Once again, thanks to all. Now I'm going back to bed...
Not so fast, hasn't bought anything, YET!!!! Tom Shaughnessy Praying Wayne buys a car before he posts for the 5000th time
Wayne, If the color is OK, if you believe the PPI, if the price is reasonable and if a GTE is OK for you, BUY IT! It may be a while before another car comes this close to your specs. On second thought, fly out and drive it, that way you will know whether it fits you. If you and Uro actually buy cars, we won't have anyone to root for. Regards, Art S.
Congrats, Wayne. This must be exciting ! I bought mine sight unseen, but I had a marque expert in NL (Arie Mandemakers of AME Engineering) do a thorough inspection and send me hi res pics on a cd-rom. I negotiated down a little based on the results of the inspection and pulled the trigger. I knew that the marital permission was not going to last... I also had a person currently on this board (Rijk !) translate for me when I dealt with Arie, who did not speak fluent English. Good luck with finalizing the transaction. Do e-mail all the price guides and let them know that the current valuations for GTEs they have in their guides are out of synch (they have the GTE topping out at $49K). Good luck, and I look forward to a virtual celebration and PICS, PICS, PICS !!!!!
I have been reading this post with great interest. Wayne you may recall, a few months ago I bought a Miura and you and I exchanged PM's about it. Given that it appears that the mechanical inspection is about as good as you are going to get for a car like this, my recommendation is to fly out to see the car. To me it's part of the experience and, the only one that can judge if the cosmetic condition of the car is to your satisfaction is you. By all means fly out, take a look at the car and bring your cashier's check. Look at it, test drive it, leave the check behind, bring the car with you. Alberto
Hi Wayne, The car sounds great. However, since you are the one writing the check, you should do what you feel most comfortable with. Besides, I can't think of a better way to become acquainted with your new purchase. Roadtrip! Shotgun Wishing you all the best!
Water Pump How does the factory store plan on repairing this and quoting the job? Unsure the technician even know of the possible problems internally and parts availability. On an old 250 it is generally not the seals failing, but the castings. There currently are no old (good) castings in the country, and the repros generally need rework. I do not think anyone has reproduction waterpumps domestically, I looked the other day, Italian's are out, chance one other fellow has them, plan on $1000 (600-700 Euros+dutyand shipping)+ installation + remachinework (?) JB Weld is not a permanent solution, just a bandage. Just more of that reality of owning an old (problems with 330 and 365 pumps too) Not design problems, castings deterioration dilemna. This is an OLD CAR! Tom Shaughnessy Ferrari Bits and Pieces
Damn Tom, this is exactly my problem! Casting Deterioration Dementia. CDD the hot new disease! Dr "Cracked Brain" Who
Diverting from topic: A friend and I fixed the badly cracked cast aluminum oilpan on my old '85 BMW635 CSi with JB Weld, it never leaked again in the two additional years I owned it. Amazing stuff, but I would have to think real hard about using it on a Ferrari V12, unless it was a temporary repair and a replacement part was on its way.
Go to expedia.com, get a plane ticket, check out the car yourself in person, drive it and experience it, if it is what everyone says it is, bring the check with you, do the deal and fly home confident that you made a good decision. No one will be more picky than yourself. This way you can't blame anyone except yourself. Freeman
Hi, Wayne. I hope your flu is better. I agree with the guys who recommend flying out to see it in person first. It's worth the time and money, neither of which should be too costly, especially when compared to price of the car and the time you may be living with it. But bring a check with you! Good luck! I hope it works out! --Matt
Thanks everyone, I'm feeling a little better today. We've made a deal on the GTE. I'm not flying out. The earliest that a transporter will be able to pick it up is January, however.
I have fixed old fatigued water pumps where a slight amount of water is seapng theough the casting by painting the inside of the pump with a spray waterproof epoxy coating. I have also gutted some water pumps for Alfas and bored out the bearing hole and used internals from Japanese pumps when NOS parts couldn't be found.
Wayne, congrats! Sending off the cashier's check for my 330 was a memorable and exciting event in itself.
Thanks Art. Strangely, it doesn't feel like anything yet, but I'm sure that'll change after it arrives.
Here's the only photo I have available to me here at work. I'll post better pics and all the details as soon as everything's signed and sealed. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Tom. You bug Wayne for weeks on this, practically demanding that he buy a car, he pulls the trigger, and the first thing you do is tell him that he's gonna have a hard time fixing his water pump. I'd hardly call that positive reinforcement. DM