My Mondial T purchased on BAT - plusses and minusses

Hi all,
I bought a 1990 Mondial T cabriolet on BAT in June, and I thought I would post a few thoughts on it. I’m a previous owner of an F430 6-speed spider and a 599GTB which I converted to manual, so I’m more used to modern Ferrari power.
I have really been a little bit surprised about how much I enjoy driving the Mondial… I almost use it as a daily driver if the weather permits. I get tons of appreciative comments on it and people cannot believe how little I paid for it. Here are my pluses and minuses:
On the plus side:
Really fun to drive
Head turning good looks
Surprisingly roomy
Unbelievable road-holding… the weight distribution makes it feel like it is on rails
Fun to work on. I am in my 70’s and not particularly handy, but had a check engine light on and got help from Ferrarichat. Took off the MAF’s and cleaned and replaced them… and presto it runs like a swiss watch… no exaggeration, that’s the way it feels… tight, crisp and precise.
My issues,
Gear shifts slightly notchy and 2nd is hard to engage when cold
Slow passenger window… like most apparently
Top is very new and in good condition, but still a royal pain in the butt to raise and lower.
Seller claimed a recent engine out belt change, but I have my suspicions as to whether it was really done, and mechanics are few and far between in Vermont.
One of the Tenax fasteners for the top cover does not want to stay shut, even though I have replaced it. I may have to replace the post it clips to.
Mouse seat belts are a bit of a pain
I cannot find the front manual trunk release despite hours of looking for it, so if the battery dies you can’t access the battery to charge it up!! My next project is to take it apart and find it.
The sound is not nearly as fun as the F430 spider, and I would love to tweak it.
The car is slow as molasses compared to a modern Ferrari, but so much fun to drive…. you go through the gears, the wind is howling, the engine is screaming and you look down and you are doing 60mph!

Overall
So… quite a long list of issues, but I love the car. I have a friend who paid almost as much for an MGA. I paid almost as much for a Morgan Plus 8…. great cars, but no comparison the Mondial. I really think it will appreciate… but who knows or cares!

 

Congratulations on your Mondial purchase! I have owned my 3.2 cabriolet for 9 years and I am very happy with the car.
Your issues:
Cold second gear problems is common to all these cars including the 308s 328s. Maybe even the 348. But once warmed up shifts are smooth as butter. This can be fixed by drilling a hole in a certain part of the transmission, maybe if you do an engine out you could do this mod. There is a procedure on Ferrari chat somewhere that shows how to do it.
Tenax male parts are easy to get and replace, if if you're lucky enough to still have the black horsey snaps on your cover, make sure you tighten them up! They do come off at times and are very expensive, if not impossible, to replace! I've attached a photo of a couple of horsey snaps and a tool, very fancy tool, I made to tighten them up.
The the handle on your manual frunk may be hidden behind the carpet to the left of the steering wheel or the release handle may have been pulled off and lost, don't know? You can always get to the battery by taking the right front wheel and wheel liner off if it is an emergency.
To improve the sound on my car, the previous owner gutted the cat, sounds great! I'm very happy with it.
So you didn't get a copy of the repair invoice for the engine out? I would pursue that. Vigorously. If you can't verify it was done, take it to a qualified mechanic ASAP.
I looked at a Mondial T with a friend of mine 2 days ago, he wants to buy one, the mouse belts didn't work, and the only thing I could figure to do was attach the lap belt, couldn't get the shoulder belt to snap in where the mouse runs?? Yes, I think they are a pain in the ass! Maybe someone has figured out how to repair them, I seem to remember a thread about that.
Best of luck with your ownership. You're in the right place for great advice!
Alden

 

http://www.rpmvt.com/

 

Alden, thanks for the feedback and ideas. I’ll try getting the cats out first to improve the sound. I did get a copy of the engine out service invoice, but it was the only invoice that was not an original in the file I got, and did not have a phone number for the shop on it… which is why I have a few suspicions. It was from a mechanic called Prova Inc. in Kimball MI who seems to have existed but doesn’t list a phone number. But I only have suspicions and I’m not pursuing it, because I believe it is buyer beware when you buy a car sight unseen on BAT…. and the car runs great!

 

It won't run very well if your timing belt(s) breaks and your valves are cordially introduced to your Pistons!
Alden

 

Alden… your photo was perfect! Just found the front trunk release totally buried back there… why does Ferrari do these things!!! Unfortunately I only have one of the original Tenax fasteners, and I have changed them all over to the new german Loxx fasteners which work great except for one. I’ll try changing the male post.

 

Interesting report, thanks! I hope your new Mondial serves you well. Regarding the trunk release--I assume you're speaking about the front--I have seen them hidden under the carpet because the cable is long enough to allow it to fall down there. This was on a 3.2 so maybe a T is different.

 

Glad you found the release and I was able to help. I think we've all asked the question of why Ferrari does things a certain way a million times, LOL!
If you only have one horsey snap, you may want to offer it here for someone who needs one to complete their set.
Alden

 

BTW …. on the mouse belts. My mouse does not travel along its runner, but there is a clip to attach the shoulder belt just to the left of the seat, so I do that and do the lap belt separately.

 

When I test drove that model T 2 days ago I tried to attach the shoulder belt to that clip and it would not work.??
Alden

 

Redline MTL is used by a lot folk on this site, and is generally accepted as a good oil to make gear changing when cold more bearable, including the 2nd gear issue. Worth trying before ripping the gear box apart....

 

That is the Mondial T anti-speeding ticket feature. You should embrace it.

 

Shifting from first to third gear works for me when the system is cold. Takes awhile to warm up 2nd gear. One of my "this is weird" notes about my Mondial.

 

It should. That’s what it’s for. Nice of Ferrari to add the redundancy.

 

The car was in good shape, but there were more than a few things on the car that didn't work, including the seat belt!
Alden

 

Congrats on your purchase from a former Mondial owner also in Vt. I’m in southern Vt and like you said mechanics are few and far between here. Luckily I never had a major issue with mine during ownership. I always say I never knew I wanted a Mondial till I drove one, if they are properly sorted they are great driving cars. As far as the rough shifting another thing you may want to check out is the alignment of the shifter it can make a big difference. My Mondial had been previously sorted and the shifts were very smooth even when cold going into second. I drove a 308 that wasn’t sorted and it was extremely notch felt vastly different.

 

Keep the cats IMHO, the smell makes me light headed the way the airflow swirls, ended up putting them back on with no discernible sound change. Do update the exhaust, remember, you can reference the myriad of 348 exhaust systems to match the tone you like. Not as good as a 355 (my all time fave sound), but the 348/Mondial t gets 8/10ths IMHO. See below:



Get 2nd gear linkage adjusted, I have minor 2nd gear hesitation only first 5-10 min, then smooth as silk for rest of drive.
Top is finicky, but watch the top removal video in you tube, will make it a breeze after that.
Lots of window accelerators after market, not sure if any are good?
Mouse seatbelts=garbage
@ronfrohock for tabs
Front boot latch is upper left driver footwell
As for slow, yup! It’s now almost 40 years old!!!
“The real secret of the Mondial….is it drives really damn well”
-Doug Demuro

 

• Yep, thats what my Mondial t sounds like (with an aftermarket muffler). Music to my ears.