Daily driving the Mondial Cab

Well I ran over a big ladder in my daily driver BMW 528i last week, messed up a bunch of stuff, punched a hole in the gas tank, ripped out some O2 sensors...just made a mess of things. While the car is in the shop I decided to use the Mondial on a daily basis. Its just a great little car. AC works great, even when its 95 degrees out sitting in North Atlanta traffic, actually gets decent mileage. I really do love the car it runs soo nice, sounds great through the Ansa Sport. Now I have to run out to Petsmart in the car for some kittie litter. Hope you guys are enjoying your cars on this holiday weekend! FORZA!

 

Just put an Alpine in it. Wow, you can finally heard the tunes.

At Tahoe where I keep it. Great car with the top down.

Art

 

The silver lining in every cloud. Glad to hear the A/C is working well for you. Enjoy the car. I too love driving my car every day. My A/C is inop right now so when it gets toward 100 with high humidity I retreat to another vehicle.

 

Just rolled 35K. And I called my insurance guy to let him know I'm likely driving her more than 5K miles this year. I'd love to make her my DD. Getting close, especially this time of year.

 

If I can do it, you can do it...

You have to get over your fear of dings and rock chips..

But why shouldn't you enjoy that big smile every day???

H

 

I have been smiling A LOT because of her. I don't have a fear of rock chips at all. I just rolled 35K miles, and it had 25K when I got her in July 2009. No matter what though, I do have a couple of genuine fears about my Mondial becoming my DD:

All the other distracted drivers on the road-- Do I need to relive the horrible parking lot experience Joe Zaff had? It is the least restraining factor for me, as I think, or hope at least, that lightning doesn't strike twice.

All the tailgaters, trying to get a closer look during morning rush hour -- I definitely can stop in a shorter distance than they can.

Rain-- I absolutely hate putting up the top. I'm bringing my Mondial to the beach this summer and will put up the top if rain is in the forecast, but otherwise, the car is indoors. Sometimes I get tired of acting like an amateur meteorologist, having to check out the Doppler radar and tracking it's movement to see what weather might get in the pathway of my Mondi. My wife and I got caught in a pouring rain on the way home from dinner last month. I can tell you, that if you go about 50 mph or faster, you really won't get too wet sitting in front, with the top down. Other than that, it was not a fun drive home.

Winter - Salt, potholes, no ABS and I hate putting up the soft top. I've driven her in the winter, even won Zaff's first Frosty Ballz rally in her, but as a DD in Pennsylvania, no way.

Loudness-- I think the Mondials/328 need a 6th overdrive gear on the highways badly. I expect to have kissing hearing aids fitted by the end of the decade.

Others resentment of what I have-- It bothered me to no end when after a long day's work, I came out to my car to drive home, only to see that there was some sticky stuff on my rear bonnet. Closer inspection I realized that someone had pored their soda onto my car intentionally, as it was parked by itself. Then last week, as I pulled out of a different hospital garage, someone had put a glass bottle under the passenger wheel, which I did not see, and it immediately shattered under my tire as I started pulling out of the parking spot. We all know that these cars are not expensive by modern car prices, and especially by most new and old Ferrari prices, but these cars do exude a sense that the owner is much better off than all others. That can make animosity and resentment, and it would bother me to no end if someone keyed my car, which cost me (initially at least) less than three quarters of all of the other cars parked in my garage at work, just because it's a Ferrari.

Despite all of those negatives, I am still trying to make her my daily driver. Maybe not each and every day. Most days.

I always feel better when the day is over, seeing my Mondial there, ready to take me home with smiles.

 

Personally, I would never use my Mondial as a DD. But I am also the guy who keeps a diary of every mile I drive in the car, where I go, and how she runs.

Outside of my need to enjoy my car only under optimum circumstances, and to avoid the unnecessary cosmetic wear and tear brought on by daily use, I have other practical reasons as well.

First, the car attracts a ton of attention. I enjoy sharing my car with people, but I really don't like walking back to the car and seeing people peering in the windows, taking pictures next to it, or parking close to it to take a closer look. I also don't like people pulling up along side at 60 MPH and asking me questions through their open window. It freaks me out.

Second, you can't see anything closer than 5 feet behind you when the top is down. Not fun when navigating a parking garage.

Third: Mondials rust. They rust if exposed to salt, and they rust if they get too much exposure to the elements. Not a good thing to have in a DD.

Fourth, from what I have been told by master mechanics, the Mondial's clutch slave cylinder is prone to premature failure if exposed to extensive stop and go traffic. Apparently, without adequate ventilation, the excessive heat just cooks it. To say nothing of the toll stop and go traffic takes on the second gear syncro and clutch.

