The Daytona is not loved.

I decided to try this on the basis that the cost was minor (one set of tyres for my race car!) and the conversion easy to revert. I could remove the EZ unit and refit the standard steering column in less than half a day. The key aspect being that EZ supply the necessary shorter steering column as part of the kit, so you're not making any major engineering change.

Yes, the standard steering is manageable (I've survived 7 years with it) but the PAS makes the Daytona positively lovely to drive at around-town speeds, without sacrificing anything at open-road speeds. It takes me an hour to get out of Sydney and onto the driving roads that I enjoy, that part of a drive was always a chore, but not any more.

 

I don't mean to get off track but I believe addressing the weaknesses of a vintage Ferrari only makes sense. Assuming any improvements made are reversible I don't see this as a big deal. Make your Ferrari a better driver and get it out there on the road. I made a few upgrades to my GTC which made a significant difference in drivability and convenience. Upgraded a/c, Delco alternator and new electrics, better cooling, fast windows are some improvements that can make a 60-70s Ferrari more fun to drive.

Agree with you on the C/4 and QM. Although adequate the p/s was too light when you were traveling at high speed. At low speeds they are set up to assist. But when you are pushing it you lose some road feedback. It does not affect the handling......just your feel of it. Which I guess does affect the handling.

I think you are on the right side with making your Daytona a better driver. Who do you have to impress other than the driver?

 

Get over it The car has a flaw and here is a way to fix it without a major reconstruction. The end result is people spending more time driving it, isn't that what it's about ?

 

I've driven a couple of C4's too (the one's the Daytonas share garage space with), and I agree they are very light and lacking in feel. My Daytona certainly has more feel than the C4s at legal road speeds although I suspect it would be too light at higher speeds (that's probably beyond my own driving capabilities anyway so not really an issue).

Once I have had a chance to try out the fully sorted EZ equipped car if I prefer it then I will switch my car to that setup too.

 

What do you mean get over it? Get over what? I have nothing to get over.

I have driven 20,000 miles in my Daytona over the past seven years. I will claim it is the most driven Daytona out there (I would love the hear of anyone who has driven their car more). And as you can imagine every one of those miles was completed with the standard delightfully weighted steering. The weight of steering at low speeds is not a fault, as far as I am concerend, it is a characteristic and there is not a characteristic of the Daytona that I do not consider pretty damn perfect.

 

Here you go

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=333644

 

Thanks for the link....so many threads.
Well he has a few years on me but I don't think I will be getting close. I am planning on slowing down!

I wonder if he has managed all those miles without converting to power steering?

 

was that the rod stewart stramen spyder? i drove it also and had the same experience it had a ps unit out of a C-4.Chuck

 

well, the reason I don't love it is that hideous front end.

yuck

 

^ bad example. That car looks asymmetrical. Accident repair?
Ed

 

Let's hope you're being humorous...

Geno

 

How can anyone in their right mind describe ANY of this as "hideous"?
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I wouldn't be if I had made the remark. The skew bumpers stand out like a sore thumb.


Onno

 

Aside from the fact that that cars looks to have suffered a bad accident repair, or restoration, and is all askew, is that a 73 US car with the repositioned bumpers to meet regulations? A necessary but not attractive solution.

 

I keep looking at the photo and I can't see what is askew. The left hand bumper looks slightly out of alignment but I don't see anything majorly wrong. Is it not more a question of light and shade in the photo.

I have never taken a front on photo of my car but I saw one that someone else had and I was a little surprised that mine was less than perfectly alligned. I am told that these were hand made cars and no two are exactly alike. When they made them back in the day things were a little less than perfect. But overall they pretty much managed to acieve perfection every time.

 

I think we can all agree that that is not a flattering picture. I'm sure even beautiful women have such things happen.

The car certainly appears to be curvy in a wierd way. Also, the yellow does absolutely nothing for the treatment of the headlights, which I very much like and this is the first and only time I have not.


For the record. I'm not done driving Daytonas.

 

Is anyone able to tell me sort or prices Daytonas were reaching at the peak of the 80s boom?

 

Daytona coupes were approx. $500,000 in 1989. By 1993-4 they were $90,000.

 

This Michael Sheehan article is informative of past Daytona values including 1989.

Banking on Ferraris

 

Mine had an agreed insurance value of £350,000 in 1988. In the mid 90's it was valued at £60,000, but then Dad paid £7500 for it in 1974!

 

350.000 Pound was really big money in 1990, in comparison current prices are not that excessive ...

 

Tulip bulbs were equivalent to a million USD money when the bubble blew up...and never reached this level again...so past history is not always a good benchmark to predict the future...

 

Who cares what they are worth, they give you such a lot of pleasure driving them, Whenever I had a bad day, just driving half hour with my Daytona would make me happy again. I changed it for a MB 300sl roadster which I thought would give me the same pleasure again, but No, nothing can compare with a daytona.
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Specially with this exhaust!! They can hear you in Maranello form Netherlands!
P