Mondial t Cab Major Service at WWoC: A Report

My 1989 Mondial t cab came back from a 2 week vacation at Wide World of Cars in Spring Valley, NY last Saturday following her 5yr major service. The car was running very well before undergoing the major and I was hoping that she would come back in at least the same condition. I've read stories about cars that have been "unbalanced" by major service work and have required countless follow-up visits to fix.

There was an initial scare upon delivery when my cockpit experienced early Christmas and the parking brake light would not turn off, the water temp fluctuated between 160 and 250 and the high temp warning light turned on and off, and the shock absorber control unit warning light would not turn off. The reverse lights also did not work. Yow! Back on the flatbed she went to Spring Valley. As I ate turkey last Thursday, I wondered if I had made a terrible mistake...

It turns out it was a simply the fuse for the reverse lights, wipers, and the shock absorber control unit. I do not know if it was a genuine surge or a mechanical (jostling) failure during the service, but when the fuse blew it unbalanced the system and made the water temp sensor freak out. Ferrari electrical systems are switchy even when running well, as you all know. At idle my tach is stable until I turn on the headlamps, at which point it starts to wiggle. Lights plus the cabin dome light makes it dance between 900-1100 rpm. Touch the throttle to get the voltage back up and it immediately becomes steady.

I have put 100 miles on her in the past few days and I would say the car is running somewhat "smoother," especially now that I have Redline synthetic in the gearbox, but again -- she was no basket case before the major. Water temp consistently runs at 185 and I've noticed that my oil temp is lower than before, at around 190 instead of just shy of 210. That may well be because ambient temp is now ~50 here instead of 65.

The service staff, led by Justin Stewart, were great. The major service was scheduled within the 90 day dealer warranty and my punchlist of items -- including sticking rear power windows, shrunk window mouldings, loose door sill screws, chewed-up convertible top latches, a/c issues, etc. -- was addressed without pushback and each item was resolved to my satisfaction.

The cost was what you'd expect for a Mondial major from a reputable dealer. It's a grand in parts (many parts!) and X times that in labor but I have no time or skill to do any of this work myself so that's it.

Also: There's a nice '93 512TR on the floor. And if you're really in the sporting mood, an Enzo, too.