Discussion
I have a F512M and, whatever else I drive, it is the master. Sensational engineering, feedback, soundtrack, long-geared shove and it even eats up corners quite happily! Not had any big issues in four years so far. Apparently pre-94 512TRs can have some issues with the diff, but I wouldn't lose sleep over it.
Do it. Enjoy it!
Do it. Enjoy it!
I had a 86 LHD with the knock on/ off hubs and TRX tryres for 9 years .
Epic engine and gearbox once warm.They shared the same oil .
Brakes are not that good and steering heavy compared with modern todays cars .
It did have a bit of scuttle shake , I think the later modals were stiffer ?
There’s always gonna be a oil drips with a flat engine .
As common on many 80 ,s Ferrari’s the fuse box in the front trunk can be a problem.
Heat makes it brittle and fractures cause hidden open circuits .
Interestingly to reach 180 mph , I saw 185 btw once bouncing off the rev limiter it’s only 42 inches tall .That was low then and low now - think Ford GT 40 .
From 100 up it will see off 911 turbos , so much grunt from 12 cylinders .
In turns I felt it was unbalanced, too rear heavy ,you could feel the mass behind you .
My Dailey was a 968 club sport at the time so pretty high handling standard to measure it .
There’s a lot of rubber coolant pipes around the bulkhead between the engine and two radiators at the side so zillions of jubilee clips and pipage to leak/ weep out of sight .
I imported mine from Switzerland at the time the Fex made it £24 K ,sold it for £36 k so over 9 years the £12 K increase easily covered the maintenance,£ 2-3 k every 3 y for the engine out job cam belt change .
Free motoring put 30 K kms on it ,
Within a year I got a F360 back in Dec 2008 after the melt down for £42 K and sold that for £54 k late 2016 , again free motoring for approx 20 K miles .
Both 100 % reliable
Currently i,am having fun with a 70 ,s 208GT4 Dino Bertone one , from Italy picked up below reserve @ silverstone classics last June .
I,ve actually bought that one specifically as a long term investment thinking a la 246 Dino .
The other two were to use .Ironically this little GT 4 Dino is the sweetest to drive and handles beautifully compared to the other two .Love the quad twin barrel Webber’s .Its analogue nature makes it a fraction cost wise to run , the cam belts easily accessible from a removable wheel arch liner .
With Ferrari’s start by analysing how many were made and how many left , or reg on the DVLA
The other RHD markets plunder the U.K. RHD .When I got the 360 there were about 13/1400 on the DVLA data base , when I sold it that figure was lower than 600 .
Epic engine and gearbox once warm.They shared the same oil .
Brakes are not that good and steering heavy compared with modern todays cars .
It did have a bit of scuttle shake , I think the later modals were stiffer ?
There’s always gonna be a oil drips with a flat engine .
As common on many 80 ,s Ferrari’s the fuse box in the front trunk can be a problem.
Heat makes it brittle and fractures cause hidden open circuits .
Interestingly to reach 180 mph , I saw 185 btw once bouncing off the rev limiter it’s only 42 inches tall .That was low then and low now - think Ford GT 40 .
From 100 up it will see off 911 turbos , so much grunt from 12 cylinders .
In turns I felt it was unbalanced, too rear heavy ,you could feel the mass behind you .
My Dailey was a 968 club sport at the time so pretty high handling standard to measure it .
There’s a lot of rubber coolant pipes around the bulkhead between the engine and two radiators at the side so zillions of jubilee clips and pipage to leak/ weep out of sight .
I imported mine from Switzerland at the time the Fex made it £24 K ,sold it for £36 k so over 9 years the £12 K increase easily covered the maintenance,£ 2-3 k every 3 y for the engine out job cam belt change .
Free motoring put 30 K kms on it ,
Within a year I got a F360 back in Dec 2008 after the melt down for £42 K and sold that for £54 k late 2016 , again free motoring for approx 20 K miles .
Both 100 % reliable
Currently i,am having fun with a 70 ,s 208GT4 Dino Bertone one , from Italy picked up below reserve @ silverstone classics last June .
I,ve actually bought that one specifically as a long term investment thinking a la 246 Dino .
The other two were to use .Ironically this little GT 4 Dino is the sweetest to drive and handles beautifully compared to the other two .Love the quad twin barrel Webber’s .Its analogue nature makes it a fraction cost wise to run , the cam belts easily accessible from a removable wheel arch liner .
