Eau de Ferrari

what did the leak test says? at this test you not can see if the valve stem seals are broken, hard or not work anymore right. at a leak test you only check the piston rings and the valves if they are tight or not.

the engine ( so exhaust ) is smoking blue after stoping the engine an dtsrat again after a few minutes? or smoking blue after longer time downhill driving without much accelerating?

you may distinguish between smoke and smell

 

Valve stem seals fixed 90% of my smoking.

 

when it comes from them - then 99%
but I had once a 250 engine with broken oilrings

but to change the valve stem seals it is not so much work and I would do this first. you not even have to put out the cams

 

The carbs, fuel tank and fuel lines will also need to be checked.

 

has nothing to do with smell and smoke

 

You can certainly smell gas if the tank and fuel lines are leaking.

 

the thread opener is not telling about fuel smell

 

Actually, the original post DOES mention gas as one of the odors.

 

sure?
I read something about burned gas, not only gas, but may be because of language problems I see it different

here is what john has written. do you read there something about gas smell?

So I took a 2 1/2 month break from my 365 Gt 2+2 because I got a 96 LT4. Yesterday I took the Ferrari out and the smell of burned oil, gas, etc was even more powerful than I had remembered. My clothes definitely smelled after the hour long drive. The car had a leak down test two years ago and it was determined the car needs valve stem seals. For those of you who have replaced the valve stem seals, did it reduce the smell or did you have to do a full rebuild before the smell went away?

 

I read it as a list of the smells. Burned oil (one smell)...comma...gas (a second smell)...comma...etc (covering anything else...). BUT...arguing semantics is not productive...maybe the OP could clarify...

I restore old motorcycles and my approach is to ask the question: Did the vehicle __________ (fill in the blank)__________ when new...?

After 30 or 40 or 50 years, too many things are chalked up to "they all do that." IOW, the age of the vehicle is used as an excuse for what is really an abnormality. A collective group of worn out vehicles becomes the norm. When in reality, the 'romantic' smell of an old car is really the smell of a worn out engine, leaking fuel fittings and hoses, belts rubbing, etc.

Some of these things can be ignored, while others might greatly increase the chances of an engine fire, etc. Bottom line is: if they didn't do it when new, then something is amiss.