water pump. As far as handling the cars are a bit tail happy. I know cause I have spunout in mine before. In my car I notice the car got a bit twichy above 120. How ever this can be corrected by fine tuning the suspension. Just so you know the 355's are just highly refined 348's. They are built on the same body as a 348. You can even interchange the body parts. Like the hood, doors, door panels, front and rear bumpers, targa tops, gasoline covers, etc. If you get one look for the later cars with the single plate clutch. This will save you a load of money when it comes time to replace it. The earlier cars had twin plate AP-racing clutches in them and a different fly wheel. The twin plate clutch will run you about $1,500 and the fly wheels are about $3,000. I know cause I had mine done. Having said that I really dig my car. The 348's aren't the fastest car on the road, but they can hang with the big boys. I have had mine up to 140mph so far, and had plenty of peddle left. I just ran out of road. The cars are rated at 170mph topspeed and I beleive it. They aren't drag cars. They are built for the track and topend. Now a decade old they still look modern. Most of the cars with the paint all the way around have been repainted that way. The body pannel color being painted all the way around started with the series speciale cars, and then became the update for the rest of the cars later. Hope that helped. | ||
| Bill Sawyer (Wsawyer)
Member Username: Wsawyer Post Number: 260 Registered: 2-2002 |
Forza Magazine had a 348 Buyer's Guide in issue 30 (June 2001) that should answer many of your questions. Owners are usually better judges than journalists, I would think | ||
| Michael Russell (Michael_russell)
New member Username: Michael_russell Post Number: 1 Registered: 6-2002 |
Really starting to get interested in purchasing a 348tb, however I have a few questions, and a few concerns as well. Firstly, What year was it that the suspension changes were made? Are the cars as bad as a few magazine make them out to be prior to the changes? I would like to be able to occasionally track the car, but dont want to be dealing with a spooky handling machine. It seems from all the post I have read on this forum that the 348 owners are a lot happier than I had been lead to believe they should be! The car was panned in several road test articles. Were the writers just simply out to lunch? I had not considdered the car until I started reading this forum, and found to my delight that the car seems much better than I thought. I am aware that service costs can be substantial for these magnificent machines, but should I really expect to pay $11,000 for a 30,000 service?! I saw an add recently for a nice 348, and it mentioned the recent service, at this eye-watering price. I am sure this is often asked, but please indulge me. Are there specific years to avoid? I am sure it goes, as it does with most cars, that the more recent the car, the better it is, but shoudl you avoid early cars all-together, or are they a reasonable option as well? Also, do all USA 348's have motorized seat belts? If so, just how annoying are they? I have dealt with them in more mundane cars, and found them to be quite frustrating. Lastly, and I know this is trite, but what year were the lower panels painted body color? The car looks much better to my eye finished off. I appreciate any help. I am at the Very early stages of this consideration, but I absolutely love the look of a 348tb, and would love to hear that 8 cylinder shriek behind me! Michael |