With Ferrari’s start by analysing how many were made and how many left , or reg on the DVLA
The other RHD markets plunder the U.K. RHD .When I got the 360 there were about 13/1400 on the DVLA data base , when I sold it that figure was lower than 600 .
Car looked amazing , my mechanic noticed some oil leaking , from a few sites. So it’s been off to the garage to have the various hoses gearbox linkage etc sort d , then will go back and take for a test drive with mechanic . It had cam belts done in 2016 but done 320 Miles since service . Would you change now?! I hear most owners now tend to wait 5 or so years ! Harry’s garage on you tube 
Very nice, especially with the black interior.
You can wait another year or two for the belt service. Had mine done after five years and 7,000km and the belt was inevitably fine, though the tensioner bearings were looking less great but far from catastrophic. I'm no mechanic, but presumably the little use on your car should mean five years will be no problem.
Enjoy the drive when it happens, but first the various sounds of the engine warming up for a few minutes first. As others have said too, the gearbox oil will probably need five or ten minutes before you can get second gear (no worries though, third can take it) and the engine will need 20+ minutes before you can work the engine through to the 7,200rpm symphony!
You can wait another year or two for the belt service. Had mine done after five years and 7,000km and the belt was inevitably fine, though the tensioner bearings were looking less great but far from catastrophic. I'm no mechanic, but presumably the little use on your car should mean five years will be no problem.
Enjoy the drive when it happens, but first the various sounds of the engine warming up for a few minutes first. As others have said too, the gearbox oil will probably need five or ten minutes before you can get second gear (no worries though, third can take it) and the engine will need 20+ minutes before you can work the engine through to the 7,200rpm symphony!
silber said:
Very nice, especially with the black interior.
You can wait another year or two for the belt service. Had mine done after five years and 7,000km and the belt was inevitably fine, though the tensioner bearings were looking less great but far from catastrophic. I'm no mechanic, but presumably the little use on your car should mean five years will be no problem.
Belt change period is causing a lot of debate. Some wait 5 years, Some say 2 years - regardless of mileage. Mine are 4.5 years old but only 2000kms (should get out more!) so I'm looking to get done.You can wait another year or two for the belt service. Had mine done after five years and 7,000km and the belt was inevitably fine, though the tensioner bearings were looking less great but far from catastrophic. I'm no mechanic, but presumably the little use on your car should mean five years will be no problem.
The thing is, if one was to go you'd be looking at - who knows - £30,000 to £50,000 in rebuild costs and a year's wait as some parts are becoming built of unobtanium.
Thoughts?
silber said:
I have a F512M and, whatever else I drive, it is the master. Sensational engineering, feedback, soundtrack, long-geared shove and it even eats up corners quite happily! Not had any big issues in four years so far. Apparently pre-94 512TRs can have some issues with the diff, but I wouldn't lose sleep over it.
Do it. Enjoy it!
512TR here - also a master of engineering Do it. Enjoy it!
Gearchange slick and direct - even when cold.
Diff - no issues
Bloody big go kart
AMG Merc said:
Belt change period is causing a lot of debate. Some wait 5 years, Some say 2 years - regardless of mileage. Mine are 4.5 years old but only 2000kms (should get out more!) so I'm looking to get done.
The thing is, if one was to go you'd be looking at - who knows - £30,000 to £50,000 in rebuild costs and a year's wait as some parts are becoming built of unobtanium.
Thoughts?
The thing is... cam belts last forever in other cars and those used in our Ferraris are exactly the same spec as in other cars, we're just trained to believe they'll break at any moment. Maybe there could be some stretch if the car is driven hard for thousands upon thousands of miles, but even then it'll be more likely down to a tensioner bearing not doing its job. The rubber really isn't going to perish in five years. I honestly think, for peace of mind when new to the car, get everything changed but replace the bearings and anything else possible (preferably with better Hill Engineering kit). Thereafter, five years is absolutely fine.The thing is, if one was to go you'd be looking at - who knows - £30,000 to £50,000 in rebuild costs and a year's wait as some parts are becoming built of unobtanium.
Thoughts?
For reference, two years ago was a big service for my 348 after five years and maybe 6,000 miles - the belts and bearings were absolutely fine. Last year was the big service for my F512M after four years (first one since I got the car and I was a little nervous, like you) and 4,000 miles - belt was fine but tensioner bearings needed changing. Would have been fine for another year of driving though. This year was my 360 after three years (I have owned it for two and didn't 100% trust the garage that serviced the car for the last owner) and 6,000 miles - belt was as good as new, bearings needed replacing. These cars get driven like Ferraris should be.
