Ferrari F430 Spider

[mwstewart]

Mike Brown said:

Very interesting thread and thank you, I to do the same with my 360 , ball joints etc etc, fluid change etc. I have the same beliefs as you drive it enjoy it make it your own!
Live life to the full and enjoy the car for all it is, I am most interested in how you will replace the clutch, is it really possible without a lift or pit, I would replace mine myself if it's not to difficult.
Also agree most savvy future buyers will realise that documented work done by someone with the skills will be every bit as good as main dealer, I had mine serviced and mot at main dealer this year to keep the service book up to date , it might be the last time though, thanks once again, Mike

Hi Mike, Glad you're finding it useful. Yes, it's definitely possible without a lift or pit. I'll keep the thread updated with my progress over winter.

Cheers,
Mark

e46m3c said:

Thanks for posting this thread.

Thought about fulfilling life dream and buying f430 for my 30th. However put off by the running costs and didnt fancy wrenching a fezza. However it looks actually rather decent to work on.

I too have an E46 m3. Is it worth the premium?

It is generally OK to work on - there are some filmsy bits and cheap fastenings but the mechanical parts are easy enough to service. I take on the jobs myself purely because on the whole I enjoy doing so, but if you don't want to there are independants who don't charge the earth.

You may have gathered from my other thread if you've read it that I think a lot of the M3; its a fantastic car in its bracket but it can't really be compared to a supercar. The F430 is on a completely different level. The running costs aren't bad at all - there's no expensive cambelt to replace for one - and as Ferari's go they are pretty reliable. If you're in a position to get one I would recommend it. It's the most fun I've ever had in a car and something quite memorable

[mwstewart]

Whatty said:

...
Ciao, Whatty

Thanks Whatty!

sealtt said:

mwstewart said:

This may help you decide:
]

Thanks a lot for sharing, I think it suits your colour a lot better actually.

Mine is very black - black scuderia alloys, black interior, black roof and black paint! - so I am not sure that roof would actually suit it that well. Still I love it on the grey example posted earlier.

The car with the red roof is black Mine is grey. I'm looking for a set of Scud alloys at the moment actually: if you ever want to sell let me know.

[mwstewart]

sealtt said:

Hi, yes I saw yours was grey - I was referring to the photo of the grey f430 with a red roof you posted a while ago. I think the red roof suits it much better than on this black one. Not very clear as I am talking about 4 cars in one badly written message!!

Ha, I will do, maybe if I sell the car. They are a great option. I also saw a 599 GTO style alloy on a f430 which looked very nice too.

With you now. I can understand why you wouldn't sell! I think I've tracked down some wheels but the postage from the US isn't cheap. I have decided to add the skirts and front bumper too:


and the regular stripe:


I'll leave the back end standard as I actually think it looks better on the F430.

How are you getting on with yours?

[mwstewart]

sealtt said:

The skirts & bumper would be a great addition, are they easy enough to source (at a reasonable price)? Stripe is a cool idea, though I don't know if it's too much of a Scud signature? I probably wouldn't bother doing the skirts/bumpers on mine as being black the changes would be quite hard to spot. With the scud alloys & carbon ceramics it has a lot of the appearance of the scud already I'd say, in fact a Ferrari tech thought it might be one when he saw it pull up!

I don't use mine that often, maybe once a week at the moment. As such I sometimes consider changing it for a car with 4 seats so all 3 of us (me, my gf & kid) can fit in, and whilst it'd be a second car still it'd be one we can use a bit more. I had an M6 cabrio before which was good as we often go on day long road-trips around the south west. However, as soon as I get in and drive that F430, all ideas of change are forgotten! Such a great experience. I took it on a track day which was the best thing ever. I love the looks (prefer it to the 458 which I'd love to buy next), driving experience is very nice - steering, ride, performance, cabin feels special to sit in and the sound is very exciting. I upgraded the stereo head unit which was a very good move, would just like better speakers now to be able to enjoy roof-down cruising & listening to music when summer comes. Not sure if it's worth investing in upgrading the speakers though, especially as it makes the car non-standard which I can't imagine helping come sale time, but the stock speakers are really just so bad!!!

Are you doing any trips in your F430? Track days at all?

Used skirts fetch between 1.5 and 2, and complete front bumpers between 2 and 2.5. Neither are particularly easy to source but do seem to crop up every month or so. I know what you mean about the stripe - controversial...

