So happy to be a 512TR owner again!!!

;-)

Forget the color change. Get a cert. from F and let RM sell it - 512TR Tutta Rossa

 

Very neat car. I love them; it’s my favorite Ferrari

 

i will add that the dealer said he thought the first owner had ordered some kind of Japanese spec.

i have looked that up a few times, and some of the aspects of my car match that, but some dont.
as far as i know, the Japanese spec 512tr Speciales (there were only 15),
- they were all LHD, mine is too
- most were a darker red - almost maroon, and mine is rosso corsa.
- they had the inner engine lid in body color , which mine does.
- they had a plastic shield applied, mine does.
- most had 3 piece wheels vs the standard wheels that mine has.

so i am not entirely sure what the deal is.

maybe @Marcel Massini can lend a hand. my vin is ZFFLA40B000093548

 

https://www.red-headed.com/512tr_speciale.html

 

Engine out - Major Service Started Today

A quick update. The Major Service started today. In addition to the Major service, the following issues were identified via inspection: it was identified that: (1) the gear selector seal was leaking ($1,700),(2) the heat shielding around the cats is loose ($ TBD) and (3) the crankshaft position sensor needs to be replaced ($ TBD)

I have asked both the service dept and the body shop to provide progress pictures along the way so I can post them here, which they readily agreed to - please see below.

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

https://www.eurospares.com/Parts/105140/Ferrari?pi=47496

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Lewis, not that mine is for sale, but I have the car you were looking for. Mine also spent time in Japan and was generally abused. It was an euro delivery and then went onto Japan. I bought it in 2017 and started the refurb at that time. The only good/bad thing they did in Japan was break the main shaft in the tranny and then replaced everything including an 512M diff. None the less I had to rebuild the tranny as they had torqued it wrong as it whined like a 1957 truck tranny. So over the last 8 years, replaced interior, rebuilt brakes/rotors, new rack, guido fuse box, paint correction, wrap, engine out service and a correcting a thousand little thing, the car is nearing perfection. Love it and so I now know this car like the back of my hand. so if you have andy questions PM me. Dennis

Also, I have all the electrical diagrams in color which was a must have. Let me know if you need!

 

One note, One of the best upgrades I did was EZ electric Power Steering. Truly transformed the car into a easy modern driver and on the 512tr is a totally reversible addition. I did the electrical over a day, and my mechanic did the actual mechanical install in maybe 3 hours. Do it! I installed a switch to disconnect it but would never go back.

 

EZORED

I very much appreciate your note and my car had some of the same experiences yours did.

I am told that the transmission looks fine on initial inspection. What was weird about mine was they moved some items off the fuse board and put in some separate relays that are non-stock (see photos from earlier in this post). This presumably was the right thing to do given the known issues with the fuse board (absent the compete replacement which is what I am doing) so the previous owner seemed to care BUT without an invoice I am gong to have to track down what was done.

I would very much appreciate the color wiring diagram as I have to diagnose the changes they made to the fuse board noted above - I will message you on this, again THANK YOU. Would also appreciate your experience with the Guido fuse box - he noted in the instructions there were some "dead" wires that had no purpose - i am many months away from that project (never mind I have already bought all the relays for replacement and Guido's fuse box already)

And yes, your car would have been the exact spec I was looking for (and even better given the M diff and tranny - your TR is a great combination).

I owned a '94TR before and while the steering is heavy, it honestly didn't bother me too much. I get why you did the upgrade and many folks I know have done it and swear by it - there are so many little projects though to tackle first (new audio, convert everything to LED, refinish leather, remove old alarm and replace center panel with OEM, etc.)

I am told the Major Service will be done in a week or so and then we move to the new paint. I spoke with the body shop doing the painting and affirmed pricing and that we would be bringing it down to the bare metal. They quoted it would take about a week or so.

Best
Lewis

 

only 1 week for all dismantling, bringing all down to the metal and then start the complete paint structure and put all together? I doubt that they do it so fast. I think more 2 - 3 weeks
they take out also all glass?

