97 Ferrari 456 GTA bought in auction

[fastgerman]

Bellissimo!

That is going to sound incredible

There is one other company in Japan called Brilliant Exhaust. Along with Fiammenghi they seem to be the only ones to build a 6 to 1 manifold / header, which you need for that old school F1 sound

Links:
https://www.ekimani.com/
https://www.fiammenghiitalia.com/en/

Edited by fastgerman on Tuesday 19th January 20:37

[Cambs_Stuart]

Those exhausts are beautiful.

[fastgerman]

Snow shot

[fastgerman]

Hi All,

Decided to have a go at the leather on the passenger airbag cover.

It’s not an expert job but it looks a lot better with a couple of hours effort:

Unplug battery.

2 x Allen Keys for removing the glove box and spring mounted hinge / retainer.

Unplug yellow airbag cable, glove box light and any other cables in your way.

4 bolts to be removed holding the passenger air bag in place.

Airbag cover and airbag to be lifted out.

Use hairdryer to heat up old glue and remove along with clean the surfaces before re-glue. I used some nail polish remover as couldn’t find any thinners and Evo Stick for the glue.



Paul McKenna (2nd owner), assume the car has some psychic powers...

[ferrisbueller]

That's a decent effort and outcome IMO. Well done.

[bolidemichael]

Were these also available with a manual box?

[fastgerman]

Ferrisbuller - Thanks and it did look like this:



I’m going to have a go at the leather on the parcel shelf and see if I can stretch the leather near the air vents also.

[fastgerman]

bolidemichael said:

Were these also available with a manual box?

Yes but they weren’t popular at the time, however now they are getting to 550 prices

[idealstandard]

bolidemichael said:

Were these also available with a manual box?

Yes, six speed gated.

[fastgerman]

Onto gearboxes and exhausts:

Money no object, we chatted wheels a few pages back and 19’s look favourable along with some suspension work; perhaps KW.

Exhaust, there is only one worth considering - see page 11, Fiammenghi!

Gearboxes... the majority of 456’s are auto and it’s the same with the Porsche 928. They are GT cars.

Now for similar money to a Fiammenghi exhaust, I think you could go this route:

Corvette Z06 C5/C6 GM auto 6 speed

https://928motorsports.com/parts/transaxle_upgrade...





I guess at some point somebody will have a go. Pros are 6 speed auto with modern shifting speeds. Cons will be taking a Ferrari away from originality.

I’ve read some posts on the 456 auto being linked to a GM box (4T80), but, look at the difference:

Edited by fastgerman on Tuesday 2nd February 20:29

[idealstandard]

Now that is an interesting concept. Having driven both a conventional 6 speed manual (had two manuals), and also a GTA, I actually think the engine is better suited to the automatic, that being said I loved my manuals. The gearing is very long on the manual. That potential auto replacement is very interesting.

I love a project. Currently converting my 599 to manual, not to concerned about originality simply because it wasn't a concourse example in the first place. 456 prices are also a minefield, and every car has a buyer.

[leglessAlex]

fastgerman said:

Con would be taking a Ferrari away from originality.

On a car like this, that’s probably the least valued model of the brand at the moment, would it really be much of a con?

If this was a car to keep, it seems like this would be an incredibly good upgrade!

[fastgerman]

I guess we’ll have to see if she is a keeper, I’ll have the car for at least a year then we’ll see.

So in dreaming mode:



Black cars and gold bbs :-)



- Fiammenghi exhaust - £10k
- BBS gold wheels - £3k
- KW suspension (need to work out how to get rid of the hydraulics and integrated parts) - £4k ish
- Corvette C6 gearbox and ancillaries + electrics - £7k ish
- Engine from 436 hp to 500 hp ?? Imagine the exhaust makes a difference and maybe a more modern carbon air intake + map...
- I wouldn’t touch the look of the car such as adding a spoiler etc but think the car needs lowering when 19’s are added...