Do you still have stock manifolds on yours? I completely agree about the speakers but since I replaced the Mk2 manifolds with some aftermarket versions I've forgotten all about the crap HiFi. For your next car it sounds like the California may be a good fit?

My car has been in hibernation since September which is something I always planned to do, but I really miss it! I expect to start driving it again around April time, and then later on in the year I want to visit Maranello for an owners factory tour. There was discussion about Ferrari relocating following the spin off by FCA so it seems like a pertient time to do it. I've not been on any track days in it.

[mwstewart]

I found out that my car was within the VIN range for a recall on the clutch master cylinder. The inlet union on the original part can degrade over time and allow air into the system, so whilst I'm changing the clutch I may as well do this myself, rather than faff around having it taken to a main dealer for them to do.



Work has been taking up a lot of my time so I need to book some leave to get the car finished - I'm missing some decent driving weather!

Edited by mwstewart on Tuesday 15th March 11:28

[mwstewart]

Some more goodies:

16M stripe.


Hill Engineering upgraded front track rod ends - to match the rears I already fitted - and front skid plates.


The latest version of Scud Ing DRLs


Which do this:


I have next week off work to tinker with the cars and hope to get everything fitted. I miss driving the thing now - speaking of which we have a road trip planned for September. My girlfriend has been excitedly planning some of the finer details:


I've booked us onto the owners factory tour which should be interesting.

Edited by mwstewart on Tuesday 15th March 13:19

[mwstewart]

JakeT said:

Looks like a brilliant trip you've got planned. Do be sure to update the thread when you're back!

Thank you. Will do!

McSam said:

notice Max didn't come back to this. Despite thinking your clutch block heat shield and pipe re-routing was a lovely neat solution, I would agree that the main thermal path will certainly be from the engine block, rather than any significant radiation from the manifolds. I imagine there is a lot more radiation with these new (gorgeous) manifolds than the standard ones, but I still wouldn't expect it to be anything like as significant as conduction from the block.

If that's the case, the clutch block is heated by the engine directly and then radiates out into the engine bay. Adding a heatshield around it reduces this dramatically, trapping more heat in the clutch block than before. Looks like you could still get in to measure the clutch block's temperature with the heatshield around it, so perhaps it'd be worth testing it with/without the heatshield?

Ahh, OK. The block is actually mounted to the transaxle aft of the bell housing and sits on a boss that is approx 20mm in diameter and 25mm proud of the casing. This particular part of the gearbox - behind the clutch block - can be touched comfortably following a spirited drive hence there's no issue with conduction. Radiated heat from the nearby cats and manifolds on the other hand is significant...

neilbauer said:

Did you go with red inserts on steering wheel and red roof?

Not yet. They are on the list…

[mwstewart]

hughcam said:

Enjoy Switzerland! Make sure you do the furka and Sustain passes. They are the best roads in the world!

Thank you - neither are on the list actually! Are they better drives than the Gotthard Pass?

McSam said:

h, I see! I've found a photo that seems to show its placement a little bit better now, and see what you mean. If the casing really does stay that cool, then I expect the shield will be working as intended keep it up!

[mwstewart]

rainmasterb said:

Looking good Mark. Will we get chance to see it in the metal at Horsepower at the Hall this coming Saturday?

Thanks! Sadly not the next event but I will be there as soon as I can be.

[mwstewart]

hughcam said:

The Gotthard pass leads to the Furka IIRC. A pic taken on the Susten* pass taken last September below;

IMO the Susten was the best road I have ever driven. No traffic and miles of downhill hairpins leading to a huge reservoir. Heaven.

That looks awesome!

Lugy said:

Cracking thread and really nice to see the dirty parts for a change! It's very refreshing to see someone getting stuck in, rather than just take it to the main dealer. I'd imagine at the end of your ownership (if that day ever comes!) you'd have saved a massive amount on labour costs/parts mark up than any potential lower resale value.

Certainly gives me the confidence that I could one day own something exotic and self maintain.

Thank you. A lot of the owners get quite precious over them and often I think unreasonably so. They are no more complex to work on than the majority of modern cars.

S3_Graham said:

Would you mind sharing your trip stop overs? Im in the process of planning a route to get me to Lake Como in Juy with the GF. At the moment its looking like
Outbound:
Bromley>Nurburg
Nurburg>Chur
Chur>Como
Como>Garda

Return:
errr... no idea yet!

Sure thing. I'll update the thread as things are firmed up, but here's v0.1!


Ignore the start/end times for now as we haven't yet factored in sightseeing time. Day 6-10 includes a five night stop in a Tuscan villa otherwise that leg could be cut down if desired.

