Went to a Thing Last Weekend

"SPAMBot - Horse Doctor" (spambot2002)
05/22/2018 at 14:06 • Filed to: Ferrari, Wrenching, More than you can afford pal, Socal

Twice a year, west coast 348/355 owners gather to work on their cars, cookout, drink, and tell ridiculous stories. It’s not limited to west coasters, nor is it limited to 348/355 owners. There is usually a few 328 and 360 owners in attendance as well as at least one person not from the west coast. At the event last spring, one guy was here from Sweden!

Mine’s the red 348 ;)

It’s such an amazing experience. The group is very diverse and has participants from all different backgrounds. All united by the passion we have for our cars. There are always a few gurus in attendance, and they are always willing to give you advice, help you fix a problem, or lend a hand doing maintenance items. Their knowledge is priceless.

Last year, we did oil changes, A/C recharges, my crank sensors, and a few other things.

This year, everyone’s car was running tip top so there wasn’t much to do. One guy (who turns out, lives 3 blocks from me) changed his oil. I think that was it. Even though little work was done, it was still a lot of fun hanging with these guys. I learned a lot, just from listening.

This is one of the many reasons I love my car. The camaraderie of fellow owners is seconded to none. I remember going to corvette shows with my buddy (had a nice 1980 stingray), and all the owners were absolute dicks. This kinda spoiled corvettes for me, if I’m being honest. It certainly did not help with the midlife crisis stigma.

It’s amazing the people I have met since getting this car. It is even fun talking to random people on the street who are just curious about the car. I’ve only been overwhelmed by attention and questions once so I’m still always willing to talk some random person’s ear off about the car.

**Hopefully my usual terrible writing (now impacted by a cold/sinus infection) was coherent enough. If not, ask away!**

I snapped a few pics with my iPotato for chicken parm, or something.

Hot-Rodded 348 Challenge, 355 spider, 348 Challenge

Taste the rainbow

At least it was the right color. We gave the owner tons of shit. He has 4 Ferraris but still showed up to an F-car event in a damn poorrshhh. in his defense, three are taken apart at the moment, and his 355 threw a CEL 15 minutes into his 5 hour drive. He turned around and grabbed the reliable Beetle

Picture I took over the weekend. I need to play with some levels.

**Not Shown: There was a black 355 spider, a black 355 B, another red 348 spider, and a black 348 TS SS.

DISCUSSION (20)

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
05/22/2018 at 14:13

The tons of pictures and questions is always interesting(my 2 greyhounds attract a lot of attention) but some people just need to give some space for sure. One lady said how nervous our dog looked, then told her kids how nervous our dog looked, then told her 3 kids to pet him. C’mon

CaptDale - is secretly British > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
05/22/2018 at 14:33

Looks like fun.

Sad to hear about Corvette guys because my next purchase will be a C6Z

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
05/22/2018 at 14:40

I remember going to corvette shows with my buddy (had a nice 1980 stingray), and all the owners were absolute dicks. This kinda spoiled corvettes for me, if I’m being honest. It certainly did not help with the midlife crisis stigma.

I know, #NotAllCorvetteOwners, and all...but they are Corvette owners...so...

Also, the 355 Spider and yellow 348 together... oh my!

sony1492 > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
05/22/2018 at 14:56

The white rims is where it’s at

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars
05/22/2018 at 14:57

Some people are clueless haha. I love to pet other people’s doggos (mainly because I do not have one) but I always see if the dog looks nervous or something, then ask permission if the dog seems calm.

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
05/22/2018 at 14:58

I trust our dogs enough where I know they can be petted without people asking, but I much prefer that people get in that habit in general because not every dog is as chill as mine. I also just hate clueless people. Especially when they have the know abouts to know what is happening, but still do it.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > CaptDale - is secretly British
05/22/2018 at 15:00

They aren’t all bad. Two of the people here also own c7's. One DD’s his, and the other guy uses it for his track car.

I think the problem is when a person is a Corvette enthusiast and not a car enthusiast who owns a Corvette.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz)
05/22/2018 at 15:06

The 355 was stunning. He did a complete Euro conversion (no airbags and a few cosmetics). Plus wheels and brakes from an F430. The yellow 348 is also far from stock. He made new chips and it has straight pipes into supertraps, plus some other stuff. It’s one of like 22 348 ts factory challenge cars.

I’ve met cool Corvette owners. But I’ve met more bad ones. I think it boils down to a car enthusiast that loves his corvette versus just a corvette enthusiast

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
05/22/2018 at 15:25

Wait... F-car owners turning their own wrenches?? Heresy !!

I kid, I know those folks exist. I ran into (figuratively) a guy in town a few years back with a beautiful 550 Maranello who had just done the cam belts and was tooling around doing errands.

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
05/22/2018 at 15:53

Exactly. most the Corvette owners I’ve come across are just Chevy/Corvette/’Murica enthusiasts and are pretty much dicks. However, I’ve met a handful or so that are car enthusiasts in general, and very nice. It could go either way (as with most drivers who are enthusiasts of a sort).

The color on the 355 has been my favorite Ferrari color since I first saw my old neighbors brand new 550 (my favorite modern Ferrari) in that color when I was a kid. I even made my mother buy me a model 550 in that color soon after.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
05/22/2018 at 16:01

That 1994 F355 steering wheel is to die for. Figuratively speaking, of course.

I see Mitchell was there! He did my major service.

CaptDale - is secretly British > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
05/22/2018 at 16:06

Ah, that makes more sense.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
05/22/2018 at 17:45

He got a fair amount of shit for driving the 911 but none of his cars could make the trip haha! Talk about stereotypical Italian cars ;)

I figured he was the guru who did your service, based on the yellow 348 challenge in your garage haha

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz)
05/22/2018 at 17:46

I bet it is just lovely on a 550! That car looks fantastic in blues.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
05/22/2018 at 17:47

Some of us do! Typically on older models. There is a guy I know that has a 550 and does all his work as well. Lot’s of info out there to assist in maintenance if you look for it!

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars
05/22/2018 at 17:48

That is by far the worst. Especially something that you know you shouldn’t do, that could be a liability for the other person.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > sony1492
05/22/2018 at 17:49

I want a pair. Bad. But I don’t want to spend $6k for a set haha

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
05/23/2018 at 10:18

I’ll put it this way - it’s a large part of the reason that the 550/575 are possibly my favorite cars of all time.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
05/28/2018 at 14:46

Has your major service been done yet? I recall you wrote about the water pump going bad.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
05/29/2018 at 11:52

Yeah, car is back and running well. It was out of service for ~8 weeks. 2-3 of those was the car just waiting for the shop to have space. Then the holidays happened. Then they found things the previous shop botched and there was a lot of waiting for parts. I think I’m going to do the next major myself, or with the assistance of one of the local stooges. I have 5 years to figure it out!