Volume 1, Issue 4 - September 1994

Monterey - What a Week!

well, the big event has come and gone. i hope you were there because it lived up to and beyond all expectations.

to describe monterey 1994 as the greatest ferrari event ever organized is surely no exaggeration. the quantity and quality of the full week?s program was a testimony to its importance. the last week in august is considered by automobile enthusiasts and connoisseurs a not-to-miss opportunity. each year the peninsula hosts two events unequaled in the world: the pebble beach concours d?elegance and the monterey historic car races. of course, this year ferrari was the featured marque, as it was ten years ago. add to that the annual meet of the fca and you get the most beautiful, glorious cars in the world on display and racing.

members who caravaned to monterey stop for a sumptuous lunch at cafe roma in san luis obispo, courtesy of ferrari of beverly hills.

i heard rumor that there were over 1,000 ferraris in the area that week! i don?t know if that?s true or not but there were certainly over 270 classic ferraris at the fca concours on wednesday and that doesn?t include many cars that came up later in the week or many of the more modern cars that weren?t shown but make up the largest number of ferraris in the u.s. so it doesn?t seem impossible. keep in mind, over the last 47 years ferrari has only built about 60,000 in the entire world.

the logistics of planning a meet like this must be staggering but i thought that every aspect of it was first class and extremely well organized. from registration to the meals, rally organization, track events, and other events, the week was unparalleled. my compliments to everyone involved.

here are some of the highlights for me:

my first highlight started as early as registration. the whole thing was well organized and staffed and by the time i left i had: two bags, one seat cushion, an official program, an event guide, a book of tickets for all the events i signed up for, two posters, laminated name badges, a slew of brochures, and a special edition hardbound copy of stanley nowak?s fine book ferrari spyder california. before the week ended i added a picnic blanket with an embroidered fca logo, official ferrari sales brochures on the f355 and 456gt, more posters, a watch, etc. all in all, an impressive haul.

the il mercado di ferrari, alongside registration was also first class. the italian market atmosphere made all the vendor?s wares look that much more appealing.

i didn?t get up to monterey until wednesday night so i didn?t attend the concours. perhaps another reader can submit an article on it for next month?s newsletter.

my first real "event" was the rally on thursday and it was a blast. this was my first rally and i learned a lot about paying attention to signs and directions while driving along some of the most beautiful costal scenery in the country. this was an especially enjoyable event because my wife, sunni, was an integral participant as navigator. she did a great job and we never got lost but we sure did miss a lot of "sis" (special instructions) and some of the "gimmicks" (roadside signs and markings). this was more an indication of my heavy right foot than her navigating.

a view of the rally starting line from the driver?s seat.

the rally was a particularly good event for many of the ferrari club members who traveled from far away to attend and weren?t able to bring their ferraris because rental cars worked just fine (sometimes better, i suspect). however, the coveted gt award made sure that lots of recently restored concours-quality cars were out there competing as well.

the rally ended at the site of a new upscale ho

Director's Corner

your director hopes to write a monthly column - this is two in a row.

when i was in monterey i invited a friend of mine to our next monthly meeting since it is near his house in woodland hills. he asked me, "why come to meetings?" that started me to thinking.

what is the purpose of the club? why have meetings? my answers are below:

a club is for friendship, to share social events, to share war stories, to learn from others, and to take trips with people who we enjoy and with whom we share common interests. i have learned from fellow members about my car, where to obtain parts, where to get good service, and have even received help diagnosing problems. is it about ferraris? yes, but much more. we have met a number of people through our interest in ferraris who have become good friends. this happened because we went to meetings and participated in events.

i am put off my the term "board meetings." unless i have been elected to "the board" i do not feel i should go to meetings even though a monthly newsletter may say "all are welcome." so, our monthly meetings are for all members. they are for us to get to know each other, to plan events in which we want to participate and most of all to be sure that this club is what the members want it to be.

the southwest region covers a large territory. not everyone wants to travel a long distance to a meeting. so, we will have our southern california meetings rotate around the area. last month?s was in orange county, on september 27th we are meeting at ogner motorcars ferrari dealership in woodland hills, next month?s will again be in orange county, november?s will be near universal city, and so forth. we will have a meeting in the san diego area in november which i will arrange. i hope someone in the las vegas and phoenix-tucson areas will call me and volunteer to organize meetings there.

i believe that one of the primary functions of a club is to sponsor events for the membership. we hope to have at least one event each month for the general membership. in addition, let?s have regional events. the dealers are going to sponsor tech meetings on saturdays or on evenings. there will be several of these so if you are interested you can go to one in your area. i hope some of you will step forward, either at a meeting or with a call to me, to suggest and organize an event which could be put on in your area. let?s do things in the valley, orange county, las vegas, etc. so it?s easy for everyone to participate.

we need articles for our newsletter. do you have a story about anything? write it and we?ll print it. does it have to about ferraris? not necessarily. just write about something which you think would interest some of us. in this issue we have a new feature which i hope will become a monthly - "special roads."

lastly we do have committees: membership, events, competition, etc. the newsletter gives the names and telephone numbers of the chairpersons. please help us by participating. call the chair of one of the committees and offer to help.

remember, it?s your club.

