The Ferrari Bloodline

You always had a sharp eye, Jag.
However, it’s like with one’s children, you don’t differentiate and they stand equal…

 

You and Christian have good memories - re the 50km drive!
Funnily enough, Massimo Delbo, Cavallino’s Editorial Director, started his editorial page with a humorous note on the same topic:
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Remember the principle of continuous improvement and maintenance?
Well F50 KS, which I have since January 2012, received some of that in the last few weeks:
- It got its annual service at Maranello, it’s 14th stamp on the Warranty & Service book (all by official Ferrari dealers)
- New full set of Pirelli tyres were ordered and fitted. Remember it’s not only about the threads being legal and sufficient but also whether the tyres are over 5 years old. If the latter is the case, then get new tyres, as when the rubber gets hard with age, it becomes unsafe
- MoT test (to know it’s road- worthy)
- New Fuel Tank and Sponges. A few points here:
1. I like to get the Ferrari-recommended original (Sakur). Many fit other brands for half the price (on both F40s and F50s).
2. As they are expensive (circa £15k for F50s and double that for F40s) and their life span is 10-years, what I do is ask the Factory to send me the production date of every fuel tank they have in stock (usually 2 to 4) and then I buy the one with the most recent production date ( otherwise you can loose a year or so of lifetime). Below is the picture of the purchased tank showing validity until April ‘35 - so it was produced in April ‘25. (Add it to your history files).
Image Unavailable, Please Login

3. Make sure you get the fuel tank’s Certificate of Conformity showing the details especially the date of manufacture (and add it to your history file).
Image Unavailable, Please Login

Here are the boxes with fuel tank and baffle sponges then loading them onto the transporter along with the car (for fitting at DK Engineering).
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

Note: it’s good practice to find transporters which secure the car over the tyre/wheel instead of across it with potential damage to the rubber/wheels.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

Finally, I can’t resist a few pictures of the car when bringing it out of storage.
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

The idea of doing another multi-year effort on an F50 book is too daunting. Besides, it will end up becoming a double volume .

 

Efficiently, F50 KS returned from DK Engineering with the her new fuel tank and sponges. Good till April 2035. With the MoT, new fuel in the tank, new tyres and a fresh service, she is as good as should be!

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

Took the occasion to check on my extra original exhaust system that I built over many years; whether it was complete and whether it included the difficult to get green-dot original Pierburg valves.

Good news, it’s complete with the 14 main parts (plus accompanying valves Pierburg and others).

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

The good news is that Ferrari is reproducing the complete system and it’s available from the factory at a fraction of the ‘95-‘97 original system’s cost.

I compared physically the two original in-period cat converters with the new version (from Maranello’s Classic Parts’ shelf - which they kindly unpacked and opened up for me and quite a difference - e.g not the same manufacturer, Marmite. But it’s at half the price (£15,000) as compared to the real thing (£30,000). Basically two-to-one.

The total re-production system (without all the air injection components - so just the 14 parts) went over £100k including VAT. Imagine the complete original… That is if you find it.

One final comparison of the original vs reproduction (even with a ‘Ferrari’ tag). Let’s take silencers:
Original
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

Reproduction
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

That is a very pertinent and consequential question. I actually never thought about it.
I also can’t answer it as when using the original exhaust systems, it was always the real ones not the reproduction ones.
But if they differ (manufacturers (?) and may be different materials, sound proofing), then the reproduction version might quite possibly give a different engine sound…

 

Probably because it’s limited in potential demand, it’s not a priority for Ferrari.
Thank you for your kind words, but it is just simple stuff and it is a pleasure to share.
Incidentally, today, the leadership of F1rst Motors of Dubai (a leading showroom in the Gulf) visited the collection. Here are some pictures
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login