High mileage F cars

I read several threads where people talk about the number of miles accrued on the F cars. Although I have a relatively newer F car, I owned several F cars beginning in 1970. In my opinion, the older models are less of a pain because of the simpler electrics. Some of the models I had were pooh-poohed by the F affcionados of the day. Today they have reached a long deserved elevated status. Their relability was awesome. And on the track, with everything in order and good tires, they would hold their own. The sound of the timing chain and exhaust can't be replicated. A sound that I miss. Don't get me wrong, the new stuff with the proper exhaust sound great, but are different. I have always had a F car since 1970. I guess I am pretty loyal in spite of being ripped off by some dealers.

I had a couple of 330 GT 2+2s. The 2nd one hit some where around 108K miles. Only thing I really needed to do to it was water pump seal, valve adjustment screws and updated the heads. Some electrical stuff, but very minor. Later I had the cams ground and modified the carbs, allowing me to keep up with the newer stuff at the time. The car was driven in blizzards- yuck- and every other kind of weather. It was my only car. It never let me down and had some very long trips with it.

A gentleman by the name of R. Spangler had a Lusso at the time. He commuted from NE Maryland to Tetterboro, NJ. He hit somewhere around 180K with it, with no problems. I think he has a lot of us beat. I know he did this driving over 3 to 4 years.

I had a Daytona (Euro version) for about 3 years and drove it 4 times a day. Never a problem. The same the 330 GTC. Both cars received 20 to 30K miles during my ownership. I had a few issues with the drivetrain of a 275 GTS. The previous owner was into drag racing it through the streets of Georgetown. I bought the update kit from Chinetti and it solved the problems. Great little car; it never missed a beat. Had it for 2 years and sold it to get the Daytona. I owned the Queen Mother. I didn't like it at first-but after taking a trip to Phoenix and back, I changed my mind. I did have a 275 GTB short nose and a 250 Cab. The short nose was a quick car. Someone offered me 3 times what I paid for it so I had no reason to keep it. A "Dino" 308GT4 fit in there too. Cute little car. Fun to drive.

I am not bragging. I had all of these when hardly anyone heard of the F cars and would drive to the Midwest for the Annual FCA meets. they were relatively cheap back then. It wasn't hard to love these cars. Never had a problem with them. The TR isn't bad either, just too much electrical stuff. Thanks to the guys here, I recieve great advice and was able to fix them. But, you kind of forget about the problems once you are in the seat and rolling on the road. Oh about the first Ferrari- it was a quad headlight 330 GT. For some kinky reason I loved the looks of it the first time I saw a pic of it in Sports Car Graphic. I road my bicycle home (I think I was about 14) and couldn't wait to read the test on it. A radiator hose broke on Christmas morning in the middle of the 14th Street Bridge in Washington DC. I had a friend search for a hose to fit. Didn't have the proper tags for it either since I just bought it 3 dyas before. We finally fixed it. Had many problems with that car- not routinely maintained was the issue. I finally got it sorted it out and it was doing better. My new wife fixed it for sure- by totatling it. Many parts from that car went to other F cars to keep them running.

I went to college just up the road from Chinetti's. I would go there every Friday night with my roommate just to see what was there. That was our date Friday night and then Saturday and Sunday we dated co-eds and townies. All I can say about Chinetti's was they were terrific people and showed me a lot about the cars. Once I became an owner, they treated me well, were honest, and of course a great source for parts. I heard other stories aobut them, but never met anyone who had any negative to say about them.

OK enough babbling. Have a great weekend everyone. Let's hope MS and the F team make their mark at the Spanish GP.