Why This Young Ferrari Mechanic Refused to Buy a Modern Car

[00:05] know, the industry likes to tell us what we should like >> Right. Right. But, if you love something, it shouldn't matter what anybody else likes. >> I bought it with 12,000 mi. I want to

[00:18] take it to 112,000 mi. We're going to make it a high mileage car. Well, how do have to work? When you're committed to a mission, you make it happen. >> It's one of those things where it just makes you go, I love cars. Yeah.

[00:37] Garage. The car we're featuring today, 1987 Ferrari Testarossa. This is the kind of car I like, cuz this is a used car, a driven car, and the story behind a young woman who is a Ferrari mechanic specializing in uh early Ferraris,

[00:53] injected cars. Her dream was to always have a Ferrari. Being a good mechanic, she was able to acquire one. She had to do quite a bit of work on it herself, bring Victoria Bruno. Come on in, Victoria. How are you? I'm great. How

[01:06] >> Well, she is a graduate of McPherson College, which is my favorite place. Uh you know, they're the only college uh at least in America that gives a degree, a 4-year degree, in automobile restoration. And it's a real college,

[01:20] you do it online or any of that stuff. I mean, you really learn magnetos and paint and bodywork, as well as algebra and all the other things, actually I transferred in as a junior, so I didn't do any of my general

[01:34] education requirements there. Did that at community college. Um so, I got to do all the fun stuff. Um drivetrain class, paint and body, engine rebuilding, metal fabrication, trim and upholstery. Really really gives you an opportunity to

[01:47] figure out what you're passionate about specifically in the automotive fun. This is the fun part of Ferrari that I like, cuz usually you I Ferrari people and well, I've got 12 others and I've got a few

[02:00] you know, and and to me a regular person who works on their own car it it kind of reminds me back when I was a kid cuz when I was like a teenager these cars are never cheap. But well, I remember back in the 80s

[02:15] there was a Ferrari for sale for 275. A 330 GTC and my Espada which was 24,000. It was $3,000 cheaper. Both had V12, that one had four cam. I I'll get

[02:28] didn't go up much in value and the Ferrari certainly did, but that's how grand. >> That's right. That's right. And the fact that you were able to obtain this for a reasonable fee cuz it needed a bit of

[02:42] work, didn't it? It did. It was had two owners. The last owner had it for about 23 years, but it kind of just sat. He only put 2,000 miles on that time. So, it had its original tires. It hadn't had a belt service in a minute

[02:56] and these things need love to be running properly. As you know, systems need to be used to function properly. So, rebuilt the brakes and did a full major service as well. So, dropped the sub the subframe to access the engine to replace

[03:09] belts, seals, hoses >> Right. rebuilt the water pump, all the road. >> Is it still expensive even though you're doing it yourself? I mean >> Sure. I mean, I think labor is the most

[03:23] >> Sure. I mean, I think labor is the most expensive cost. So, thankfully I've you know, got the education and the experience so, I was able to cover that. you've got to have goals and you've got to be reaching towards something. So, I

[03:36] was a long time coming, but I'm glad to be here today. And it doesn't look like it's ever been hit or damaged. No, original paint for the most part. So, I >> No, I think it's just great. You know, the gated shifter, it's all the classic

[03:50] Ferrari stuff. Cuz everybody wants a V12 with a gated shifter and a manual gearbox, you know. They do. This one though is a flat-12. A flat Oh, yeah, yeah. But, you But, I mean, a 12-cylinder Ferrari.

[04:04] >> Totally. Yeah, no, very cool. And of course, cuz when I was a kid, you know, the one they had wasn't even a real Ferrari. It's I think it was a replica So stupid, yeah. But, then they they got a real one. But, it looks good. It's a

[04:17] black-on-black car, which is unusual. I'm glad it's not red. I see so many of these and they just it comes kind of cliche, the red Testarossa. Whereas, now you get up Oh, wow, it's a Testarossa, you know, because it downplays this the

[04:32] slats here a little bit being in this color. But, very cool, very cool. But, you've only had it what, about 4 or 5 months? I have. I got it in September, did the service in October, and drove it down here from San Francisco.

