Panic buying a pandemic Ferrari
Discussion
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.
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.
Edited by jackpe on Monday 20th April 20:59
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..
Slippydiff 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.. Slippydiff said:
If tweaking the choke mechanism and the idle jet have sorted the misfire, fair play to you Jack.
It's strange how some cars fight you every inch of the way, whereas others just respond to every thing you do, in the way you hope they should. I put the Influenzo in the latter camp by the way !! Keep it up, and I hope all goes well with sorting the car's other ailments
Thanks buddy!!It's strange how some cars fight you every inch of the way, whereas others just respond to every thing you do, in the way you hope they should. I put the Influenzo in the latter camp by the way !! Keep it up, and I hope all goes well with sorting the car's other ailments
New video is up everyone. And the one coming next week is belter. The InfluEnzo tried to kill me a couple of days ago...
carinaman said:
CAR Magazine have put up launch write up, mentioning the single pipe exhaust, by Mel Nichols:
https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/ferrari/...
This is great thanks!! And really useful as I was also wondering why it sounded slightly muted! https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/ferrari/...
Hello all!!!!!
Thanks for the continued love for the InfluEnzo.. the challenges continue. Firstly my pathetic attempt at a Sellek style moustache is straggly and only goes to show how badly I would have made a real Magnum!
Sometimes the car starts on the button, and sometimes it really struggles. Had a scare on my last drive as I noticed it was bogging down badly.. then realised it was only while I had lights and fans on.. so I think the battery is weak and could also explain the occasional dodgy starting!
Also having a few water leaks and seem that the nearside deuce shaft gearbox seal is responsible for a lot of the drops getting onto the sump.
Fixed the indicator though and the car is now running so well!! So much more fun to bomb around in!!
Thanks for the continued love for the InfluEnzo.. the challenges continue. Firstly my pathetic attempt at a Sellek style moustache is straggly and only goes to show how badly I would have made a real Magnum!
Sometimes the car starts on the button, and sometimes it really struggles. Had a scare on my last drive as I noticed it was bogging down badly.. then realised it was only while I had lights and fans on.. so I think the battery is weak and could also explain the occasional dodgy starting!
Also having a few water leaks and seem that the nearside deuce shaft gearbox seal is responsible for a lot of the drops getting onto the sump.
Fixed the indicator though and the car is now running so well!! So much more fun to bomb around in!!
Wombat3 said:
The starter circuits are also notoriously troublesome. Battery in the front, engine at the back, lots of wire and connections in between in both HT and LT circuits. They wont ever have been cleaned, suggest find them & clean them.
If you had a power deficiency it shouldn't matter what state the battery is in, the alternator should provide enough juice to run everything anyway, So I'd look at the charging circuit before changing the battery.
I will check it all, but I think if you have a slightly duff battery it can play havoc with other parts of the car, even if as you say in theory the alternator should be taking up a lot of the slack. If you had a power deficiency it shouldn't matter what state the battery is in, the alternator should provide enough juice to run everything anyway, So I'd look at the charging circuit before changing the battery.
I think the best way forward is to get the original exhaust modified .. I will look into it ASAP!
Fixed the non working indicator (bad earth) and I think the only oil leak I need to address is from one of the driveshaft seals.. which I don’t think will be fun to do. Need to find out more.
Fixed the non working indicator (bad earth) and I think the only oil leak I need to address is from one of the driveshaft seals.. which I don’t think will be fun to do. Need to find out more.
Slippydiff said:
That "whistling" noise, sounds like a fairly common issue Jack :
https://ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/the-dreaded-...
Had seen already and This only applies on the 4 tip exhaust cars unfortunately.. mine does not have a baffle in the tip. But thanks for the heads up in any case.https://ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/the-dreaded-...
Hello all!!
So this week I thought it would have been a pretty boring video.. just fixing small stuff like a water leak, oil leaks and so on. But the InfluEnzo never likes to disappoint so today it totally refused to start. I thought maybe it was slightly duff battery as it has sometimes been a bit reluctant to get going. But spark is ok so need to look at other avenues tomorrow. For now it is dead!
So this week I thought it would have been a pretty boring video.. just fixing small stuff like a water leak, oil leaks and so on. But the InfluEnzo never likes to disappoint so today it totally refused to start. I thought maybe it was slightly duff battery as it has sometimes been a bit reluctant to get going. But spark is ok so need to look at other avenues tomorrow. For now it is dead!
Chaps.. latest video is now live. Car still not running but I think I’ve found the issue. I will rust putting in the link myself. If any mods object please let me know and I’ll put it in my profile.
https://youtu.be/6MSbL9SzkjU
https://youtu.be/6MSbL9SzkjU
Wombat3 said:
Enjoyed the vid as usual
Re the shift shaft oil leak, that's not so good. The issue is that if the front one has gone its likely the one between the sump & the gearbox is also no good.
When that happens you get engine oil going back into the gearbox which doesn't do it a lot of good so it's not one you want to leave for too long.
Suggest get the car level & remove the gearbox fill plug. If you get oil coming back out the gearbox the you know the seal has gone.
At the very least fill the gearbox till the oil level is right up to the fill plug & then keep an eye on it. Easiest way to fill the gearbox is through the transfer case.
Bear of a job to change the seals though, you need to remove the dipstick tube which can be no easy task. Full details on the usual F forums.
Umm I’ll have to check that. Is what you’re saying that if remove the gearbox full plug and oil come out then that because the extra has gone from engine sump into gearbox sump? Re the shift shaft oil leak, that's not so good. The issue is that if the front one has gone its likely the one between the sump & the gearbox is also no good.
When that happens you get engine oil going back into the gearbox which doesn't do it a lot of good so it's not one you want to leave for too long.
Suggest get the car level & remove the gearbox fill plug. If you get oil coming back out the gearbox the you know the seal has gone.
At the very least fill the gearbox till the oil level is right up to the fill plug & then keep an eye on it. Easiest way to fill the gearbox is through the transfer case.
Bear of a job to change the seals though, you need to remove the dipstick tube which can be no easy task. Full details on the usual F forums.
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