Back to the real world, now that I’ve sorted the passenger airbag out, I need to heat up and pull the leather on the dash into the glove box and vent holes:

Edited by fastgerman on Wednesday 3rd February 17:55

[DKL]

Is there a way to convert an auto to a manual? I saw an option for a 599 and someone suggested Aldous Voice might offer this.
There is quite a margin between the same car auto v manual; Rardley have an auto at 39 (sold I think) and a manual m at 72 (lhd at 49).
There would be a few Ferrari parts to obtain I dare say, gate etc but if it was doable at a sensible price it would help.
Increasingly regretting not looking at the manual car at Forza at about 29.5k in 2015 or so! But the running costs put me off and to be fair they rather still do.

[fastgerman]

The M GT looks to be ‘spoken for’. Yes a manual conversion is certainly one way to go but not for me on this car, I would prefer a modern auto. Sacrilegious comment for PH I know, but I can’t be doing with notchy shifts and skipping 2nd gear until it’s warm and the rest of it, it’s not that type of car imo. On a F355 then it’s a no brainier to have a manual but this is a family 4 seater.

Re-costs - I think these cars should be 2-3k a year in maintenance, which is comparable to a similar year Porsche or BMW M Car. My initial high cost was due to the car being in storage and me wanting everything sorted at once.

[QBee]

I agree with your comments about auto vs manual. I have had endless auto cars, from 4 litre Lexuses to Mercedes, Audit and Saabs, and decided when I bought a more powerful Saab I should go manual. Frankly it took over 50% of the driving pleasure out of the car for me, and I have gone back to an auto.

Manual gearboxes in my opinion, now I am well stricken in years, are for performance cars that you intend to drive on the race track and fast B roads......I have one and the manual gearbox suits it.

I am so impressed with your choice of the 456. I always wanted one since the day they first appeared, and have now missed my chance.

My daily driver these days has to be capable of towing, carrying dogs, or both, and my fun car has to have track days on its agenda. I have made so many friends since buying the TVR, and the best of those friends love going to track days together. To me a fun car has to involve people, and mine does.

[Terminator X]

fastgerman said:

Hi All,

Well I still haven’t fully resolved the draining battery but the situation is at least improved - I haven’t had any issues for the last few weeks starting the car.

Some Christmas swag:



I have a spare key to get cut in the form of an Enzo key from Forza in Scottsdale US. On the hunt for another fob, they do appear to be the same as the Ford Explorer on eBay... ?? That is random

I’m looking for somewhere that will print me an A5 copy of the user manual also as have a download.

Then I’m hunting for a Ferrari tool kit :-)

Carpool on the PH homepage also - https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-carpool/ferrar...

I'm in good company I have the same mug

TX.

[DKL]

fastgerman said:

Re-costs - I think these cars should be 2-3k a year in maintenance, which is comparable to a similar year Porsche or BMW M Car. My initial high cost was due to the car being in storage and me wanting everything sorted at once.

I'd love to believe that as it's quite doable but all the cars I've looked at on auctions have a worrying number of bills in the listing in excess of £7 or 8k (and I'm including 612s in this as they are sort of similar and those companies that quote menu prices usually quote the same and a 612 is newer). This I can do without. Yes any expensive old car could do this I dare say but a v12 ferrari seems more capable than most.

So I shall be watching with interest and should the market drop again it's going to be tough to resist.

[fastgerman]

QBee - I bet a TVR is a riot on a track day, very cool. I’m getting to a stage where I can’t be bothered with a manual on the road these days.

TerminatorX - I’m sure it makes coffee taste better ;-)

DKL - Have a look at Paul Goodlad’s experience at circa £2k a year - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

My cambelt service was under £2k and to be fair that’s all I had to do but I carried on with ‘bits’. There is a huge difference in sourcing parts and using a specialist to booking your servicing with Ferrari.

[QBee]

Yes, with 370 bhp per tonne and 525 ft lbs of torque, plus no driver aids, the TVR is errr...."amusing" on track.