thinking of buying a mondial any advice for me ? what model ? what to look for ? does the air con work OK any info would be great
Welcome to FerrariChat The search function is good and this topic has been covered many times. Try "buying Mondial" etc Here is a start: http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77699&highlight=buying+mondial
Here you find more Mondy nerds................ http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32278
I have a 355 and a Mondial t. The 355 is getting cobwebs! Best allround car Ferrari ever made IMHO. Shame about the price in Australia though.... Dave
Hi, and welcome to the board! As you can see from the first post, if you follow the included thread, I just bought my first Ferrari a few months ago. I picked up an '82 Mondial 8 with 33k miles. Here is what I've learned the last few months, mostly from this board: 1) This board has a lot of information on just about anything you would need to know. It also has a lot of great members willing to take their time to help and answer questions. 2) If you buy a Mondial you have to be prepared to take some ribbing from other Ferrari enthusiasts, especially a Mondial 8 as they are one of the slowest Ferraris from 0 to 60 (although for their time they were respectable.) On the other hand, the general public loves them and the press of the period raved over the chassis and handling. 3) Mondial 8's came with TRX wheels and tires. I’m not sure about the other Mondial models but I think the quattrovalvole did as well. Perhaps one of the other board members can confirm this. Nothing fits the wheel except the original 240/50-390 Michelin tires. There are threads on the board about wheel / tire combos if you want to replace them. If you want to stick to the original wheels the ONLY place you can get tires for them from is http://www.coker.com/store/customer/home.php. Coker bought the molds from Michelin. They cost about $470 each, US. 4) Find a car that has enough miles to show it has been driven regularly. When Ferraris sit around the seals dry out and leaks start. Also the belts will start to take a set and have a higher chance of failure. I’ve also read that the bearings in the cam belt tensioners will take a set as well due to the high sideways pressure they are under. Most of my research about cam belt failures points to the tensioners failing, not the belts. The tensioners fail due to bearing sets from lack of use. 5) Check for regular maintenance. A major service is expensive so try to find a car where it has been completed recently. I've been told by several sources that cam belts and tensioners should be changed every 15k miles or 5 years. There is much debate on this so do some research. 6) Check to see if the recalls were done. Mondial 8’s had 3 factory recalls. http://auto-recalls.justia.com/FERRARI-MONDIAL-8-1982.html 7) Have a PPI (Pre Purchase Inspection) done by a reputable shop. Putting the car on the lift is the only way to fully check it out. Ensure the boots are not ripped or torn. 8) If you are buying an older car expect to have to have the AC charged. I haven't had my car long enough to see how the AC holds up in hot weather so I can't help you there (yet.) 9) Buy a car in as good a condition as you can afford. An older higher mileage car in great shape will be a better buy than a new one that is a beater. Unless you plan on doing much of the work yourself, Ferraris can be very expensive to rebuild. However, Modial 8s and QVs are reported to be among some of the most reasonable Ferraris to run and maintain. If I think of anything else I’ll post again. Please let us know how you make out and post some pics of the car. Doug PS - just read a thread about a belt breaking on a 308 QV (http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=86341). You may want to ensure the belts and tensioners were changed in the last year.
Oh, and don't worry about not getting into 2nd gear until the gearbox has warmed up. They all do that.
Doug, I use GM's Synchromesh (also as a result of the F-chat boards)and the car finds 2nd gear even when the outside temp. is cold.
Yup. 15 degrees F today when I took her out; no problems with any gear changes right out of the garage.
tuftina, definitely take a look at an '86 or later 3.2 QV. Performance-wise, this is a vastly superior car to the early 3.0. With a sport exhaust and a few other relatively inexpensive tweaks this can actually be a pretty quick car. The 3.2 QV engine is a gem with good reliability. The '88 Mondials have ABS if that's important to you. The '86 and later cars have the integrated bumpers which is a cleaner look. The '89 and later Mondial t's are more expensive to maintain although the slight rounding out of the fender flares starting with that year certainly looks nice. One major thing to look for on a Mondial in pre-purchase stage is the fuse box. This is the one weak point of the car with many fuse boxes having overheated, frequently because of addition of aftermarket alarms and stereos. The cabriolets are great - best way to arrive at the restaurant with the family! Good luck, you'll enjoy a Mondial!
Not had a problem with 2nd gear ever. My regular car a Honda, has a worse gearbox than my QV. I have never missed a gear in the Mondial. Fuse box is worth checking out they can be a real pain. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54382 and http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34979
