I need your opinions. Here is my situation: I purchased a 95 355 spider 6spd with 34k mi in march 09. Got it at a good price after it cleared a PPI and an engine out belt service ( not bearings since they were done in 2006). Since then I have had to replace the oem headers (hole in them prevented passing inspection in Va) with tubis. I have also replaced all four tires, recovered the seats with oem leather, put in an expensive stereo, replaced the battery, put in a new trickle charger, replaced water pump belt and bearings and done various little repairs/restaurations to it. I LOVE this car. Now comes the hard part: it is consuming twice the amount of oil that it should. Also a borescope revealed a deteriorating sleeve in one cylinder and a compression test (which I did not do at PPI) shows two cylinders greater than 10%. I am told by a highly regarded mechanic that it is probably the valve guides and when I take care of that might as well redo the sleeves. We are talking around 20k!!!! What would you do?? Reapir or replace knowing what the market is and that I want to get the same car?
I would just fix it if I were you since you sank that much effort & $$$ into it already. If you try to sell it now you won't get much out of it since any educated potential buyers of any 355 would request a PPI (with proper compression AND leak down tests) which then would show your existing problem. Sorry to hear this is what you have to go through....it's painful but true.... Lesson learned: a proper PPI would ALWAYS include a compression test. If numbers from such compression test come out questionable then a Leak Down test is a must!
So what kind of PPI did you have? You said you got it after it cleared the PPI, then you say the the compression was not done during the PPI. Who did the PPI for you, a Ferrari mechanic?
It'll be a tough sell in that condition. I'd say with 99% certainty you'd get beaten down pricewise much more than whatever cost you would incur fixing it. Gary Sharpe can make your heads as good as new; and for a small premium, he can port and polish the heads for you and make your 355 noticeably faster than it is now. It'll pull like a 360. No joke.
I was offered the compression test but told that it wasn't REALLY necessary given that the car pulled hard and did not burn oil excessively. Being a novice I declined. The mechanic was not a certified by Ferrari but apparently worked only on F cars and Lambos. I do not want to name him as I think he is a genuinely honest and knowledgeable guy. He inspected everything else and uncovered some minor issues. He even replaced two rear tires at his expense when he missed dry rot on the inner walls due to using drive up ramps instead of a lift. He discovered his error when he did the engine out service after purchase.
In this situation I would have the engine rebuilt, once its back in the car you should be set for 10's of thousands of miles. Is there any indication as to why the liners are worn?
Did you take it to Competizione for the estimate or FoW? If Richard or Fernando gave you that estimate, I'd probably go with it otherwise have them take a look. Actually, the price doesn't sound too far off for a resleeve.
It was Fernando hat I trust completely. I have never met ANY professional who knows his craft better than Fernando that includes doctors, lawyers, engineers and all the rest! I am just looking at the finances of it all and I think as many have suggested here that I will keep this car and give it the attention it deserves so that by Spring Thaw it will be the best F355 around (notwithstanding present company Monte ;-) ) Thanks to everyone for their input. I'M KEEPING IT!!
Glad to hear and you will have the nicest 355 in the area.....for now ;-) I've got some winter projects up my sleeve. BTW, our cars will likely be up there together. They're doing my belt service this winter.
Good call! and Thank You for saving another F355 from going down the toilet by having the courage to step up to the plate. I know it's gonna cost you some $$$ but you're doing the right thing....Good for Ya!
That is unfortunate, I am sorry to hear that... what's happened is water under the bridge as they say, considering everything that you've done to the car; factoring in all the time/energy/money that you've put into it coupled with the fact that you love the car, your making the right decision by not bailing on your 355! The way I see it you have a couple of options: 1. Have the motor completely rebuilt and upgraded along with a few other goodies immediately, with a bit of luck have it produce 450+/- HP 2. Just keep driving and enjoying the car while remembering to check and add oil as needed, then when it's time for the next major service have everything done in one shot, (a nice side benefit would be that there would always be fresh oil in the motor). Either way once you do all the work you will have a very nice, well sorted car... possibly the nicest in the area next to Monte's of course , that you can enjoy for several years without worry or any major expense. Remember the 355 Spider really is a peak experience out on the open road!!! Keep us posted on what you end up doing.
Funrrari What ARE you doing on Fchat at 2:30 am???? Thanks for your advice. This novice needs all the help he can get!
NP - I would seriously consider beefing up your motor when you get round to it since it's going to be on the operating table anyway... which reminds me I have to figure out what little projects I'm going to tackle over the winter, last year I renovated the heat/AC panel, replaced the cracked/faded center caps, replaced a seat tilt lever and detailed the car to within an inch of it's life - Ha ha, my goal is to make the car a little better each year. On the weekend after the little people go to sleep which is not until midnight now days with my 7 y.o. - then i get a little me time which explains the late night post, (of course I don't have to worry about getting up at the crack of dawn on the weekend).
Question for you. What exactly does "deteriorating sleeve" mean? What is the cause of the deterioration? Can it be addressed with a hone? The point I'm trying to get to is heads off for a valve guide job would be substantially cheaper and will address you most pressing issue. A scratched cylinder thats not getting worse may be something you could put off or maybe a simple cylinder hone could fix it.
