hi gang, i have been a lurker for about 5 years and have read through all the threads i think lol... anyways i had a 348 on my radar but recently purchased an 83 308 us qv, red with tan interior. car was purchased from peter sweeney at forza motorsports and the ppi was done by bill pollard at sport autohouse in new milford, ct. http://www.forzamotorsports.com/exotic-cars-for-sale.htm http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Sportauto.by.Bill.Pollard.860-350-1515 it was a very good experience with both and bill will be my primary care ferrari mechanic. my first mishap was breaking the ingnition off the door lock. this was due to lack of experience on my part. i called miller motocars, ferrari dealer in greenwich, ct and they advised to contact charles stuttig locks in greenwhich 203-869-6260. the correct key code was H61VR which they didn't have in stock but they had something similar used for jaguars. the difference being the jaguar key is slightly thinner. thankfully the key worked. total was $5.30 and i forgot to write down the key code for the jaguar key. http://www.millermotorcars.com/ the car is a driver car but the prior major was done competently with no leaks. the car needs a new interior, exhaust work, the right coolant fan does not work and i have very low idle. i contacted the the mechanic in nc that did the prior major and he advised the switch from the coolant expansion tank was not sending a signal to the cold start valve. the prior owner did not get it fixed at the time due to lack of funds. so at least i have a place to start. i have done an oil and filter change and i have changed the gear box oil which i will document on this thread. i used the methods commonly described from the discussion threads. built ramps this weekend and ordered a bendpak scissor lift from wesco tools for $2100 which included the lift gate delivery option. should be here sometime next week. https://www.wescotools.com/p-23702-bendpak-md6xp-portable-mid-rise-scissors-lift-6k-capacity.aspx http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=160439&highlight=scissor+lift also, i'm totally new to ferrari and i do not know what i'm talking about. if it sounds like i do, i'm just parroting what i have read and been told by others so feel free to offer advice no matter how large or small. thank you. cl Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Congratulations! I bought my '83 GTS from Forza in December '07 after a PPI by Bill Pollard. Good allround experience; Forza will be on the list of go-to spots if a third Ferrari is in the cards.
"also, i'm totally new to ferrari and i do not know what i'm talking about." You are in good company.
Great choice of model and year...of course I have an 83 QV as well so my opinion might be a little biased
thanks for the well wishes gang. here are pics from my oil change. i purchased a new oil drain plug from miller motorcars. the drain plug looked a little stripped and didn't want to take chances. i also used a regular strap wrench i had handy and it worked with no issues. i used the ufi filter and kendall 20w50 racing oil which were recommended by the dealer. i tightened the filter by hand and tightened it snug but didn't force anything. the drain plug was tightened snug but not forced. it took more force to get it loose. i figure if it leaks i snug up a little more. cheers. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Wow, the engine bay is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO clean!!!! Nice work replacing that plug, I think I will order two new ones for my car and replace them when I perform the engine out major service.
yes i purchased the one with 64k. if you have info on the car i would appreciate it. feel free to pm me. i didn't think much of the car since it was a driver and little tired until i had it ppi'ed and bill pollard said there were a lot of good things with the car in regards to the prior major and he didn't think it needed another major for a while. changed the gear oil. used the procedure outlined in the fchat forums. i forgot to take pictures. the only hiccup i had was that my transfer case fill plug wasn't a 22mm bolt but a 12mm hex like my oil drain plug. it looked like it didn't have a bolt and was just open. after a couple of minutes of figuring it out i used my 12mm hex socket i used for my motor oil drain plug. don't know if i'm suppose to have a 22mm bolt of a 12mm hex for this car. http://www.ferrarichat.com/parts_service/Ferrari%203x8%20Final.pdf the gear oil used was mobil 1 synthetic 75w90 ls which was recommended by the dealer. prior to the change, the car had to be warm to shift into 2nd. after the change, i waited until the yellow warm up light went out and it shifted into 2nd with no issues. cheers. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Chung, do you have problem shifting to 2nd gear when engine is cold? If you do, please let us know how the Mobile 1 75W-90 LS work. Thanks.
will do on reporting how the car shifts into second with the mobil 1. my initial impressions on a 30 mile test drive was it shifted without issues. i idled the car for about 5-10 minutes until the yellow light went out when i started my test drive. with the prior oil (don't know what make or grade) i had to drive the car after the yellow light went out for about 10 minutes before it shifted into second. i removed my rear exhaust/muffler cover to straighten out some dents in the vents and discovered the right bracket was all rusted out. the left side had no rust. i also wanted to grind out the surface rust. overall the cover was sturdy but i decided to refurb it as much as i could and will eventually powder coat. everything i learned about doing the above was from watching american chopper and wheeler dealer. this is the first time i attempted something like this. i purchased a lincoldn120hd electric arc welder and some grinding pads to use with my drill. the welder was $400 the pads were $20 and the metal and high heat spray paint was $20, all from home depot. the finish is matte and matches the bumper well. could have gone more glossy but eventually i'm going to have the piece as well as all the louvers powder coated so this was a quick and dirty to spruce up something that was visible. i ended up not welding the piece i fabricated yet as i'm practicing with the welder and it really didn't need to secure the cover to the car. it does not rattle with out the right bracket. i will eventually weld it and powder coat but will wait till the driving season is over. cheers. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Congratulations! Looks like you're getting right in there and getting aquainted with your car quite nicely! The engine looks showroom clean, nice!
thanks again for the encouragement!!! i finished building ramps for my new benpak lift that's on it's way. supposed to be here this week but no word on shipping yet. probably next week. used this thread for inspiration. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=160439&highlight=scissor+lift cheers. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
rob, well, before i bought the car i had budgeted money to do my own repairs and to have bill do the things i know i can't do. unfortunately, i am about at my limit but at least the lift will teach me how to fish or at least that's the plan. whatever i can't do on my own or whatever i end up breaking, i will have bill pollard fix : ) lol... cl
I'm enjoying watching your progress chung gives me an idea of what I'm in for when I get my 308. Sounds like you planned ahead and will be ready for any suprises but hopefully you won't have any.
rob, i have found these cars to be 40K cars, whether it's a 35K car you put 5K into or a 25K car you have to put 15K into. i would definitely budget 2K for a lift and 1K for tools i.e. wrenches, hand tools a compressor, tool box etc... but i was able to buy the tools in a slow process in anticipation of this moment so for me the above wasn't a one a time hit. it's fun fixing these cars and driving them and for me this was what it's all about. i would like to a get a newer shelby gt500 as well since i like muscle cars. that will give me a full spectrum of car driving experience. ultimately, i would love to have a murci and be done with it but this is what i can afford and i'm greatfull for it. need to work overtime at the piggly wiggly. no matter what just enjoy your car. cl