I'd say, given how easy it is to worry about things breaking/failing and costing a disproportionate fortune to fix, get the engine out and everything upgraded/changed so you can then enjoy the car without fear and know it will survive five years just fine. They are really well engineered, robust machines that will pull like a train all day long, and nothing should get in the way of that pleasure! Life is short.
silber said:
The thing is... cam belts last forever in other cars and those used in our Ferraris are exactly the same spec as in other cars, we're just trained to believe they'll break at any moment. Maybe there could be some stretch if the car is driven hard for thousands upon thousands of miles, but even then it'll be more likely down to a tensioner bearing not doing its job. The rubber really isn't going to perish in five years. I honestly think, for peace of mind when new to the car, get everything changed but replace the bearings and anything else possible (preferably with better Hill Engineering kit). Thereafter, five years is absolutely fine.
For reference, two years ago was a big service for my 348 after five years and maybe 6,000 miles - the belts and bearings were absolutely fine. Last year was the big service for my F512M after four years (first one since I got the car and I was a little nervous, like you) and 4,000 miles - belt was fine but tensioner bearings needed changing. Would have been fine for another year of driving though. This year was my 360 after three years (I have owned it for two and didn't 100% trust the garage that serviced the car for the last owner) and 6,000 miles - belt was as good as new, bearings needed replacing. These cars get driven like Ferraris should be.
I'd say, given how easy it is to worry about things breaking/failing and costing a disproportionate fortune to fix, get the engine out and everything upgraded/changed so you can then enjoy the car without fear and know it will survive five years just fine. They are really well engineered, robust machines that will pull like a train all day long, and nothing should get in the way of that pleasure! Life is short.
^^this^^For reference, two years ago was a big service for my 348 after five years and maybe 6,000 miles - the belts and bearings were absolutely fine. Last year was the big service for my F512M after four years (first one since I got the car and I was a little nervous, like you) and 4,000 miles - belt was fine but tensioner bearings needed changing. Would have been fine for another year of driving though. This year was my 360 after three years (I have owned it for two and didn't 100% trust the garage that serviced the car for the last owner) and 6,000 miles - belt was as good as new, bearings needed replacing. These cars get driven like Ferraris should be.
I'd say, given how easy it is to worry about things breaking/failing and costing a disproportionate fortune to fix, get the engine out and everything upgraded/changed so you can then enjoy the car without fear and know it will survive five years just fine. They are really well engineered, robust machines that will pull like a train all day long, and nothing should get in the way of that pleasure! Life is short.
It's the belt tension that should be checked at regular intervals, the belt itself is good for longer than we worry about
silber said:
The thing is... cam belts last forever in other cars and those used in our Ferraris are exactly the same spec as in other cars, we're just trained to believe they'll break at any moment. Maybe there could be some stretch if the car is driven hard for thousands upon thousands of miles, but even then it'll be more likely down to a tensioner bearing not doing its job. The rubber really isn't going to perish in five years. I honestly think, for peace of mind when new to the car, get everything changed but replace the bearings and anything else possible (preferably with better Hill Engineering kit). Thereafter, five years is absolutely fine.......
So based on your confidence in cambelts never failing, I assume that whilst you replace tensioner bearings on a regular basis, you happily refit your old cambelt back on again, and keep re-using it forever and a day? 
Now I suspect you're going to say: "No, whilst the engine is out, I replace the belt at the same time because it's only a £12 part, and the hard works already been done". Should that be the case though, then it shows you don't have any faith in the cambelt not failing, because you're replacing a part, that according to you, doesn't need replacing.
People make such a fuss about the need to replace the cambelts in Ferrari's, especially when it comes to 348's, 355's and TR's., but the fact is, with those models, Ferrari made the job as simple as it could be, by mounting the entire power-train assembly in subframes, that for Ferrari dealers and independent specialists, are an absolute piece of p
ss to remove and refit.Checking on The Ferrari Centre/Kent High Performance site, a TR cambelt change is @ £1800 with VAT.
If you change the belt every 3 years, then that's £1800/36 months, which equals £50 per month or @ £1.67 per day.
Personally speaking, I don't think £1.67 per day is an extortionate amount to pay, to have a bit of peace of mind, especially on an engine that costs as much as a Ferrari engine does to rebuild/replace.
As the old saying goes: "Better to be safe than sorry!" - Especially where Ferrari engines are concerned!
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