Question for Stooge Brain Trust

Fatbillybob, don't waste your breath!

If it were my 328 purchase I would do a complete major based on the car's age and 10 year service interval. Probably needs fuel lines, coolant hoses etc. Items that are in general not addressed on these cars until failure.
I would want the timing and valves adjusted to insure they are to spec. Seals replaced due to age/sitting.
I, like Fatbillybob, do all my own service. The service can be done correctly with the engine in the car. Unless all the rubber items and seals were addressed 10 years ago, I would guess the $5500 estimate is a bit light.

 

Trojanfan,

Buy it, swap the belts and tensioners and drive it!

Be warned. You will find out that it's never the belts that are problematic. It is the water pump, the hose underneath the plenum, the old ignition wires, the protection relay, the cracked distributor cap, the throttle cable, the shift shaft seal.

Don't sweat the cam timing on a 275 HP Motor. I put a degree wheel on mine and the factory marks were dead on, to 1.5 degrees off. I chose not to mess with it,

Valve adjustment? At 45,000 miles, 2 of 32 were 0.001 of an inch too big. If I used a different feeler gauge, it was just in spec. So I left those alone too.

Now, leaky seals. I did two belt swaps on mine 6 years apart. THe second time, I did remove the cam covers and disturbed the status quo, so afterwards, the front bank cam seals leaked on to the exhaust and smoked like a train. Did it again, took 2 days. Damn. Lost that bet! At least I was able to adjust the two valves. Your mileage may vary on this. I would not do this if someone was paying me to work on their car.

Buy it, swap it, drive it, be prepared to do more. You are not a novice, and you turn your wrench. Roll the dice.

 

Doing only what is necessary is not doing it wrong. And doing what is unnecessary doesn't ensure anything is done right. In fact, it gives you more chances to screw up and do something wrong.

Another old professor also said, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". And one thing that abounds in Ferrari land is fixing stuff that ain't broke.

 

I for one, would love to hear your "dirty little secret" about cam timing. This is a recent example of how precise the marks are from the factory. This is enough to affect performance. The other three are similar.

I suggest that your experience with Ferrari is somewhat unique. As original purchaser, you have had control over who handled your car over it'seems nearly three decades. There is a more or less clear trail back to Maranello for you. Most comparable cars have had two or more (some many more) owners and "mechanics" that have had their hands on things with unknown result. You are free to make any choices you wish regarding your own car but I discourage you from recommending that others cut corners.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

It's worth noting that in cars driven with too much "respect", performance loss from poor cam timing will not be noticed.

 

LOL!

If it lives it's life in the garage, it doesn't much matter either.

 

So, you guys are suggestion a car that runs like a top will need timing adjustment? Belts can obviously be changed without the need to adjust timing.

 

Belts can be changed without adjusting timing. Need to? That's another question. Only by checking timing can "need" be determined.
Cam timing adjustment (and I'm sure you know this, Dave) is a performance item. An adjustment of as little as 1/2 degree makes a performance difference. One way for low end, another for top end. That's why newer cars have variators. They adjust cam timing for maximum performance at given rpm's, whereas fixed cam timing as on 355s and earlier necessarily involves compromises.
An owner who uses his car for cruising at lower rpm's may think his (advanced) cam timing makes it "run like a top", whereas he's suffering a significant loss at the top end. And vice versa.
Unless he put it on a dyno, or raced an identical car with different or better timing, he might not be aware, though. Down 10 or 20 horsepower is very very hard to feel by the seat of your pants. That's small degrees of cam timing.
You may know what 10 deg off feels like, if you've ever gotten one a whole tooth off, but 1 or 2 deg is hard to feel...until you see somebody else's identical car leave you behind. That said, some owners adjust their cam timing by those amounts to change the performance curve.
Ferrari owners are usually meticulous people, or they wouldn't be successful enough to own a Ferrari. What surprises me is how many are meticulous about cosmetics but deny the need to be the same way about mechanicals.

 

That's fair and reasonable, Bruce.

 

Bruce, I'm with Dave on this. It's all reasonable and fair. But at the same time this obsession with max performance is just that. Even if you take the time to set the cam timing based in cylinder #1 there is no guarantee that it correct. This is because there is no guarantee that the lobe profile is correct. These cars are old (308s, 328s, 348,s and 355s). Lobes wear. Where a valve starts to open changes. Max lift changes. If nothing wore there would be no reason to adjust the valves on a 3x8 or 348 ever. And they wear unevenly form cylinder to cylinder. So just because you set the timing per spec doesn't mean performance is what it was designed to be unless you first spec the cam profiles. If you want max performance then you better start replacing plugs after every drive and tearing down the engine and replacing parts at least after every season because there is no way an engine is producing the same HP on a dyno after running a 1k miles on the street, let alone the track. Carbon build up alone will see to that. Forget cam timing. Additionally, I'd be willing to bet that 99.99% of all Ferrari owners would not be able to turn faster lap times with the same car with 5% more HP. That guy behind you and closing is probably a better driver. Swap cars and he'll still be catching you up. And for sure it is meaning less on the street. All that effort really gets you is different dyno numbers on the day the car leaves the shop. As you state, maybe better low end performance, maybe better top end, maybe some where in between. 5% more HP at 8k rpm may not be better that 5% more torque at 3k rpm. It can even be augured that cam timing should be set based on how the car is driven and by whom. How much speed to you carry out of a corner? How do you apply power? Do you easy into the throttle or slam it to the floor? Certainly that applies to suspension set ups and tire pressures on the track. None of this even makes sense on the street. I'm not talking about a car that jumps a tooth. Just the difference between a belt swap on a car which the timing was correct at the last major. Again, it's just part of the Ferrari mentality. Don't do it and you will be shamed and accused of Ferrari abuse. All it really does is pad the shop owners pockets and, perhaps boost the ego of the car owner. But contrary to popular belief, it doesn't make any part of the male anatomy bigger.

Anyway, I could go on but this conversation has gone way beyond the OP's question and, for sure, there will be no consensus one way of the other...because this is Fchat where nobody is right and everybody is wrong.

Bottom line, I had a great day out in the 355 and I didn't think about belt swaps or cam timing once.

 

If your in the motor take the time to get cam centerline's, TDC
Also do it before you change belts then compare before and after compression, data data data

At least thats what Smokey instilled in me, dont cut a corner

 

LOL...then why did you change the belts at all or even change your oil. So as a wise man said...post up your vin.