[mwstewart]

threadlock said:

Descending the second half of the Furka, just before the car park at the nose of the Rhone Glacier:
There's a decent hotel at the bottom of the Furka if you want a tip.)

https://goo.gl/maps/hkCsA
Have a great trip! Hope you get decent weather and few tourists.

Thank you! It looks superb, especially seeing the glacier too.

The Belvedere Hotel is very close to your map marker - is it the one you recommend?

[mwstewart]

Updated Clutch Master Cylinder 180841
Today I fitted the updated clutch master cylinder to address the issue with the old unit (175187) identified in recall R/2006/210 - https://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/recalls/recalls... Access is via the luggage compartment and through a waterproof membrane, which must be cut then sealed up once work is complete.


Replacement was straight forward, just a bit fiddly. I used new crush washers, clips, and hose.


Titainum Look Door Handles
I really like the titainium door handle official accessory: http://www.meridienmodena.co.uk/titanium-door-hand... I have been contemplating these for a while, but at £500 I keep thinking the money is better spent elsewhere. Today I removed one of the handles to have a look how they are made and I was surprised to find they are actually cast alloy and not plastic like I was expecting. I decided I could do something with them! I used paint stripper to remove the factory paint and primer, leaving the cast finish:


Next I used different grades of went and dry paper to achieve the machined look of the accessory handles.


Finally I lacquered them. Here they are:


ILUAL43 Headlight LED DRL
I fitted the new version of ILUAL43 Headlight LED DRL from Scud Ing. Here's a standard sidelight for comparison:


And the ILUAL43. In person they are incredibly bright.


Fuel Flap Cavallino Rampante
Finally today I got around to modifying my fuel flap with the bolt on Cavallino Rampante I bought last year. I'm not a fan of exposed carbon on a Silverstone car but I really like the prancing horse on the accessory carbon flap, so modifying my standard flap seemed the ideal compromise.


I marked on the flap my preferred position then drilled a 3.5mm hole, and prepared it with etch primer, then a smear of grease over that once it had dried.


Flap back on the car complete with the Cavallino Rampante.

[mwstewart]

neilbauer said:

It's the small details that count, and only someone who knows the marque would probably spot them. But add them all together and it makes a good car a great car

Thank you

r1chardh said:

Just glancing at your route - are you staying in Maranello? If so, may I suggest considering Modena instead? From what I remember, Maranello isn't the most beautiful of places and Modena isn't far away. (Unless you have somewhere lovely booked in which case forget this). Also worth trying for a Pagani Factory tour if you have time!

http://www.pagani.com/en/contacts/pagani_factory_t...

Love the car by the way, your willingness to do whatever needs doing to get it the way you want it is inspiring.

We're actually going to stay in a villa somewhere in Tuscany for a few days and then make a day trip to Maranello. I guess given the factory is there it's a bit of an industrial area overall? Thank you for the advice though; I hadn't considered the Pagani factory until you mentioned it - fantastic idea!

Thanks for the comments on the car.

[mwstewart]

sc0tt said:

Looking good but the fuel cap looks proper halfords.

Who am I to talk though as you have a ferrari and I don't

Enjoy.

Yeah, it's a personal preference thing, though it's actually like it on the accessory part:

DanielJames said:

Great updates, can't wait for the road trip update!

Cheers!

The good weather is upon us and I have run out of time for the preventative clutch replacement operation; I actually contacted a couple of mobile mechanics but nothing came of that, so I've put the car back together for summer use. Looking through the inspection window in the transaction shows a bit of life left in the clutch, so it should do for the rest of this year at least, then I can tackle it next winter.

I effected a minor repair on the cat heat shields where water had gathered around the factory rivets and corroded the shield thus allowing the rivets to pull through. I repaired using much larger stainless rivets.


I found one of the nylon vacuum lines was routed in a way that meant it was crushed upon installation of the lower airbox. I moved it out of the way when refitting.


Tailpipe Restoration
The four remaining studs in the rear tailpipe sections snapped last year when I removed the silencer. I attempted to drill them out in situ this week but it was game over as soon as the bit reached the lower section which is welded them to the flange; the metal has become too hard from welding to easily drill out. In view of this I opted to remove the tailpipe sections and use an angle grinder to cut off the welds (green arrows), and then for reassembly I will use stainless bolts rather than steel studs. My car came with Capristo brackets fitted so the other two studs were already removed (if they were ever fitted at all - I don't know).


