Panic buying a pandemic Ferrari
Discussion
AndrewGP said:
Just watched the latest video, great news on the compression test 
I was really nervous watching you test it then shouted a very loud 'YES!' when the needle jumped up past 150psi (causing my wife and kids to all look at me very strangely)
Keep up the good work!
Hahaha!! Hilarious that you got so involved! Thank you! I was really nervous watching you test it then shouted a very loud 'YES!' when the needle jumped up past 150psi (causing my wife and kids to all look at me very strangely)
Keep up the good work!
Thank you all for the good wishes.. it does seem like a major hurdle was crossed with the compression being ok but it is a weird problem.
I have of course already swapped plus and leads and the issue still remains with cylinder 3.
The carb being the problem would make more sense if that cylinder was running lean, it is odd that only one circuit in the Weber is running rich as they use the same float and so on. Normally these carbs block up = running lean or start to leak air = running lean. Very odd then.. will check ignition timing tomorrow m, that won’t be the issue but what to cross it off the list. Then I’ll take car mm apart and see if I find anything odd on that side..
I have of course already swapped plus and leads and the issue still remains with cylinder 3.
The carb being the problem would make more sense if that cylinder was running lean, it is odd that only one circuit in the Weber is running rich as they use the same float and so on. Normally these carbs block up = running lean or start to leak air = running lean. Very odd then.. will check ignition timing tomorrow m, that won’t be the issue but what to cross it off the list. Then I’ll take car mm apart and see if I find anything odd on that side..
I used to have a lot of flat 4 Alfa’s in days gone by and one of my 33’s had a similar problem to your Ferrari.
It was only running on 3 cylinders. Sometimes ‘3 and a bit’ if you were lucky. It had two Weber 40 IDF carbs which in effect gave you one choke per cylinder.
It was almost constantly ‘drizzling’ petrol into one particular cylinder which was in effect over fueling it a lot of sooting up the plug.
I had the carbs rebuilt which left it running like a Swiss watch. A happy side effect was that it went like the clappers afterwards.
A full carb service and some careful setting up may well give you 25-30 bhp that you’re probably missing at the moment.
It was only running on 3 cylinders. Sometimes ‘3 and a bit’ if you were lucky. It had two Weber 40 IDF carbs which in effect gave you one choke per cylinder.
It was almost constantly ‘drizzling’ petrol into one particular cylinder which was in effect over fueling it a lot of sooting up the plug.
I had the carbs rebuilt which left it running like a Swiss watch. A happy side effect was that it went like the clappers afterwards.
A full carb service and some careful setting up may well give you 25-30 bhp that you’re probably missing at the moment.
jackpe said:
Hello all!
The Influenzo is keeping me busy, which is a blessing during lockdown. This car really was a wise purchase. Just think how bored I would have been if I'd bought a perfect one.
So I replaced the distributor cap and rotor (rotor arm..£90!!!). The old ones really were knackered. Tried the car from cold and the header warmed up straight off.. so cylinder is firing. Which made me very happy for a whole evening. The next day it tried spraying carb cleaner down all the carbs again as I had before and low and behold it seems to make the engine drop revs on every cylinder aside from troublesome nr3.. also the header though it gets hot definitely does not get quite as hot as the others..so all is still not well. Awaiting the new compression tester.
It's all very odd as is drives very well, with no smoke at all but I do suspect something is not right with that cylinder.. maybe it is firing but just running on low compression.
Aside from that I have found a bit of rust to finally be proud of, I was staring to doubt this car is really Italian. I've found lots of other small problems, video update coming at the end of the week which will list in full everything that's broken!!
I still like the InfluEnzo.. even if the engine is slightly buggered I'll sort it out over winter. Maybe do some of it myself or at least take it out of the car myself to save some money. Shopping around I think it's possible to get it done way cheaper than I first thought. It drives very well as it is anyhow so can be used as it is for sure over the summer. Longer term we will see.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qNqQ6lQMF3w
Dig deep Jack, there maybe more lurking ... The Influenzo is keeping me busy, which is a blessing during lockdown. This car really was a wise purchase. Just think how bored I would have been if I'd bought a perfect one.
So I replaced the distributor cap and rotor (rotor arm..£90!!!). The old ones really were knackered. Tried the car from cold and the header warmed up straight off.. so cylinder is firing. Which made me very happy for a whole evening. The next day it tried spraying carb cleaner down all the carbs again as I had before and low and behold it seems to make the engine drop revs on every cylinder aside from troublesome nr3.. also the header though it gets hot definitely does not get quite as hot as the others..so all is still not well. Awaiting the new compression tester.
It's all very odd as is drives very well, with no smoke at all but I do suspect something is not right with that cylinder.. maybe it is firing but just running on low compression.
