In Praise of a 328

My GF and I just came back from a very pleasant road trip from Calgary, AB, south down the #2, through the Crowsnest Pass, to Nelson BC for the weekend, and back though Kaslo, Nakusp, and across the ferry to Revelstoke and back to Calgary on the #1.
Great roads and a great car. My 89 328GTS, never missed a beat, held more than enough stuff for a weekend, was comfortable and lots of fun on the roads, which are some of the best I know. This route must be similar to the one taken by a bunch of other Ferrari's from Calgary, as the guy from the ferry told my last weekend a whole boat load went through.
An example of Ferrari Grand Touring at it's best. Pack a couple of bags, a cute girl, and go for the weekend somewhere far away...I'm proud of my dirty Ferrari with 1400km of bugs plastered all over it.
The 328 impressed, as the suspension is surprisingly compliant, the engine so flexible that you could just leave it in 5 for most of the mountain roads, and it had enough clearance to get on the Ferry! I was only partially deaf when we arrived, and my back was in good shape.
I've been thinking hard about a Boxer, but it occurs to me that the trip might not have been as much fun, what with the fixed roof and limited luggage space-and perhaps I'd be completly deaf afterward. Guess I need to make more money and have both! Or, come to think of it, a 365 GTC would have been a good car for the trip- heaven help me....
Cheers, Lawrence.

 

The #1 highway, or Trans Canada Highway, is the main freight corridor through the country and there are always trucks. Sometimes they are not that slow, which is frigntening, when say in the rain, at night, on the twistly mountain roads, you have one of these cowboys bearing down on you. S**t, they force me to go faster than I want...and I'm in a bloody sports car-though I don't think many owners would argue that a 328 is in its element in such conditions, with reflections everywhere, miserable headlights, and marginal wipers. Oh, and when they are going opposite direction there is that nice 2 sec blindness, water spray, and wind buffet, where you hope there is no corner coming because you have no idea where the road goes.
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On the other hand, All the roads in the Kootnays, which is South of the #1, were totally free of trucks, and there were, like 2 motorcycles for every car...Which is predictable, because if the trucks are unfun in a car, they must be really unfun on a motorcycle. It was fun driving with the motorcyles though the twisty's.

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As far as visibility is concerned, to tame the dash reflections on the front windscreen, I was thinking of one of those mouse fur pads for the dash, anybody know a source?
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I put a Tubi test pipe on to replace the Cat, and the reduction in heat is amazing. I like the deeper idle and mid range, but I think at the high end it is a bit thrashy-perhaps this is the nature engine installation, but... I'm thinking that the heat shields over the headers and the stock exhaust is resonating a bit. Anybody have any opinions about some headers? and whether it will sound a bit better over 5k?
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Other thoughts on the trip: Nelson and Kaslo are super cool. Nelson is a small town of maybe 10,000 people, and like 400 heritage buildings built on the slopes nest to a mountain lake. Arty and cool rather than commercial like Banff, for instance. Lots of wierd hippies. Very friendly, and terrific restaurants and cafe's. Funny looking kids...But *brave*: to get into Nelson from the South, there is a 10km steep decent on the highway. We're coming in, and there are these kids on skateboards, slaloming down the highway, at 30mph, no helmets, no pads. They just pull over, going even faster in a straight line, and we pass... Jeez..
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I think I need a Riva speedboat to keep there...

 

Oops, I meant the #22. Through Millarville, accross to Salmo, up to Nelson, Kaslo, Nakusp, Cranbrook, and back on the #1.

Funny we both took the same route... ZR's "Rocky Mountain Adventure" sounds fun with 30 or so cars, but it is a bit over the top for me. I was wondering how the 328 would keep up to the more exotic machinery, and I'm glad it kept up!

BTW, before the trip I complained of a low speed stumble when cold, and was directed to the warm up regulator etc. 1400 km of mountain driving, and it went away! Some truth to the "Italian Tune Up"

I was also impressed with the fuel mileage. I burned 147.5L for 1425km, which works out to 10.35L/100km, or about 27mpg (Imperial gallons). By comparison, my MB 300e manages 9.5L/100km and it has a smaller engine and turns at least 1000rpm slower than the Ferrari.

Lawrence.