360 First Legal Ride in my Azzurro California 360 Spider

Today I finally got to drive my new to me Ferrari legally. It's taken a week to accomplish and now it's done. I had the top down, A/C blowing and heart going about 150 BPM as I cruised around for about 10 whole miles.

This wasn't my first ride, not by a long shot. I did a test drive in New Jersey, then drove it with a home made "In Transit" plate up I-80 to I-287 to I-87 to Kingston, NY, about 100 miles, one week ago. That ride was absolutely nerve racking since I was expecting it to blow up on me or to be stopped for my creative registration. About 75 miles into the trip, I couldn't get it out of 5th gear and had to drive the last 10 miles on 87 at 50mph. Pretty stressful. I expected to have to turn the car off once I reached the toll booth and an amazing disaster would unfold. Snarled traffic, cops yelling at me, impounded car, well, the imagination works wonders under stress.

As I approached the toll booth, I slowed down to about 20 and tried the shifter again. It miraculously slipped into neutral. I paid my toll and zoomed off like it never happened.

Turns out, the problem was the silly mat. It had bunched up under the clutch and prevented it from going to the floor. Fixed that yesterday.

I put my 360 on a UHaul trailer in Ulster, NY, and drove it back, along with some items from my father's estate, to Memphis. A fun two day trip.

Here's a picture of my beauty I took during my first ride:

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I forgot to mention the wildly impossible coincidence that happened to me at the DMV. I overheard the guy next to me trying to decide if he should get antique plates (car over 25 years in TN) or not. As I concluded registering my car, I asked him what he was registering. He had a '71 Vette. I mentioned my car was a 360 Spider and wouldn't you know? He had one too. His is Rosso Corsa / tan. We yucked it up for a moment or two and went about our day.

What are the chances that two people who own Ferrari's would run into each other at the DMV in Memphis? It has to be close to a billion to one. Weird.

 

I have them already. The screw thing had ripped out. I fixed it though and now have the mat secured.

Having a new Ferrari reminds me of when my first and only child was left in my care. I always worried she was going to die on me and every pause in her breathing brought terror to my heart. After a while, I calmed down and she's still alive today. I hope the same is true of my new toy.

 

I was having a problem and didn't want to compound it. Just like in an aircraft, best glide to a safe landing.