Stopping in to say hi

Hey Fast One

The Irony behind your post is:

I'm also 28 and a bachelor: how ever I pulled the trigger on a Silver spider earlier this year and pulled the trigger again 2 days ago on a set of Advan wheels from "VividRacing". All said patience was and still is my biggest problem. I was saving my silver coins for a Lambo and some how ended up with a spider. no complaints just made more financial sense at the time

I would say if you have the time and liquid to keep up with the maintenance go for an exotic It's the end of the world next year anyway might as well go out in a FERRARI.

 

My 2¢:

Skidplates. Get them. Otherwise you will be repairing your bumper every two months if you really drive the car. I heard mine touch twice today, fortunately both times at about 2 mph.

Exhaust manifolds. If they're stock, they're bad. I went crazy and bought the $7K Tubis but I don't regret it. They'll never go bad.

Catalytic converters. If they're stock, they're bad. Hyperflow seems to be the replacement cat of choice. Some people complain that they set the CEL but I've only seen it happen when I was driving in the mountains and was forced to run a tank of 90 octane "premium." My cheap $25 OBD-II code reader can pull the codes and clear them.

Then, just drive it.

Wallace

 

Let me know the specifics on what you want and I will keep an eye out for your in/around Colorado. Good luck - the search is half the fun

 

Ok - I am hurt - mine is yellow <kidding>

I will keep my eyes and ears open. There are a million threads on here about the valve guide issue but you only need to worry (maybe - opinions vary on the actual number of cars with bad guides...) about it on the early cars (pre-97).

Cats are another "known" issue with 355s so that is something to look for if you find one with stock cats. Most people replaced stock with aftermarket - I believe there are some excellent posts as to the recommended combination of cats, headers and exhaust so search for those keywords. You might also want to ping Dave Helms at Scuderia Rampante as to combinations he has had success with as well as getting the facts on certain combinations causing CELs etc.

If they are stock I would recommend making sure thay have been replaced at some point and make sure they are inspected in the PPI (any reputable PPI provide will check them by default).

You will read this over and over again on here but the key is finding the best car you can buy that meets your specific requirements and making sure it has had methodical maintenance and meticulous record keeping. Don't be overly lured-in by low-mileage cars and don't be scared off by higher-mileage cars IF the history and maintenance is spotless. Those things are much more important than some cosmetic issues like sticky parts, dash shrinkage etc. There are a myriad of sponsors on here who can sort those items out at relatively minimal cost. You can live with some sticky parts until you decide to send them to Robbie and the guys but you can't live with failed cats or unknown significant mechanical gotchas.

Good luck