One more. Clutch job on an F50 requires the gearbox and rear suspension to roll away from the front of the car. Fabulous to see.
Hudsom Historics in Ossining, NY. They used to be Bob Akin's shop. They do first class work. Have a stable of GTP cars they work on as well as a few Ferraris. They rebuilt Jeff Ippoliti's engine, did a wild F40 & my 512TR race cars, pics of the construction below http://hudsonhistorics.com/Project512.htm
Brian, keep me in mind when planning this trip because I'm also planning a drive to Pebble this Summer. I may be planning to do further north through Colorado and Utah than you might. (I can't stand Interstates.) But, let's at least compare notes. Oh, I forgot... I hope you have an F-car by then DrTax
Yes, we should. We'll go one way and return a different way... one of the two through Colorado. We love Colorado and spend much time there... driving all over the place. With expensive cars its a bit scary though... summer is basically "repair the roads" season... tons of gravel from road construction to watch out for. But the roads are some of the best sportscar driving anywhere. HOWEVER, depending upon our time constraints come August, we might have the car transported and fly to CA, giving us more time for drives through the wine country. There will be plenty of other times that we'll get to Colorado... don't know how often I'll make it with the Ferrari to California. And vineyard hopping in a Ferrari, skipping along highway 1, now that sounds like something I won't get enough of! But we're getting a bit off-topic...
My favorite: Alfa of Tacoma, LTD. 615 St. Helens St. Tacoma, WA 98402 253.572.2532 Carlo Durante owner/master technician Servicing Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Lamborgini, Maserati
Here you go Brian, Monterey, Ca. ----Steve Fremgen, Factory trained Ferrari mechanic. Very good. He's a Concorso Itialiano concours judge. Used to work for Hartzel Automotive in Sand City (831) 394-6002, but now I think he sells Snap-On tools. You can call them for his home number.
I have been very happy with Eric @ The Auto Gallery 21301 Ventura Blvd. Woodland Hills, CA 91364 (San Fernando Valley) 888-233-5012. They are the Ferrari/Porche Dealer out this way and Eric is a member of the Ferrari club and attends many of events.
I hesitate to post my friend and trusted Ferrari master. Seems some folks like to take shots at guys that do the work out of love for the cars and not just for the money. However, if you are looking for a trusted fellow in California, email me. I wouldn't take my car anywhere else. However, he doesn't take everyone and has to limit his client list because of demand. I won't post his name since he has been terribly treated here before, without cause, just because he doesn't charge outrageous fees.
While in Arizona STAY AWAY FROM SCOTTSDALE FERRARI.....if you want your car to work and still have $ in your pocket. We have two independents that are outstanding. Both are factory trained and are very, very good...no outstanding! Alex Traverso......480-241-8877 Andy Falvo.........480-836-7915 Both of these guys can do the new cars as well as the old and they won't take your first born in the process! Ciao...Dino
In South Florida: Murry Bacchus 954-981-5737 (I think, I have him on sp[eed dial) Tim Stanford On the West Coast are a few good ones as well. Since I am not in the office I can not give you their phone numbers. E-mail me or pm me. ...and yes I know they are NOT in Ca
In southeast MA: John Tirrell IFS (Independent Ferrari Service) 21 Hampden Drive, Unit 10 South Easton, MA 508-238-4224 Exclusively does Ferraris. Last time I was there he was servicing Ralph Lauren's black F-40!
The is exactly why I want to do it. Not quite adventure travel, but blasting the back roads in a Ferrari, priceless. (Well, not really. I just had the 30k timing belt service done and brought the new extended warranty. Happiness does have a price tag, at least when it comes to Ferraris.) I must warn you, though, that the traffic around Pebble Beach is horrible. Major, major, traffic jams. Highway 1 can be even worse. Miles and miles of RVs doing 25 mph, not good for the blood pressure. But when you go rambling through the coastal mountains or the foothills of the Sierras, it doesn't get much better. Sweepers that you can see around. Lots of elevation changes. Life if good. Oh man, I love California. DrTax
Top... we've got about 31 Ferrari mechanics in 13 states... still have some territory to cover... we have some people popping up over the holidays... maybe they'll contribute this time... Thanks!!
Note I sent to FML that may provide some routes for you. Gerald: the latest issue of FML had your wonderful story about Malcolm Barksdale. One comment. I don't know about states east of Texas, but if he ever gets into Texas west of Austin and on to California, please suggest that he get off both I-10 and I-40 and try the NON-Interstate roads. They are less travelled, better scenery, and, for the most part, in excellent condition. In most states, the speed limit is almost always 65-70 mph, as well. We recently took a trip (not in the C4, sadly) and put 4200 miles on the car between TX, CO, UT, AZ, and NM. Only 500 miles was on I-roads. Here's some suggestions for Malcolm...or anyone else. Texas: Hiway 87 from San Antonio to Lubbock, esp Sterling City to LaMesa. Typical Hill Country transitioning to West Texas roads. Straight and flat. An acquired taste, I admit!! Try the BBQ at The County Line restaurant north of Lubbock. Lovely grounds and great food. This is NOT an acquired taste! Hiway 62-285-67 from El Paso to San Angelo. Stop off at Guadalupe Nat'l Park. Side trip to Carlsbad is also possible Hiway 90-Alt from Rosenburg to Seguin. Some good, fast curves. Beautiful in wildflower season (Apr). Colorado: 285 - Denver to Santa Fe. More traffic than some others, but spectacular through the San Luis Valley. Utah: I-70 (OK...here's where some of the 500 I-miles were!) Grand Junction to Cove Fort, esp west of Green River, UT. Stop off at the Big Rock Candy Mountain for a cool one. This is Utah...that means mostly, lemonade or soda. Arizona: Hiway 89 - Flagstaff to Page. For REALLY back country, side trip to Kayenta. Watch out for Indian Reservation HP. New Mexico: Hiway 180 from Edgar, AZ to Deming. Hiway 209 from Clovis to Tucumcari. Big change here from West TX plains down to NM desert. VERY little traffic. 104 from Tucumcari to Las Vegas, NM. 285 from Clines Corner to Carlsbad. Skip Roswell, unless UFOs are in your vocabulary.
