Just in case...

Just in case you were wondering. Writing a book is a pain. Rewarding, yes. Sometimes pleasurable, yes. Pain, almost always.

I have 225 pages. I have an ending. I have edited it three times. I am right now 134 pages into my fourth edit.

On a lighter note I drove the Ferrari several hundred miles last week. It was my everyday driver.

Cheers.

David

I think I will keep it.

Those of you who wrote or thought I should keep the car were right. I am amost done with the book and have a new adventure planned with the car for this summer.

Cheers.

David

The Ferrari turned 30!

The Ferrari turned 30 yesterday. When I pulled the car into the garage on Friday night I noticed the mileage was 29,999. Time for a celebration. Sunday I took it out for a trip to Vinopolis, a wine shop I frequent, to pick out a nick 1998 Italian. Ended up with two super Tuscans. On the way home with 30,003 miles I was presented with a freeway onramp and no one is sight. The onramp had a tall concrete on one side. Opening up the Ferrari through the first three gears was fantastic and very loud.

That evening we had a party for the car. Italian food and Alex baked a chocolate cake with crystallized ginger on top.

Ferrari for sale Part 2

Below is the copy of my advertisement for the Ferrari. I plan on placing it on ebay and the Ferrari club web site (probably not all of it). A photographer friend has agreed to take a set of pictures of the car. My cheap camera always makes the interior look pink.

Let me know what you think.

David

Help me write the last chapter in One Year with a Ferrari and get a beautiful F355 Berlinetta to boot. A bit over one year ago I decided to write a book testing my theory that I could buy a Ferrari, drive it for about a year, and not spend a bunch of money. I chose a Grigio Titanio with Bordeaux, a fantastic combination, F355 as the Ferrari I would spend the year with.

Currently the car has almost 30,000 miles. It is in excellent cosmetic and mechanical shape.
The 30,000 mile, engine out, service was performed a few hundred miles ago. In addition to the belts the right side valves were reseated. The valves on the left side were done in 2006. The car has excellent compression and has the steel valve guides not the softer brass guides. It has a TUBI exhaust, making an already fantastic sounding car even better. I have replaced all the catalytic converter ECUs, no “SLOW DOWN” lights. In the year the car was in my stewardship all service work was performed by Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo aka Ferrari of Portland. All services are up to date. Tonkin is the nation’s oldest Ferrari dealership.

Milestones and major service items are listed below.

The car was purchased new from Ferrari of San Francisco on March 13 1998. The window sticker shows a suggested retail price of $129,909. The car had two options: Red brake calipers and drilled brake discs.

On April 29 2004 Ferrari of San Francisco performed the 30,000 mile service on the car for its second owner.

The car then went Texas. It lived in Texas for two years before being purchased by its fourth owner in Oregon. The PPI was performed by Norwood Performance. Results included with the car. Norwood rebuilt the valves on the left side in April of 2006 before the car was sent to Oregon.

The car had another engine out service, this time to replace leaking seals in June of 2006.

In November 2007 a PPI was performed by ATD in Portland. Results included with the car.

In May of 2008 all three Catalytic converter ECUs replaced with new parts.

In June of 2008 the left radiator was replaced a new radiator.

In October of 2008 an engine out service was performed and the right side valves were rebuilt. Timing belts were changed at this time.

In between these milestones the car had smaller service items taken care of.

The car comes with a complete tool kit, cover (car, seats, and steering wheel) even the fix a flat system is included. I have a three ring binder full of service information and the original window sticker. For fun I have hidden a surprise for the new owner somewhere in the car. You have one year to find it. I will also include a first edition, signed copy of my book. Unfortunately, you will know how it ends.

You can learn everything you would ever want to about this car, my experience with it, and the maintenance performed at www.oneyearwithaferrari.com. This site is a compilation of my notes as I searched for, found, bought, and drove the car.

I proved my theory wrong. I ended up spending a bunch of money, but the experiences I had more than compensated for the loss. You can take advantage of all the maintenance I had performed on the car over the past 12 months and own a fantastic F355 with a great story. You will be hard pressed to find a 355 that has been as diligently maintained as this one.

Ferrari Update

Over Easter weekend I took out the AC control module and replaced the original, and now sticky, decal with the new decal I ordered from Ricambi. Replacing the decal was quick and easy. The only tricky part was removing the three knobs which allow for temperature and vent selections. The knobs were held in place with a “C” clip which was a tad difficult to remove. Once the module was completely disassembled I applied the new decal and chose not to refinish the knobs as they were in good shape. This was a mistake. We have had just a few nice, warm days and the knobs are attracting lint and detracting from the overall appearance of the interior.
I will plan another project to refinish the knobs.

Last weekend I took the car on an extended back roads romp. The weather was beautiful and I found some fantastic roads. Roads with elevation changes, tight corners, uneven pavement and off chamber turns. I had one opportunity to let the car breath. The sensations which accompany a 355 under full throttle give me goose bumps.

Ferrari on the road again

After several weeks of furious writing I took a break and drove the car. Spring has come to Oregon. Trees are flowering, roads are dry, Ferraris are out. Well my Ferrari anyway. I love driving this car. It is a truly fantastic experience, making the most mundane of errands exciting. The past four months with the car have been the least expensive of my ownership experience. Aside from payments, gas, and insurance all I have spent on the car is $80 for the AC decal. It is still sitting on my desk. I need find a few hours I can set aside to put it on. With luck I can find those hours this Sunday. I will post before and after pictures.

I talked with RTGT about selling. I am waiting to hear from them with an estimate of what they think the car will sell for, I am guessing I won’t like it, and plan to hold on to the car until the summer months before making any decision to sell the car. I have another car/blog project I would like to get started and need the garage space and free time.