I used to have a nice 348TS back in the early 90's, and quite enjoyed the car. (I upgraded to a 355 Spider in 1997). Came across a bit of a unique situation , and I need your mechanically based advice on this car. The Good: Its a 1991 348 TS with 13xxx Miles. The Bad: It has been pretty much abandoned since 2010 due to an unfortunate illness. It has not been started or driven since then. Some signs of corrosion in the open door jam areas. Sadly, it was left in the garage with the top off, so it was attacked by rats, lots of mold, etc.. So my question is .... aside from the obvious cosmetic issues, what could I be in for here? Engine-wise ? Transmission-wise? Electrical-wise ? My main fear is that the rats got the wiring, etc.. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. P.S. The car cannot be moved to be taken for a PPI at this time, so I am really looking for some educated guidance as to what "can" be the big issues. Thanks!
If the price is right, buy it anyway. Firstly, I would put a new battery into it to make sure it has all the dash lights. If it does, then I would check for power to the starter motor with the solenoid wire disconnected and someone cranking it over. If there is power to the starter motor solenoid, then you are 99% on the home stretch. I wouldn't start the engine, so after you have established that the most important wiring is ok, you will need an engine out major, but you already knew that. Replace all the fluids and filters, but again that's what anyone would do. After the major is completed, see if the engine will start. If it starts and runs then all that is left is the interior repair or whatever the rats have chewed. The car only has 13,xxx miles on it, so the mechanicals should still be very good. I don't think the engine would be seized from sitting there and if it is, it won't take much to get it moving again when it's out of the car. Before you commit any money to a possible HUGE headache chasing chewed wiring, you need to ensure you have dash lights and power to the starter motor. If there is chewed wiring to the windows, lights etc, that can be sorted quite easily over time. Good luck with it and please let us know how you go.
I'm a 355 guy so don't know much about the 348 but I'm doing a fairly extensive restoration on a 95 GTB including a full engine rebuild, and new seat and dash leather to note the major items. I'm doing most of the work myself less leather. If you are looking to get your hands dirty and have some fun, might be worth doing. But, you might be under water when it's done (if that is a concern) What you can see is one element, the other is what you can't. Note, parts like carpets are NLA, so if the carpet is shot, you can have new stuff made but it won't be molded, it will have seems. Forget the PPI, if you plan to do the work, do a good analysis on what you think the car needs and then double it.
From a financial viability stand point, check the purchase cost, plus rehab costs. If you hit $50K, buy one already in great shape. You don't need to take this on when there are so many other cars available.
Precisely. Mine's a Hagerty condition 2 (Excellent - recent Platinum winner) and valued at only $47K. . Image Unavailable, Please Login
The cosmetic stuff should be quick to gather a rough idea on what your facing. With a good cleaning some things can be saved but the internals having sat for 6 years as long as it had oil in it and not open to.the air id say they should be fine. Condensation can and will form and drain back into the oil. Id check the dipsticks and see what it looks like. Then change the oils and filters. Tensioners are going to be rusty as well. Anyhow how close to ocean air was it? It will have more corrosion depending on where it was sitting.
Thanks for all the great insights guys! Yes, the car is stored close to the ocean. I'm not one to normally take on a project, to be quite honest. Other than detailing, I don't have either the knowledge , inclination, or tools to do the work myself. So if I did proceed with this, the work would be done by a qualified independent. The driving force is really that I'm a die hard Ferrari guy, and it breaks my heart to see the car in this state. (Its not on the market, I just happened to stumble upon it during a business meeting). So I'm just trying, with a little preliminary homework, to figure out at what price buying it and bringing it back would make sense. I would then use the car as a frequent driver to enjoy ......... not my usual concours limited use machine. My thoughts now are that I would have to buy it for somewhere in the $5K - $20K window, as I don't want to be upside down in it, and I have seen decent drivers in the $35K - $45K range. I can budget for a full engine out service, all belts hoses, fluids, battery, ac service, major detail, and possibly a respray. Its the unknown and unseen that's the concern .........
Richard, perhaps you could post some photos? If the interior is shot (mold odors are hard to get rid of) and needs new carpet, all new leather, sticky parts refinished (contact me if you like) you are looking at $15K minimum on the interior and that's not including the labor to remove it all and reinstall. I can easily see $40K going into this car (without even seeing photos - based on your description)
South Florida? I would make a trackcar out of it and spend the restoration money on track time at Sebring and Homestead with occasional run up to Daytona. You got a great race tracks in Florida.
I know where there is a Donovan 400 aluminum small block. That would be a nice project with a sequential gearbox
At the right price, this car sounds really tempting, especially if you wanted a 348 that you could really personalize to suit your own tastes and drive daily. On one hand, if you are feeling adventurous, and the mechanicals are sound... this could be a blast. Provided that you are willing to forgo factory perfect replacement of all the damaged bits. I would agree with others, if you are looking to restore it to factory original, I don't think that I would go for it due to the costs involved unless you have the disposable assets to do so (as someone else said possibly $40k easy). It would be better if you had the inclination and tools to resurrect it yourself, things can get pricey fast when paying for quality work (and rightly so).
I was thinking Ford 5.2 flat plane V8, keep similar sound with added umph. Greater than 100 HP/liter and an 8250 RPM redline.... sounds screamingly perfect for the car.
