I purchased a 1986 328 a few months ago and have a few questions. Will try to keep it short and sweet. About the car: 70K miles. Owner spent approx $40K on pretty extensive restoration approx 6 months prior to selling. Restored it to keep, then saw the 360 market fall so much he decided to upgrade. The car drives better than several I drove with half the miles. I obviously paid a bit extra (esp for the miles) for the restoration, but feel I do have a solid car Owner was a true car guy and approached the restoration that way. I figure my only negative is the miles Questions: 1. Whirling / Whining noise during warm up When cold, I get this whining noise during the fast idle period as the car is warming up. Misc thoughts and comments from others are check valve or air pump?? Thoughts? 2. Generator Warning Light Little red light on lower right side of instrument panel. Battery logo. This stays on after starting until you tap the gas. On my car, it only happens on warm starts (when I drive, stop for a few minutes and then re-start). Others I test drove did it on cold starts. Have gotten mixed messages as to the meaning and if its ok or not. 3. 2nd Gear Ok, I have read posts and Im not trying to start something that has no end : ) On mine, a few hundred miles into ownership, I find that I always have less confidence reaching for 2nd cold or hot. I skip 2nd for first 10 minutes or so. It does not get at its best until 20-30 minutes of driving. Even then, it can be hit and miss in terms of the amount of effort needed. I almost always hear the click VS just sliding in like 3rd and 5th. I can also say that 4th is second worst. Could it be linkage and all the gears (2 & 4) that require pushing the shifter forward are off? Also, it does seem the higher RMP I run in 1st prior to shift, the easier it is to go into second. I saw someone else post that also. From the records it looks like there was a mix of 20% Redline 75w90 Non slip and 80% regular Redline 75w90. Also, I might be superstitious, but I think I might even feel a difference when pulling left or pushing right (slightly) going into 2nd. You would think that it only goes one way, but could it be like pulling the trigger on a pistol and you have a tendency to pull or push (left or right) in the process. My previous cars, to give you a vantage point: 1979 RX-7, 1987 RX-7, 1999 Boxster. Yea Im new to this league : ). Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Whirring/whining - I'd say mine does pretty much the same thing though I'm not sure it's much louder when cold than it is hot. The engine is a whirrer-whiner! Re the genny light - this is normal; for some strange Ferrari-reason, the circuit is set up not to charge until the first time after start-up that the engine gets up to around 2200 RPM. It's supposed to do that on every start. Seems odd but it's normal operation. My 89 328 will shift immediately into 2nd gear when started/driven off SINCE the gear oil was changed to Motul synthetic. Before that it would take a few minutes of driving before it would easily shift to 2nd. Now, I pay no attention and shift to 2nd "normally," like you would in any car. The difficulty into 2nd when cold is common according to everything I have read but in my car's case, the Motul made it non-existant.
What does one spend 40k on calling it restoration? Did you get documention indicating where this went. $12 for engine rebuild and $12k for paint - what more? Was the car sent to Maranello for the classic car program? And why are you hung up on the car's mileage. If the mileage is under 120k who cares? Even then, that $40k must have included clutches, brakes, and other wear items. Whining is pretty normal. Going to straight Redline without the non-slip might help 2nd gear...it seemed to for me and others. One thing we've been warned about it is riding the gear shift lever when moving...it can wear bushings which give odd shift conditions. I think you are looking for problems which aren't there. It's not a new car, just drive and enjoy it.
Beautiful car! So the only negative is that carfax knows it was sold at 70K and now the odo can't be rolled back to 'mid 30s' like every other 3x8? Who cares, enjoy it.
Things that were done... Engine removed, heads pulled, valve seats lapped, all gaskets / seals replaced, new cam sprocket bearings, "lower" cam bearings, fuel lines, new X-Ost & hyper flow cat, new injectors, steering rack rebuilt, CV joints & boots, interior disassembled and re-colored, new carpet, new rubber around doors and hoods, QA-1 shocks (with verell's adaptors), new springs, new suspension bushings, new stainless brake lines, new tires, all new clutch works / re-surface flywheel, rear main seal, repaint brake calipers, re-spray front of car from windscreen forward, paint/powder coat valve covers(red) and plenum. Many will say how do you spend that and not get a complete engine re-build... But, engine / suspension was removed undercarriage of car was cleaned / reconditioned / painted. Things like oil cooler / coolant reservoir / fuel tanks reconditioned. A-arms repainted... Anything rubber or plastic that deteriorates over time was replaced (ALL hoses and lines). On a lift this looks like a car that just rolled out of the factory. Really. This car has every record from window sticker to restoration and the restoration stack between parts and labor is as thick as the 22 years prior. I think even though there was not a rebuild all the little things added up... It's all there. TONS of little bits and pieces. A couple of pics of some of the work below.. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
+1/2 2nd and 4th gear are notorious for being hard to engage until the gear oil has reached warm temps. But I recommend using 100% 75W-90NS. That said, different people have expressed different results with this oil. I use 100% Redline 75W-90NS and once the oil is warm shifting into 2nd and 4th is as smooth as 3rd and 5th. Regarding question 2 (Battery Light), what you described is standard operation. Regarding question 1, if you are still concerned, I recommend recording the engine sound (just video record around the engine) and post it on YouTube for members to listen in. It's not as good as being there but it allows a little more assessment by other owners. Lastly, forget about an engine rebuild. There are several owners who have passed the 100,000 mile mark without cracking open the engine. Paying to rebuild an engine that doesn't need to be rebuilt is money waisted. Better spent on the things that have been done on this car like top end and suspension work. -F