Aside from that I have found a bit of rust to finally be proud of, I was staring to doubt this car is really Italian. I've found lots of other small problems, video update coming at the end of the week which will list in full everything that's broken!!
I still like the InfluEnzo.. even if the engine is slightly buggered I'll sort it out over winter. Maybe do some of it myself or at least take it out of the car myself to save some money. Shopping around I think it's possible to get it done way cheaper than I first thought. It drives very well as it is anyhow so can be used as it is for sure over the summer. Longer term we will see.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qNqQ6lQMF3w
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qNqQ6lQMF3w
Slippydiff said:
Scary stuffSlippydiff said:
Wow that is terrible!! Definitely not that bad on mine. I’ve done lots of poking around with a screwdriver already in that whole area, Though a closer look may reveal a bit more.MJK 24 said:
I used to have a lot of flat 4 Alfa’s in days gone by and one of my 33’s had a similar problem to your Ferrari.
It was only running on 3 cylinders. Sometimes ‘3 and a bit’ if you were lucky. It had two Weber 40 IDF carbs which in effect gave you one choke per cylinder.
It was almost constantly ‘drizzling’ petrol into one particular cylinder which was in effect over fueling it a lot of sooting up the plug.
I had the carbs rebuilt which left it running like a Swiss watch. A happy side effect was that it went like the clappers afterwards.
A full carb service and some careful setting up may well give you 25-30 bhp that you’re probably missing at the moment.
Yes, I do suspect the carb is at fault here.. It was only running on 3 cylinders. Sometimes ‘3 and a bit’ if you were lucky. It had two Weber 40 IDF carbs which in effect gave you one choke per cylinder.
It was almost constantly ‘drizzling’ petrol into one particular cylinder which was in effect over fueling it a lot of sooting up the plug.
I had the carbs rebuilt which left it running like a Swiss watch. A happy side effect was that it went like the clappers afterwards.
A full carb service and some careful setting up may well give you 25-30 bhp that you’re probably missing at the moment.
therevday said:
Hello Jack reading this is reminding me why I went Porsche Ferrari Porsche. Wait till you start seeing the price for parts. I had to give nearly £1000 for a full 308 gasket set 18 years ago. I take it the 964 is gone? The days of us zooming around Surrey is just a distant memory
Yes indeed old buddy... though to be fair from what I have seen on 308s prices not much different to Porsche nowadays.. Great news on the compression.
Speedo is most likely the sensor on the gearbox, they fail. 10 minute job to swap it ( but needs a very deep socket)
Be very careful with the rear deck release. If it fails you will be smashing a rear light to get to the latch/ cable to try & release it, expensive.
There should also be a secondary release, - small T handle top corner of the firewall behind the seats. Make sure it's working ok. They get stuck with lack of use.
Then replace the plastic latch housing with a metal one...available from Superformance. If adjusting the rear latching mechanisms/cable tension etc its advisable to take the rear lights out when you do it just in case.
Latches best set up with a little slack in the cable between them. That way when you pull the thing it releases one then the other rather than trying to do both at once...less load on the cable.
Speedo is most likely the sensor on the gearbox, they fail. 10 minute job to swap it ( but needs a very deep socket)
Be very careful with the rear deck release. If it fails you will be smashing a rear light to get to the latch/ cable to try & release it, expensive.
There should also be a secondary release, - small T handle top corner of the firewall behind the seats. Make sure it's working ok. They get stuck with lack of use.
Then replace the plastic latch housing with a metal one...available from Superformance. If adjusting the rear latching mechanisms/cable tension etc its advisable to take the rear lights out when you do it just in case.
Latches best set up with a little slack in the cable between them. That way when you pull the thing it releases one then the other rather than trying to do both at once...less load on the cable.
Edited by Wombat3 on Sunday 26th April 02:26
Also enjoyed the video, it's funny seeing car videos done by a UK petrol head, with a single garage, and a drive running alongside the house, as opposed to an American where it's in a fully kitted out hangar out the back of their house with classic cars strewn across the landscape and a machine shop and a Summit racing on every corner 
Glad the compression test went well, perhaps once the carb is sorted can we have some rear bumper go-pro exhaust noise action? In car you get a feel for it but would be nice to hear a little clearer, or even just a mic taped near it, I don't need to be looking at the exhaust I suppose
Keep up the good work anyway
Glad the compression test went well, perhaps once the carb is sorted can we have some rear bumper go-pro exhaust noise action? In car you get a feel for it but would be nice to hear a little clearer, or even just a mic taped near it, I don't need to be looking at the exhaust I suppose
Keep up the good work anyway
Wombat3 said:
Great news on the compression.
