i will add that the dealer said he thought the first owner had ordered some kind of Japanese spec. i have looked that up a few times, and some of the aspects of my car match that, but some dont. as far as i know, the Japanese spec 512tr Speciales (there were only 15), - they were all LHD, mine is too - most were a darker red - almost maroon, and mine is rosso corsa. - they had the inner engine lid in body color , which mine does. - they had a plastic shield applied, mine does. - most had 3 piece wheels vs the standard wheels that mine has. so i am not entirely sure what the deal is. maybe @Marcel Massini can lend a hand. my vin is ZFFLA40B000093548
Engine out - Major Service Started Today A quick update. The Major Service started today. In addition to the Major service, the following issues were identified via inspection: it was identified that: (1) the gear selector seal was leaking ($1,700),(2) the heat shielding around the cats is loose ($ TBD) and (3) the crankshaft position sensor needs to be replaced ($ TBD) I have asked both the service dept and the body shop to provide progress pictures along the way so I can post them here, which they readily agreed to - please see below. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login Lewis, not that mine is for sale, but I have the car you were looking for. Mine also spent time in Japan and was generally abused. It was an euro delivery and then went onto Japan. I bought it in 2017 and started the refurb at that time. The only good/bad thing they did in Japan was break the main shaft in the tranny and then replaced everything including an 512M diff. None the less I had to rebuild the tranny as they had torqued it wrong as it whined like a 1957 truck tranny. So over the last 8 years, replaced interior, rebuilt brakes/rotors, new rack, guido fuse box, paint correction, wrap, engine out service and a correcting a thousand little thing, the car is nearing perfection. Love it and so I now know this car like the back of my hand. so if you have andy questions PM me. Dennis Also, I have all the electrical diagrams in color which was a must have. Let me know if you need!
One note, One of the best upgrades I did was EZ electric Power Steering. Truly transformed the car into a easy modern driver and on the 512tr is a totally reversible addition. I did the electrical over a day, and my mechanic did the actual mechanical install in maybe 3 hours. Do it! I installed a switch to disconnect it but would never go back.
EZORED I very much appreciate your note and my car had some of the same experiences yours did. I am told that the transmission looks fine on initial inspection. What was weird about mine was they moved some items off the fuse board and put in some separate relays that are non-stock (see photos from earlier in this post). This presumably was the right thing to do given the known issues with the fuse board (absent the compete replacement which is what I am doing) so the previous owner seemed to care BUT without an invoice I am gong to have to track down what was done. I would very much appreciate the color wiring diagram as I have to diagnose the changes they made to the fuse board noted above - I will message you on this, again THANK YOU. Would also appreciate your experience with the Guido fuse box - he noted in the instructions there were some "dead" wires that had no purpose - i am many months away from that project (never mind I have already bought all the relays for replacement and Guido's fuse box already) And yes, your car would have been the exact spec I was looking for (and even better given the M diff and tranny - your TR is a great combination). I owned a '94TR before and while the steering is heavy, it honestly didn't bother me too much. I get why you did the upgrade and many folks I know have done it and swear by it - there are so many little projects though to tackle first (new audio, convert everything to LED, refinish leather, remove old alarm and replace center panel with OEM, etc.) I am told the Major Service will be done in a week or so and then we move to the new paint. I spoke with the body shop doing the painting and affirmed pricing and that we would be bringing it down to the bare metal. They quoted it would take about a week or so. Best Lewis
only 1 week for all dismantling, bringing all down to the metal and then start the complete paint structure and put all together? I doubt that they do it so fast. I think more 2 - 3 weeks they take out also all glass?
Great question regarding the glass. That was the big issue. Apparently removing the glass is a big deal and carries with it a lot of risk. I spoke with one shop that does concourse quality work (they have photos of all the cars they restored that have won major events). They shared that even when they take all the correct steps and precautions the glass can and sometimes does break. Many of the shops recommended that, unless my car a going to be “show car” I should think hard about removing the glass as part of the paint job. Also, the cost of the repaint when removing the glass was significantly higher. So, given the car will be a drivers car and I am changing the paint from its original (hence it won’t be a collector’s car) I am not having the glass removed. The shop that is gong the paint works with the authorized Ferrari dealer. The dealer doing my major is Continental Autosports (a Ferrari dealer in Hinsdale) and the paint shop is Custom Cars Unlimited in La Grange.
Lewis, may be you should paint the car Blue Sera, Did you see what that car sold for in Montery? $700 plus.
More updates as the major service continues An inspection of the fuel lines resulting in no recommended update - I was surprised by this given the age of the car, but they must have been updated sometime in after the original purchase. The car resided in Japan until 2019 and it was serviced by Cornes in Japan. I have some service records but I reached out to Cornes to see if they had any additional records, so far no word back Continental Autosports (the authorized Ferrari dealer doing the Major) gave an update on a Oil Plug issue (pretty visually obvious which is why you should always do a PPI - i didn’t do one) - cost is $558 for the repair and a new plug (see pics below) So far $2,530 in new issues NOT included in the major service. BTW the Continental guys so far have been great - I stopped by after the car was delivered and the service guys were just awesome (super knowledgable and the guys I spoke with clearly loved their job….I guess who wouldn’t love their job working on Ferrraris) More to come as the car should move to painting in the next week or two. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
This reminded me. if you are rebuilding the water pump as part of your major, it is advised to also swap the impeller blade to the revised metal version. Said metal version is not cheap (I think I paid around $1000) Also I happened across my fuel system parts list: 512 Fuel Parts Checklist: [x] revised / upgrade GTCP metal faceplate x2 [x] gasket x2 (126835) [x] fuel pumps x2 (140317) [x] pump support x2 (126809) [x] fuel filters 186922 x2 [x] revised / upgraded fuel sender (RS146648) [x] vibration pad x2 (126807) (labeled FMSD 126807 = EtOH resistant) [x] Evap canister (148413)
Auraraptor - Thank you, I passed your list onto the service group. Most of the items you noted are not included in the standard major so I asked them to evaluate the items you called out. Separately received some updated photos of the progress this morning. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Correct, above is entirely optional if you want to ethanol proof your fuel tank/pump assembly. At least here its impossible to find ethanol free gasoline so caution an future proofing warranted the upgrade.