Fifth. They are not safe by modern standards. I have no interest in getting crushed in the Mondial by a Cadillac Escalade while trying to go to the store to pick up my laundry.

Sixth: Mondial windshields are VERY expensive and difficult to replace. Why increase the odds of cracking yours on a needless trip down the highway to your local walmart. If I bust my windshield, it better be during a spirited run down a country lane.


Old Ferraris were never designed as DD. They are not built for it. Enjoy them in their element, as often as you can. Be it your favorite country road or highway. Take them on rallies, adventures, and road trips. The Ferrari should be your escape.

IMHO, you can daily drive them.... I know a guy who used a Cobra as his DD. It doesn't mean it was a good idea.

Just my .02.

 

I need to escape as often as possible! In 30 yrs. my car will be the one with"patina" sitting next to your perfect example....

Best,

H

 

Me too! Believe me, I drive my car a lot more than most. I put over 3K a year on her. Every trip is an escape and I relish every moment in my car. I just try to avoid things that either detract from the experience or could be unnecessarily harmful to the car.

I have no problem waking up early and driving her until nighfall. Sometimes I will go out at night after the kids and wife are asleep and just drive around listening to the engine sound ricochet off the trees. It is amazing to hear when there are no other sounds around.

I am not trying to win a contest at some point for having the worlds most perfect car, but I want my car to be as beautiful and mechanically sound in 30 years and 100K miles as she sits today.

 

Well I would rather take them on early morning weekend drives. I really don't like the idea of leaving it parked alone.
I definitely won't drive it in traffic, rain or really hot temperatures. I know some of you might think it's crazy but I like it looking new.

Enjoy them the way you like. It's all good.

Lino

 

Had a great weekend with the car. Got stuck in almost 2 hours worth of Atlanta traffic, in a thunderstorm and the car just chugged along without a hiccup. AC on full blast, did not miss a beat. Just a good ole car. Really drives superbly well, the longer wheel base over my 308 make a world of difference. The 308 really feels like a little sports car in comparison. I must comment on the Mondial not being safe is silly. That car is overbuilt if anything. Its very heavy, I love the solid thunk of the doors on the Mondial. I'd bet my paycheck its safer and better built than 80% of the junk on the roads nowadays.

 

There was a poster here in NY some yrs ago who used his 88 coupe as a daily driver. Snow tires an all. Finally traded it for a Mini. Had around 90k on it. What a guy!

It seems all Italian cars have issues with slave cylinders....and more!

 

Sorry, but its not even close and I feel compelled to elaborate, lest some new potential owner with a family gets the idea that these cars are a safe alternative to a modern car.

The Ferrari Mondial was released in 1980. That means, at best, it was relying on a 1970's understanding of automotive safety when its basic structure and crash worthiness were being laid out. This is a problem since most manufacturers did not even begin taking crash safety seriously until the mid 1980s...and Ferrari, which was still building cars largely by hand and with ample doses of lead just to get the panels to fit correctly, was not at the forefront of safety design. The fact that it has a solid thunk to its doors is of no moment.

Here's a nice video of a heavy strong car with nice solid doors that make an solid thunk and how it faired against a pedestrian modern car:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJrXViFfMGk[/ame]

and here are just some of the things your car lacks compared to a modern car...and I am not even including such advances as safety nannies, or even ABS.

Air bags -side, front, neck, shoulder, you name it, we don't have it

three point safety belts in back

Safety canopy or automatic roll bars

Frontal offset crash protection

Modern front and rear crumple zones

and I am not even getting started on things such as Mercedes Pre-safe which essentially sets up the safety belts, closes the sunroof, and adjusts the seats the moment a collision is imminent to insure your optimally situated.

nor have I even touched on progress in the areas of restraint system effectiveness, interior surface compliance, material flammability and occupant escape potential.
But hey, if you think, for example, safety belt technology stopped progressing in 1986, don't stop believing.

Modern cars aren't just a little safer than the best thing ever designed in the 1980s, they are infinitely so.

This is probably your average 1980's car in a crash test:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsCgrsVcbfk[/ame]


But, even if we were to pretend that a Ferrari was as safe as a Mercedes of its day---which it CLEARLY was not, the results would still be the same (in the 1980's MB lead in safety, as it does today, they have been crash testing cars since 1902!),

Here is a crash tests from MB in the 1980s (sans airbag to keep it apples to apples). FWIW, Ferrari neither had the resources or funds to anything remotely close to the crash testing done at Mercedes.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4FPaB-Fcw0[/ame]


Note, as well as the car does, compare the damage to the safety cell to the modern car shown above and you will get a good example of how far we have come.

