Early Testarossa

This has been discussed ad nauseam in the past. The search function is your friend.

 

Off the top, I know the single side mirror challenges your rearward vision.

The single wheel nut needs proper torquing or could fly off at speeds [this is not a design flaw].

Width of the rear makes it prone to curbing so check the right rear side for evidence of wheel, suspension, or fender damage.

Engine is bullet-proof [unless shot at with .357 magnum ].

Happy hunting!

 

Drives like a tank at low speeds due to no power steering still the most beautifull car I have seen.

 

I've never had, nor driven, the high single mirror TR, but my basic answer to your question would be "no" -- since you already pointed out the only significant one IMO (single-bolt-wheels -- and I'd have to give a double-minus if they are 415mm).

In the US TR SPC, you can see that they redesigned a few things:

warning light ECUs -- three times -- never got it right -- early or late you'll probably need to replace .

steering column -- three times, but I've never heard of anyone ever "updating" to a later one.

AC unit and control switch -- 2 and 3 times, but again never heard of a preference for a particular flavor.

I'm sure there's more, but even a GB version/K-Jet without Lambda/no-cats TR isn't going to be that much different than a US version/KE-Jet with Lambda/cats TR -- JMO.

 

On the earlier TR's, you won't have to worry about the "mouse" seat-belts either

Another common failure point on these are the fuse panels. Mine was replaced with a new one by the previous owner shortly before I bought the car.

They're a blast to own and drive!

 

I too like the look of the early single mirror cars.

With practice you can overcome the lack of the passenger side mirror by adjusting the drivers mirror and center mirror to compensate coupled with additional monitoring of traffic on that side of the car as you drive, a common activity when driving large trucks with blind spots, it takes practice but becomes second nature after a while.

Some single lug cars had metric rims and others 16". The metric rims are enough to drive me away from the car because of the extremely limited choices in tires available, most of which are of 25 year old technology. 1988.5 brought 5 lug hubs and modern tires.

The A/C's were improved starting in 1988.5 as was the rear suspension if I am not mistaken.

 

I still don't understand the metric rim issue...

I have an 87, single nut, with pilot sports on it which were dealer installed(not metric). Are all single nut cars metric? I assume no?

 

It was a midyear 86 change. 85-early 86 had TRX.

 

My 88 1/3 just happened to have the dual mirrors but still retained the single wheel nut! [the previous owner obtained a pneumatic wheel nut socket and threw it in along with a nice long Snap-On ratchet handle]

To me the extra side mirror is a measure of protection for the right side of the car: because it extends out beyond the WIDE rear fender I know she will avoid the garage if the mirror clears.

 

According to Coker the compounds and construction methods have improved with time on the TRX. And admittedly have their limitations compared to todays top notch tires. But if you consider that tire is more than sufficient for 99.9% of the type of driving that can be done on US roads, other than the bling factor of larger wheels and thinner tires there's really no reason for this to be a deterent IMHO.

 

No, I looked at a 1987 with single nut 16"

 

Except for cost from Coker. 800+@ set for 390 mm's (308 tires) versus 4 to 500 for 16".

Thanks for the clarification on the improved compunds.

 

Ton,
If I may mention another Ferrari chat site, let me reccommend the Testarossa/TR buyer's guide at:

http://www.ferrariforum.com/classified/guides.php#40

 

Both the single-bolt and 5-lug TR wheels came in 415mm metric or 16" -- so there are 4 possible "stock" wheel combinations on a TR. If you've got a set of the the single-bolt 16" wheels -- be happy

 

Ton,

As a very long time 86TR owner my personal experience has been nothing but fantastic. Do your search carefully of course, books, records...blah,blah blah.

I have the 1 bolt, and yes make certain they are torqued correctly to avoid flying off. With that said, check all four corners during purchasing to see paint work to help identify this.

Orginal exhaust, I have but have almost never used. I have a borla with no cats, sounds perfect, and never have to worry about overheating. The 86 with orginal had a tendency to heat up and burn the cats through and potential fires in the early TRs, also check for that type of paint work in the engine compartment.

Odds are all the little upgrades were probably done by now since the car is 20yrs, someone along the way would have fixed them or else the car is a rat.
example, upgrade from ferrari for the water pump, upgrade cap for the rad. little things of that nature.

As for the fuse panel, never had electrical issues(knock on wood) and my car was never tempered with I have orginal radio as well. I would suspect some of the cars that had radio upgrades and the like were botched and things may have caused these issues.

All in all, they are perfect, dont do burn outs because the trannys are the weakest link, and dont slam it in 1st to 2 for your tranny and sycros. My car just hit 55,000k and its been headache free.

Good luck in your find.

PS....that single fly mirror is the reason why the car looks the best of all the TRs

Cheers !
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I didn't think visibility was an issue in the '85 TR I drove. The view out the side and rear is suprisingly good.

Like you, I'm a big fan of this design. Biggest fault seems to be electrics. Good luck.

 

Same here -- I had zero problems with visibility in my '85 TR (Euro). It also had the high mounted mirror on the passenger side -- which was completely useless as you'd have to nearly be laying in the passenger's lap to see anything in that mirror...more of design asthetics / visual balance / type thing, I'd guess.

On a side note: Be sure to check the condition of the rubber distributor cap boots, as they are a small chore to replace! Might want to also check the rear decklid for proper adjustment / release (takes a bit of toying around with to adjust properly if needed), decklid / front boot lift shocks (fronts are a bit tricky to access), rear decklid underhood lamp (mine never worked correctly), condition of wiring / lamp housings on rear clusters (wires sometimes get burnt by cats and lamp holders get brittle and break), proper fan operations, LED gauges (LED's can burn out over time), any body corrosion (along bottom panels, under door ledges, and along bottom of windshield), condition of original rims (I bought a set of US sized single-lug rims as spares and had them reconditioned for less than $500.00 at a local rim shop), rubber trim / dew wipes around windows, and front lower-lip spoiler (these are very easy to scrape simply pulling into your driveway, and often in need of repair / repainting). These are just a few "simple" items off the top of my head, but will vary from car to car.

Like others have stated, I personally love the early TR's as well.