PPI in Dallas - Friday 1/2/04 ~9AM Norwoods

Hi, as promised I am posting that on Friday 1/2/04 I am having a PPI done on the 85 308 GTB QV I have been researching. Owner is supposed to have it there by 9AM. More details in my "308 wanted in Houston String".

Norwoods said F Chatters welcome. Mentioned Tillman by name. If you guys go please take pics if you can spare the time. Details on the other string.

Thanks,

-Mike

Haven't felt like this since Christmas at age 10 or so.

 

I have decided to suck it up and drive to Dallas. I really want to see the car before closing a deal. I will be aiming to hit Norwood's at about 9am. Depends on traffic in Dallas.

 

Confirmed the time with the owner just now. I look forward to meeting Tillman & Co.

-Mike

 

To cut to the chase - made a deal for the car at $24,000 with the agreement that the owner would 1.) fix a small electrical + fuel problem and 2.) Get it legitimately inspected (which means he has to do some Bosch fuel injector work.) Car will be delivered to me when that is done - at that time will pay. $150 bucks delivery from Dallas to Houston works for me!!! Note, I said made a deal...as in agreement. I do not own it yet...but soon....very soon.

On to the PPI. The PPI went better in some ways then I expected and worse in other areas. I knew the A/C was not going to work. He told me "I do not know" - folks, that translated as "I am pretty sure it does not work but I really want you to look at the car." This one item dropped the price down by $1,000. Again, it was expected.

Paint. James went all over the car at the same time I did. The car has paint on some of the anodized aluminum and slight overspray under the front and where the hood comes down. Obviously a repaint and not an expensive one. This was a detractor for me. It isn't terrible though. Some of you will likely call me anal for it but I know what a good paint job looks like. I will probably be able to buff out 80% of the bumps. I refuse to touch some others as they are in hard to see locations. The paint is very glossy but you do not have to look hard to see it is not a top quality job. Slightly negative for me here as owner suggested it may be original paint...nope. Note that he never directly stated he was sure it was orginal paint - I just wish the painter cared a little more. One roll of masking tape would have gone a long way.

Doo dads...little mechanical stuff. OK...this car will never place in a Concourse event. IT has a lot of added things and things that were added and partially removed. The fuse box area has some additional wiring that will be traced and removed by yours truly. Have to go get another GOOD meter and logic probe. Bifg things James noted was a need for steering column rebuild (not in bad shape but I will do it sooner then later) and the suspension bushings are starting to progress towards rubber dry rot. They still hold nicely and there is no bad squeaking or popping. Very slight squeak at RR of car. I will put refresher on all the bushings to shut that up.

Electrical - 2 running lights were out with no power. This is the problem that I required to be fixed. I was not taking the car without it passing a state inspection. That would be a failure point. All other power equipment worked (pretty well!) with the exception of the radio and one power mirror. The mirror works but it grinds a bit. I was quite pleased with the windows. The very first thing I will do is have the ancient cell phone cables removed and have the radio checked for a pulse. I really want all the non stock wires removed.

Interior - The leather does not show its complete age but it is clearly not brand new. Armor all will be its friend. Carpets and other areas should look new when I get done cleaning and sealing them. The interior exceeded my expectations by a pretty large margin. There are some things that have clearly been refurbished in the car and also some things have been put back together slightly wrong (tillman, jim and james all spotted them) but they are very easy fixes I would complete after the first time I pull her apart anyway. Only anal comment here is that the area behind the driver/passengers' heads was recovered wrong. Does not match fabric. I am guessing the fabric was ruined as some fabric soiled. I can clean it. I like the interior. All gauges work.

Wheels and tires. Although I do not love the wheels tires, I will likely keep them for a while as they are in great shape. It is shod with Good Years and I loooooove me some good years. Big plus here. Wheels and tires absolutely scuff free.

Engine. Yup - it leaks. Not bad but she is a little moist down there. On the road it ran smoot, pulled hard, shifted tight (in a good way), no grinding, no noises or rattles (NONE!!), engine sound was fantastic, steering was fine (see previous notes - James felt the need for a rebuild, I could not feel it due to lack of experience), brakes have 50% pad life left and grabbed well according to James. Car tracks straight. James says they all leak - I accept that. The way the car drove exceeded my expectations. All holes are fine. James talked me out of a Pressure test/Leak down. I listen to experience and he said he would know if it was going to fail.

