Does anyone know this car and have any idea on what failed in the engine? https://www.beverlyhillscarclub.com/2003-ferrari-575m-maranello-c-17065.htm
Yup, it is Clyde's no doubt. He visited me here in TN with her in happier times. A search will turn up the thread documenting the failure.
I just wanted to know what was checked. Did valves go through pistons. Is the block baled to be saved? I think at the current price it's a tad out of the range of worth it for me, but would be a great project.
I am always disappointed and horrified when I go into this place. Most cars are so bad it unbelievable that the photos are of the same car. I would never buy a car from them unless I personally inspected and drove the car.
I value insights from a lot of the Sr Professors here, especially @Rifledriver and from his historical contributions I can’t imagine buying Clyde’s 575 at anywhere near that price would pencil out after a rebuild. Clyde himself I would have thought would have an emotional tie to the car given his time and miles with it (plus it looks awesome) so for me that would also be telling that he was prepared to move on to the next car. Maybe a YouTuber can buy the car and make content in order for the economics to make sense (or it really will be regulated to a parts car).
I am holding off for now, as I think they want way too much for the car. If it was in the 50's, I'd maybe do it as a challenge. I think the seller is good at selling peoples dreams that quickly turn into nightmares.
I ALMOST bought a BMW 850 from them. I subsequently inspected a 456M that was pretty beat down. It sold quicker than I could pull the trigger. It is a FUN place to visit and I love to take out of towners over there !
I've been following this car as well - went and visited - had a wonderful time, although there is no way it makes economic sense at the price they are asking...
There's actually more wrong with the car than they are listing. The skyhook suspension has an issue etc.
I believe it - it has very obviously been loved for the past few years, which makes it look very attractive at first glance. Sat down with my mechanic and he was adamant that it only makes financial sense at $25-$30k - with the long restoration timeline and headaches thrown in for free.
If you have a mechanic doing it, I would say run away from the car. I was looking at it to fix it myself (I have built many Porsche, Ferrari, and M3 engines) and the car doesn't make any financial sense to me at the current price. There isn't any aftermarket support for these motors, so everything has to come from Ferrari. The engine also ran when it broke, and didn't just stop. It kept turning. So, we know that causes a lot more damage. So good chance this motor probably needs a head, and some liners(good chance you can't rebuild the current head). It could be worse than that. I have been told that there is not a hole in the block, so the motor is possible able to be saved. There are no used heads for sale in the country, so that route might not be doable. You would also have to probably buy every valve for that head. Then pistons hitting over and over again the broken valves, so they are probably not good. Typically you'd get a hole in a few pistons. That would cause the liners to break...so on and so on. There is one used engine for sale in the world. I will tell you this, every used engine I have gotten in the last 10 years has had at least has needed little rebuild work done to it. This happens from the car was wrecked, from sitting, and being stored wrong(too much moisture). Typically the cost is the used motor plus 30-50 percent price of that motor to make it right again. Yet again, this is just my experience. The car has been sitting for almost a year, so there will be a lot more gremlins to fix just due to that. Fuel pumps, abs modules, suspension bit and sensors do not like to sit. Since you will not be able to drive this car, you do not know what all it needs in its current state. 30k is probably minimum to get this car back on the road through your mechanic, but I'd bet it'll be double that. I'd bet its 30k just in parts. Don't forget the car has 75k miles on it. I am one of the few guys who buys projects like these and actually finishes them... This company that is selling it makes a profit buy 90% broken dreams . I am sure there are a few that get fixed and the next owner doesn't hate the seller.
Thanks for the detailed response - nor arguments from me on your analysis. Even if one could get it all done for $90k total, it's still a high mileage driver. Better to find a lower-mileage runner for less and just enjoy it...
Yea the price makes no sense to me. Dont get me wrong I love the 575 but the current market for a car with that type of mileage is around their asking price with the defunct engine. I would be a maybe buyer in the 40s but thats more for a glorified shell for an engine swap or custom project.
I'm not saying to do this....but has anyone ever done an LS swap on a Maranello for a race car/drift-car/race-car/etc? I was surprised that the recent Bonneville top speed Maranello we talked about... at auction.... had a ford rear end and massive amounts of modifications but that still had the V12 powerplant.
This was my car and to be honest it would take about 50k to get it zero timed It also had a phantom sky hook suspension issue which I was going to live with When I inspected the head all the valves on that head were damaged and I feel that possibly the cylinder walls as well It’s really a good parts car now Since all the small bits are no longer available for these cars
attached are the pictures that shoe the location and the original bearing that failed on my 2003 black 575 the Hill bearing is much better my car had the catastrophic failure at 77k if you own a 550/575 i would highly recommend you get this bearing done at around 60k Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
