Looking for coils for 89-90 LM002. Are they the same as the 91 Diablo?
I assume a F.I. model? Carb versions were still being built in 89/90. Late (90/91) Testarossa coils should work. If the trouble is the transistor module they can be purchased on their own through several channels. The coil itself rarely goes bad.
Hello there rifle driver I am new to Ferrarichat, was searching for advice on becoming a Ferrari technician and was wondering if you could help? I am very determined and will do anything in my power to work on Ferrari’s
I would strongly suggest another career path. The exotic industry has changed greatly and not for the better. Most in my circle consider ourselves the modern day version of buggy whip makers riding out the end of that industry in the early 20th century. The need for highly qualified people in this business is in the process of diminishing very rapidly with quality opportunities and chances of good income following close behind. I was very recently having this conversation with one of the principals of a famous Ferrari restoration house. He lamented that the business they built will not be able to sustain itself with the direction of the industry after he is gone and really wondering if there was even a direction to turn the company that made sense or use of the talents and institutional knowledge they had created. I recently spoke to one of my former counterparts, a shop foreman at a very large and well known Ferrari dealer. He asked how I liked being out of the dealers and I asked him how he liked spending his day fixing infotainment systems? He admitted that is what it was coming to.
Do you not feel there's a niche market for the likes of yourself (or new people with your skills and passions) going on for years maintaining the classic cars of today? Yes - the new car market has shifted and these days a computer science degree is more useful than mechanical knowledge, but that will never work for the classic cars - once your generation of skilled mechanics have retired, who will be left to service the classic fleet?
Ability to deal with the electronics is not the issue, many like me can and do every day. The money is shrinking and the qualified people are half or more of the way through their career . The demands for people is getting smaller at a far greater rate than people available. Hardly a good choice career wise. When the cars were built in small numbers there were enough interested owners to bear the high expenses. Later cars are plentiful enough it will make little sense to put a lot of money in one to keep it on the road. We are already seeing that and it will get worse going forward, The man power requirements are going to shrink going forward, they already are and that issue will accelerate. The industry has quite a few people and the pie slice keeps getting smaller. Not effecting me nor will it as long as I am likely to work but not a good place to be starting off.. Like I said, it is the buggy whip business.
I wasn't questioning ability with electronics - but I wondered what will happen to the current fleet of non-electronic classics (Countachs, Ferrari 308s etc) once there's nobody left like you? I for one plan to bring my future 308 to you and not to Ferrari of Austin - but I feel the classic car market isn't going away, so there's still some room for a niche market of technicians like yourself, but I guess that market will not grow - they're not making a lot of 70s and 80s cars any more. Much like a friend complained that the 80s station on SiriusXM repeated a lot of music - had to tell him they're not making new 80s music any more.
They will always be supported but it will take a very small percentage of the people currently employed in the business to do so. That was why I responded to someone wanting to enter the business. Very bad idea. You can still get buggy whips made too by extraordinary craftsmen. It just costs more, a lot more. Once there were thousands of buggy whip makers. Now there are probably a small handful world wide. That is all that are required to service the worlds needs. Ferrari mechanics in the traditional sense are going the same way.
I agree. The new cars are overproduction throw always... who will maintain them? Who cares. It is and always will be about the classics, and there are enough guys to go around to deal with those.
When I started, what we consider classics now were drivers. We serviced them regularly. Then they became a car that was used from time to time for a special occasion and we fixed them from time to time. Now they are museum pieces and we restore them. Not far off they will become like brass era cars and the people they were important to will die off and they will collect dust somewhere. In the Ferrari world nothing replaced them. The cars from even the early 80s are too common for anyone to lavish that trouble on and the replacement for those cars will be cared about even less. How many people will need to replace me to keep that going? Anyone considering jumping into that labor pool is nuts.
That is truly sad to hear but Ferrari surly will continue to change their vehicles with the demands of the market u don’t believe that the new vehicles will require technicians that are simply trained in a different form for diagnostics?
The skill sets have become too rare and too expensive and the technology and manufacturing methodology require it less and less. It is becoming more a matter of plugging in a new component much like the servicing a subway car. The industry has wanted to and is moving towards this for a long time. For the sake of costs and availability of people they will require little more knowledge and skill than a kid working at 7-11. It would be going towards automation if they could.
My shop currently has a nice 63 E type, 89 Countach, 61 Sprite and a 98 355 engine rebuild , the appeal of exotics has left the building as it were, I am now content to ENJOY my work rather than stress over the late model electronics. Set for closing end of 2019 then I will just hang around a few select friends/customers. Not just us techs, same for painters/upholsterers/fabricators. As Brian says, shrinking market, and it will get worse
