Coming along slowly actually... the engine is about ready to fire up... missing only GB oil... I initially wanted to go with the Redline Superlight Shockproof but decided to go with 75w90NS after some conversations with club members... special order... I should receive by Friday. I received all my interior components that were sent off to get re-finished/re-dyed and I am quite pleased with the results. The remaining body panels are due to be ready by mid-week next week... I'll post some pics soon but I'm getting ready for the Ferrari Festival this weekend so I won't have time till next week. DF
Fired up the engine on Saturday night... finally! It fired right up and ran flawlessly for about 15 minutes... no leaks, no fires, no misfires --> totally happy!!! I ran it again today for another 10-15 minutes and again no real issues. It idles a little high (as it did before I took things apart)... if I remember it was around 1200-1300 rpms (can't tell as I haven't hooked up any interior gauges yet). I spent the day today installing and aligning body panels and working on a short-circuit in the driver's door power windows... will post some pics of the progress at the end of the week but just wanted to post an update since it's been a while. DF
Good to hear she fired up and is running smoothly. I'm going to be keeping an eye on this thread and hope to see the car around town this summer! Kyle.
Yeah I know... my bad... I've been busy working on the car... I put the dash in yesterday along with the center console... looks brand new. I also did the easy-off thing to get rid of the gummy problem on some of the pieces... again, it now looks brand new. I did take some pics of the progress, I simply haven't put them up on here. Here is a list list of the remaining tasks: Bleed the clutch Install seats and interior door panels Install driver door strakes and rear bumper Install rear bonnet, tail lights and grill Install rear window easy-off trick on the vents Getting there... might even be able to enjoy it this summer DF
I took the 348 out today for the first time... the plan was a 15-20 minute ride but the car ran so well that I went for a three and a half hour drive... simply amazing!!! And what a relief to finally get there... a full two months later than originally planned but I made it. No warning lights, no slow down lights, no hot start issues, no cold start issues, no issues shifting into second when cold... everything in the car worked, the heater, the lights, the horn, hand-brake, ALL the gauges work now... I am riding quite the high tonight!! It's been ready since Sunday but I had a tire that kept losing pressure... took it to get it fixed and away I went. I was very lucky that I didn't have to adjust the shift cables... all the gears worked right just like before. I also was running on the stock rims as I have not yet received my tires for the 360 wheels... should get them by the end of the week (I went with Sumitomo HTR Z IIs finally). I will update with pics in the coming days... I lost my thing-a-ma-jig to plug my SD card in my USB port... need to find it. Here are my thoughts on this first drive: - Rear suspension is now much stiffer than the front... Rob from DeltaVee had mentioned that based on what he saw from the rear shocks, the front would have to be done as well... I'll get 'em done over the winter and will live with it as is for now. Very happy however on how the rear suspension feels... very race-car-like. - Need an alignment very badly... anything over 100km/h was quite scary, the car was dancing all over the lane... my steering is also not centered when going straight... will have this taken care of when the 360 wheels will go on the car. - Idle is too high... idles at around 1600-1700 rpm... there's a procedure somewhere in the 348 section that outlines the steps to lower the RPMs via the set-screw on the throttle bodies... will have to go through that at some point soon. - I still have the weird buzzer sound that I mentioned in this thread (http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=161250) initially... still clueless as to where the noise is coming from... this one should be fun to identify... as soon as I hit 120km/h it goes off. - I am very happy to say that the alternator seems to be functioning perfectly... I will charge the A/C next week so I'll find out if the A/C compressor swap worked. - The clutch worked flawlessly - I installed the Hill Eng. Slick shift gate... hard to tell if it helps, don't remember how poorly I shifted before. - Nothing melted, no fluid leaks and more importantly, no oil leaks (although I'm told it's a matter of time), no parts fell off that I know of... hahaha Anyways, that's it for now... a lot of rambling... time to go to bed... DF
Great to hear, You did a super job, didn't rush it and now the rewards are comming. good luck on many miles of driving
You must have a car that was previously in the Middle East... all Middle East cars have that buzzer. It is a speed warning indicator that is required by all the governments to be present before the car can be registered here. I have it in mine. For God's sake, if you find the little bugger, let me know how to disconnect it...! Mike in Kuwait
Wow finally done way to go buddy You must be on cloud 9 enjoy many years of worry free driving you earned it....
Hey jqpd99, I was checking out your images, everything looks great but I have one question. Your rear deck window is not right.... it seems kinda-pantera-looking. You should have a rear window similar to the 308's, 328's, 355s (curved). I don't want to sound critical here, but do you know what happen to your rear window? Was it changed or modified? Rob California
Mike, You da man!!! Take the afternoon off and go drink a few... send me the bill!!! It all makes sense now... I saw this little device zip tied at the back of the speedo and never bothered to see what it was... wasn't thinking about that little buzzer when I was knee deep in car parts in my basement... Thanks a bunch... will let you know if it can be removed easily! DF
Looks like it came that way...body shop guy and I looked for and didn't find any signs of bodywork while we had easy access to the area... looks like a one-of from Ferrari. DF
That you could easily find out....write to Ferrari, giving the serial #, and they will give you all the details...(colour etc.) The fact that the rear deck and bumper came from another car lead me to believe otherwise. But...at any rate...congratulations on the conclusion of a fantastic project that people like me (with two left hands) can only watch with envy and from the sidelines!
Hey Bernie, Yes I will be there... heard that a few guys from the Montreal chapter will attend as well... very cool!! DF
Tires should arrive today so I have set an appointment for Wednesday for the wheels/tires to be installed as well as having the 4-wheel alignment. Also, later today, I will have the A/C pressure-tested and filled/charged... If the ride should be that much better then my Tuesday drive, I just may have to go for another 3.5 hour boot around town... and maybe take the long way to the FCA Ottawa BBQ on the 24th...
Here's a few pics taken from my cell phone... Had the A/C, wheels/tires and alignment done this week... took it right to 150km/h... straight as an arrow. Will have to do something about the ride height though... DF Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Congrats! Nice to see her finally done. But you are right...needs to be lower . Why does the car look higher than normal? Enjoy her!
I'm not sure why... I am in contact with Rob from DeltaVee to see what can be done. One solution would be to find a older shock (part# 141858) which has more threads that go further down the body of the shock which would allow me to lower the car further. I've sent a few emails to Ferrari parts suppliers... DF
Car looks wonderful Dan. Amazing the job you did and the effort you put in to it! Guess you will have some time for a game of poker soon? Have fun on the road.../Peter K.
Thanks Peter... I took it to a poker game on Friday... won the second game! Here's a pic from out FCA Ottawa BBQ on Sunday. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Just a thought to your 'high' suspension, Dan. I know nothing on Ferraris' suspension, but will say that if the sway bars are tightened up while the car is 'suspended' (on jack stands), it will ride 'high'. Sway bars need to be tightened up under vehicle's weight. Unfortunately, if that is the cause, you may have to return to the alignment shop to 're-adjust' the camber. Looks great, can't wait to see it/you driving around! best, Sandy
Hey Sandy, Not sure the anti-sway bar can affect the ride height... it moves with the suspension and is quite tiny to be able to hold the weight of the car up. But in any case, I have ordered a new rear shock and should be here in a few days... I'm leaning towards leaving it as-is for the rest of the summer since I have to have the front shocks rebuilt anyways... I can do all of the suspension work once and get one alignment and be done with it. I'd rather drive the car as much as possible for what's left of the summer. DF