 

Great question regarding the glass. That was the big issue. Apparently removing the glass is a big deal and carries with it a lot of risk. I spoke with one shop that does concourse quality work (they have photos of all the cars they restored that have won major events). They shared that even when they take all the correct steps and precautions the glass can and sometimes does break. Many of the shops recommended that, unless my car a going to be “show car” I should think hard about removing the glass as part of the paint job. Also, the cost of the repaint when removing the glass was significantly higher. So, given the car will be a drivers car and I am changing the paint from its original (hence it won’t be a collector’s car) I am not having the glass removed.

The shop that is gong the paint works with the authorized Ferrari dealer. The dealer doing my major is Continental Autosports (a Ferrari dealer in Hinsdale) and the paint shop is Custom Cars Unlimited in La Grange.

 

Lewis, may be you should paint the car Blue Sera, Did you see what that car sold for in Montery? $700 plus.

 

Hah - I saw that; very usual in many aspects

 

More updates as the major service continues

An inspection of the fuel lines resulting in no recommended update - I was surprised by this given the age of the car, but they must have been updated sometime in after the original purchase.

The car resided in Japan until 2019 and it was serviced by Cornes in Japan. I have some service records but I reached out to Cornes to see if they had any additional records, so far no word back

Continental Autosports (the authorized Ferrari dealer doing the Major) gave an update on a Oil Plug issue (pretty visually obvious which is why you should always do a PPI - i didn’t do one) - cost is $558 for the repair and a new plug (see pics below)

So far $2,530 in new issues NOT included in the major service.

BTW the Continental guys so far have been great - I stopped by after the car was delivered and the service guys were just awesome (super knowledgable and the guys I spoke with clearly loved their job….I guess who wouldn’t love their job working on Ferrraris)

More to come as the car should move to painting in the next week or two.


Image Unavailable, Please Login

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

This reminded me. if you are rebuilding the water pump as part of your major, it is advised to also swap the impeller blade to the revised metal version. Said metal version is not cheap (I think I paid around $1000)

Also I happened across my fuel system parts list:


512 Fuel Parts Checklist:

[x] revised / upgrade GTCP metal faceplate x2
[x] gasket x2 (126835)
[x] fuel pumps x2 (140317)
[x] pump support x2 (126809)
[x] fuel filters 186922 x2
[x] revised / upgraded fuel sender (RS146648)
[x] vibration pad x2 (126807) (labeled FMSD 126807 = EtOH resistant)
[x] Evap canister (148413)​

 

Auraraptor - Thank you, I passed your list onto the service group. Most of the items you noted are not included in the standard major so I asked them to evaluate the items you called out.

Separately received some updated photos of the progress this morning.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Correct, above is entirely optional if you want to ethanol proof your fuel tank/pump assembly. At least here its impossible to find ethanol free gasoline so caution an future proofing warranted the upgrade.

 

no affiliation: https://gtcp.com/product/upgraded-aluminum-fuel-pump-mounting-plate-for-ferrari/

 

Did they drill it out and go oversize with new threads, or used a timesert type repair or what exactly did they do?

 

Wow - what a great day

I drove down to Custom Cars Unlimited ("CCU") the shop that will be doing the repaint.

Dino (the gentleman that oversees the shop) spent over an hour with me walking through the shop, explaining their capabilities, history and showing me the projects they are working on. These guys are very professional - they take automotive repair / construction / painting / etc seriously and with a passion. Its tough to describe here, you really need to take a tour to see this passion and some of the very cool stuff they are doing.

We discussed my 512TR project and we continue to coalesce on actions. We agreed to remove the glass; Kevin, the tech overseeing my project, drove over to Continental Autosports and inspected my car and the current view is we will remove the glass removal as it will not be high risk. This may change as they get into it and we will discuss if something changes. He noted, and i agreed, the car was resprayed and did a poor job. It was interesting in that the BAT auction did have paint depth readings, but the paint readings were at the top of the door and but the paint levels were radically different on the lower panels - again not a big deal at all given my ownership goal but just be careful and get a PPI.