Going once... going twice... Are there really only 31 good Ferrari mechanics covering 13 states in the whole of the US of A??? We're still missing these of particular interest... Louisiana (New Orleans area) Alabama (near Barber) New Mexico (to go to California or Colorado) Arizona (to California) Missouri (to get to Indianapolis or Mid-Ohio)
Okay, here's the (evidently) complete list of US Ferrari mechanics that are recommended by F-chatters. It lists 34 mechanics in 17 states; I guess its tough to own a Ferrari in the other 33 states!! So, if you're traveling in your Ferrari and have mechanical probs, make sure you have this list in your Palm or laptop! Since the board doesn't support tabs or tabular formatting, I have included a comma-separated file for importing into the app of yor choice, and attached an Excel file. The Excel file has two worksheets... one for recommended mechanics and one for authorized Ferrari dealers (so you can get warranty repairs done). City,St,Phone,Business,Contact,Comment ,AZ,480-241-8877,,Alex Traverso, ,AZ,480-836-7915,,Andy Falvo, Campbell,CA,408-369-9792,Veloce Speedesign,Mark Spencer, Livermore,CA,925-759-6102,SR Exotics Automotive,Wayne Hynes, Orange,CA,714-639-1706,Ferrari Technologies,Larry Englehart, San Mateo,CA,,Dino Motors,Johannes Huwyler, Ventura,CA,805-650-1461,Erickson Auto,Bill Erickson, Woodland Hills,CA,888-233-5012,The Auto Gallery,Eric,FNA Dealer Boulder,CO,303-449-9112,Thomas Vintage Motors,David Helms, Colorado Springs,CO,719-385-0953,Mondino Imports Inc.,Massimo Mondino, Denver,CO,303-730-7340,Ferrari of Denver,, Gaylordsville,CT,860-350-1515,Sport Auto,Bill Pollard, Ft. Lauderdale,FL,954-764-7824,Stanford Foreign Cars,Tim Stanford, ,FL,954-981-5737,,Murry Bacchus,south FL West Chicago,IL,630-231-3400,Fox Valley Motorcars,Dan, Stillwell,KS,913-402-1710,Autosport Gallery,Chris Hill, Kenner,LA,504-466-2744,Linsey Automotive,Jim,near New Orleans South Easton,MA,508-238-4224,IFS Independent Ferrari Service,John Tirrell, Weston,MA,781-647-7300,Boston Sportscar Company,, Laurel,MD,301-470-6464,"Grand Touring, Inc",Chuck Wray, Audubon,NJ,856-547-6522,Palma's Automotive Repair,Joe or John Palma, Elizabeth,NJ,908-352-3939,Classic Coach,, Las Vegas,NV,,Italy Service,"John, Oscar",expensive Ossining,NY,,Hudsom Historics,,was Bob Akin's shop Spring Valley,NY,845-425-2600,Wide World of Cars,"Jim Murphy, ext 245","Fchat sponsor, FNA" Dublin,OH,614-799-5983,Midwestern AutoGroup,,"near Columbus, FNA" Rosemont,PA,610-527-1100,Algar Ferrari of Philadelphia,,FNA Dealer Austin,TX,512-474-7223,Moorespeed Race Engineering,David Moore, Dallas,TX,214-320-2228,Dallas Autosports,Tim Taylor, Dallas,TX,972-831-8111,Norwood Performance,James or Ken,Fchat sponsor Houston,TX,713-682-0370,Pinnacle Motorsports,John Vallandingham, Nevada,TX,972-771-0804,Shadetree Enginetrics,,east of Dallas Plano,TX,972-366-2400,Ferrari of Dallas,,FNA Dealer Tacoma,WA,253-572-2532,Alfa of Tacoma,Carlo Durante,
Here's the list of Fchat recommended mechanics and FNA dealerships as vCards that you can import into Palm or wherever you keep your address book. It has Palm Category set to "Fchat" to make it convenient to keep this list updated to the latest recommended list posted here... and prevent it from mixing with any of your personal address book entries. Can anyone fill in these blanks: Andy Falvo: company and city? Italy Service: phone and is city Las Vegas? Hudsome Historics: phone? Murry Bacchus: company and city? Alex Traverso: company and city? Also, if anyone would like to give Fchat recommendation for a dealer as being a good, reliable, trustworthy mechanic, please do so. (I've included the dealers whether recommended in this thread or not, for those of us with cars under warranty; those that are recommended have that noted in the Comments field.) Enjoy! And further recommendations... particularly for the missing 33 states... are still encouraged!!
James Ward Ward's Auto Service 865-397-5928 Travelling mechanic, covers TN, VA, GA, AL, NC Takes care of my Ferrari and P-bug exclusively.
Autocar Sports Brian Stewart http://www.autocarsports.com 1733 Expo Lane Indianapolis, IN 46214 Phone: 317-271-9955 Fax: 317-487-6364 Brian Stewart is a top notch guy for the Indianapolis area. I would highly recommend him for any Ferrari service.