The Mondial is on the road!

Well, after giving my wife a Mondial QV for Xmas and then spending all winter working on it (with Verell's help of course) the blue Mondial is on the road! Since I just got the plates on it yesterday, I have only had a few chances to drive it around town and Christine has yet to drive it. But my initial impressions are good. A very comfortable car, wonderful chassis, great handling, all the right sounds, the child seat fits nicely in back, and the sunroof is a nice touch! Even though is has comparable HP, it does not feel as quick as my carb 308, but it's a lot heavier. The injected engine is a joy...very modern: starts instantly, quick revving, idles nicely, smooth as a turbine. It's quite a bit different from my carb 308 which is more raw and meaner sounding! Now I guess I just need to drive it a lot and enjoy it. I mean, let my wife drive it a lot and enjoy it. I'm going to drive it a lot over the next week to try to make a decision on driving it to Montreal next weekend for F1.

I expected the blue paint job to make the car somewhat "subdued" but it still seems to gather a lot of attention, though so far not as much as the 308.

Birdman

 

Today I pulled into the local BBQ place to pick up our take out and a guy came running over...

"Hey, nice Ferrari, what year?"
"1983" I replied.
"Wow, is it a 308?"
"No, a Mondial. A 4 seater." (Then the fun part) "It's actually my wife's car!"
That's always a fun line. ("It's my wife's Ferrari!")

Earlier today at the inspection station, I pulled in and the guy looked the car over. I know the guy pretty well, since we have so many cars always getting inspected. Anyway, he's looking at the 4 exhaust tips, scratching his chin and trying to figure out how he is going to put the emissions sniffer on there. Then with a big grin I informed him...it's a 1983. (Last year that doesn't need to pass emissions in MA). He just smiled and said "Thank God, trying to get these damned things to pass emissions is a b*tch!" I had my sticker in 5 minutes flat.


Brandon....I'll be there in the Mondial on Sunday, with child, so my stay will likely be short. She has a 3 second attention span. No way will I be able to join you for lunch, but certainly for a bit of drive. Hope to see others there.

Angelina (the 308) is getting jealous of this Mondial.

Troy, I find it very hard to believe that people can look at your car and not instantly recognize it, even if it's blue! The 308/328 is perhaps the most instantly recognizable Ferrari ever made! But I know what you mean. I think the "bling" 348 wheels on the Mondial are what make it stand out, although the blue is very bright on it, even if the paint is only in fair/poor condition.

NYC-
The lack of power steering is only a problem when absolutely stopped. If the car is even moving a tiny bit, it's not a problem. The advantage is the wonderful road feel and feedback you get with no power steering.

On other matters....
Christine took the car for her first real drive today. We went over after work to pick up our daughter at daycare. I was scared. She hasn't driven a standard in several years (my wife, not my daughter!). But she did fine. Didn't stall it. A few clunky shifts, but the gearbox is typical Ferrari notchy, so it would take anyone a while to get used to it. The car has a very nice hydraulic clutch that is very smooth and has nice feel, much better than my incredibly hard to depress and knife-edge feel 308 clutch. But there is no doubt that my 308 would blow the doors off the Mondial. Still, the Mondial has really really nice handling. I have 348 rims on it with Parrelli Pzeros and it sticks like mad. Like the 308, it has roadholding abilities that surpass the limits of my testicular fortitude. Pretty decent car all around. A family car with 4 seats and a trunk...with a Ferrari V-8 behind you. Gotta love it. Anyway, my daughter (just under 2 years old) comes out of the daycare and points to the car: "Mommy's Rari!" Now that's funny!

Birdman

 

Hey Jim, it's great! I did the airbox mod that was discussed in the Tech Q&A. If you haven't done it...DO IT. What sound, better breathing and revs better. I also am installing an electromotive fully electronic ignition (no more points or distributors) next month. Not that the points aren't working, I just want a hotter spark and a more consistent advance curve. I'm trying to modernize the car a little to make it less finiky. It has been raining so much I haven't driven it in a week or so. Hoping for some good weather for a while. I need to get her out for some nice drives. Are you coming up here for Verell's BBQ in July??

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61179

How's your 308 doing?

Birdman

 

Jim,
Did that guy near you ever unload that totally beat Mondial?

Birdman

 

205/55-16 front
225/50-16 rear
Cooper Zeon high performance tires

16" Superformance QV replica wheels

 

I doubt it would rub. (Keep in mind when looking at pics of my car that it is about 3/4" lower than most 308s.) Some people put 245s on the back of the 308 and they don't rub. Why do you want a 225/55?

 

The other day, I noticed that the Mondial was hesitating. Then Spider348 drove it and it started backfiring. He happened to notice that the tach was going nuts as the same time as the hesitating and backfiring. So, I think I have an ECU issue. So I put the car on the lift to clean all the contacts on the ECUs and check the grounds, when I noticed a large puddle under the clutch slave cylinder (the clutch is hydraulic). Seems that the seal is toast. So now the car is back on the lift for more repairs. It's really too bad that I couldn't have given it a shake down earlier in the year so I didn't have to miss prime driving season working on it more. Good thing I have another Ferrari to drive!