The Mondial 8

How are they to drive Wade? Do they really feel slow? I've never driven a mondial 8 or a 308 2v.

 

Hello,

~ Did all Mondial Coupes sent to the USA have sunroofs?

Thanks


Joe

 

That's why I threw the word feel in my post, looking at the performance numbers for my Mondial 3.2 it dosen't impress as a fast car but driving it is a diffrent story you really can't get a feel for a car by reading 0-60 stats.
BTW I love tr-8's I had a friend who had one back in the 90's fun cars!

 

I have owned 3 F cars. The Mondial 8 was my second and I still have it. The first was a 308 GTSi and the last was a 308 GT4. And yes, at one time I had all three! It got to be a chore to keep them all up, drive them every so often, and so on. So I got rid of the other 2 and kept the Mondial.

The Mondial 8 is not a very common car in the US. I forget how many but I think about 80?

The reason I still have mine is first, I now have a family and the other 2 cars were not suited to family outings (the GT4 was originally a 2 plus 2 but the owner prior to me converted it to a 2 plus luggage/outrageous stereo. Second, I couldn't get much for it if I tried to sell it. I bought it in Ohio and had Dennis McCann overhaul the motor and put it back in the car (it was out in pieces when I bought the car). This was an unhappy experience because Dennis charged me top dollar, stuffed me with parts some of which were unnecessary (he is in the parts business), and he delivered a car that leaked oil profusely, the new clutch shuddered, and the battery slopped around in its bracket. I drove the car back to CT from OH and it's fortunate it did not catch on fire. There I had Sportauto (Pollard) try to fix the leaks, put a hold down on the battery, and fix some other problems that Dennis missed. Pollard could not fix the crankshaft internal o ring leak but he charged me for it anyway. Wasn't that impressed by him either. This was after some outfit on Long Island charged me $800 to "diagnose" my oil leaks. Another bunch of crooks.

I do routine work on my cars and the occasional project. None of the 3 were easy to work on and parts for all 3 are outrageous. I just finished putting new ignition wires, new distributor condoms, new clutch hydraulics, and new hood struts in my Mondial. This was not easy, esp not the clutch hydraulics. These cars were not designed for ease of maintenance, and it's not as if they subordinated that to performance, because the performance is lame even by 1982 standards. My BMW 2002 has better pickup and handling, if not top end. So you don't get anything for your backaches and broken knuckles. In fact, during this process I rechristened the car the Italian ***** (as in female dog).

Parts are hard to get and very expensive. I could not get new clutch seals from FNA. They wanted I think $600 for a new master cylinder. (You can use one from a Lancia Thema that costs about $90). I did manage to find some seals that fit and they seem to work. I refused to pay $800 for a set of wires so I made up a set using Taylor 8mm spiral core wire and some hardware for a hemi, which shares the same sparkplug arrangement, ie wells thru the cyl head covers. They work well.

Tyres and wheels for the Mondial 8 are a problem. They have nothing in common with any other F car or any other car on the planet. Perhaps that's why they called it Mondial. It's the only one in the world like it. The Michelins are very dated technology and I don't think there is any modern tyre that's any better. You may need to chuck the F car rims and put some other brand on the car. Can't help you with brands as I have not done so, I don't drive fast and I don't use this car on the track (I would be too embarrassed to do so).

The electronic dash/warning lights are cheesy and unreliable. My "light" circuit shows a problem but there is none. My dash instruments periodically die due to a bad earth someplace, Ron Tonkin in Portland refuses to work on it. (And don't get me started on them). The dash instruments don't look sexy at all, and are not easy to see (esp when they don't work).

The upholstery is a mixture of leather and vinyl. Not very luxurious. The leather/seats are kinda hard and vinyl was used where the leather would be exposed to sun, ie dash, door tops etc. The center console leather has a tendency to shrink off the console, as do the vinyl panels. The seats are narrow and the driving position is awkward. A kid or a small adult can fit in the back but not a normal teenager or adult.

The headliner will sag if you try to clean it with any of the spray-on shampoos. It's a ***** to fix.

