Maintenance. How hands on are F-chat owners?

I definaty do all of my own work on the Ferrari. This is because I like working on it and the closest place to have work done is over 2000 miles away. If there was a great shop close by there are a few things I would have them do but for now it's all up to me.

 

I'm between a 2 and a 3. In some ways, I bought mine partly to work on. I am a Ferrari fanatic and needed something to teach me some patience. Also, I was keen to take the car apart so that I could really know the condition underneath.

I chose an early 308 because I thought working on it would be within my capabilities. So far I've replaced the suspension and steering, restored the interior and also replaced/upgraded a lot of the wiring and electrics as well. I do the work over the winters as I can't drive really it from Dec to Apr due to the salt on the roads here. Next up is some engine and carb work next year.

Anyway some before and after pics of the suspension work and interior from previous years. No gearbox internals... yet. It's true to say that I would not be so confident to tackle some of these things if it were not for Ferrarichat and its members.
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Bloody hell mate!! What was so wrong with that car that you had to pull it apart like that?

 

You must be driving that Speciale fairly hard to need pads already as it can't be that old. Rock on!

As for mechanics..... I do most of my own work, but have no problem passing it on when I get stumped. Right now I'm chasing a hot start problem with my CS that is a bit frustrating. If anyone has wiring schematics for a Stradale, PM me if you don't mind sharing.

 

That would be me in Las Vegas and Los Angeles I have a great one and each of these cities, and they take very good care of my car.

I did do a beautiful job of cleaning up the ashtray getting all the sticky stuff off after you guys told me how to do it

So I'm not completely useless and I do have some nice tools but I never use them haha.

Cheers

 

Guess what - we won "BEST of SHOW" again!

The car now has nearly 182,000 miles.

If anyone is interested, I will post some pictures of the engine work.

Bob Z.
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I've never seen a 330 GTC with whitewalls. I like to work on my cars.

 

Beautiful Ferrari! I would love to see engine work photos.

 

While I am sure that many posters are very competent mechanics, it is not unusual to find threads where the OP has an excess of confidence over ability. There are some real horror stories, where very expensive damage has been done by a well meaning enthusiast. A shiny set of 'Snap On' spanners does not guarantee good skills!

Often well regarded professionals step in to try to help out those in trouble, but their knowledge usually includes techniques learned from many years of experience.

When I was young I enthusiastically pulled apart and rebuilt several domestic cars, generally with success, but with Ferraris I know my limitations. Over 35 years of ownership I have done quite a few basic jobs on my GTC but I leave it to the experts when facing anything but the obvious.

It is clear that some have the requisite skills, but I would suggest that it is worth a bit of honest self appraisal before tackling some of the high risk jobs.

 

I believe that it is a misconception that "normal" cars need less knowledge and experience, when taking them apart. The principles of nature and engineering are valid for all machines.

In any case one needs to understand how something is designed and why it was designed in that way. This means to look, read, and think before tearing something apart. And sometimes you even come to the result that a technically inferior design was adopted for cost reasons only. Also in Ferraris . And have ideas how to improve this detail.

 

OK, John - here are a few photos for you.
I did all my own work except the valve work and connecting rod upper bushings.

Total cost around $6,500.00.

And, NO, I do not have any special skills: Just patience and perseverance.

Bob Z.
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Thank you, wonderful photos! Beautiful work!
I disagree, you do have special skills!

 

Wow, 182,000 miles!! Car still looks like new!

Amazing work mate. Anywhere else would have charged you $30K for that engine rebuild.

 

I'm impressed by the numbers in this poll.


Sadly a battery tender is a complicated job for me.

Anyone who can work on any car has my respect. IMO it's a huge talent.

I'll cook the pasta and the sauce, I can cook, not wrench cars.

 

I build and maintain my bicycles (well over 20 of them at this point), and do some of my own motorcycle maintenance. I do virtually none of my own car work at this point, Ferrari or otherwise. Too little time, skill and patience.


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Just like my loved wife. So what you then need is a woman being able to wrench everything on classic or modern supercars. There are supposed to be some around (such women) .

You know, it is absolutely great having done a bit of greasy work during whole Saturday, just give yourself a quick wash-over, go into the dining room and there it is, a magnificent pasta with sauce or homemade pizza. Jum! She would love you!

 

Just did a track day on Wednesday. Guess all the heat ended up cracking the exhaust bracket on my Tubi. Pulled the back end apart yesterday, pulled the exhaust out, re-welded it and had it back together from start to finish in 3.5 hours. Even though I'm bringing it in for oil change this week, the non-messy stuff is fun to do.