Getting a 355

Here it is.

Needs to be cleaned up, but no problems. 980 miles in 2 days, got a best of 21mpg on one tank and averaged a little over 20mpg for the trip doing 80mph most of the way. It was a lot of fun, and the car rode surprisingly well considering the HR springs, the difference from sport to comfort was definitely noticeable so I left it on comfort the whole way. The only thing preventing it from being an excellent long distance cruiser is the lack of somewhere to put my left foot comfortably - I have the beginnings of a blister on my left heel. I was worried until we made it through the 1st day with no problems, then the 2nd day was much more enjoyable as I had built up enough confidence in the reliability of the car to just enjoy the ride.

I was a bit unprepared for the amount of attention it draws on the roads. There were 8 people (that I saw) that took pictures of it while driving down the highway and at every gas or food stop somebody would come check it out. One guy put his wheels off the road driving past me on a 2 lane road in the opposite direction.

I'm not sure if I'm going to get it road legal yet (transport permit was valid for 3 days) as I won't be driving it much until the spring, but the tempatation to drive it may be too much.
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The fuel pumps are the two (on mine) silver canisters on the firewall, correct? If so, and based on the SN looking at the 355 registry, mines an early '95 car.

 

Spherics couldn't rebuild it as the races were too far gone.

I'm trying to figure out the benefit to the Hill bearing, it sounds like it has a stronger housing than the later style aluminum bearing. However, would a cast iron replacement early bearing be just as strong? The housing isn't cracked on mine (as that sounds like what usually happens when the later style goes bad), the bearing itself failed and chewed up the internal races. Is the Hill bearing a better bearing or is it just that it has a stronger housing so doesn't crack like the later style bearings?

 

I just wanted to check in after a little over a year of ownership. I had to do the motor mounts mentioned in this thread (fairly easy) and after about 1200 miles, the TO/bearing went and I replaced that with the Hill unit and put a new clutch disc in. I've only had a couple of small repairs/maintenance to do to the car since that: oil change, shift shaft seal, exhaust donut, the shift gate came loose due to the plastic disintegrating underneath it, and charging the battery. I've put around 5k miles on the car since picking it up in Miami with my father. He unfortunately and unexpectedly passed away about two months after the trip, so it was worth buying the car just for that weekend trip with him.

If anyone else is thinking about picking up one of these, I say go for it, one of the best things I've done. If you have a window of opportunity to do it, go for it as you never know when that window will slam shut. Two months after buying the car, my father passed away and my wife and I found out we were going to have a 2nd child (one week after the funeral), so that window would have been firmly closed had I not jumped through it when I had the chance - and who knows if/when it'd open again. I just wish I had more time to enjoy the car as I only really get a chance to drive it once every week or two with an occasional autocross thrown in.

I try to make sure I give all of my friends and family a ride and the opportunity to drive it, and encourage other owners to do the same, life is too short and fragile to let it be a garage ornament. Below is a pic of my father the one chance he had to sit in the driver's seat when we got home - he was too nervous to drive it despite my insistence, unfortunately, and never got another chance.
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Thanks guys, he was 63 and had a stroke followed by brain hemorrhage. It was sudden and unexpected as up to that point he was very healthy. The bad was that nobody was prepared as I thought he'd outlive me to be honest. He was a former collegiate wrestler and had kept himself close to his wrestling weight his whole life. He had wrestled at 142 and when they weighed him at the hospital, he was 147. The good was that he did not have a long battle and was healthy and happy right until that day.

He grew up as a dirt poor farmer in Sicily, immigrated when he was 12 and was the first of his family to go to and graduate college, got a masters in education and taught math and science. He got too see all three of his kids graduate college, me with a degree in engineering and sent one of my sisters to medical school, at which point he decided he wanted to donate his body to science. The paperwork wasn't even filled out yet, but we made sure he got his wish. I got to spend the holidays with him and we talked some about life and accomplishments and how he had no unfinished business and no regrets, almost like he knew. 2 weeks later I got the phone call. The quantity may not have been what we wanted, but the quality was off the charts. I'll be lucky to accomplish half if what he did in life.

 

I think he was more excited than I was at the time! When we stopped to eat, he'd have to go check on it out in the parking lot to make sure it was ok. It was a great trip, my only regret is that I didn't take more pictures!

 

I think he was more excited than I was at the time! When we stopped to eat, he'd have to go check on it out in the parking lot to make sure it was ok. It was a great trip, my only regret is that I didn't take more pictures!