[04:44] And I know you've worked on Ferraris for a while, but any problems in them did I bite off more than I could chew here?" I mean, was it pretty straightforward? Sure. I think with most of the jobs I have the privilege to work

[04:57] on, you kind of almost anticipate seeing the worst. Right. Just so that way, you thorough, you're taking the right steps, you're not passing anything up, and making a mistake. So, I made sure to just be really diligent with the

[05:11] process. The alternator ended up being bad, so I had that rebuilt. We don't do professionals handle those. >> Right, right. Um but, aside from that, decent condition. It just needed that refresh. The rear brakes were locked up,

[05:25] but other than that, I mean, no crazy leaks or anything like that. Functioning >> Did you have to pull the carburetors out and go through them all, or could you >> mechanical fuel. Okay. >> Yeah, yeah. It's got um kind of an

[05:38] interesting motor, part of why I decided to get one of these specifically. It's a descendant of the 400 motor to 312 Formula 1 motor. So, it's got four valves per cylinder, like I said, mechanical fuel injection. But, it's got

[05:53] 4.9 L, almost 400 horsepower, and about 360 >> Yeah, well, that's that's pretty good. Yeah. I've got an '86 Countach, and I bought that because it was the last carbureted car built, at least for

[06:06] America. So, I grabbed it because I don't want that fancy fuel injection, complicated and Italian and everything else. So, I I like the carbureted cars. on this? >> It is. It's the Bosch system. And I

[06:20] mean, it's okay. Obviously, in a perfect world, I would prefer to have a 250 Lusso or a 275, something that's got those Webers on it. But, I think for my first Ferrari, I'm I'm pretty happy. >> Yeah, well, no, no, I I would be. It's

[06:33] just great cuz this is most people's dream to attain something like this. It's pretty pretty impressive. Now, is the shop you work at a Ferrari shop exclusively or just a foreign car shop? >> Exclusively Ferraris. I'm an exclusively

[06:45] other shops if we're doing full restorations, just kind of as a team and maybe do some project managing, but only the one mark. My boss kind of said early on, he decided it would be a good idea to pick one thing and become really good

[06:58] >> Yeah. You know, for the longest time, these were they went from being expensive to pretty reasonably priced because other Ferraris fancy come along, more horsepower, you know, all those kind of things. I think the Mondial was

[07:10] down there and and the Testarossa seen as it just got overexposed with TV in But, now they're they're they're creeping back up. You could probably if probably make a good profit, wouldn't you? I probably would, but

[07:26] >> Unfortunately, I mean, fortunately for me, maybe unfortunately for somebody for as long as I'm around. No, I think that's great. I think that's cuz you really appreciate it, you know, and I think you almost have to

[07:40] work on the car to really get the appreciation and bond with the car. >> I will say that's a really great point. Um I've always found a lot of joy and fulfillment out of working on other people's cars. I mean cars well beyond

[07:54] this caliber, but there's something kind of a new level I didn't know existed until I bought this, did my major service, and drove it home from the shop. Yeah. I got to say I mean it's maybe a new addiction for me.

[08:08] >> To me I always like cars from the 50s, 60s, 70s cuz I could always get them home. And when they broke down on the road I I could you know Mickey Mouse something and get I feel oh I got this thing back to the garage. Good for you,

[08:21] you know. It always And this is still mechanical enough you can do this. So phone's your toolbox. You call the flatbed guy and he comes, you know. Just it. It really gives you a sense of pride. Right. I think there's kind of

[08:36] maybe it's kind of because of the price tag, maybe it's because it's Italian, but I feel like a lot of people are maybe maybe deem them complicated or complex. But at the end of the day, nuts and bolts, you know, I

[08:50] think they're really simple systems. If you're confident going in, you're going able to drive it. >> it's funny that you say that because I remember I had a 34 Ford and then I got a Mustang and I had to open the hood of

[09:03] the Mustang. Oh, this thing is so complicated compared to my 34 Ford. Well, now the the Mustang is like like the simplest thing. And my Countach, okay, four valves per cylinder, four cams. Seems the most complicated. Well,

[09:15] It's easy to get to. Compared to the new plastic over everything. >> Outside of my pay grade. I don't know anything about this car. It's great cuz this is still a car you can work on. You

[09:27] You can change your own oil, do your own oil filters, and really enjoy it. Well, look at your engine. Let's see what it looks like here.

[09:41] Ah. You know, this is why I love you. It's all engine and you can see it. You can see everything. Just so modern cars. It's just so driving. >> Yeah, yeah, it's really great. Look at

[09:53] that. And it's so funny. It was it 4 L? Yeah, so that Almost 5. 4.9 L. Okay, so something like that. 290 Yeah, something like But you think oh it must be big and

[10:05] huge, but it's not really that huge. But very good. You know, Just enough. And and and it looks exotic, you know? Just interesting. A flat 12. Yeah, it's fun with the designer of the plenums. I I think it's

[10:18] really cool that it's, you know, of the 458 architecture. It's basically like an F1 motor but for the road. Yeah, and >> So, they changed a few things in the F1 motor. It was mechanical The cams were mechanically driven. This has belts, so