@turbo-joe, you are correct - i misunderstood the length of the project, we discussed this project is going to take about 3ish months.

They provided a couple samples of the Canna de Fucci color that is Ferrari spec. They asked that I take it home and see it in my environment (garage, outdoor / indoor light, etc). They explained that once in a while folks expectations are not met with reality regarding the paint so they want to make sure this is exactly what I want. It was interesting - they explained that even thought the formula is factory spec, because of age, historical vs. current application methods, source of material, etc can cause very slight adjustments in color hence they want to insure customers are satisfied.

When the car is disassembled, they are going to install wiring for a front and rear camera (see below for the cameras i purchased and brought down to them). An example of some of things CCU does that I like is that they construct / assemble cars in a way that makes it easy to service a car in the future which is why I asked them to install the cameras.

They have agreed to take photos of the project as it progresses and they are cool with me posting here as long as I respect the privacy of the other cars in the shop which is totally cool and something I appreciate and respect.

@Warlock - I have not spoken with Continental Autosport regarding how they fixed the strip - I will ask.


https://poweracoustik.com/collections/video-car-video/products/buc-1

 

Congrats! Cool project making it your own. Presently looking to get back into one myself, so looking forward to following your journey to creating your ideal 512 TR. Ironically your original spec is my idea spec, and I was a bidder on that car when it was on BAT. Love Red / Tan / Black Carpets, and Euro.

 

@IslandBoy - Completely agree re: Euro spec - they generally trade for less than US spec (I am told it is because they generally come with spotty documented history); however get a good PPI and do a Major Service and it should alleviate most of the issues / concerns. The Euro spec without the mouse seatbelts are huge for me - I had a ‘94 TR US spec with the mouse seatbelts and it absolutely drove me nuts (i get some folks aren’t that bothered by it)

Good luck on your search

 

As an owner of a late US spec '94 I can say with confidence the Euro cars are superior to the US spec cars: Lighter, better exhaust design (no pre-cats), better timing/run cleaner (US cars / US spec ECU run the cars a touch rich mainly at startup)

 

A quick update

The major service on the TR was finished this week and was sent over to Custom Cars Unlimited for the paint job on Friday.

My experience at Continental Autosports Ferrari was great. The new service manager there (Eddie) was very communicative and kept me up-to-date on all items and was quick to respond to my questions. The only thing I was not wild about (it’s minor and I know most other dealers do it as well) is they leave the cars outside during the day with no cover. The 512Tr’s have a dash shrinkage issue if left in the sun too much – I know I’m being picky – they do bring in all the cars at night. I paid more to have the car serviced there vs. an independent, but given my experience last time I purchased a 512TR (you can see it in my previous posts) I think there is tremendous value in having a Factory Authorized mechanic with a strong reputation at least do the first major service after purchasing a used Ferrari. Attached as some of the final pictures after the engine was put back in.

Image Unavailable, Please Login


Image Unavailable, Please Login


Image Unavailable, Please Login

CCU begins disassembly of the 512TR on Monday they will also be installing the front and rear cameras. The current estimated time of completion is mid-December. When the car arrived at CCU they took over 80 photos of the car and uploaded them to a shared drive so I can see them. They will be taking photos all along the process and uploading them so I can see the progress. Attached are just a few pictures they took. We agreed to, in-addition to painting the car canni di fucile, paint the calipers a mat black. We reverted again to maybe not taking out the windshield as the thought is if we can just remove some of the trim we can get to all relevant areas without the risk of breaking the windshield – we will make a game-time call on the risks of removing it.

Image Unavailable, Please Login


Image Unavailable, Please Login

Image Unavailable, Please Login

More to come…….

 

Sorry - I forgot to include the full service receipt. I don't know what the rules are here on disclosing pricing so I blacked out the individual prices. I can tell you that the total cost of the service (including taxes) was $27k. Note the milage is KM not MI

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Image Unavailable, Please Login