Tech Tip - Fuilds

by: gary bobileff

fluids are hydroscopic, meaning that they will absorb moisture. when your motor is heated to operating temperature and then shut down, a cooling process begins and condensation begins inside your motor. most motors are closed to the atmosphere and can?t vent themselves. humidity increases as temperatures cool and ultimately causes a rain storm inside your motor. even if your car is rarely driven, the water present can cause rust, corrosion, and improper lubrication of critical parts. dry sump cars (remote oil hiding tanks) such as daytonas, 275/4 cams, 348s, boxers and trs are a prime target because of an extra air space to condense inside the holding tank as well as the motor.

transmissions and differentials are not immune to moisture either. heat develops because of friction internally. drain and refill them with proper fluid.

brake and clutch fluid is an area most people ignore. all ferraris are equipped to remove the reservoir bottle for cleaning. first, and most importantly, protect the surrounding work area with towels or absorbent material. brake fluid is highly corrosive and loves to eat paint for lunch. second, obtain a turkey baster or syringe and evacuate the reservoir. place the fluid in a glass contained (preferably). thirdly, depending on your particular model, either the reservoir is attached to the master cylinder via a force fit into rubber grommets or it?s remotely mounted with a hose clamp arrangement on the lower extremity. carefully remove the plastic reservoir from it?s attachment point. on units mounted to the master, a firm upward tug is necessary. thoroughly clean the inside with solvent, spray carb cleaner, small brushes, followed with compressed air to blow out all the dirt. absolutely no moisture of any kind should remain. reinstall the reservoir and fill it with a high quality brake fluid (as a rule, no synthetics).

place the car on jack stands, remove the wheels, obtain a glass bottle and a two foot clear small diameter hose. locate the bleeder screw (sometimes 3 per caliper). place one end of the hose on the bleeder (snug fit) and the other hose end at the bottom of the glass bottle (see the figure on page 3). have an assistant depress the pedal to the floor slowly after the bleeder is opened. close the bleeder. repeat the process. observe any air bubbles and dirty fluid. top when the fluid turns clear and there is no more air present. take note: do not run out of fluid, check the level often. prior to driving, check the pedal pressure for a normal feel. on abs equipped cars the procedure is different. call me for directions.

power steering fluid is another often neglected area. evacuate the fluid from the reservoir, remove a clip and spring and then the bottom steel disc which has holes drilled in it. remove and replace the filter with a filter from mercedes benz. this filter is not available from ferrari.

reassemble the reservoir and remove the other hoses that interconnect the steering pump, box, and reservoir. drain all the old fluid out, re-attach all hoses and fill the reservoir with proper fluid, re-attach all hoses and fill the reservoir with proper fluid. start the motor and turn the wheels full lock several times to purge the system of air. recheck and top up the fluid level several times. on most models, there is also a bleeder on top of the steering box which will also have to be bled when motor is running. do not reuse any old fluid and dispose of in accordance with local laws.

prolong the useful life of your ferrari. enjoy it, and keep up with the sim

Taming Those Wild Horses

by: frank carlone

learning to control one's emotions, especially after your helmet has been strapped on, is probably the most difficult task, and one which requires a lot of personal discipline. the next priority is to fully understand one's own driving abilities (limitations). and here, i would like to mention that, a not-so-honest person at a decent driving school will be embarrassed! since he/she may be asked to negotiate a chicane at a minimum speed over slick paint or soapy water; neither very easy to do. also the vehicle and its tire's potential must be fully understood and appreciated in that order. mastering the whole system is similar to working on solving a very complex puzzle without a time limit. some people are able to complete the puzzle a lot faster and with less effort than others. however, one needs to understand that once the puzzle has been completed it looks pretty much the same regardless of how much time and effort was used. there are no penalties for extra time and effort spent. it should be very obvious that it does not pay to rush! the best way to progress is placing one piece at a time properly. you cannot simply throw a bunch of pieces together and hope that they fall in their respective places, neither will your driving skills improve better, nor faster should you try to rush yourself. as a matter of fact, more often than not, this approach will prove to be counterproductive.

at first, you should convince yourself that you are not at a track or anywhere near a racing facility at all! but instead are just cruising on your favorite, get-away-from-it-all, road. secondly, you are not at a race track to race, but merely to become more proficient and more comfortable with your driving skills, and with your equipment. you, above all, must become very comfortable and relaxed with your present level of driving before you can advance to a higher, and more skillful level. most fears, and we all have them, must be conquered and subdued, prior to moving on. remember...

the puzzle can only be solved correctly by placing one piece of it at a time. your real progress can only be accomplished by making certain that you are giving yourself the necessary time for a gradual improvement. it would be very unwise to seek short cuts, because, there aren't any!

following a similar argument... it is not simply enough to get track time or seat time, as some choose to call it, but rather quality track time and quality seat time, and (make no mistake) one needs to clearly understand the difference!

it is very unlikely for a college graduate to try and solve an elementary puzzle. a well known author, carroll smith, once wrote, "it is senseless and wasteful to just drive around a race track without a real plan or purpose".....until next time!

about the author: frank carlone is the southwest region?s competition chairman and an experienced driver. if you know frank, you know he is adamant that ferrari owners should be proficient drivers. the ferrari driving experience is incomplete without ever "dancing on the edge." frank reminds us that it's a social responsibility to learn how to drive safely and maintain control, especially with our growing new membership and many upcoming track and closed-road events.

