What is top dollar for a pristine 355?

Yes the default for the 95 is sport mode and the later cars are mostly comfort mode. I drive mine in sport mode all the time and dont want to see the light on. But that can be reversed anytime you want.

 

Love those seats, congratulations!!!!

 

There has been some discussions where it was stated that they started to use sintered steel in the later cars but not all car later cars had this. If I remember correctly there was one post where they found sintered steel and bronze guides in the same motor. As far as headers go, they continue to be problematic even with the 360 so I wouldn't understand how the headers on a 1997-1998 would be improved, then revert back to a faulty header for the 360.

I didn't say they didn't make subtle changes. I was referring to the problem areas such as sticky plastics, leather work retracting off the dash, header failures, and valve guide issues that continued to plague all years. Of all the header threads that I have read, and I have read alot of them. I did a lot of research before starting my header project, I have never read anywhere where it stated that the problem was resolved in the later cars.

+355 Fab and Gerry.

 

Nathan, that is the car I was wondering if you were asking about. It looks beautiful. Best of luck with the sale. I saw that car on Cars.com and thought that it wouldn't be for sale for too long.

Andrew (ASK328) how are you? Your old 95 GTB is doing well. I haven't had any issues with it. Hope all is well.


Jimmy

 

What a great looking car. Those seats are a rare option!

In the photos it looks like they have updated the power steering reservoir, but haven't done the fuel line recall yet. (which is free anyway, so it won't cost you anything to get it done if they haven't done it).

 

Very nice 355... Seats alone are worth gold to some.

 

I spotted that car on Dupont registry recently. It is one of the nicest ones I have seen for sale online since early last summer. Those seats are awesome and really unique. Great asking price for this relatively low mileage car also. Hope everything works out. You will definitely have one of the sweetest 355s out there...

 

Awesome car - sport seats!

 

Thanks for all the kind words everyone. My fingers (and toes) are all crossed hoping everything checks out.

I read several threads on the fuel line recall. Sounds like I absolutely need to make sure this is done. How does one tell just from looking if it has been done or not? I have reviewed all the service records FOA has on the car and do not see anything regarding the recall.

Also, are there any other recall issues I need to check to make sure they have been done?

 

Just ask FOA to confirm that it's up-to-date.

 

Heres a picture of the (recall) fuel block installed. Its at the top of the pic. The Braided lines runing into the blue block connector. If you dont see this on your car then it was not done as the original is hidden and you cannot see those lines.
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His is a '95 and might have the twin fuel pumps/filters and will look different...

 

This thread is really impressive for how cheap a great car can be purchased for. Just imagine if it were a 348.... A lot less These are excellent cars that are very driver friendly.

 

A friend of mine just bought a Red/Tan 348 tb 1991 with less than 10k miles, in perfect mint condition (garage queen) with all impeccable service records, Full tubi exhaust system and stunning mags for only 38k in Illinois.

There are some great deals on the 348/355 right now. I'm sure the values will be going up soon so now is the time to buy...

 

Most everything is looking good on the FOA 355....got some detailed shots of the door sills, rear buttress/fender joint, seat bolsters, etc and it all looks great. Just a hint of color fade on the seam of the bolster, this would be a 2 minute fix with leatherique water-based dye. So cosmetically, I think the car is as good or better than represented.

However, I have a bit of concern over the compression numbers. From everything I have read over the last year, they are not bad per say, but not "perfect" either. I have spoken with both the tech at FOA who is well respected by many folks I know, and also another well-regarded independent Ferrari mechanic I trust. Both of them seem to think as long as the car runs correctly the numbers are likely a result of this car having basically sat unused the last few years. The guy at FOA said he felt the car ran well enough and the compression looked good enough to not warrant a leakdown test. I have had multiple people tell me and have seen several posts in old threads here that the service department at FOA is upfront and top-notch, and if they give a car their blessing you can feel confident in this.

I've read every compression/leakdown thread on FChat at least twice by now. Here are the numbers, I would love to hear thoughts from the group.

1- 192
2 - 205
3 - 198
4 - 190
5 - 208
6 - 210
7 - 205
8 - 214

 

The numbers are not that bad for a car that may not have been driven much or even if it was it may not have been driven hard enough. Many that own these cars drive them too soft which carbons the valves up. If you combine that with cheap fuel its worse. See if you can use the numbers to get a couple more Gs off the price.

 

What's the cost of the leak-down test...a couple hundred bucks? I'd do it - it's cheap insurance...

 

I agree with Dave. When checking a 355 over "saving" a few hundered not doing the leakdown doesn't seem wise. The engine is by far the most important part to check out and leakdown is a common issue with 355's. Is this a low mileage car that hasen't had the valve guides done?

A few hundered dollar will seem like pocket change over the course of ownership.

 

I know the car sat for some time. Part of it's recent service included draining/cleaning the fuel tank and replacing 2 leaky radiators. To me, that is stuff you don't see unless a car sits for a WHILE. Even driving once a month should prevent that.

Another question, is how much driving would clear up these problems, if disuse was the culprit? For example if I take it out for a proper Italian tune-up during my test drive, would that bit of aggressive driving be enough to make a difference? Or is it more something you would see after several hundreds of miles or so?

I am not too worried about dickering on the price....I think I am at a fair price point, assuming the car is as good as advertised. Now it is either a go or no-go situation. A couple of thousand off isn't going to make much of a dent in a potential bill for new rings and a valve job!

 

You might like to check the couple threads I started just recently about cc/leakdown with the results from a f dealer and a car I was advised to walk from and compare them to yours.

Having just witnessed the leakdown and compression done on this car I would say I am not sure you need the leakdown in addition. Im my case all the leakdown numbers were in sync with the CC. In other words, the faulty cylinders on the CC had 20% leakage and you probably could have predicted that without doing it.

The time to do it was when he had the plugs out when he was doing the CC now that all needs to be done again.

Just my two cents.

My bad cylinders were worse than your lowest FYI

 

This car has 16K miles and is on original valve guides.

I agree on the rest of your post 100%. I could not care less about the cost of any leakdown test....I'm happy to pay for one! My concern is if the results come back in a gray area like the compression....if lack of use made the compression on a couple cylinders a little low, wouldn't it have the same effect on the leakdown?

Now, obviously if one cylinder came back leaking 20% that's a no-brainer to walk away, but with decent compression in all 8 I am not anticipating seeing that.

 

1995 - original guides - get the leak down test done. 1995 were prone to guide problems but not all cars - it's been stated that only 20% had the issue.

Good luck!

 

Where's the "rolls eyes" icon?

94, 95, 96, 97, some 98 and some 99s can have guide issues. No car is immune.

 

Here is a good thread - check it out and take out of it what you will.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=74762&postcount=1

 

Italian quality control:

"These valve guides are causing problems. Okay lets redesign them and throw the improved ones in with the remaining problem ones. Let's shake up the box and randomly use the orignal design ones and improved design ones until the end of production."