Ebay Mondial in Lafayette

There's a red / tan Mondial T cab w/ Valeo (ZFFRK33A6P0096235) from Lafayette on Ebay right now (I don't have any financial interest in the car nor do I know the seller, I just thought it was interesting). Anybody ever drive one of the Valeo cars? It sounds technically interesting, although I think I wouldn't want to own one.

 

"...Valeo...technically interesting, although I think I wouldn't want to own one."

Neither would I.

 

I purchased the car, I was not too sure about the Valeo, but I actually like it. It is very easy to use and my wife can drive the car. It is actually a very easy and quick throw to swith gears. I understand that the gear box is the sam, just that the valeo electronically engages and disengages the gears and has saftey features to prevent you from making a fatal shift.

ANY WAY I AM LOOKING FOR SOME TECHNICAL SPECS ON THIS SYSTEM, IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

 

According to "Original Ferrari V8" by Keith Bluemel:

"Late in the production period of the Mondial t, a fully automatic clutch, developed by the French company Valeo, was introduced as an option. This innovative development gave two-pedal operation without sacrificing a normal gearchange. The heart of the system was a sophisticated electronic control unit that received information from sensors on the ignition switch, gear lever, throttle, gearbox input shaft and gearshift position mechanism. The 'brain' then read the information obtained and transmitted a message to an electro-mechanical clutch actuator (mounted on the bellhousing), which engaged or disengaged the clutch in less than 100 milliseconds. The system incorporated numerous safety features, preventing the car being started if in gear, or preventing selection of too low a gear on downshifts relative to road speed, with a warning buzzer to indicate the problem. This also sounded if a gear was engaged with the door open, or if the driver tried to pull away in too high a gear."

There are also a couple of road tests of Valeo cars in "Ferrari 328 - 348 - Mondial - Ultimate Portfolio" from Brooklands Books, ISBN 1 85520 4258.

Enjoy the car!
Mike

 

Thanks for the info. With each drive this system continues grow on me more and more. It is actualy quite amazing how fast the shifts are.

 

French engineering (read peugeot) + installed in a Italian Car = Expensive repairs

 

Mike,

As you may be right with a mechanic that does not have a clue about the "Valeo" clutch, you underestimate a skilled mechanic with the proper documentation. I have a mechanic that has worked on Ferraris for 25 years and is quite reasonable. I understand that a mechanic's fear of the unknown can create additional "expense" for any repair they are not familiar with. I am confident that it will not be as expensive as you are inplying to repair.

Gio

 

The list of cheap repairs on a Ferrari is a very short list.

 

Make that frequent expensive repairs. And I just fixed the insulation om my cars engine lid for $50.00

 

About time you took care of that.

Stick, F1, or semi automatic tranny - sure as heck ain't no cheap repairs in any of those.

I think the 456 automatic takes the cake for expensive tranny repairs.

 

I'm not the one who said that it would be $$ to fix; sadly, I'm not an owner and haven't had any first hand experience with repair bills.

 

Gio knows that I have one also. I'm flat nuts about mine! The driving experience is that of driving a stick but, baby - when the freeway gets clogged (Los Angeles), it's Valeo to the rescue!!! The longer I have her ("Rachel", the car), the more I appreciate her uniqueness.

Cheers, Hank

 

Mike,

Sorry, I addressed the reply to the wrong person. At any rate my only point was that I don't think that the repairs on the Valeo will be "much" more than on the "standard" gear box. I am sure it will be expensive as any clutch work is. Hell, if you sneeze on a Ferrari it could cost you.


And by the way, for those of you who have not driven a Mondial T with Valeo, you should find one and drive it, it is simply awsome.

Gio