Ferrari 550, 1 owner, only 109,000 miles FSH.Well would you?

Ferrari 550, 1 owner, only 109,000 miles FSH.Well would you?

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Discussion

pits

6,423 posts

189 months

Tuesday 15th May 2018
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Anyone remember the absolute hero that bought the £18k 456 with a myriad of warning lights on the dash? I recall a scruffy 10k one as well, but don't believe much happened over that thread wise.

Still love a 550, probably one of my favourite Ferraris of all time, and to think they were once so cheap frown

Ammonite

11 posts

70 months

Wednesday 16th May 2018
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If I was after a Ferrari 550, I would buy that one

SoovyAvant

35,829 posts

270 months

Wednesday 6th June 2018
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So, PHAB - how is the leggy beast?

Tuvra

7,920 posts

224 months

Wednesday 6th June 2018
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pits said:
Anyone remember the absolute hero that bought the £18k 456 with a myriad of warning lights on the dash? I recall a scruffy 10k one as well, but don't believe much happened over that thread wise.

Still love a 550, probably one of my favourite Ferraris of all time, and to think they were once so cheap frown
Pretty sure they were sub £40k at one point - I considered buying one - would have been circa 2006 frown

PHAB

73 posts

139 months

Thursday 8th November 2018
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Hello all, yes there is news!! The car is still mine first and foremost.....but has not been piling on the miles unfortunately due to a myriad of reasons.

Its currently minus most of its rear end for refreshing and rebuilding - worn drive shaft UJs and diff carrier bearings past their best at 112,000. Will update the thread shortly!

RobM77

35,349 posts

233 months

Thursday 8th November 2018
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Tuvra said:
pits said:
Anyone remember the absolute hero that bought the £18k 456 with a myriad of warning lights on the dash? I recall a scruffy 10k one as well, but don't believe much happened over that thread wise.

Still love a 550, probably one of my favourite Ferraris of all time, and to think they were once so cheap frown
Pretty sure they were sub £40k at one point - I considered buying one - would have been circa 2006 frown
Yes they were. I'd saved up £50k for one a bit after that. £35k was a ropey one, and at around £50k there were some nice ones. I wish I had. The other car I was considering was a 996 GT3, also in that price range back then. How things have changed!

Crocodon

2 posts

46 months

Tuesday 16th June 2020
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Hi PHAB - would love to know how things are going with the 550. I'm on the lookout for one and reading this thread has been quite inspirational.

PHAB

73 posts

139 months

Tuesday 9th February 2021
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In the spirit of trying to find a reason to be optimistic about this summer after the past year or so and for anyone still following this thread I thought it might be worth updating it with the plan for S50 GTB, which is to get fettling and ready to go for maximum enjoyment this summer. Shamefully due to other commitments it has covered very little ground since its last European trip but I am now committed to using it wherever possible once the salt is off the roads.

The work list to bring the car up to 'operational readiness' is as follows:

1. Major (Belt) service - probably overdue on a time period basis. I wont bother to calculate how little miles have been covered since the last change as it will depress me!
2. Removal of all interior soft touch plastics for de-sticky'ing. I may try to do this in house as the costs of specialists to do with the work properly is exorbitant. I think the ambre solaire from the previous european trips has accelerated the issue that just about every Ferrari suffers from and the result is really quite bad given the immaculate nature of the rest of the cabin. It is now apart (comes apart very easily!) and Im just thinking about how to go about it.
3. Fettling of the rear end - I have replaced the worn driveshaft and UJ and discovered that the phonic ring on the replacement is a different spec to the phonic ring on the original. ergo speed sensors dont match ergo ASR ABS error. This was probably because the part I used...which had been taken off a written off 8,000km car....was from a Maserati. Same part, same part number, different phonic ring. Who said life should be easy. Other items will be ARB bushes and ARB links. The rear arb is currently off and being powder coated.
4. Other sundries - replacement of headlight gaskets (done), replacement of bonnet struts (done after 1 too many clonks on the head). Inspection of thermostat; car has always run a bit cold on cold days so would like to check this. Replacement of air conditioning condenser, dryer and compressor to condenser pipework (done).

