5/4/08
The Drive Home and Final Thoughts
It was 390 miles each way from my house to Richard Garre's shop, so
Jay and I headed home on a beautiful sunny day. The Ferrari was
running well, and I even getting 16 miles to the gallon in mileage!
That's
better than the 14 miles a gallon on the the trip to Watkins Glen. The
engine must be breaking in after putting about 4000 miles since I put
her on the road. With every mile, I appreciate this car more and more.
Parker Hall once told me that I would learn to love my 330 America over
coveting a Lusso, and I believe I see his point more and more every
time I drive my car.
On the highway in overdrive, my more powerful four liter engine pulls
about 3100 rpm at 70mph. There is plenty of torque in the engine to
pull quickly up to 90 without downshifting, but with a flick of the
switch into 4th, the car explodes with power. It is so much fun to
watch this old girl pick up her skirt and run with anyone who dares to
keep up! I couldn't imagine how worn out we would have been hearing
that V-12 engine spinning at 4200 RPM for five hours in the direct
drive of fourth gear. Now I know why many Lussos were modified
with an overdrive transmission!
The only minor glitch was at a gas stop when I got a clunk noise from
the starter when it was time to leave. Knowing that the battery was
fine, and the car didn't have a hot start issue, I felt it was probably
the pinon gear stuck in full engagement not allowing the starter to
spin up to speed. I left the car in gear and rocked the car forward,
and tried to start her again. She fired over without a problem. Having
both expereinced this before in old British cars, Jay and I took it all
in stride.
I had a lot of time to think about what had occured at this party.
Vintage Ferrari prices have gone through the roof in recent years, and
the cars have become so valuable that I believe people are not driving
them as much. The 2+2s are the last group of cars that are still
relatively inexpensive so their owners can drive them and enjoy them,
but it seems that the large shows don't seem to offer much to support
our existence. I hope to fill this niche for Vintage owners who still
drive their cars and even enjoy fixing them, so look forward to the
next event I throw!
Just a reminder, I'm looking for a
new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration
project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car
on this website! My E-mail.
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