I don't like Corvettes much but there is no question they are a very fast car. I would like to see a fully dressed LS whatever motor on a scale next to a 458 motor on a scale. Screw cubic inches, how many lbs per hp do they have and what do they cost?
I think you would be surprised. A fully dressed Ls6 is lighter then a fully dressed Porsche 997 engine. The Ferrari engine may have a slight weight advantage but I doubt it's very much. You know as well as I how much a 355 gearbox weighs. It's very heavy. The 360 unit is a pig as well. I would honestly say the corvette unit is lighter in that regard as well. But I can't be sure. I have never Personaly weighed either unit on a scale.
He says he uses a pro because he does not know what he does not know. He is smart to know where his talents are and how far he wants to go in the hobby. Paying a pro is not a TAX. It is a value for a service. One of the biggest problems and why we have an overall lack of quality in many aspects of current American life is commoditizing services. When you "flat-rate" labor you get stuff that falls apart.
I mean shop insurance. It's not cheap to service these cars. Costs me 40k a year. When you have 1 million dollars or more worth of cars parked in your shop on a weekly basis insurance goes through the roof. I had a fellow call me regarding service on his 250 GTE. I told him no. As much as I would love to help him with his car, my insurance would not cover it. I would have to "up" my insurance policy to cover such a loss if anything should hapoen to the car. Just to have that car in the shop being serviced for a week, would have cost me 5k in coverage. Not worth it just for a fluid change and check over. But I have to look at the big picture. What if a hoist failed? What if somebody drove into the car in the parking lot? Etc..I may have lost a customer in that regard, but he was happy I was honest with him. He now brings me his 360 and merceds to service. He still bugs me to service it, but I have stuck to my guns with a big fat "no"!!
I'll ask a friend of mine who hotrods vets and camero's to weigh an engine for me. I'm sure he has a few lying around. I'll get back to you on that with some solid numbers.
People always fail to understand the cost of business. General liability insurance, workers comp, payroll, benefits, sick days, vacation, equipment, repairs on equipment, rent or mortgage, taxes, etc Do I really need to go on? Oh, and then there is profit, yes, shops need to make money too. I'm all for doing stuff myself, but I won't begin to compare my cost to that of a shop. You guys have no clue, non at all.
The cost of living is much more in the UK than in the states...so how can they do it? They pay $10 a gal for gas.I know the tech's only make 25hr at the dealers up here. Brian we don't have to agree but whats with the name calling.
<edited> That's what I hate about this forum. Totally uncalled for Brian, regardless of your experience.
Yes I own a specialty shop and I know all about rent/insurance/workers comp and wages. I also know its better to make some money than no money and to keep my guys working
I disagree..I think it was totally called for. This guy seems to think that only he is entitled to make a living. Do you realize that a mechanic who owns a shop working on fords makes more money then a mechanic working on Ferrari's? By quite a huge margin. Why does he expect us techs to work for free? Just because he has a Ferrari that makes him special? Ferrari tax? really? We don't set the prices on parts. That is out if our control. Our door rate is based on what we MUST spend every month to keep the lights on and people working.
I told you I own a shop.Do you think it costs me less to stay open because we don't work on Ferraris all day...my guys still get 25hr
Howie At the end of the day its just a car.less profit are you kidding me...try working on some Mercedes and bmw's when you have to go by book time and not an open ticket.
I work on Benz and BMW all day everyday. We are a certified Dinan installer. I know what the margins are. Trust me. Without the Benz and BMW work I would have to lay off half the staff. I pay for a Zimmerman BMW brake rotors 25 bucks each. Retail is 143 each. Ferrari brake rotor.. 600 each..560 cost. Tell me what brand makes more money..
No, I'm quite sure I can do ANY repair on ANY Ferrari to a high standard- I have a fairly nice garage setup with FOUR lifts- Replacing the swing axles on my 59 Beetle right now- then the 69 Camaro RS/SS goes up to install new Ridetech coilovers... Then I'm taking my 1930 model A apart in preparation for a new interior, then the 66 Mercedes 230 needs to have the floorpans welded... I'll tackle anything... On the 355 I do gladly pay the experts to do a good chunk of the work...If I do the major It's just that I will be holding that part in my hands for the first time ever, and have no idea if it looks right or wrong. ALL the enjoyment from owning my 355 comes from the way it looks, the way it sounds and the way it drives. I do enjoy working on it but the time I have available to enjoy the car is somewhat limited. I have to chose my battles. I'd rather be driving. I've done belts on my 308 and nobody got hurt... and I am in the middle of redoing the entire cooling system on my 400i- Not to save money, but because it's something I wanted to do. The 355 is a complicated bit of kit, and if it takes a pro 20 hours maybe I'll have 40 or 60 hours into it. If somebody can do that job for $4K worth of labor- I think that's money well spent on my part. I guess we value our time differently... me and you. But by all means if ANY Ferrari owner wants to tackle a repair himself- YES of course go for it! Just listen to the collected wisdom here and DO IT RIGHT. There's a quick and dirty way to do everything... and this rarely produces good results.
Howie I only use oem roters and can not buy them for $40.00 but why is the Ferrari guy going to pay three times the labour for a brake job?
