Just.......WOW. That's beautifully impressive, and a little bit sad. I trust she won't be bored any more. Enjoy!!
Hey Ron, That's a good question. I bought the car from Steve Harris Imports, the Ferrari dealer in Salt Lake City. They did an engine out service (timing belts etc.) and changed all of the fluids. In addition to this, they had to change the driver's side seat pot, new battery, and I believe the brake master cylinder and some part of the ABS system (I don't have the receipts in front of me right now). They apparently also replaced the rubber brake lines. The dealer received the car with 115 miles on it, and sold it to me with 124. The previous owner bought it with 25 miles on it, so it only covered 90 miles in the 15 years he owned it. He apparently owned other Ferraris that he did drive. I bought the car without ever having seen it in person. -Paul
Amazing!! Only 90 miles and the seat pot was dead!!! Whoever designed that should be beaten with a stick !
Thanks for the detail Paul. Looks like Steve Harris Imports gave it the treatment that it merited. Well done and all the best for a great driving experience! Ron
...so we always see these posts wherein it is stated that all things considered a "high" mileage car is preferable to a low mileage car (driven vs sitting). Do you have any mechanical issues to report? 'Cause, that is one beee-utifulll car.
So far, the passenger seat pot failed (driver's side was replaced during the major). I posted the $3.00 fix for that in this thread http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=288373 and I've found a few little details that were missed during the major. Loose nuts and bolts, mostly. I changed the oil at 800 miles and found that the oil filter was over-torqued. No real problems though.
Thankfully, it doesn't have the new car smell that a Toyota would have. It does have extra Ferrari smell though, which is fantastic. My business partner has a 348, and I've always enjoyed the smell of that car. Mine has about twice as much of that smell. I think because the Ferrari doesn't have that much outgassing plastic in it, or cheap carpet, you don't get the same new car smell as in other cars. I wish my whole house smelled like the F355 when it's warmed up.
I can just hear it: "What a wonderful bouquet.........Is that a '95 Cavallino da Marenello, or a '96 vintage?" I have a friend who likes to poke his nose in my garage every once in a while just for the aromas that the Boxer gives off.
Kudos to you for driving it, as many of those super low mileage cars are doomed to a life of sitting and rotting. I cannot imagine how, even though I read your post that he had other Ferraris, anyone would let a car sit for 15 years and only put 90 miles on it, and then sell it. That just floors me. Enjoy the car, and keep giving her the exercise she deserves!
I will be interested to see how the car goes in the Concorso Italiano and will appreciate if you share your feedback and experiences there. By the way, are there any 348's out there with low miles like this one.
Sure is my friend. A gorgeous 300 mile 348 TB. http://www.goodingco.com/auction/product.g&c?pid=68 Image Unavailable, Please Login
Previous owner was from Pittsburgh PA. I'm not sure how the car ended up at the Ferrari dealer in Utah. The previous owner is no longer with us. From all accounts, he was a great guy, liked and remembered by everyone he met. No one famous though. I'll let everyone know how it goes at Concorso. There are two parts of the car that I'm likely to get dinged for on the score sheet (though I don't really know how these things are scored). One is that I put in test pipes at the 300 mile mark in an effort to keep the headers and valve guides as cool as possible. The other is the Challenge grill that I added, for the same reason (and because they look badass). The grill, though a Ferrari part, apparently wasn't available as an option until 1998.
One more close up photo. I've got the top half of the car waxed. Waxing the bottom half tonight. Planning to do the interior this Sunday (working Sat), and then pull the wheels off to clean them Mon and Tues (should have some nice suspension photos after that). (for some reason, I'm getting a lot of jpeg artifacts along the trim pieces here. It looks better in the original photo, than as posted) Image Unavailable, Please Login
Spent 7 hours today cleaning and polishing. Two more evenings and it should be ready for Concorso. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
7 hrs! Wow! Looks great! But with that many miles on it, it should have taken you 7 mins to detail! Best of luck with Concorso my friend! I am sure you will kick some ass!
Thanks Pap! Yeah, I'm up to about 20 hours, total now. I keep thinking the same thing. Maybe if I would have just had it delivered to Monterey directly with 124 miles on it, I could have saved myself some work! Here are two more. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login