1999 Ferrari 355F1 Spyder- in Canada, new leather, Major done, many improvements !

damn thats pretty, and in province too... just need to figure out a way to get my wife to see that i "NEED" to have this in the garage.

 

All you gotta say is "honey, I need this! "....😬

 

If only....

 

Hi Barrie, congratulations on your retirement. I know that you will enjoy the new opportunities it will bring for your many and varied interests. I assume we will not see your car at the Italian Car Show next weekend in North Vancouver. Maybe it will be there with a new owner! Your spider is beautiful and reflects your pride of ownership.

As for me, the Maser sold about a year ago and I'm now driving a 328.
Cheers
Jon

 

Hi Barrie, your travel plans sound very ambitious and exciting. When you get back, you can always sell the motorhome and jump back into a Ferrari, although it might be hard to find a 355 Spider as nice as yours. Hope it stays in BC.
The '04 Maser Spyder and the'86 328 are quite different cars. The Maser is a modern GT car, heavily reliant on electronics and electric assists. The 328 is completely "old school" with fuel injection, power windows and electric antenna being about the only electronics and assists: no ABS, no stability control, no PS, no power top, no power seats. Performance-wise, the 328 (as is well-covered elsewhere) is slow, under-braked and under-powered by modern standards and has to be worked to extract what's on tap. But, it is a very nimble car and will definitely keep up. And driving it is the fun of it! The Maser had plenty of power, braking, comfort. But the reliance on electronics was, for me, its Achilles heel, e.g., CEL's, power top motor issues, sensors, et al. The Maser is a GT car rather than a sports car, is larger than the 328 and not as nimble as the 328. Interestingly, the 328 is easier to drive, e.g. clutch is lighter (my Maser had the rare 6 speed stick shift) and the 328 seems more solid despite its "body on frame" construction (the Maser suffered cowl shake despite efforts to stiffen the body for the '04 model and its large section tires had a tendency to "tram line"). The Maser is a GT car with comfort, cold air, good luggage capacity, but the electronics and assists are its undoing (already some parts can be extremely difficult to source e.g., convertible top motors and there are three to go awry). None of those describe a 28 year old 328. I enjoyed the Maser and had some good 2- 3 day road trips in it. But, for me, the 328 wins hand down for fun driving. My wife and I took it to Seattle this weekend: down I-5 and back up via Whidbey Island - never missed a beat and was fun to drive all the way. These cars are meant to be driven - mine has an honest and maintained 67K miles.

Stay in touch.
Jon