Does anyone know about this 95 Berlinetta on ebay?

Just sold my Turbo NSX and looking for 355's. It looks like it's had some maintenance work done, but wondering if anyone here has looked at it or know any history on the car? Anything stand out to you?

I emailed him, he said the clutch was serviced but not replaced at the time of the engine out service.

Any help is appreciated.

ZFFPR41A1S0103872

Ferrari 355 F355 Berlinetta | eBay

 

Cylinder 7- 210 PSI
Cylinder 4- 185 PSI
25 PSI difference
You want to see close or a very simlar reading here. (Consistancy at least, across all 8 cylinders)
Possible valve guides needed=$$$$.$$

 

Thanks for the reply. Is that a common problem with 355's? What causes it? Poor maintenance?

 

And it's priced accordingly to that possible issue. Valve guides omg it can be fixed and it's not that expensive that the car should be thrown away.

Also you will get different readings from different people doing the test so it would Need some more troubleshooting to really see if there is an issue.

 

Do a search in this section for valve guides. It's an issue that some cars have starting back when the engine was manufactured it has nothing to do with maintenance.

 

Elite Motor Group | Pre-owned Dealer | Scottsdale, Arizona

Sold in AZ.

1995 Ferrari F355 - Used Coupe Medway MA | Medway Imports

Medway MA to PR Auto?

1995 Ferrari F-355 Berlinetta ? Detail » Inventory » P.R. Automotive Imports

Look like a big price drop on ebay.

 

This is very highly debated topic here so I will be careful what I say.
It's been said that some Ferrari 355's mostly 1995, 1996 models were plagued with Bronze valve guides that fail in time (Sooner or later). However, some people say that there is Bronze valve guides that fail all the way from the beginning to the end of the 355 production. (1995-1999)
Just make sure you have a proper compression and leak down test done by someone who knows what they are doing. There are many threads on this forum about this issue. Just use the search function as this is not the first time this questions has be asked.

 

What a whore!

 

Awsome

 

Well she has been passed around a lot!

 

I too noticed that it had been passed around alot. Does anything else jump out at you guys that I'm missing?

He said that I could have a leak down done, but I'd have to pay for it.

 

There is some really poor paint matching/blending around the door lock on the driver's side....theft recovery? Makes you wonder why that wouldn't that have been fixed properly?

No mention of headers or valve guides. This would be a good car for a DIY'er (who isn't afraid of a motor rebuild) to bring up to snuff and enjoy for themselves......

 

what makes you say it needs a rebuild????

 

Also noted that the by-pass valve appears to have been removed.

 

Any reason as to why this was done?

 

A new bypass valve from Ferrari is over a grand. It fails and the owner is to cheap to by a new one or just doesn't have the money. I'm not an expert but I would never do that.

 

I'm looking for another 355, complete car no salvage title. 44 was too high for this one for sure

 

Shows how much I know. That looked like a good deal to me. I didn't notice any of that stuff.

 

Why does it automatically need guides and headers? If it ain't broke don't throw money at it!

And I love to see how you can tell a blend job from Internet photos?

If it was blended then it's up to speculation could have been keyed anything so what brand new cars get repairs sometimes and it doesn't mean it's a theft recovery.

 

While I do agree that there is a 12% variation from min to max compression numbers, those are still not BAD numbers. Those numbers alone cannot lead to the recommendation of a valve job. If at your annual physical, your doctor tells you "your left leg bench presses 195 lbs and your right leg presses 210 lbs, therefore we recommend open heart surgery," you would think he is nuts.

On my computer, I cannot see the blending effects by the driver side door. I couldn't jump to a theft recovery from any blending of paint. An in person inspection is likely better than a picture on the web.

I also do not see a picture that indicates a missing bypass valve. That picture would have to show the view more from the top and shows the black exhaust shield from above. That view may have been there, I just did not see it.

I would not buy that car only because I don't like the color combination. But if I were in the market and it was red/tan, I would think this is a decent deal for me.

That is my humble opinion and it is worth at least 2 cents.

 

Exactly! - Someone may simply have slipped whilst putting the key in the lock and scarred the paintwork at sometime and so it needed a localised paint job to tidy it up. (and silver is a bugger to match perfectly at the best of times!)

 

Yelcab, look at the pictures in this link Elite Motor Group | Pre-owned Dealer | Scottsdale, Arizona

You could argue that the blend on the drives door is lighting, but to me there are enough different angles to conclude that it is a paint blend. Looks good from some angles, obvious from others. Not a very good job. Also, page down. It is clear that the bypass valve was missing at the time these pics were taken.

 

OK, I see those pictures, from a different dealer than the one selling it now. That is ... less relevant. Like the car? Go see it.

 

I'm in agreement with you on that. I have been meaning to post this for a long time but have not managed to put my thoughts to key board clicks until now. I am not gifted at telling stories so I am long winded but if you have the patience to read what I am about to type I think it will help you find a 355 that will make you a happy owner. So here goes...