I hope there are still those out there who are interested - please feel free to ask me any questions relating to 550s in general and I will happily answer from my experience with the car.

LaurasOtherHalf

Original Poster:

21,429 posts

195 months

Tuesday 9th February 2021
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Great to hear the car is still out there and finding some love, feels like an awfully long time ago since the OP.

leglessAlex

5,384 posts

140 months

Tuesday 9th February 2021
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LaurasOtherHalf said:
feels like an awfully long time ago since the OP.
You can say that again, even just the last 12 months have felt like a lifetime.

Really happy to hear the car is still going. I'd love one of these, or a 575, but they're a little pricier now than I'd like frown

pits

6,423 posts

189 months

Tuesday 9th February 2021
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Oddly I watched a video from Curated the other day about probably the nicest 550 for sale, every time one pops up I get reminded just how beautiful these cars are.

PHAB

73 posts

139 months

Monday 15th March 2021
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So the first real update for a while!

Pleased to say that the car is now back on the road, although not MOT'd yet.

Belt change was carried out by SMDG near Horsham who were great, belts were predictably in excellent condition and having been re-re-assured that the 3 year service interval for a 550 makes no sense when a 575 is 5 years, it wont be going for new belts again until 2026. The belts are now kevlar reinforced and a lot more durable than they were in the early 456s. This coupled to the armored hoses in the V and the upgraded 575 waterpump make the interval at 5 years conservative - 3 years is way OTT. The tensioner bearings for the cambelts were found to be a little past their best so were also replaced with Hill Engineering parts . . . not the cheapest but beautifully made.

Having replaced the various air conditioning hoses and condenser, the compressor was found to be slightly noisy in operation when the system was regassed. This was traced to the main front bearing on the compressor which was expertly removed in situ and replaced by AirCare automotive, of whom I cannot speak highly enough. It is now silent in operation and blowing freezing cold. 99% of the time this would have been a new compressor but not for AirCare!

First real outing for the car was as a favour for a filming day. Pleasingly the weather was exceptional and the car ran and looked stunning, even amongst some very exotic peers. . . The plan now is to run the car and enjoy it over the summer. I still need to replace the phonic ring on the OSF rear driveshaft to get rid of the ABS light, and re-adjust both windows which have leant backwards again creating a wind noise at 60mph.....standard 456/550 issue!

Some pictures from that filming day.



Every day a journey

1,543 posts

37 months

Monday 15th March 2021
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Up there as one of my favourite Ferraris of all time.

Great to see it getting nearly there ready for more use as it was intended for!

The Wookie

13,909 posts

227 months

Monday 15th March 2021
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Thanks for the update, some good info in there too.

Happy with SMDG? Looking for a specialist within a reasonable distance Reigate for our Maranello at the mo.

Limpet

6,293 posts

160 months

Monday 15th March 2021
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Thanks for the update. Beautiful car.

DjSki

1,305 posts

194 months

Monday 15th March 2021
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These are very pretty cars, especially in TDF and tan. Lovely.

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 5th January 2023
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Wonder if this car is still on the go?

The big yin

235 posts

40 months

Thursday 5th January 2023
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It is mot'd till 2023 , not taxed as it has been sorn'd.

SimonTheSailor

12,543 posts

227 months

Thursday 5th January 2023
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JayEmm has a 575 I believe, also a 100K mile car. Went away for a while then came back with a 20K bill yikes

SturdyHSV

10,083 posts

166 months

Thursday 5th January 2023
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I'd forgotten about this, and the green super cheap 456 that bloke bought. Heroic stories both and deserving of admiration for the sheer minerals.

Car looks beautiful in the profile shot above.