Now, compare to a modern Mercedes

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jutoIqqdIuU[/ame]


There is just no comparison. Even if the Mondial was somehow one of the safer cars of its day, that's not saying terribly much.

 

Nice summary. Thanks for sharing.

 

Yes I agree nicely summarized. Your point is well taken and must be that I "feel" safe in a solidly built car. Either way, I'm still driving the hell out of it. I just replaced the dreaded clutch slave cylinder when we did the major, so thankfully I should be good for a while.

 

Wouldn't stop me at this time for lack of current safety features to use the T Cab as a daily driver.

IF safety were the only issue, then I would not be driving a Ferrari almost entirely. Many person have NOT seen me for being too low etc.

Too many try to be all in the hood with their impressive driving to show the Ferrari [I'm in] just how kewl their jelopy is and almost kill others in their stooooooopid attempts.

Too many even have thrown things at me when they approach the other way...

does it stop me from driving it every chance I can get> no.

On a side note, I do not drive cycles motorized or not anymore. 1. I do crazy things and at my age where it's too much 20 year old in a 60 year old body [Give me a hot bike and I'll still want to pop a wheelie ]
2. The 'others' out there.

 

+1!

 

Joe, that was really interesting to see. I would have loved to have actually seen a Mondial crash test video. I looked for it. but couln't find one. I'd be very interested to see how it crumples from the front and driver's side.

 

I would be less worried about the crumple zones if I were you than i would the thin metal framed steering wheel staring you right in the face.



FWIW, my post was not meant to detract from the wonderful qualities they possess. When it comes to character, rawness and fun to drive, the older Ferraris give up nothing to their modern counterparts, but when it comes to safety, they have us beat.

 

I would not presume to tell anyone else how or when to drive their car. My Mondi cab has 96,000 miles on it. I didn't put all of them on, but I've done my share.

If any Ferrari is DD worth, it would be the Mondial, or maybe the GT4. It's not as finicky as many other models, and it rather easy to keep on the road, with regular mx. The CIS injection likes to be driven regularly, and is darn stable if you keep fresh gas in it. The brakes are outstanding, even without ABS, and of course it will turn on a dime. The visibility is good, except to the back when the top is down. I helped solve this by removing the mirror, and remounting it near the very top of the windscreen. Now, it's not as good with the top up, but you can't have everything.

The AC pump is the same as you'd find on a 70s Ford, and it holds a charge reasonably well. It will keep you cool if you keep moving. The clutch slave will work longer if you bleed it with new fluid every two years. due to the heat soaking, and then cooling, the water attraction in the fluid tends to accumulate there, and then get boiled out, then accumulate, then get boiled - you get the picture.

As for safety, it is what it is. Cab forward has it's own issues, and then there's the matter of the Aluminum coach work, and the lightweight mfg methods(despite the added lead). I still drive it, and I let my kids drive it, and we are careful, but also understand that it's not that safe compared to anything current or built within the past 10 years(or more). This is a weakness that cannot economically be resolved.

As for what others do on the road, well - sometimes it's a hassle and sometimes we appreciated it or we would have bought and drive a Mondial. Scum that go out of their way to damage other's property are just scum. I don't let them dictate when I drive or what I drive. Use caution in most things, and this should be pretty rare. Frex, don't take your Mondial to Detroit on any night the Piston's lose at home and park it in a dark place overnight.

You can buy paint for the front when the chips get too much to stand. I just did my front bumper and now I'm going to redo the headlight covers and the air duct vent. My son has a GTI from 2001 that has the same issue, and will need basically the same work. One's a VW the other's a Ferrari, nothing different, just regular mx.

 

Joe, I'm clearly not worried about the crumple zones, other than a pure interest from an engineering perspective. I have already know that it's not the safest car on the road, but that surely isn't going to stop me from driving her regularly. More importantly, I don't drive stupid. Your quote says it all-- “Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary... that’s what gets you.” --Jeremy Clarkson

 

I DD my Mondial, often in gridlocked downtown traffic in Toronto, and have no problems with the vehicle. I had the slave replaced when the clutch was redone. What is the amount of mileage under the harsh heat conditions of gridlock that I might want to proactively replace the slave cylinder? At gridlock speeds, I don't worry too much about occupant safety , although the potential for a fender bender, would probably be a fender disintigrator in my Swiss model, which has no hydraulic bumpers in the front or rear ends.