Dear Georgio,
Iâve had an engine rebuild done on a 308 and 355.
My 355 engine needed a lot of work. The initial problem, so I thought, was the valve guides, and that is with a perfect maintenance record and NO CATS. Most of the engine bearings were worn out, and it needed new liners too. In its defence, it is a Challenge and did have a rough childhood for the first 5000km.
The 308, on the other hand, which was much older and much higher km, was rebuilt because it still had the sodium exhaust valves and I thought, while apart, letâs do the whole thing. The rings were worn and the liners needed a hone, and even though all the engine bearings were replaced, they still looked like new.
I left the above experiences thinking that, mechanically, the 355 engine is rubbish compared to a 308â.but I still love my 355!
I can see an unwary 355 buyer easily throwing $50k into repairs. 6 months before mine needed the rebuild, it appeared to have good compression and passed a leak test and consumed no oilâ.so even a good pre purchase inspection may not help. I see quite a few 355s blowing a puff of smoke now and again (theyâre getting long in the tooth now). The poor old owners have no idea what theyâre in for!
I doubt Iâd risk buying one again, unless it was one like mine which has had the work done.
From: George york [mailto:yorkgeorge [at] mac.com]
Sent: Wednesday, 22 August 2012 5:47 AM
To: Peter Pless
Cc: 'The FerrariList'
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Looking for 355
Michael,
I own a F355 Berlinetta and from my personal experience and what I have read here is that alot of people are misinformed and give general opinions without conclusive evidence or information. Unless you actually own one you don't really know all those comments to be true. Yes some have valve guide issues but I will tell you where this problem starts. It first starts in the inferior catalytic converters that break apart inside the housing and clogs the the flow of the exhaust hot gases. This is hot gas builds up back pressure into the exhaust manifold which then causes a rupture in the thin steel the back pressure. The hot gases proceed to heat up and destroy the valve guides. This where they all say that the valve guides are the problem. Electronic stand point this car is a tank and can be analyzed by a self diagnostics onboard computer program (pretty cool) for 2.7 Motronics.Personally this is what they call a daily driver Ferrari and is considered the most robust Ferrari out there for the money as they made more of these Ferrari than any other Ferrari models out there which is why people tend to dislike these cars with negative opinions etc. I have heard so many problems in the 360's and 430's much more than the 355.But exclusivity is what people tend to want for what they can afford..Been there done it... Love my 355 for looks performance and for ease of indviual repairs etc. the list goes on why these are a great Ferrari to OWN! My 2 cents
Georgio
On Aug 21, 2012, at 09:39 AM, Michael James <cavallino_rapante [at] yahoo.com> wrote:
In talking with two owners here locally, the issue never was build 'quality' - miles above the 348. The issue was with Materials - valve guide materials, header materials, interior materials, etc. The cars themselves were built quite well - various materials wore-out VERY quickly in a motor run hard.
From: Doug and Terri Anderson <dnt [at] dock.net>
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Looking for 355
To: "Michael" <Cavallino_Rapante [at] yahoo.com>
Cc: "'The FerrariList'" <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Date: Tuesday, August 21, 2012, 11:10 AM
Alas sometimes the cheapest step in owning a Ferrari is buying the car itself. DOUG
From: Peter Pless [mailto:ferrarilist [at] pless.com.au]
Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2012 4:25 AM
To: DOUG
Cc: 'The FerrariList'
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Looking for 355 Theres more to a 355 than just build quality, which is crap, of course. A crap one in Aus is still over $100kand good one, who knowstheyre hard to find. You yanks are lucky with car prices. From: cjromero [mailto:clyderomerof4 [at] bellsouth.net]
Sent: Tuesday, 21 August 2012 8:59 PM
To: Peter Pless
Cc: The FerrariList
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Looking for 355 He should be able to find a clean late model for around $50K If he pays more than that he is a fool! 355 rate just above the 348 on the worst Ferrari built And the reason I say this is Check the service bulletins The 355 has more than the space shuttle! Remember it's your money! Clyde
Sent from my iPhone I have a neighbor interested in a decent condition 355 spyder, not concourse. Hopefully at a Clyde price J Thanks, Mark Lueker 308 SYSTEMS Inc Ultra-Agile Communications/Command
www.308systems.com 970-282-7006
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