Lurkers -- come out and play

Very good advice Grigio.

 

Thanks so much! I'll fly the model past She Who Must Be Obeyed.

 

Thanks so much for the follow up, and the links. Great question...and I think the answer is as simple as "they make my heart beat faster" (or at least some do). No mid-life crisis, nobody at the golf club or condos that I care about impressing other than having an extraordinary chariot to enjoy and share with the family. I had to chuckle at your market analysis...in the four years of lurking I've watched the Maranellos get quite popular. I think your assessments were spot on. Depending on buy in from the Co-Pilot, a 612 or Cali T make sense (to the extent that any Ferrari ever made actual sense). You were kind enough to link me to an example I've let the wife "accidently" see on screen and so far at least, she is favorably disposed. I'll follow the links and try and become a bit more educated. I don't want to grossly overpay, but I have learned the hard way that inexpensive supercars are not inexpensive and at this point in my life my time spent behind the wheel is more valuable than time spent under the hood.

Greatly appreciated.

Charles

 

Hello All,

I have been lurking. I started with the interest in getting a Lambo. Then I decided I would learn the Ferrari line up. I liked the California styling, they have a happy looking face!. From a quality of life and refinements I was focusing on a later model Cali T.

Last week I bought my first Ferrari and spent more than I was planning and got a 2019 Portofino in red. I went through a dealer as I felt more comfortable to get the 2 year warranty. They are still prepping the car as I added on PPF, ceramic coating, and tinting (mild tint). Then it will be shipped to WI where it will sit until the spring.

 

Welcome aboard, and congratulations on the new ride! Sorry to hear about the “sit until the spring” part, though.

 

I finally got my dream car, white Testarossa (1990). Brought home on 30-Nov-2024 and had one day to drive it before the snow fell on upstate NY. Had engine-out in Aug 2024 with miscellaneous "might as wells" like plugs and wires. Been lurking here for months, next spring will likely need more active participation!
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Forever a classic... Congrats!

 

Congratulations, and welcome. Hope you can pair that TR up with a black Daytona some day.

 

My Portofino was just delivered to WI. A bit chilly and dreary out with mist/fog.

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Congratulations. Bright Red goes very nicely with dreary fog!

 

Don't know if I'm a lurker or just a very occasional poster, but I just got my 456 back from major service a couple of weeks ago. Pushing the envelope for driving the car home to Maine in December, but the roads were dry and relatively salt-free. Now in hibernation until spring, or at least until we get a good rainstorm to wash salt off the roads.
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Absolutely gorgeous. Love the wheels, they really give a sporty look

 

How much did you spend, if it's not a secret, can you send a photo?

 

Lurker here, finally looking at my first car. Checking out a 458. Fingers crossed!

 

I hope it works for you. There are some fantastic peeps in this group, should you have any questions.

 

Long time lurker here!

I'm Frazer, a proud owner of an F355 GTS Manual and a GTC4Lusso:

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F355
I've owned the 355 for a couple of years now. As stated, she's a 97 Le Mans Blue over Crema and blue leather RHD Manual. I hear one of 7-9 made in this specification, always nice to have something on the rare side. She's also fitted with a Capristo system, which doesn't need any introduction!

at 65k+ miles she's definitely no garage queen, which was exactly what I was looking for when searching. I think these cars are meant to be used and seen. Also might be relevant for people searching, I'm 6ft 6 (199cm) and I fit just fine, for sure it's not exactly roomy - but it's far from impossible. With the roof behind the seats it's more challenging, but as you'll read about in a bit, I have a plan for that too!

Other than changing the head unit for a retro Blaupunkt SQR46 everything else is stock.

Here's a few photo's from the last couple of years:

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Restoration

Despite being in good condition, there were a few bits that I wasn't totally happy with, and wanted to step in before they became issues. As such she's been away since winter last year being refreshed!

Bodywork
As I believe is (relatively) common on 355's, the rear buttress <> quarter panel joints were showing signs of rust, which needed to be addressed. There were also some spots around the inner wheel arches, general chips on the front bumper and bonnet, alongside some unfortunate damage where a branch feel on the roof while driving!

Based on all of that, it made sense to get everything dealt with and then blown over with a fresh coat of Le Mans. After that, get the frontend and roof (I found the seats would rub the roof when stowed) PPF'd.

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Mechanicals
The car had been performing brilliantly across the years I've had her, but fate saw fit to step in and on the drive to the shop to get the bodywork started, the power steering decided to pack in, so that will need to be sorted. There's also a few bits and bobs (brake ducts for example) that need some TLC too.
Mainly though, the whole underside of the car was a bit grubby (UK roads are beyond atrocious) and after seeing the results of my friends RS500 Cosworth's car being ice blasted and coated, I had to get it done:

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Interior
Last bit! The interior. I actually have woefully few photo's of the interior, but it was in I'd say 6-7/10 condition. Sticky buttons and vents dealt with, new mats, headunit and so on. The dash has also been relatively recently retrimmed.
The seats had been consistently maintained, but the leather (especially on the drivers side) was showing age.

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I have two major grips with the interior. 1, I'm tall, so it's a snug fit. 2, the airbag steering wheel was without doubt designed in a powercut or on a Friday afternoon. My god I hate it.

So! Here's the plan:

1) I'm having the seats retrimmed and at the same time having some padding trimmed from the base and back to give me more room. I have to insist though that this isn't completely necessary, I could drive the car comfortably, it's just a good opportunity to make it better.

2) No it's not a pre airbag steering wheel, or a 360 wheel, or a prototipo! I've got my hands on a Momo Cavallino wheel that's in nice condition. My research said it's an aftermarket wheel for cars in the 80's, but I absolutely love it. The wheel is also being retrimmed in blue leather to match the interior. I'll use a Hill engineering boss for fitment. Can't wait.

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That's pretty much all on the F355! She's still away being worked on (taking far longer than it should...) so sadly I'll need to leave on the same cliff hanger that I'm on!

I'm out of time so I'll leave a post about the Lusso until later, but I designed and 3D printed a custom numberplate mount for the front that I think some of you might be interested in:

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I'm attempting to take more photo's of my car related stuff, you can see more on my instagram https://www.instagram.com/italian.logbooks/ if you're interested.

Cheers!

 

The 355 has grown on me quite a bit recently so nice to hear this one being cared for so lovingly. Beautiful!

 

You did a fantastic job on bringing her up to snuff with your tasteful upgrades.

 

Thanks! The 355 is a such a fantastic platform, I'd recommend it to anyone. I'll post some more photo's when everything is all said and done!