Hello Group, I am looking to purchase a Mondial Cabriolet. 3.2 or t model. Hoping to get some advice: 1. Can anyone point me to a Buyers Guide? 2. Any major things to look out for (outside of belt service and clutch) 3. Price point? What can I expect to pay. The car will be used as an occasional summer cruiser. Thanks, Bruno Toronto, ON
This helped me a lot getting started. Critical things to know in buying or owning a Mondial - FerrariChat.com I just bought my 1988 Mondial Cab and am thrilled. The car is currently at Dave Helms ' shop. Receiving an upgraded fuse box and altitude tune. I am fortunate to live only a few miles from his shop. I'm upgrading the fuse box for future reliability and peace of mind. I would recommend this as a preventative step. I looked at several cars priced from 22K to 58K. The car that chose me had true mileage, well documented, and a traceable ownership history. My advice is to read as much of this forum as you can to learn about these cars, and do you research on any cars you are considering. John
Which one did you go with? Did you ever see that black one in Cherry Hills? PM if you prefer on any specifics or other car you may have passed on
I recommend a 1986(+) 3.2 for several reasons. First, it is not a first year model. Second, it has an upgraded water pump. Further, the T is an entirely different and far more complicated mechanical design. For instance, I believe it requires engine out for a water pump replacement. The standard 3.2 is much simpler. No power steering, no adjustible shocks, and no anti-lock brakes. Also, all the belt driven accessories can be replaced without engine out. But I am biased since I have 1986 3.2! Mine has been quite reliable as well. Two years and 10,000 miles two repairs. First, I broke it by squirelling around at close to 8,000 rpms on 90F day and scattered clutch plate. I took the car to a local wrench with Birdman's DIY print outs and did it for $2,000 plus about $1,500 in rebuilt parts. The starter went bad and that is a NAPA unit $450 and $100 installation. Starters and these cars can drive you crazy. They have light wiring and after a hot soak some of them will not activate the starter solinoid till cool down. This is an easy fix with an intermediate solinoid kit for about $10 which I recently purchased though I do not need it. Other then that I have not spent anything on repairs. I did wear out a set of new Pirrelis in 6,000 miles. I also added top of the line Bosche wipers since the weak wiring also seems to slow down the wipers (and windows) and the Bosche units were slippier. I use this car as my daily driver and I just get in, turn the key and drive off. Vigorously!
Hi Doctor, You know not to rush to a diagnosis, so do not rush to a purchase. These amazing cars require the same attention to their background, their history (especially service), as any one of your patients. Simply - - (and you heard it in all your years in school) - - do the homework! It's actually quite fun. And then, the choices you make will be based on growing knowledge. The Mondial you may consider for purchase, is your new patient. Give her a very good look-over. Cheers, Hank
I suffered 'exotic car anxiety syndrome' for a long while. Especially after scattering the clutch plate at 8,000 rpm. I don't do 8,000 rpm anymore. The thrills are just fine from 4,000 to 6,000 rpm. However, I believe there are dissadvantages to keeping to low rpms. By that I mean below 3,000 rpms. My car will drive up my little mountain in third gear at 1,100 rpm. But deep down it does not like it. These cars have continuous flow fuel injection which means cold fuel on closed valves can condense and build up carbon deposits. This can lead to a slightly lumpy idle, and even light throttle lean surge above 3,000 rpms and disrupted air flow at full throttle. For a long time I added stuff like Techron and other carbon removers. There was even one that listed catalytic converter cleaning. After 10,000 miles my car is quite noticeably improved. Our old fuel injectors are simple but may benefit from some attention. For instance, some of the rubber mounts that surround the injectors become hardened, and can even lead to high-vacuum air leaks. I had a bit of this and can be detected by spraying cold start onto the injectors. I used, I think, brake cleaner. I noticed a change in idle and simply added a few drops of power steering stop-leak to soften up the rubber. It worked. We also have mechanical fuel injection. Accordingly I added 6 oz of 2cycl oil per tank. Most people I have heard that do such things use 8 oz of Marvel Mystery Oil. I am not making that up. Its what I now use. And of course I use the engine quite a lot above 3,000 rpm. Like today. I did my 30 mile round trip mountain beer run almost entirely between 3,000 and 6,000 rpms. Often at full throttle. The car always gets a bit brighter after such runs. My oil cooler fan does not work and I keep it that way on purpose. Why? When oil temp approaches 230F I back off. Synthetic is good up to 260F. Anyway, these are my very subjective observations. My only credentials are 10,000 miles in two years. These posts have serious mechanics who take issue with some of these things. For instance, I switched to 60/40 glycol water and depressurized my cooling system. These cars have something like 250 hose clamps, or some such. I live at 2000 ft elevation and have run hard many times at 90F ambient and have never added an ounce of coolant in two years. So thats my story and I am stiking to it!
