Parts in waiting

I followed up with Liverpool Exhaust about getting cats re-cored but no news on how much or when they can be done it seems. Hopefully, I’ll find out on Monday whether these can be done.

Unfortunately, I received news that the clutch release bearing is worn out. Even worse, it turns out that a replacement may prove hard to source.

Here’s what a clutch release bearing does:

Image from Ricambi

The original part number appears to be 168594 but has now been superseded with an upgraded version which is CRB355MS.

Image from Hills Engineering

Unfortunately, it appears that neither the upgraded version or an original replacement is easily sourced. That means I’ll have to wait and see how long it takes to get either in.

Who let the cats out?

I once again dropped the F355 off with Sal for it’s annual service. It is going to be a big one this time with:

– the belts to be changed

– springs to be re-conditioned

– clutch change

– cats to be re-conditioned

– registration

– engine service

plus whatever else.

As it turns out, one ‘other else’ is going to be the CV boots which have ruptured due to the heat of the engine:

These were last changed back at the annual services in 2012:

Annual service (2012)

so they haven’t done too bad considering that’s 8 years of driving.

Also, one of the rear shock absorbers has a leak from the top of the mount, which will need looking at.

I’ve taken the cats away to Liverpool Exhaust to get them re-cored, per a recommendation. Problem is that they are pretty busy and guy who normally does the job is away at the moment. I’ve left the cats there and I’m awaiting an update on any progress and whether they can do the job. Fingers crossed they can as it would be a pain to go all the way back there simply to pick up the cats and take them somewhere else. We’ll see.

So that’s the status right now. The car is with Sal for the annual service. The engine is out, the cats removed and away for re-coring. I’ll post more when I know more.

Something worth checking

I found this interesting video:

F355 causes of fire

Basically the fuel hoses get worn by a clamp nut over time, especially after an engine out service, if they are not orientated in the correct way. Over time the nut rubs through the fuel line and you end up with fuel spaying into the engine bay. Not good at all! If you have a F355, make sure you check this, especially after and engine out.

The video also details how a water hose that runs between the fuel lines can get worn through by the braided fuel lines themselves and may rupture. Again, something to add to your check list, I suggest.

The engine out experience

Here is seven videos I found on the engine out experience on an F355 that someone else went through. If you haven’t done it yourself, or had it done for you, a worthwhile watch:

The eight year anniversary

Here’s the summary of another year’s ownership of a F355. You may want to catch up on previous episodes:

One Year Anniversary

Two Year Anniversary

Three Year Anniversary

Four Year Anniversary

Five Year Anniversary

Sixth year Anniversary

Seventh year Anniversary

The eighth year they say is bronze

It’s been a long time between posts but the reason for that is that there’s not been much to report. Let’s cover the major items and then I’ll share some more thoughts at the end.

Costs

The total that was spent on the car for the year was around $9,400. The majority of that was the annual service and the cost of insurance. These two items combined were over 50% of the total costs for the year.

This December will be a major service for the car, with the engine out for the belt change, a new clutch, springs, exhausts and a few other things. All up, it is probably going to be a pretty hefty bill but it is stuff that needs doing and isn’t a surprise, so we’ll see what December brings on that front.

Travel

The car is now not far off the 90,000 kilometre mark. My guess is that sometime in January 2021 it will cross this barrier. I’ve managed to maintain the typical annual kilometres, even the face of the lockdowns that have occurred this year. There was a period about 6 weeks where I didn’t drive the car all due to restrictions. However, some longer drives have apparently made up for that!

Low Points

No major ones this year. Was a shock when I received a letter from my insurance company telling me that their business model had changed and they couldn’t cover me any more. Luckily, I was able to lean on contacts from the Club to find a broker who could help me out and get all that squared away. A tiny bit of bottom clenching until that was all sorted.

I’ve had the odd ‘slow-down’ light appear briefly on the dash, but that has typically been after hitting a bump on the road. Normal stuff.

No major new paint chips or body issues to report. The leather on the driver side seat appears to be wearing a little thin. However, that is expected and something to add to the refurbishment list down the track.

The major low point has simply been the restrictions due to lock downs. This has meant less events and therefore less driving. Hopefully, next years brings improvement on that score.

High Points

Another year of effectively problem free motoring. Enjoyed the Bathurst 12 hours again, with a merry crew of other drivers, but man was it hot this year! Ouchee. Never like standing the car out in 40+ degree C temperatures. But like me, it survived. The drive to and from Bathurst is always very, very enjoyable. Can’t wait to get out there again next year. Just can’t beat the feeling of driving through the country side on a beautiful day in an F355!

Value

The value hasn’t moved much from what I can see. A good F355, manual, red, etc will still set you back around AU$ 250K – 280K it seems. I note there are lots of yellow, blue, black, etc cars out there but red ones are still somewhat rare.

Summary

Given the constraints of lockdown this year, I have no complaints. The car is still magic to drive and I look forward to the experience each and every week.

The big thing that is coming will be the annual service, were the car will have lots done. Luckily, things are quieter this year so it should be easier to accomplish.

Hopefully, I can allocate more time to update this blog more regularly. I kind of fell out of the practice, given the lack of things to write about. However, with things hopefully looking up and the upcoming work on the car, there’ll be more to write about.

All serviced and good to go

The F355 has returned from it’s annual service, all raring to go. With four new tyres, grip shouldn’t be an issue for a while. A broken water tank cap was also replaced along with some touch up for minor paint chips on the nose were also completed during it’s time away. News is that it’ll soon be needing a new clutch, which has been deferred until next year’s service, given that it is easier to access then when the engine is out. Hopefully, the current clutch will last another twelve months with careful driving.