The car is heavy and slow off the mark. The engine sounds rattly/whiny, I am told this is "normal" for this model, as is a healthy oil consumption. The steering is very heavy in town, you break out a sweat trying to park this thing. The bumpers are very heavy and they tend to rust out from the inside out. I don't think the steel bumper skeletons were painted or protected in any way. Just encapsulated in rubber.

The engine lid collects dust. Mine is black, it looks clean immediately after washing but after that it's always dusty.

The bodywork does tend to rust out. I had my doors redone (sections cut out and new metal welded in along the lower edges of the doors). This is because water collects in there. The window rubbers don't work very well.

The window motors are anemic and they get slower with age.

The doors are huge, heavy, and awkward to open in a garage space. The trunk lid is wonky as it has a center catch so it doesn't fit very well when closed. The aluminum hood, trunk lid and engine lid don't do anything to lighten the car, it weighs a ton. The trunk carpeting is cheesy synthetic stuff that unravels in time.

The handbrake is pretty useless. And there is a pin in the rear brake handbrake hubs that comes adrift from time to time and makes a sound like a cat getting castrated back there.

The car does not lend itself to conversion to a track car (unlike the GT4). It's just too heavy and underpowered. Despite being underpowered, it drinks hi test like an alkie drinks beers. Fast and furious.

I am not even sure I like the styling. Of the 3, the GTSi had the best styling and was also the most driveable.

As you can tell, the thrill of F ownership has worn thin after 20 or so years. The "part" I resent the most is the price of parts. I can afford them but that doesn't make it OK to charge 10x the price of an equivalent US or British car part.

The only thing I can say for it is it's cheap to buy. I suspect you can get a driver for $15k and in a distress situation you may get one for $12K. Don't buy a beater esp not one in need of a lot of parts, you will be "upside down" in the car very quickly.

If I had to do it all again (and I won't), I think I would look at the Mondial coupe. At least then, you are getting a Coupe. Having said that, i am sure there are some negatives with that model as well.

As far as cost of ownership, I think the early collectible cars are the least expensive to own, when you consider the price appreciation. Mondials and 308s (TRs as well) don't appreciate and probably never will. I should have bought a 246 and stuck to that, in the long run it would have been cheaper. I did drive a couple and wasn't impressed with the drive ... really did like the looks though.

 

I meant to say, if i had to do it over, I would look at the CABRIO ...

 

Great post Russ.

 

I think it is an interesting post Russ. It is really a shame that the Mondial 8 left Maranello with issues, whether it was styling/power/weight/quality/etc. because I think the 3.2 IMHO is really quite a gem. I personally love the Mondial cab look a lot, especially with the flowing leather all the way back to the classic rear lights. And by the time the QV, then the 3.2, and then ultimately the t came around, it seemed at least based on numerous articles I've read that both the styling and sportiness were back, although the reputation was not. What if the Mondial 8 designers and engineers started with the QV or 3.2 or t? Where would the market be today? My family and I had a great lunch out in it today. Just a fabulous top down cruising automobile to be riding around in on a gorgeous day like today. I really love my car. It's too bad that so few other Tifosi feel like I do. A true hidden gem for sure.

 

Wade, your car looks great there! I'm going to have to see the Truman Show again. Did it have a big appearance?

 

wow, is that nice! i hope someone here snatches that up.

 

I looked at that car briefly a couple weeks ago at one of our Cars and Coffees. I did not get as much chance to look as it, as would be nice, but it sounded good, started right up, and was as clean in person as it is in the photos.

The dealer selling it is a full service Ferrari Shop so it is likely accurately presented.

-sc

 

My goodness.... what a BEAUTIFUL car! Stunning, in fact. And at that price!!! Just wow.

Jedi

 

beautiful! I have been looking at these cars all evening and now I want one

 

The ad has been removed from ebay, so I guess it has been sold. What a nice car for the price.

 

i'm glad. That was toooo tempting

 

Hopefully we'll hear from him/her soon

 

It's still on ebay ... maybe the deal fell through. Miles are getting up there but I love the color ... my 308 was that color (perhaps a little darker .. .midnight blue metallic)