Speedo is most likely the sensor on the gearbox, they fail. 10 minute job to swap it ( but needs a very deep socket)
Be very careful with the rear deck release. If it fails you will be smashing a rear light to get to the latch/ cable to try & release it, expensive.
There should also be a secondary release, - small T handle top corner of the firewall behind the seats. Make sure it's working ok. They get stuck with lack of use.
Then replace the plastic latch housing with a metal one...available from Superformance. If adjusting the rear latching mechanisms/cable tension etc its advisable to take the rear lights out when you do it just in case.
Latches best set up with a little slack in the cable between them. That way when you pull the thing it releases one then the other rather than trying to do both at once...less load on the cable.
A useful post, thanks. Mine are all good but going to check them anyway. Speedo is most likely the sensor on the gearbox, they fail. 10 minute job to swap it ( but needs a very deep socket)
Be very careful with the rear deck release. If it fails you will be smashing a rear light to get to the latch/ cable to try & release it, expensive.
There should also be a secondary release, - small T handle top corner of the firewall behind the seats. Make sure it's working ok. They get stuck with lack of use.
Then replace the plastic latch housing with a metal one...available from Superformance. If adjusting the rear latching mechanisms/cable tension etc its advisable to take the rear lights out when you do it just in case.
Latches best set up with a little slack in the cable between them. That way when you pull the thing it releases one then the other rather than trying to do both at once...less load on the cable.
Edited by Wombat3 on Sunday 26th April 02:26
Wombat3 said:
Great news on the compression.
Speedo is most likely the sensor on the gearbox, they fail. 10 minute job to swap it ( but needs a very deep socket)
Be very careful with the rear deck release. If it fails you will be smashing a rear light to get to the latch/ cable to try & release it, expensive.
There should also be a secondary release, - small T handle top corner of the firewall behind the seats. Make sure it's working ok. They get stuck with lack of use.
Then replace the plastic latch housing with a metal one...available from Superformance. If adjusting the rear latching mechanisms/cable tension etc its advisable to take the rear lights out when you do it just in case.
Latches best set up with a little slack in the cable between them. That way when you pull the thing it releases one then the other rather than trying to do both at once...less load on the cable.
I am guessing your 'friend' once ended up breaking his rear deck release cable Speedo is most likely the sensor on the gearbox, they fail. 10 minute job to swap it ( but needs a very deep socket)
Be very careful with the rear deck release. If it fails you will be smashing a rear light to get to the latch/ cable to try & release it, expensive.
There should also be a secondary release, - small T handle top corner of the firewall behind the seats. Make sure it's working ok. They get stuck with lack of use.
Then replace the plastic latch housing with a metal one...available from Superformance. If adjusting the rear latching mechanisms/cable tension etc its advisable to take the rear lights out when you do it just in case.
Latches best set up with a little slack in the cable between them. That way when you pull the thing it releases one then the other rather than trying to do both at once...less load on the cable.
Edited by Wombat3 on Sunday 26th April 02:26
Paracetamol said:
Wombat3 said:
Great news on the compression.
Speedo is most likely the sensor on the gearbox, they fail. 10 minute job to swap it ( but needs a very deep socket)
Be very careful with the rear deck release. If it fails you will be smashing a rear light to get to the latch/ cable to try & release it, expensive.
There should also be a secondary release, - small T handle top corner of the firewall behind the seats. Make sure it's working ok. They get stuck with lack of use.
Then replace the plastic latch housing with a metal one...available from Superformance. If adjusting the rear latching mechanisms/cable tension etc its advisable to take the rear lights out when you do it just in case.
Latches best set up with a little slack in the cable between them. That way when you pull the thing it releases one then the other rather than trying to do both at once...less load on the cable.
I am guessing your 'friend' once ended up breaking his rear deck release cable Speedo is most likely the sensor on the gearbox, they fail. 10 minute job to swap it ( but needs a very deep socket)
Be very careful with the rear deck release. If it fails you will be smashing a rear light to get to the latch/ cable to try & release it, expensive.
There should also be a secondary release, - small T handle top corner of the firewall behind the seats. Make sure it's working ok. They get stuck with lack of use.
Then replace the plastic latch housing with a metal one...available from Superformance. If adjusting the rear latching mechanisms/cable tension etc its advisable to take the rear lights out when you do it just in case.
Latches best set up with a little slack in the cable between them. That way when you pull the thing it releases one then the other rather than trying to do both at once...less load on the cable.
Edited by Wombat3 on Sunday 26th April 02:26
...but I had taken the rear lights out as a precaution and to clean them out, so was able to just reach in & release the thing & sort it out. Much less expensive than a new rear light!
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