I purchased my current 355 back in Sept 2007 from my local Ferrari dealer. The car had a recent major service and the valve guides were done as part of the service so I did not have an independent PPI done. The car drove fine, sounded fine didn't use any oil so all is good right?

Well in October 2011 the check engine light came on, it was the first time in 4 years I got a check engine light so I was not going to ignore it.
I brought the car to the independent Ferrari Shop I was using, they did a full comprehensive major service on the car in the fall of 2009. Back then I did ask them to check the headers and to replace them if they were showing signs of weakness. They did not replace them so I had the headers smoke tested every spring from my local shop to keep an eye on them.

I told them the car ran fine, did not use any oil but I wanted them to see why the check engine light was coming on. Instead of trouble shooting that they claimed that when the engine was running and they stuck their head in the engine compartment their eyes watered which suggested a failed header. The shop is a 4 hour drive from my home so I couldn't just pop over and look at it. But I stick my head in the engine compartment all the time while the engine is running and my eyes don't water. Something didn't seem right to me. Anyway they wanted to do a compression and leak down test. I said sure, good idea. So they did it and it had okay numbers on the drivers side bank but very poor numbers on the passenger side. They did it on a cold engine and after my car had been sitting there for a few weeks not running. They said it could be that its carboned up since I don't drive it a lot but they recommend a full engine rebuild or I sell the car as is because it would not be worth it to fix it.
I was stunned to say the least. I have been around cars and engines since I was a kid, I have a good feeling for when a machine is running well and can sense when it runs differently. Anyway I let the car sit at the shop for a few months while I pondered what to do.

I got some good advice from a well known Ferrari tech on FChat that unfortunately does not post here any more. He said, take it back home and check it myself. So that is what I did, I arranged for transport and had my car shipped back to my home in March of 2012.

When I met the transport driver, he told me wow what a nice car. He then proceeded to tell me "it sounds good, started right up when I had to unload it, its hard to imagine that its worthless" I said "Why do you say that?" He told me that is what the guy at the shop said, apparently it needs a full engine rebuild. Geez, I thought I am sure glad I got my car out of that shop.

So I did my own investigating of the car and it turns out 3 header bolts on the passenger side were lose which would explain the hint of an exhaust leak and possible eye watering experienced from the shop. The headers on the other hand looked and sounded fine but I wasn't going to continue taking chances with them so I removed the entire stock exhaust system.
I visually inspected the the valves (you can see the ends when the headers are off) and the drivers side ones were white while the passenger side ones were black. I had a friend that rebuilds motorcycle engines give me his thoughts on the appearance and he suggested the bank with the white ones runs leaner then the ones with the black ones but otherwise it looks fine.

So I proceeded to install Ferrari Euro Challenge Stradale Headers and an exhaust system manufactured by Gothspeed that mates those headers to sport cats and sport muffler that eliminate the need for the bypass valve.

I buttoned the car up, did a fresh oil change and fired her up. Wow, what a sound! I took it for a drive and it drove stronger then ever before, I could break the rear tires lose in 2nd gear. It never felt so strong! I was so glad I took the car back home and worked on it myself.

The true test from my perspective would be if it would pass an emission test which it was due. That would tell me if the internals of the engine were in fact as bad as that compression/leak down test claimed.

So I took it for the emission test and it passed 100%.

The well known Ferrari tech on FChat that unfortunately does not post here any more was very happy to hear my results. He told me to just drive it and enjoy it. He suggested I monitor the engine's health by having a compression test done each year and as long as it doesn't get worse just keep driving it and address it properly at the next major service.

So I had a local shop that I trust and use for my other vehicles do a compression test this summer (2013). The shop owner knows my 355 very well, I have lent it to him a few times since I got it back in 2007. His impressions on how it drove after I replaced the full exhaust was like mine, it drove stronger then ever and he could not feel anything wrong with it. But I told him I was advised to get a compression test to monitor the engine health so please do it anyway.

The results of the 2013 compression test were over the top better then the one from the fall of 2011. The drivers side bank were perfect at 225psi for each cylinder. The passenger side back on the other hand was not great but way better then the last test. Cylinders (1=185, 2=153, 3=207, 4=207).

The car does not use any oil so its hard for me to understand why the passenger side bank has these weaker numbers. Perhaps the lifters on that bank are weak or the replaced valve guides on that bank were not seated correctly. What I do know for a fact is that the car drives better then when I first picked it up from the Ferrari dealer back in 2007 so there is no reason to worry, just drive it and enjoy it, and that is what I have been doing

I don't have any plans to sell this car but if I did, I would want this story to be known and I would price the car accordingly. I hope those of you that are shopping for a 355 get the full story of any car you are looking at so that your Ferrari ownership will be one with eyes open and expectations set. If you do then you will certainly enjoy your experience no matter what the outcome.

 

Excellent write-up Carm.

Thanks for sharing