G'day Everyone, I was wanting to get your thoughts, as I have mentioned before, I am looking for a "driver" quality Testarossa to buy. Not having ever driven one, I was wondering how heavy the controls are? I am sure that I will be fine, but I was wondering if my wife will be able to drive it? She regularly drives, and even does some track time in my air cooled 911 no worries, she is 5"7', normal level of fitness for a lady in her 30s. What do you guys think? Many Thanks Stewart
you may remeber those cars are not new and you not can compare those with the newer cars. problem is you not see an end in the front when parking. and to go in heavy traffic with stop and go you not have to go to a fitness center later
Thanks Joe, of course there is no comparison to new cars, my 911 is 1985, stick shift and no power steering which she is fine with. We are lucky that when we take the good cars out traffic in our area isn't too bad. I am sure parking is a pest, but being careful will solve that. As previous, I just need to find the right car
5'7" is ideal for a TR -- the steering column is quite short, the luggage area behind the seats puts the seats forward, and that height makes using the stock large TR steering wheel (to reduce the steering effort) no problem. Wish you were in the US looking for a LHD -- we could make a deal...
Except for being bigger and harder to park I don’t think it’s any harder to drive than your Porsche. I bought a TR last month after decades of reading about them. I have found their macho strongarm reputations much overblown. The car is a pusssycat. (stupid forum won’t let me spell that correctly)
I agree but u will see that different tr drive differently. I have driven TR whose clutch were atrocious and 2nd gear a calamity, some are smooth like butter. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The 911 is smaller, the steering is lighter and the gearshift is much smoother. If she likes sport cars she will feel the fascination. It is cheap and easy to install an electric power steering and it is easy to take it out later to bring the car to original. Makes handling at low speeds much better without interfering with the direct control at higher speed. The gearbox is far away from Porsche standard and quite rough while cold. Slow shifting is a solution but Porsche is ways ahead here. The car is fun on bended roads and easy to drive on long distances but not really a good solution to take you to the supermarket, though the trunk is spacy. I suppose she will like it.
I’ve always heard that the 915 transmission in Stewart’s Porsche is terrible. Never tried one myself. (I assume we’re talking G-series 911; maybe I misunderstood and Stewart is driving a 964 or 993 with better gearbox). I have always read that testarossa transmissions are difficult, including that you can’t use second gear until it’s warm. That isn’t true in my car. I guess Natkingcolebasket69 (!?) is right … TRs are not all the same. My transmission gives no trouble at all, at any temperature. It wasn’t perfect when I first got it, but I have been fiddling with the shifter linkage and it is excellent now.
Yeah my TR is also perfect, the one before same thing but a few i test drove…not the same story Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My transmission is smooth but I don’t think my wife would be strong enough to park it. IMO it is twice as hard to steer at slow speeds than my 930 turbo was. Your car may differ. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
I do indeed have a 915, mine is rebuilt with new synchros and shifter bushing and personally, I don't find it too bad. It is far from perfect, but very usable and doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the car. Hopefully when I find a car the transmission is as good as yours.
Once the car is moving the lack of power steering is not a real issue. Parking could be annoying but not really painful. The gearbox needs to be warm to be smooth but that's it, from what I remember.
Keep in mind, when I bought my car: - selecting 4th and 5th felt ‘not right’ - selecting 3rd sometimes gave 3rd and sometimes 5th All it took was some trial-and-error fiddling with the shift linkage. I’m not saying that every bad-shifting Testa can be so easily fixed, but that was the story for me. With respect to parking, I think with any unassisted car you gotta think ahead and avoid dry steering. I have an Alfa Spider on 195 tires and it doesn’t feel much different to me than the Testa. I mean, the laws of physics say it must be different, but I don’t notice. Got a lift? I bought a lift last year. It would be hard for me to afford to run this car without one. It’s a small investment that will save bazillions over a lifetime of owning old cars. And also, you guys park your cars? Like, in parking lots? I don’t dare leave mine unattended. Am I overdoing it?
yes. sometimes when i drive a lot of the cars in one day, i will hop from a power steering car and into a no power steering car like the 512tr, and it feels like i have 4 flat tires !
Yes, I do have a lift, in my younger years I fitted many a gearbox with the car on jack stands and the gearbox on my chest, I am glad those days are over! Like you, without my own tools and doing 80% of my own work I wouldn't be able to afford to own old cars. I do park my other good cars, the Porsche, and Australian GT Falcon some places. I park them either parallel or away from other cars in a parking lot, and always use a steering lock. Of course never in dodgy neighbourhoods or all night or anything like that. (Again, that is what the $5k Mazda is for ).
It’s not so much that the Testa is valuable as that it is a huge crowd puller. A new Roma costing twice as much wouldn’t attract nearly as much attention. Attention leads to accidental scratches and — fear of all fears — could lead to some despicable underhuman keying the car. I feel sick just thinking about that.
they drive amazing everytime i get a chance and time to drive her big smile pulls nicely and steering is great at speeds,just parking can be a little tight otherwise an amazing machine to drive