I decided to restore anything on the parts I had removed to make future maintenance easier. The AccuSeal clamps fitted at the factory are advertised as being stainless steel but really it is just the clamp section itself - the fastening hardware is steel and hence a recipe for disaster.



I replaced the AccuSeal clamps with 100% stainless Mikalor clamps. The smaller two are 47-51mm.


The larger are 63-68mm - the originals have to be cut off with a grinder as they are tacked to the exhaust. The Mikalor clamps don't cover the slits but this isn't an issue as there is 25mm of sealing surface behind them.


The exhaust valve actuators are also stainless steel but come fitted with copper plated lock nuts which also corrode heavily. I replaced them with stainless nuts and stainless shake-proof washers.


I refreshed the stainless exhaust tips with 80 grit wet and dry paper. I am careful to use the paper horizontally to each the tip in order to create a brushed effect.


Refitting the exhaust is a doddle and the rear bumper can stay on; I place a rag in the exhaust wells to protect the body and then pivot the exhaust around the 90 degree bend before the tips and it slides in without touching any of the bodywork. I used fairly liquid on the joints to make the whole thing easier to assemble. It only takes five minutes to adjust as the rear silencer ties everything together leaving only a little bit of adjustment via the joins behind the cats.


A shot from underneath showing the new hardware and Capristo brackets.

[mwstewart]

sc0tt said:

Great work.

I can't imagine why you didn't get much joy with the mobile mechanics

Hi, yeah it's a Ferrari ... Click ...

Ha, yes nothing came of it.

Today I fitted the Hill Engineering front track rod ends. A quick sanity check revealed these are shorter than the OEM version so this must be taken into account when refitting to ensure the tracking isn't too wildly out for the drive to get the car realigned.


Next it was stripe time. I've gone for a 16M inspired stripe in silver.


Fitting the stripe was quite nerve wracking, especially when down to the final section! I used soapy water to allow for repositioning on the car and a hard squeegee to move all of the water from underneath the decal once it was in a position I was happy with. My Dad helped by finding the centreline of the car and marking it up on pieces of tape.


The stripe ties in with the new handles and also the wheels. I am really pleased with it.



I was particularly pleased with the front badge recess which was all cut out off of the car. The OEM painted stripe fills the recess and I managed to achieve that look with the vinyl.


Excuse the dusty car!

[mwstewart]

Thanks gents.

[mwstewart]

Hill Engineering TREs, Cont...
I found when replacing the N/S track rod end that the 'balance spacer' was slightly knurled around its edge, so I decided to replace it. Worth noting when re-inserting them that the split in the spacer should be aliogned with a smooth portion of the securing bolt bore.


O/S/F Hill Engineering TRE fitted.


Clear Repeaters and LED Bulbs
Next I wanted to replace the amber side repeaters with clear, as the amber doesn't look great against Grigio Silverstone. The first links I came to was a very useful article from Voicey's blog: http://aldousvoice.com/2013/11/15/ferrari-360f430-...

Here are the new repeaters and 5 SMB LED replacement bulbs.


Fitted.


Titainium Look Inner Door Handles
The Titainium accessory handles are also available for the inner door handles. I set out to replicate them. The standard handle is soft feel black paint:



I flatted the handle and sprayed the underside in a matte silver.


I wrapped the top in 3M Di-noc brushed finished wrap.


Fitted. It looks much better.

[mwstewart]

Thanks both

I decided to bite the bullet and get the clutch changed. Off she goes!


The clutch will be a new OEM part and the release beaing a Hill Engineering uprated part with seals.


The Crankshaft Rear Spigot Bearing and oil seal behind the clutch release bearing shaft will be changed too. Total cost including vat is £2595.64, which seemed pretty good.

I think I've now tackled the major weak points - peace of mind for the upcoming road trip.

Edited by mwstewart on Tuesday 15th March 13:21

[mwstewart]

I know - me too...slightly

[mwstewart]

Thanks all.

On the servicing topic – for now I will maintain a dealer service history. I do own the car outright and as pointed out above accept the hit from actually using it and adding mileage (heresy in the Ferrari marketplace!), but there is a balance between cost savings from self-servicing and continuing with a garage history. Servicing the car myself would be needlessly throwing away money.

If the parts I replace myself outside of the service schedule have devalued the car in some buyers' eyes then so be it, I wouldn't want to sell to someone who was that short-sighted anyway I'm not sure what I would ever replace it with anyway - a 16M that I'd convert to a manual gearbox would be good, but the prices of those have gone crazy.