PS: Last Fall the car developed either a main or cam seal leak so bad I worried the car might catch fire. These are not catestrophic repairs, but my local wrench could not do it right away. So I added every last stop leak product I could find all at one time. The smoke stopped almost immediately. But I was still using about one quart every tankful of gas. Then something weird happened after 1,000 miles. The car has stopped using oil at all. In fact, as an artifact of past months, it is still overfilled. To no ill effect.
David "added a few drops of power steering stop-leak to soften up the rubber. It worked." whoa.... may work for awhile BUT IT IS SOFT because the power steering fluid is disintegrating the rubber the seals are about $2 each and are relatively easy to change
Still, my inept self is most at risk of mistake when I fix something that is not broken yet! I can just see myself falling into the engine bay changing the rear seals and breaking both my nose, scratching the paint, and crunching some delicate wiring while prying out some firmly adheard 30 year old hard rubber! Four of them! Given my inate ineptitude in such matters I might opt for a bit of silicone caulking . After all. We only need to seal a small sucking leak ... but I get your point!
For me, service history, and perhaps more importantly - a history of consistent use were more important to me than cosmetics. To my way of thinking - if a car has been consistently driven, then it has probably been maintained. Also, things like seals, gaskets, and other rubber type items won't have dried out and/or cracked. A super low mileage car that hasn't seen much use in the last decade would scare me more than an 80,000 mile car that shows a couple thousand miles per year use of the last decade. And, that's exactly what I found. a 65K mile car, with full service history, that shows at least 1000 miles in each of the last 10 years. I haven't regretted it yet. And finally, keep in mind that these are 30 year old cars. There will always be something to fix/tweak. But - that's part of the fun. And this webiste has some really great experts to help you out with any issue or situation. Having said that, these cars are reliable enough to be daily drivers - I think there's a couple of people on this forum that use them every day. You're gonna love the car, and especially how much attention (good) that it gets from other car people. Even the youngsters seem to like it (my next-door neighbor 5th-grader calls me "that awesome Ferrari guy"). If you are a DIYer, these cars are fairly straightforward to work on, and there are a ton of documents/help guides out there. And, I'm finding out that these cars share parts with other, more common cars, of the era. So, I've been raiding local Pick-n-Pull yards for things like fuel injectors, and cold start injectors (both common to MB, Audi, Volvo, and VW). Sid P.S - For you DIYers - The Modial Fuel injectors (8, QV and 3.2) are the exact same part number as used by the 85-89 MB 190E. Cold start injector is common to a whole bunch of 85-90 cars. And, just as a matter of curiosity, fuel injectors from the 86-90 MB 300E are the exact same part # used by the Testarossa - hmmm, I wonder how those would fare in my Mondial?
I agree. Worst thing for a car is to let it sit. And I have also found some common parts. It is silly to think that a lot of the parts aren't common to some other vehicle, as Ferrari is/was too small a manufacturer to spec that many of its own parts. So for example, the power mirror switch in my t coupe comes out of an E34 BMW! Also, don't be surprised if Fiat or Lancia parts will fit. And we know some items sourced through the Germans. On injectors, I am guessing the 300e injectors will be way too big without some tuning. If you have access to a tuner, than a completely different story. But unless you are trying to increase the hp by a significant amount, I suspect the current injectors will suffice. Given there age, you may want them cleaned and balanced. I think it is RC Engineering in Ca. which has a good rep on handling injectors. That is probably better than sticking in bigger units. https://www.rceng.com/ Regards, Jerry
That car has been on ebay at least twice in the past few months. Ebay listing says it's in PA. Ebay seller never answers questions posted about the car and only thing they have previously sold on ebay are Harley Davidson apparel. Internet search shows it in dealer inventory in Arlington TX for $42k.... several things don't add up on that one
Many Parts Are Sourced Out. Most famous of these is a NAPA Bosche starter for $450. And you may find that Alpha Clutch hudraulics also work. And they do. In parades. They cost about 1/10 the Ferrari parts, and DO work. And may work indefinitely if they are not stressed. I stressed mine at 8,000 rpm and 90F ambient. I suspect an hydraulic resonance that destroyed the entire clutch system; the master cylindar, the slave cylindar, and the clutch disk. All at one time. So there is a cautionary message here. On the other hand, as many have pointed out. Many of the actual parts are infact the actual same item. Just not Alpha Clutch Hydraulics.
Now this may be a perverse thought, but.......The entire clutch system? I think that's quite an accomplishment! Weirdly - something to be proud of!! I've thrown a rod before (not on my Mondial, it was on one of the first 1978 Buick Turbo 3.8s) - and love retelling the story. Sid
I called the actual dealer about it. IT's on consignment but they can't get in touch with the seller. The PA listing on ebay is indeed a scam. I did talk to that Joker a month ago and he asked for 30k to be deposited into an account to buy the car. Yeah Sure.. Here's 30k. No problem. Total Scam
When did prices for a Mondial T cabrio hit 60k ??? NICE Not complaining, must be hi tides float all boats! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ferrari-Mondial-Cabriolet-T-/181713637745?forcerrptr=true&hash=item2a4efa1171&item=181713637745 Image Unavailable, Please Login
