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.

Previous Restoration Day
Next Restoration Day
Home page