So next year’s service is going to be a large one with an engine out, re-conditioned springs and a new clutch for starters. Time to start saving the pennies! All of these are not a surprise, given the age of the car and are simply components that require work over time. Doing them all when the engine is out makes the most sense as it makes them all easier to get to as well.

With the service complete I also took the opportunity to give the car a good wash and polish as I typically do around this time of the year. Doing so ensures that the paint and finish remain good for twelve months and any dirt normally just hoses off. Given the current summer heat, it is quite an arduous task to give the car a complete once over but in the end there is nothing more stratifying than to have a fully serviced and clean car now parked away.

Phew. So that is 2019 done and dusted. Roll on 2020.

Service time

So it is again time for the F355 to head over to Sal at Racing Red for the annual service. No belts this time, but there are few things that probably need doing.

The first is the annoying flakes that have started to appear at the front of car. I think that the whole bar needs to be removed and repainted as the flakes just seem to re-occur.

Another item is probably a complete set of new tyres. The rears have diminished tread and the fronts are getting a little old, so maybe now is a good time for a complete set?

As always, there is rego to do as well. So nothing major, just some tidy up before the New Year. The fun part is always mixing with the day time traffic but hopefully, that won’t be too bad. We’ll see.

Project 458 continues with biggest challenge being strangely, power. The issue is that where the F355 lives, there is currently no power point. For the F355 this really isn’t an issue but for a more modern car, this a big problem as it needs to be plugged it when stationery. The major reason for this, apparently, is that the battery is small to save weight. This means it doesn’t hold charge for long periods. This means it needs to be constantly trickle charged when stationery. This means it is a problem.

I have tried to find some sort of battery arrangement that I can charge elsewhere and then store in the car, but haven’t had much luck. If you know of something, let me know. This limitation therefore kind of rules out my current location for another car. The challenge then becomes where to storage it?

The further away I store another car the less likely I am to drive it. That would be rather a waste of money now wouldn’t it? Then there is also the additional cost of storage. This isn’t a deal breaker but it does start to add up. I also don’t like not having full control of the location where the car is stored. If that now means I need to buy something just to garage another car, that also seems like a waste of money.

Things to ponder.

The seven year anniversary

Here’s the summary of another year’s ownership of a F355. You may want to catch up on previous episodes:

One Year Anniversary

Two Year Anniversary

Three Year Anniversary

Four Year Anniversary

Five Year Anniversary

Sixth year Anniversary

The seventh year they say is woollen

I am happy to say that this year there has been no major issues at all. The biggest one was the replacement of the intermittent wiper timer, which was taken car of at the annual service. A very trouble free year indeed.

Costs

Total expenses for the car this year were around the $8,500 mark. The majority of that cost is the comprehensive insurance, which again was around the $3,000 mark.

The car is due for an engine out service in December 2020 (i.e. not this year), so it is time to start saving because I’ll probably take the chance then to get the springs re-conditioned and the geometry reset. At this year’s service I’ll need to address the recent pain flakes that have started to occur at the front of the car. That will probably mean removing the front car and getting the whole thing resprayed. We’ll see.

Travel

The car has just crossed the 80,000 kilometre mark and is now heading towards 90,000. I have enjoyed some really great runs this year including to Bathurst and Mudgee.

Low Points

As I was returning home from a drive and making the turn off the main road I noticed some large obstruction on the road. In retrospect (which is always great eh?), I should have kept going straight on, made a left and come back around avoiding the object totally. I didn’t however and the object turned out to be a block of course concrete, which I only identified as the car was passing over it. Due to it’s size and low clearance of the nose I heard a loud scrape as I passed over it. The good news is that it didn’t do any other damage to the under side of the car or the mechanics (which it could have) but it did leave a very nasty gouge under the nose. The good thing is that you really couldn’t see the mark. The problem is, it was quite large and I knew it was there.

A few months later I finally got around to at least painting over the mark so it won’t annoy me as much and one day I’m going to need to get the whole bumper re-sprayed. However, until then, the patching is fine.

High Points

The car has performed pretty much faultlessly this year. It has been a joy to drive at all time, especially on country roads. I always look forward to driving it.

Value

The value of F355’s has come off a little in the last 12 months but still remains around the $260K – $280K mark, depending on the model. I expect it to continue to stay around that mark.

Summary

Another magic year with the F355. It is magic to drive every time and I’ve been lucky enough to do some great drives this year. There are few maintenance issues on the horizon, with an engine out service being the main one in about 15 months. I wonder whether I’ll cross the 100,000 kilometre mark by this time next year? Time will tell!

Annoying paint chips

An annoying item I noted on the front of the car recently was a paint chip, just where the bonnet meets the bumper. It wasn’t really a chip, more like a flake that had broken off exposing the metal. Really annoying.

After a good clean I was able to dab some paint over the offending mark to at least protect it before taking the car for it’s normal repair. However, almost immediately after patching the original spot, another another appeared in the same area, just a few centimetres away. Annoying. Easy enough to cover up with paint on the next wash but it kind of seems like the whole area on the front there needs to be taken off and resprayed.

For now, I’m adding that to the list of items to attend to during the nest major service.

Normal transmission to resume

It’s been a long while between posts here. That in part has been due some technical frustrations with the previous blogging platform. That has facilitated a migration of the content now to WordPress, which should hopefully provide a better and easier platform going forward.

It is about time for me to an annual ownership update as well as bring you up to date as to what has been happening since the last post. Hopefully, the technical demons have been slayed and I can get on with all the latest plus my new exciting focus! Project 458!