355 - F355 Manual Conversion - DIY | FerrariChat
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355 F355 Manual Conversion - DIY

Discussion in '348/355' started by wilhit10, Aug 12, 2025.

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  1. wilhit10

    wilhit10 Karting

    Feb 18, 2004
    141
    USA
    #1 wilhit10, Aug 12, 2025

    Attached Files:

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  2. brogenville

    brogenville Formula 3
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    Apr 24, 2012
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    Robin
    #2 brogenville, Aug 12, 2025
    This man is a glutton for punishment!
     
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  3. brogenville

    brogenville Formula 3
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    Robin
    #3 brogenville, Aug 18, 2025
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  4. phrogs

    phrogs F1 Veteran
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    Apr 13, 2004
    7,358
    Kzoo Michigan
    #4 phrogs, Aug 18, 2025
    Care to share that file?
     
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  5. wilhit10

    wilhit10 Karting

    Feb 18, 2004
    141
    USA
    #5 wilhit10, Aug 26, 2025
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  6. wilhit10

    wilhit10 Karting

    Feb 18, 2004
    141
    USA
    #6 wilhit10, Aug 26, 2025
    The car really needs a mechanical restoration since it's almost 30 years old(car only has 8k miles)

    Before pulling the motor out, I went ahead and pulled out all the F1 actuator bits. Pulled the under panel so that I can get to the shifter area.

    I then pulled the engine out. I used a modified 15mm wrench and a hammer to loosen the head bolts. The HILL Engineering tool can break when loosening these bolts, which is why I start with a hammer. I do use a another wrench or nut to keep the wrench from slipping... Then the head is off to get valve guides.



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  7. Ohms777

    Ohms777 Rookie

    Aug 24, 2024
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    Bryn Holmes
    #7 Ohms777, Aug 26, 2025
    Great work. Does it really need valve guides at 8K miles?
     
  8. wilhit10

    wilhit10 Karting

    Feb 18, 2004
    141
    USA
    #8 wilhit10, Aug 27, 2025
    Lol, no. But it makes the car much easier to sell if choose too.
     
  9. brogenville

    brogenville Formula 3
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    #9 brogenville, Aug 27, 2025
    I mean you're past the point of no return now anyway, but I always though that the later cars like yours should be pretty robust in terms of valve guides. Not impervious to wear (thinking about the Auto Tech Nick videos), but should still be pretty good at only 8k miles. Be interesting to see what wear you find anyway. Data points always helpful. :)
     
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  10. bobzdar

    bobzdar F1 Veteran

    Sep 22, 2008
    6,918
    Richmond
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    Pete
    #10 bobzdar, Aug 27, 2025
    Wow, that might be the worst case of 'might as wells' I've ever seen!
     
  11. wilhit10

    wilhit10 Karting

    Feb 18, 2004
    141
    USA
    #11 wilhit10, Sep 17, 2025 at 6:38 AM
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2025 at 6:46 AM
    I am a king of while your in there.. the car is 27 years old and parts do degrade over time. Car sitting and starting is awful for parts, and I want this car to be as reliable as possible.

    Anyways, I decided to go ahead and drop the pan, clean the oil pickup, replace oil pump guide and do the timing sprocket bearings.

    1. Unbolt the oil pump nut
    2. Pull the front cover
    3. Pull the oil pump
    4. Remove sprockets
    5. Remove bearings
    6. When installing the cover bearings, Get the bearing in about 1/2 way and then install the o ring. While inserting the bearing passed the o ring make sure it doesn't get dislodged.
    7. Pull and install inner bearings
    8. Pull and clean oil pump and pickups
    9. Reinstall the oil pump
    10. Reinstall the crank sprocket/chain on the front cover.
    11. Reinstall the timing sprockets
    12. Install new oil pump guide
    13. Reinstall the front cover.


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  12. wilhit10

    wilhit10 Karting

    Feb 18, 2004
    141
    USA
    #12 wilhit10, Sep 17, 2025 at 6:52 AM
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  13. Targatime

    Targatime Formula 3

    Feb 22, 2014
    1,461
    Los Angeles
    #13 Targatime, Sep 17, 2025 at 8:32 AM
    You're really replacing ball bearings at 8k? They don't degrade over time. I guess if you want to, go for it. But this part of the engine is quite robust. Why not do main and rod bearings too?

    In terms of resale value, I would personally value a well-running 8k mile engine that had not been messed with quite a bit more than an 8k mile engine that someone had changed a bunch of parts on. Part of why a low-mileage original car is so valuable is because random mechanics have not monkeyed around with it over the years.
     
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  14. wilhit10

    wilhit10 Karting

    Feb 18, 2004
    141
    USA
    #14 wilhit10, Sep 17, 2025 at 4:29 PM
    The reason I do that is the inner bearing races are plastic and do degrade over time. They turn into hard plastic and do fail, which is why I replace them. The outer bearings fail as well, which is why they sell uprated bearings.

    These cars do not typically eat bearings, and the bearings do not degrade while sitting. I did check a few of them and they looked as new.

    I have the exact opposite thought as you do on low mileage engines. Every one I have used has needed more work than a high mileage. They typically leak more from sitting, roller bearings hate to sit, and valves can be unhappy(You must be lucky having good luck with low mileage cars). The one thing I do not mess with is the pistons and cylinders. If they are broken in correctly then it's better to leave them alone than do a hone and put in new rings. This is the one place where low mileage motors tend to be good.

    I agree that most people that work on these cars do not do good work. I am yet again redoing work that was done poorly from a prior shop.

    Most would just do a belt swap and call it a day. I want this car to be dead reliable for years to come, which is why the cars I build tend to be much more reliable than others.
     
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  15. phrogs

    phrogs F1 Veteran
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    Apr 13, 2004
    7,358
    Kzoo Michigan
    #15 phrogs, Sep 17, 2025 at 9:28 PM
    Here I pulled my engine and put it on an engine stand haha

    I to have collected almost the pieces to convert my car, all I really need now is my clutch pedal. seems Ill have to make one put of a early pedal like targatime did.

    If interested I have the factory clutch lines that run from the master cylinder down through the firewall down to the front junction, then the line from there all the way to the engine cradle.

    I may have one set of the hard clutch lines available if anyone is interested.

    I will have a complete set up for sale in the future, the clutch pedal is my only real hiccup at this time.


    johnny
     

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