Testarossa 1986 #65099

Now that my 308 GT4 preservation project is nearly finished (http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=105874) I have re-discovered a dirty old neglected testarossa sitting next to the 308 in the garage.

I thought I would start a thread about this car, as over the next few years this car, which was purchased back in 1999 as a "NON-PROJECT," will start to turn into a PROJECT as the third law of thermodynamics wreaks havoc on all the rubber components.

History:

#65099 was purchased new by JJ at Ferrari of Houston on 8/29/86. I have the original warranty card and the salesman was CJW.

My impression was that JJ drove the car somewhat regularly, and racked up 13,000 miles from 1986 to 1989. During this time the car was 'professionally' maintained.

The "Vehicle Details" portion of the Service and Warranty book is filled in with the ignition and door key numbers (both the same) and engine number 361 and paint code 1240.

The 'change of odometer' documentation is blank.

The 'pre delivery' service is checked and signed, dated 8/19/86.

The first service card (1,700 to 2,000) is removed and the stub indicates FAF Motorcars in Atlanta performed the service on 11/10/86.

The 7,500 coupon is not used.

The 15,000 coupon is removed and the stub indicates Classic Ferrari, Inc. of Richardson, TX, performed the service on 2/28/89.

The rest of the service coupons are intact in the book (the car had 14,220 mi when I purchased it).

The Tuff-Kote Dinol 'inspection and re-treatment' coupon "C" is filled out, indicating this was performed by FAF on 8/38/87.

The 'change of address/change of ownership' postcard in the back of the service book is intact and not filled out. It indicates "first class postage will be paid by: Ferrari North America, 777 Terrance Avenue, Hasbrouck Heights, NJ"

I also have service receipts for the following items on 11/88:

Replace rear hood release
Check AC belt
Replace stereo amplifier and rewire
Check center dash vents (inop.)
R&R cam stubs [??]

I also have a 4 page receipt from Classic Ferrari dated 12/30/88 that looks like it details the 7,500 mi service and the various service upgrades.

Details from the document look like this:

127228 Gasket
127649 0-ring
117036 Seal Ring
128260 Ring
134948 Gasket
104694 Gasket
122781 Gasket
127132 Alt Belt
122973 AC belt TST
131922 Spark Plug etc.

SECOND OWNER:

JJ sold the car to LL of Ohio on 5/1/89 with an odo. reading of 13253. From what I can tell, LL purchased the car as a 'dealer' and therefore did not pay the full tax on the car.

LL registered the car on-and-off until 10/8/98.

As you know, 1989 was the peak of the Ferrari craze, and although I don't have any copies of the Ferrari Market letter from that era in front of me, I recall the testarossas were in the 180-200k range on the used market.

My impression was that LL purchased the car as an 'investment' and either drove the car with the odometer disconnected or slowly watched as his investment crashed with the Ferrari market in the early 1990s.


THIRD OWNER:

LL sold the car to me on 8/99 with 14,219 miles.

I found the car through a friend who was storing the car for LL.

I had always wanted a Boxer, and I had followed the Boxer market through the 'crash' but the prices never came within grasp.

In 1996 I met up with the original owner of a 308 GT4 that was a multiple concourse winner in the late 70s and early 80s. It was an unmolested, complete car with all the stuff, but asking price was too high for my budget.


I watched as testarossa prices got lower and lower and after seeing 65099 in person I bought it on credit, while living in a one-bedroom apartment.

Now I have 4 kids, a wife, 6 other cars and a nice house. So now I really CAN'T afford to own the car. With mortgage, taxes, daycare, taxes, lawn care, taxes, buisness loans, taxes, wife's e-bay habbits and college funds, I was better off poor and single

I did use the car for one of the first dates with my wife. We wound up getting picked up by the police and were forced to trailer the car home (but she married me anyway).
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Needs a good cleaning and detailing.
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This is not meant to be a "how to do it," it is just my own documentation of how I did it. So, next year I don't have to spend 30 minutes trying to remember where I put the jack and the jackstands, and how many quarts I need to have available.

I used Castrol 20w50. The Autozone near my house never has cases of any _w50 oil. They are pretty useless. I tried them again the other day and still none. So I go to the K-mart across the street where they have cases of the Castrol.

I was going to remember this but I think I alrady forgot but I think the oil tank uses a 22mm socket and the sump uses a 19mm.

I needed to find a 110mm oil filter wrench to get the oil filter off which I grabbed from the driver's side. I just let the filter (and a bunch of oil) fall into the pan.

With the car jacked up on the driver's side, I still am able to get under the passenger side to get to the sump bolt (it is closer to the passenger side).
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As a note to myself, I put used fresh drain plug washers this time. I saved the old ones just in case. Both washers are the same size, though the bolt heads are 22mm and 19mm. My son is shown next to the 9 quarts I usually use (when I don't do the filter) but we actually needed 12 quarts.

Our community has recycling, so I pour the old oil back into the bottles and they pick them up from the curb.
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Thus the disclaimer at the start "this is not a how-to thread..."

I have heard of the cracked window scare and had thought of getting another jack for the other side if I ever need to get the whole back end up on jack stands. For the oil change, I don't really jack if up very far, just enough to get the yellow bucket under the drain plug. I probably went up higher this time to get the oil filter off but the other rear wheel is still on the ground. I have jacked it up like this many times without ill effect in the last 8 years. But anytime I jack up a car I am always thinking or worrying about what can happen. I actually keep my cellphone with me when I have a body part under the car.

BTW: Nice 348!! I actually looked at a black 348 for sale a few years ago, but the asing price was within a thousand dollars of what I paid for this testarossa!

 

I found some old pictures from my initial inspection of the car. I don't remember it being that rough in the interior, however, it was quite a deal at the time. I replaced that driver's side carpet with a NOS one, and the rest cleaned up really well.

I also looked at the red one in the background. That red testarossa was hit in the rear and had been fixed. The engine-out service was completed and the engine was detailed. However, there still was an issue with one of the rear A-arms. So, even though the red one was $11,000 less, I wanted a non-crashed car.
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Here it is leaving the trailer after an uneventful journey. My father let me use his enclosed car trailer for the trip.

At the time the car was only 13 years old. Like a 1994 F355 would be now. My plan was to clean it up a little and use it to drive around on weekends and the like. At the time I considered it a 'contemporary' Ferrari.
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When I got the car home and started to really examine it there were only minor or cosmetic problems to address. It needed a new passenger side window switch and the mechanical mechanism for the seats needed some adjustment.

I took both seats out and got the three cable operated functions to perform as they should. One of the plastic levers was broken where the cable inserts, but I was able to drill all the way through it, and insert the cable end, then cover the small hole with a piece of black tape. That got all three levers doing what they are supposed to do on both seats. I recall getting the seats bolts in and out was a real headache.

While the seats were out, I found a little surprise: The little ball that goes on the top of the mirror joystick. Those of you with the 'twin mirror' testarossas don't know about tiny little joystick that predated BMWs 'i-drive' by a couple decades
.

 

Out for service: Belt Change
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Can't believe I have had this car 14 years. It was only 13 years old when I got it.

 

A poor job at jacking the car can ruin more than the rear window. Also, the more complicated one makes a task, the more likely it is to fail.