restoring a testarossa

These cars are simple. Nothing sophisticated and you will find they are typical 80s tech (no ABS, no power steering, no fancy suspension, etc). The decent cars should have had a service or two, so many of the wear items you mention (hoses, seals, etc) should have been replaced and the car should only need some basic sorting. As is always said buy the best you can afford, but buying a neglected project car is not advised due to high cost and lack of availability of certain parts. That said, it is hard to imagine you having to spend 30-40k in parts unless the car is in really bad shape.

 

Justin, I can't comment on your issue at home but I can tell you the TR is surprisingly comfortable and easy to drive. I'm thinking of driving mine from Southern California to Monterey in August.

 

My two cents, coming from a similar muscle car background. Forget the halcyon days of ' cheap' car parts. Especially as the TRs have risen in price. Good news is that the fuel injection system is stock Bosch, so parts are generally more affordable than strict Ferrari parts. My advice would be to look for a TR whose running gear is in good shape, regardless of how the exterior or interior look. Those can be redone at any price point. The engine can't. This was my philosophy and I found a great TR that has a flat black wrap on it and an interior that was redone in ostrich leather, but only had 17k miles! It was previously a show car. The mods turned off the purists so I was able to get a GREAT price on it. Hope this helps.

 

the technique from the testarossa is no magic, very simple what a good mechanic can repair even he never did it before
sure, the parts prices sometimes are horrible but when you look at ebay you will sometimes find very good and cheap parts like ignition wires.
also those cars are not loosing value
so have fun with restoring - repairing and driving

 

+1
And well worth it too.

 

Show her the market since the last year and tell her it's an investment that will double your money and you can enjoy it more than the numbers on a bank account book.

 

Just buy it, better to seek forgiveness than ask permission






Must add, do as I say not as I do!

 

Yeah just show her the TR value according to Hagerty. Basically doubled in the past year and still going up! Go to www.hagerty.com, hit ' value my vehicle' or whatever and then navigate to testarossa.

 

Ah the Wife variable......

This worked well for me back in 1984: As a young lad, I put up dirt bike posters all over my bedroom walls. I talked about the new Honda CR125 constantly and how my birthday was 'just around the corner.' We were poor so my parents were sweatin' bullets. I knew they could not afford a dirt bike........but they didnt know I knew that. About a month before my Bday, I showed them a picture of a BMX bike, Its what I wanted all along.

There was a collective sigh on my parents face. I got the bike and everyone was happy.

 

2 words solution: Kitchen remodelling.

 

Check the cost of the parts. Italian parts taken off of a different car do not always bolt in. Do not forget to take into account the cost of your time to restore a car.

 

If you can most of the labor that is a big savings. Like already said these cars are not that difficult to work on. The engine is very robust. All it takes is patience, not every part needs replaced.



Ago

 

if the testarossa is older than 30 years there is no customtax to pay for car import to europe, only sales tax. in germany it is 19 %, in portugal it is 23 % of the value. so if the value of a testarossa is 90.000 us $ the sales tax is 20.700 US $
so you may count the value when you pay 18.000 US $
but also for registration you have to pay the a little ( documents, licence plate, security test ), in germany it is about 200 €
but to register a car from a non euro country in an euro country you always have to pay the sales tax what is different between 17 % (luxemburg) and 27 % (hungary)

 

The best way to weed out an internet scam is to tell them, "Wow, Im doing business in your city two days from now!" Then listen for the crickets. I would post a WTB as in the for sale section and put exactly what you want and your price range. Only respond to members who have been around a while and you get a good feel for. We tend to weed out the unwashed masses.

I got my first TR when I was young and dumb. Fortunately, it needed almost nothing. When I got my second TR, it had a couple of things to be sorted. I went in like a surgeon, slow and steady. Latex gloves, tools laid out in order, computer at the ready....IE overkill.

Then I bought a MB 190 2.3 Cosworth. It seems to be more complicated than the TR. But parts are cheap and readily available. So when calamity ensues, no worries....order another part and try again....cheap learning curve. I even borrowed Bosch parts from the TR to test on the MB. Its basically two 6 cylinder Bosch FI systems.

The reality is, the TR is the most simple of my 5 cars to work on. BUT, I still have the mental road block, 'Its a Ferrari'.

It scratches all my super car itches:

On my wall as a kid, CHECK.
Cant stop staring at it, CHECK.
Easy to work on, CHECK.
Cheap insurance, CHECK.
Minimal computers, CHECK.