Why was the fuse box cover off? Who knows what the third fuse from the left does? It cuts out the fuel pump. The car has a bit of a starting problem as it floods itself. The fix is to pull the fuse, start it then let it die (this clears the flooding) - reinstall fuse - start car. This is something that is being fixed before delivery. Owner said it would not be a problem. His funeral if it is. The panel has been on and off every time it was started hot (starts fine cold) so I was happy to know the answer to this question.

Misc. Brake fluid was merky...will flush. Rear hood struts work when they feel it - will replace when I feel like it. Left Rear inner fender panel was butchered when reinstalled after service once. It is on there but modified to make it fit. Not sure if I will tweak this or not. Will put the eyeballs on it when I can. Front grill and metal not factory. Front clip after market. Tiny dings on paint. Plug wires need attention. Some mounts snapped off on cyl head. Front hood challenging to open...easy adjustment.

There was good and bad a you can see above. The car was just slightly less quality then I expected but the fundamentals are there. Frame is megastraight, engine runs nicely, tranny sweet, looks good overall. James turned it on its ear for about 4 hours or so to find all the stuff he found. He is good! Highly recommended. The dealer was complaining about how he nitpicked the car. That is praise in my book.

Most everything I saw was simply due to age, not neglect. Those things I consider neglected are not safety or performance related.

This car is pretty close to what I was looking for. I really wanted an 85 308 QV as they are quite rare. Only 200 or so made in 1985!! I also love black. And it is quite black.

Well, that about covers it. I will have an electronic copy of my PPI from Norwood's soon and will be glad to show it to anyone wondering what is covered on a PPI.

The next few days are going to be loooong. I think I will put in some weekend hours and 12 hour days prior to delivery as I know the day it is delivered will be an "Out of the Office" experience.

Pictures did not come out great as Norwood's is kind of dark inside. Pic Ken Griffey's F40 came out pretty well though...400 miles...89 or so model...THAT IS A SIN!!! New owner supposedly will driver her.

Thanks to Jim, Tillman and Luigi for coming by and expressing your opinions. You Ferrari guys rock. I will do my best to maintain that kind of helping and friendly passion for these cars.

-Mike

 

Blue Devil Luigi - the original for sure. He towed the Diablo to Lambo Dallas and is hopefully on the way back to the Woddlands now (with all the work completed). They got a later then expected start on the work today. He cam by Norwood's at about 1PM. Had a good long talk with James about Lambo service too.

 

250 for the PPI without compression test.

150 with comp test.

Report is 3 pages long. Took James about 4.5 hours give or take distractions.

 

Armor All leather treatment is what I meant. Not the regular stuff. Regular Armorall, leather motorcycle seats and hard braking do NOT go together. Rackem up!

I will check out Leatherique.com too.

you get my post about the fuel pump fuse??? That is what was making "mine" hard to start today.

 

I did not see it. I got up way early for the drive to Dallas and did not get a chance to head over to Lambo of Dallas. I hope Luigi got out of there tonight. He may end up there overnight.

"Lamborghini of Houston"

You know...that has a ring to it. Too bad I do not have the bucks to ring that bell.

 

I have yet to see that 77 GTB in Spring. The car is owned by a collector and to see it I have to set up an appointment to look at it (he has to drive it to the shop). I will try to go have a look after my Ferrari comes in on Wednesday. The owner is driving it down here for a last hurrah.

I will make a post about the 77 GTB when I see it. There is also a 84 GTS QV near my Dad's place in Sugarland (SW Houston). I am going to go try to see that one next weekend. Owner wants to see mine and go over all the reaseach I have done.

 

Got the car today. Runs like a scared rabbit. Smooooooooooth as glass engine feel and I can tell you the year of any dime I run over or stop on. I am telling you guys, these cars are WAY undervalued. Additionally, it is my opinion that now is a buyer's market.

I have to give her a hand bath tonight but I will take some pictures after finishing a detailing. Can't show her to the world any other way. If I had not had a horridly stressful week at work I would be out there now doing it. OK...I'll go now.

The electrical problem poked its head up again by the way...so Tillman and Jimpo problem number one hit at ZERO miles driven by me. Popped the right side running lights fuse the second time I cylced the lights. Weeeee. Posted on the technical forum about the problem. I think I have a temporary fix that will suffice until I can get a detailed and understandable (yes, those are usually mutually exclusive) wiring diagram of the car.

-Mike