RE: McNab's Ferrari Daytona *
Discussion
Never thought of that! Great car though, and developed the left leg muscles mightily thanks to the heavy clutch! 
But talking of hollow sills, we dismantled my BB to give it the Dinitrol ant-corrosion treatment, and found some buried treasure...
2 stale sandwiches wrapped in newspaper.
1 half-used box of matches.
But talking of hollow sills, we dismantled my BB to give it the Dinitrol ant-corrosion treatment, and found some buried treasure...
2 stale sandwiches wrapped in newspaper.
1 half-used box of matches.
Later version, but I always liked the plexiglass nose, paricularly on red and silver Daytonas.
No problems other than suspension bushes becoming noisy due to bad roads, and a slight tendency to draw in fumes unless all the seals were perfect. The boot smelt very fumy.
Gearchange quite heavy even when warm, and you have to be a bit careful with the right foot in the wet. OK as long as you don't run the tyres treadless!
It's essential to set up the carbs properly - rather a specialist job nowadays, but worthwhile. Otherwise not much to worry about - one of the most dependable Ferraris ever.
Hope you find a good one!
No problems other than suspension bushes becoming noisy due to bad roads, and a slight tendency to draw in fumes unless all the seals were perfect. The boot smelt very fumy.
Gearchange quite heavy even when warm, and you have to be a bit careful with the right foot in the wet. OK as long as you don't run the tyres treadless!
It's essential to set up the carbs properly - rather a specialist job nowadays, but worthwhile. Otherwise not much to worry about - one of the most dependable Ferraris ever.
Hope you find a good one!
Thom, mine was OK - perhaps because the first owner raced it once or twice and had the suspension well set up.
Despite that I drove several others and never noticed any hint of instability at high speed. Come to think of it I drove one at Fiorano and it handled just fine.
Maybe I didn't try hard enough!
Despite that I drove several others and never noticed any hint of instability at high speed. Come to think of it I drove one at Fiorano and it handled just fine.
Maybe I didn't try hard enough!
Murph, it looks like Rardley's have a very nice one for sale at the moment (and its a fair bit cheaper than Paul Baber's cars), if I had the cash available I would cetainly be taking a look here...
www.rardleymotors.com/rardley/Sales/stocklist.htm
www.rardleymotors.com/rardley/Sales/stocklist.htm
McNab said:
Lovely car, and not all that much between it and a Daytona. Some of them had transaxle problems while still under warranty, all sorted out pronto.
Any survivor will have been well looked after, but are they any less expensive than the other 30-year-olds (being comparatively rare)?
Well the 365 GTC4 above is at runnymede for £37k. Compared to a Daytona, that IS value....
If the previous owner of the Rardley car is who I think he is (and I'm surprised they quote names...), he's owned some toys in his time including a Lister Le Mans, XJ12C Lister, Lister Storm, several 550s, a 456 and so, it appears, that Daytona - I followed him to Le Mans one year, he in his Lister Le Mans, me in my humble 911 Carrera - he overtook me on the N138 and a mile further on was flagged down by the Police and nicked for speeding. The Daytona will have been well looked after but driven as Ferrari meant it to be.
The Rardley one looks nice.
I think I'm going to look for a decent plexiglass car first and take it from there. Am in Asia at the minute until at least February though, so the practicaliities of buying one right now will be a bit tricky.
And now Rubystone's on this thread, I'm in trouble!
I think I'm going to look for a decent plexiglass car first and take it from there. Am in Asia at the minute until at least February though, so the practicaliities of buying one right now will be a bit tricky.
And now Rubystone's on this thread, I'm in trouble!
toppstuff said:Is it? Following on from rubystone's comment let's be frank. Unless you're an enormously rich collector with the resources to completely restore a car, this is an absolute minefield. Perhaps an exception can be made for the few who have the skill, time and workshop facilities to do it themselves, but very few come into that category.
Well the 365 GTC4 above is at runnymede for £37k. Compared to a Daytona, that IS value....
I know a couple of people at the top end of the 'classic' trade who only handle the rarest and most perfect cars, and believe me they are ultra-careful, and only prosper through sheer hard work and profound knowledge.
I also know a nice guy who has lost £2m in the last few years because he was an over-optimistic Ferrari buyer who fell victim to the volatility of the market for these cars. It will probably work out OK for him in the end because he can afford to wait, but how many are in that position?
Closer to home, an old Jaguar which was originally mine came up for auction at Coy's recently, and was withdrawn at £85k - much less than it had cost to restore. The owner no doubt derived a great deal of pleasure from his involvment with it over a lengthy period, but not many of us can afford to take such a risk.
There's a saying about the classic car business. Quite simply "You get what you pay for, and then you pay for what you get, over and over again".
My own philosophy is to buy them, use them, and then sell them, preferably when they're still fairly new. The longest I've ever kept a car is about 8 years - the shortest 3 hours, but generally it's 2 years or 4 years, depending on how much my wife and I like them.
It all depends on your circumstances, but I think rubystone is saying "caveat emptor". I agree with that wholeheartedly.
McNab said:
Well the 365 GTC4 above is at runnymede for £37k. Compared to a Daytona, that IS value....
Is it? Following on from rubystone's comment let's be frank. Unless you're an enormously rich collector with the resources to completely restore a car, this is an absolute minefield.
and to back that up - that car has been at runnymede for several months now (originally priced a little higher) - so it can't be that much of a steal. Still think it looks gorgeous though..
Davey S1 said:Sunbeam Alpine was the 3 hour marvel. So bad that they took it back and gave me a full refund. Just about everything wanted to fall off - I think that was a very bad time for the UK motor industry, with far too may sub-standard cars.
Interested to know which car you got rid of after 3 hours?
What has been the best and worst cars you have owned?
Best/worst hard to define!
Best all-rounder was the Audi Quattro (LHD), used by my wife and two sons as well. We kept it 8 years, and never had a moment's worry. Great performer, rain, shine, snow and ice. Even by today's standards it was quick, and handled beautifully - an iconic leap forward in car design.
Worst, subjectively, 230SL Pagoda. So bad that I habitually snuck off in our Alfa Giulia and left the Merc to my long-suffering lady. The 230SL had the hardest seats I've ever met, no noticeable performance, and had a nervous breakdown every time it saw a corner - it did a nasty little jiggle at the back at almost any speed.
I suppose we bought it due to romantic memories of the Gullwing. What a mistake. Build quality was its only virtue.
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