In March this year I bought my '97 550. The exterior is grigio titanio, the interior dark blue. When I bought it, it was obvious there had to some work to done. Part of that, cambelts, is already done. That I didn't do myself But there is enough left for me to do. I just ordered new brakepads and stainless steel brakehoses. Replacement needed after my latest visit to the circuit of Zandvoort. Those will be mounted before the winter. Then, when she goes in the garage for the winter, I will remove the sticky parts and have them treated. Later in 2016 I have an exhaust adjustment planned. I'll keep you posted
Earlier this year, when I visited the Goodwood Revival, I drove the 550 in pretty bad weather. Later, when on the ferry back home, I found out the floor behind the seats was wet. The doors are hanging good, so it must be the doorrubbers. Does anyone have experience with replacing those??
Hi, I generally tend to discourage use of stainless steel braided brake hoses (with inner Teflon tube) on front wheels, if they are not replaced frequently. These hoses tend to break suddenly at the fittings, if they are permanently bent back and forth, as the case in front wheel mounting due to steering. They are better with respect to brake feel and, thus, for race purposes. But in racecars they do not have the "eternal" life, as inappropriately advertized for normal car use, but are replaced at least once a year.
Hi Ed, nice car, 550 is a great car, not ideal for track but enjoyable ... Unfortunately sticky parts is a common problem of Ferrari's, and also of other brands... What do you think will do on exhaust ?... Have you in mind a precise solution? Best Regards Fabio
But not really surprising. PTFE has a Young´s modulus being about 15 times higher than that of rubber and a considerably lower failure strength (would have to look it up) due to the fact that PTFE molecules cannot be crosslinked, this being an important feature for elastomers, like rubber. PTFE tends to "creep" under high pressure, like in fittings, in particular if the fittings are not stationary in relation to the hose/tube. All the same in case of extended PTFE.
This is great. I bought my 550 last year in October and I took it out on its first big trip to the Goodwood Revival. The weather on the way back was epic. So much for "never driven in the rain".
For the exhaust I will go to EPS. It's a company here in Holland. They just finished an exhaust of a 550 earlier this year. They fitted two small pipes with remote controlled valves, one at each side, just before the mufflers. That way I can have the "noise" whenever I want it, but also cruise quietly to Italy.
Last saturday I fitted the brakehoses, the brakepads and the spacers at the rear. All went surprisingly well and the whole job was finished in about two hours. Must say that I ordered the wrong pads for the front (the ATE ones instead of the Brembo's), so that must be done when the right ones arrive. The car looks really great with the 2,t cm spacers mounted. Will post a picture later.
Ed- Sounds like she is coming along nicely. The rear spacers do fill out the wheel wells for a meaner look.
Yes she is Terry, but still lots of things to be done. First will be replacing the cats for "dummies". That is planned for June or July. In the coming winter the sticky parts will be treated. In 2017 the exhaust and maybe a respray are on the planning, the respray might be postponed until 2018. As you can see I'm not planning on selling her for a long time
Surprisingly rare colour combination for '97 - Only 5 Total - 2 US Cars, 3 EU Cars Enjoy it... Argento
As promised. This is after a hard days work at the TT circuit in Assen Image Unavailable, Please Login
Eight months passed since my last post here. All I did was driving the 550 until oktober and then put it in the garage for the winter. Now the winter is almost over I plan to mount the X-pipe and put the front bottom back that came off during a track visit, replace the indicatorswitchhousing, renew the gas springs of the hood and, if there is time enough, replace the doorrubbers. Also needed are two front tyres (now two different types). During the season I will also replace the Pininfarina badges as they are worn. Does anyone have experience with that?
Shame, shame, shame. Didn't update here for too long :embarressed: A lot has been done. The X-pipe was mounted and also a set of bypass valves just before the rear mufflers, so now she really screams when revved. The indicatorswitchhousing is replaced, but that wasn't the problem. A new relay is ordered. The gas springs, doorrubbers and front tyres are new and the badges are mounted. The front bottomplate came off again and this time didn't survive. A new one has to be ordered. Now I'm removing the sticky switches above the aircon, ashtray, warninglight console and the caps of the rearview mirrors. The switches are a bit hard to remove although they should pop out, anyone any suggestions???
And then after a couple of days the interior looks like this. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
