Motoring Discussion > Ferrari F550 Maranello - F550. Nice little runner
Thread Author: legacylad Replies: 9
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New Tue 16 Apr 13 23:05 
 Ferrari F550 Maranello - F550. Nice little runner - legacylad
An acquaintance of mine is an independent mechanic and always has something interesting in his workshop to drool over. I called in today as i was in the area and crawled all over a '98 550 Maranello. Knowing zilch about Ferraris I duly quized him and he rated the 550 highly. He told me that being front engined it was not favoured by purists, but was an acceptable daily runner. Docile around town with humungus performance on the open road.He had the head(s) off and the engine bay was very interesting. Made my 330 seem pathetic by comparison.
It looked stunning in a dark metallic blue with cream interior. He was not forthcoming offeriing to take me for a spin in it, so eventually i skulked off.
Sadly it wont fit in my garage.
The TR8 which would fit in my garage has now been sold. Probably just as well.
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New Wed 17 Apr 13 00:00 
 Ferrari F550 Maranello - F550. Nice little runner - Manatee
A pal has a more or less contemporary 456GT, with essentially the same 5.5 litre engine with slightly lower power.

Much cheaper to buy now than a similar aged 550 it also has 4 seats and seems to me a relative bargain. One here on carandclassic for 22k.

www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C329340

It is fearsomely fast but, as your friend says of the 550, it can be docile and very easy to drive, though I found the clutch very heavy until I got used to it - initially I thought my left foot must be on the footrest! I suppose it must need some strong springs to transmit 430bhp.
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New Wed 17 Apr 13 09:49 
 Ferrari F550 Maranello - F550. Nice little runner - jc2
I was wondering how you could be taken for a "spin" in it with the heads off!
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New Wed 17 Apr 13 14:42 
 Ferrari F550 Maranello - F550. Nice little runner - Manatee
>> I was wondering how you could be taken for a "spin" in it with the
>> heads off!

Yes, I thought that but decided to read it as "...had had the heads off..."

Must be a class independent. I would expect most owners to look for a Ferrari specialist (and I don't mean a dealer on a car that age).
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New Wed 17 Apr 13 15:30 
 Ferrari F550 Maranello - F550. Nice little runner - Armel Coussine
Only rich people and prestige-car dealers can afford Ferraris. Some are magnificent of course but they are all pernickety and demanding, like racehorses. You have to give them a bucket of raw eggs and brandy every morning.

So I never ate my heart out with desire for one. Were I extremely rich, however, I would only consider a front-engined V12 model, the older and simpler the better. These modern mid-engined supercars are hopelessly vulgar and pointless and no one can drive them properly.

There was this stark carburetted 1.5 litre V12 Barchetta in the fifties, 160 bhp I think and with a cart-sprung straight rear axle... worth a king's ransom now if there's still a decent one. Yes please, in my dreams.
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New Wed 17 Apr 13 15:54 
 Ferrari F550 Maranello - F550. Nice little runner - TeeCee
I believe that the modern ones are actually less demanding than the older types.

Some of the V12 models were gifted with six twin-choke webers, three on each bank. Apparently that little lot would require rebalancing every 2000 miles or so to keep the thing singing properly, along with resetting the engine's timing.

I remember, as a young man, assisting my father with a head job on a Morris 1000. On finishing the valve lapping he said something like; "Well, I'm glad that rotten job's finally over.".
I responded with; "You should be glad that you don't have a Ferrari.".
"Oh? Why is that?".
"Because we'd still have another 40 to go....".
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New Wed 17 Apr 13 16:06 
 Ferrari F550 Maranello - F550. Nice little runner - Armel Coussine
>> I believe that the modern ones are actually less demanding than the older types.

They would need to be... the 275GTB4 coupé, an old-time favourite of mine, had to have all four camshafts replaced every 2000 miles, according to Derek Bell who had a free one on the firm. The Daytona had a version of the same engine. I wonder how long its camshafts lasted?

But even your purring (at traffic speeds) little 308 or whatever is certainly going to need more frequent and much more expensive fettling than your Oriental runabout or Eurobox. Or so I would imagine. I've never owned one. Cars of that sort get tatty and rough very easily. They are flimsy in a way. And although there are terrific indy specialists, it's a minefield finding a really reliable one. Some are out-and-out crooks who will screw up your thoroughbred if you let them.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Wed 17 Apr 13 at 16:08
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New Thu 18 Apr 13 00:05 
 Ferrari F550 Maranello - F550. Nice little runner - Manatee
You're right AC, and my pal agrees with you being a V12 nut (Jaguars mainly) and regards the 456 as a "sensible" Ferrari - but none is them is sensible really. A Porsche specialist I talked to a while back is also very wary of them as he reckons they have nearly all been clocked! I don't pine for one.

Except possibly the 330 Spyder owned by a (sadly) more distant acquaintance. A beautiful, original car from about 1968 that has been in the family from new. Also a V12 (4 litres of course, being 12 x 330cc) and probably worth a king's ransom.

I am very taken by the wheels on that particular example, alloy rather than wire, that put me in mind of the D type Dunlop alloys but with square holes so I took a snap - goo.gl/kBl9i

A similar car in the same colour -
www.yerarditransport.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/1967-ferrari-330-gts-lf.jpg

You'd have one of those perhaps?
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New Thu 18 Apr 13 00:55 
 Ferrari F550 Maranello - F550. Nice little runner - Armel Coussine
>> A Porsche specialist I talked to a while back is also very wary of them as he reckons they have nearly all been clocked!

Unlike his low-mileage air-cooled 911s... 'They all make that noise when they're well run in old chap... '

Heh heh... Porsches are cheaper to run, German and practical, but far from free of course if you want them to stay nice.

Saw what may have been a nice one in the supermarket car park today, a 550 Spyder or similar in silver. It had a convincing air but I didn't stop to examine it. There are some quite good VW-engined replicas around, not just good looking but probably nice motors once sorted.
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New Thu 18 Apr 13 01:05 
 Ferrari F550 Maranello - F550. Nice little runner - Armel Coussine
>> You'd have one of those perhaps?

Svelte jalopy all right. Wouldn't kick it out of bed no way guv. I prefer coupes though mainly.

The wheel in your snap seemed very thin like a steel wheel.
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