Rehabilitation Tales

by: judd goldfeder

one of the first events we entered was the la carrera classic in 1987 where we met several other ferrari owners who also enjoyed driving their cars. we were the ninth fastest finisher, averaging nearly 100 mph (lots of torque and horsepower made up for a lack of driving experience). we participated the next year and hoped to average over the magic 100 mark but it was not to be. a rear tire decided to release all of its air while we were traveling about 120 mph - it?s all on video as a friend had a camera in the car behind us. again, the gods smiled and we stopped safely, changed the tire and proceeded on.

for the next several years we entered concours not expecting to win a prize but for the camaraderie of sharing with other car lovers and participated in numerous club events.

that brings us to 1994 and planning for the fca national meeting. jan and i had wanted to have the car repainted and generally "freshened" but felt we could not afford it. announcement that the fca national meet would be in monterey motivated us to reconsider. we found that because of the depressed state of the restoration business, we could afford to do a cosmetic restoration (i call it a rehabilitation) of the car. it did not need any mechanical work as it runs and stops fine.

the "ugly duckling" 365 gtc before its "rehabilitation."

when i talked with gary bobileff, who has done all of my mechanical work over the past several years, about restoring the engine compartment the price quoted was beyond the budget. we talked and compromised on cleaning, replating, and painting everything which could be done without removing the engine or radiator.

next, the gods smiled again and i was introduced to roger desesa and bob robinson. they had done restoration work for friends and had worked on a 1935 bentley which we recently purchased. my charge to them was that i wanted to keep the car as a "driver." it was to be repainted the original color (i had the information on the factory build sheet), all chrome would be redone, stainless would be polished, and replacement parts (including weather-strip) would be either nos or correct reproductions. i was responsible for finding the replacement parts and, believe me, that was an adventure. some things had to be reused, some rare parts were located and some were made. fortunately, we had all the original parts so we knew what we needed.

over the years i have heard numerous "horror" stories so this project was started with some trepidation. the restoration went well because roger and bob are honest, conscientious professionals who take pride in their work and meet their commitments. my experience in working with them over the three months while the car was in their shop was a pleasure. they did what they promised and their workmanship was outstanding.

judd and jan?s beautiful trophy-winning 365 gtc "rehabilitated."

90 days later, just in time for the fca national concours, the moderately attractive duckling had been turned into a beautiful ferrari. it was better than we expected. the car was driven from san diego to monterey four days before the concours. roger and his wife c

Great Roads - G16

by: judd goldfeder

the road is all paved but is up and down, twisty and turny, narrow in spots, has no line down the middle in some areas, and even has a one lane bridge. after you leave the carmel valley this is what california was like 100 years ago before we had people, farms and cars - just beautiful scenery.

several years ago i drove this road at night thinking (from reading a map) that it was a short cut from 101 to our hotel in carmel - bad idea. if you want to go fast, take 68 through salinas but if you don?t mind going slow, try g16. and it can be slow - cy yedor told me that he has encountered fog so thick that he had to stop.

this is the most natural, bucolic, inland drive to be found. it is an ideal ferrari road because there is no traffic and lots of wiggles in the road but i most enjoyed driving slowly and absorbing what our state was once like.

please send us a description of your favorite drive.

Classified Ads

ferrari memorabilia overload! 30 year collection of books, pins, badges, yearbooks, and many other items too valuable to discard. send sase for complete list to: gekko 16220 aston, irvine ca 92714.

for sale: 1 set competition grind rally racing camshaft, 308 carb version, new (not welded and grind) latest version ?79: $4,000. 512 tr/f40 updated: 24 pistons for turbo charging made by mahle: set (12) $6,000. 308 (old carb version) 1 complete exhaust system from manifold on, original: call. 512bb and 512bbi, too many parts to list: please call. rims 308/512 competition. theiler automobil technik, 310-697-9958.

for sale: 1971 mercedes 280se 3.5 coupe. silver with burgundy interior - no sun roof. 87,000 mile car, third owner. recent cosmetic restoration (car stripped, all rust removed), new upholstery as needed and engine completely rebuilt. the car is beautiful, just not what i want. $25,000. judd goldfeder (619) 489-8339 x105.

for sale: 1979 ferrari 308 gts (serial # 29937). all original, 11,000 miles. rosso chiaro with tobacco. liane tsigounis, (310) 539-5116.

wanted: early 308 at a cheap price to make a track car. jeff littrell, (714) 263-3031.

wanted: ferrari poster "man was meant to fly" with 328 gts (red) in foreground and f-15 fighter aircraft in background 21" x 30". distributed by dallas ferrari dealership in late 1980s. also looking for an escort radar detector 1987/88 model in working condition. fair prices paid. joe: (602) 443-6661 days, (602) 860-6554 evenings.