[10:30] little bit quieter. And you got your ignition right here, so it's easy. I mean, everything is pretty accessible. Even the plugs, I can see them. You know, if you had a Bentley, that's an engine out for plugs. You know that? Oh,

[10:44] >> engine out. But it The plugs last 100,000 mi, but still Fair enough. Which plugs are those? Yeah, it's pretty amazing. Well, very >> No, it is nice. I mean, if something really went sideways, it's tight but

[10:57] there's enough space to remove the cam covers. Alternator belts, that's another motor for that. >> do? Really? Wow. Wow. Or if you're 5'3" like me and maybe have some slim wrists, you can get up there in a crunch, which

[11:11] I may or may not have done. Oh. And this is a big car, isn't it? It's what This has to be It's got quite a bit of a wheelbase. for the road at this point? >> sure. We can just kind of drop it.

[11:25] Yeah, there you go. Well, very nice. Cool. And the And the trunk in the front is just a trunk. There's nothing really >> to see it? Yeah, let's take a look. So, this is what we call an Italian frunk. I'm surprised it's not black.

[11:37] >> I don't know, but you know, Italians aim to shock, I think. Yeah. >> This needs a little love, too. >> Okay, I see. This is I thought some sort frunk there. >> Yeah, okay.

[11:50] work in progress. You know what? This is great. And that's kind of why I love it. >> to do little bits and pieces as you go along, as you have time for it. And getting into a car like this, it doesn't need to be perfect. You don't need to

[12:04] don't need to do a paint correction or it up. >> Well, see, that's what I think is great. You know and understand your own car. A lot of people don't. I always thought at

[12:17] test for the owners, you know. >> [laughter] car and well, their store will tell you, but it's a five-speed, Bob, or a six or five. It's a five They They don't >> petition for that? For not I I think

[12:30] it'd be great because Well, I just meet so many owners that don't really understand how their car works or what does what. You know, the fact that you are not a wealthy person, but you're a rich person because you can do

[12:42] tens of thousands of dollars worth of work on this car virtually for nothing. huge amount of money, 60, 70 thousand dollars, you can do for a few hundred dollars, basically, cuz you do And that to me is

[12:54] the currency. That makes you a rich Ferrari owner because you have the ability to maintain your automobile. A lot of people really don't. They just the English, they send your kid off to boarding school, then you meet them when

[13:06] And it's you know, I think Or you could raise the kid yourself and enjoy the doing. You're You're raising this child yourself and fixing it up and fixing it afternoon job. You put the struts on it. Then you want to go out and drive it and

[13:20] new struts." It doesn't have anything to do with that, but it's just every time out and see how it is now. >> Exactly. And that's why I jumped to do that's my bread and butter. So, something like this, I was like, "Ah, I

[13:35] battery disconnect switch? >> It is, yeah. Is that factory? It is factory. So, on off, you know, one safety, but also you don't want somebody of a nice little secret kill switch.

[13:50] is a lot of these Italian cars, especially the Miura, they would catch fire because the wires run through the body. They don't go through conduit. So, brake, the wire is doing this against the body. And eventually, the rubber

[14:04] dries out, it cracks, you get a short, the car catches fire. I mean, you see there's horrible videos of Miuras catching fire, you know, on the autostrada or some such place, you know. So, that's why I put a disconnect in

[14:17] there just so it doesn't happen. Well, very nice. Can we uh can we take it for a ride? I guess. Let's give it a shot. Yeah.

[14:32] what's nice. There's plenty of leg room here, too.

[14:45] See, that's why you got to drive it fast so that way it doesn't matter. so that way it doesn't matter. >> That's right.

[15:04] Have you got any tickets yet? No. That's good. Very turbine-like, very smooth. There's something about a naturally aspirated 12-cylinder motor. Well, you know, back in the day, the editor of Car and Driver

[15:19] 12-cylinder car at least once in their life. You know, that was the cuz it was You really didn't have any We had the Packards and Lincolns in the '30s and '40s, but it wasn't the same thing. There weren't much in the '70s. You had

[15:35] the Jag V12, but that was a That was a different kind of motor though. That wasn't performance oriented. Yeah, there's something special about it. That's for sure. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I think that's why it was really important to me

[15:47] to get a 12-cylinder. Obviously, kind of in this price range when I was looking You have a 308, a 328, a 348, all the eight-cylinders, right? So you had any of those? >> Yeah, the little pretty motors are

[16:00] >> Yeah, the little pretty motors are really cool. The cylinder liners kind of overpass They They don't have heads technically. It's the the crankcase um with the cylinder screwing into the block. So, you omit the head gasket.

[16:15] interesting. They were They kept having head gasket failures and they're like, then." Right, yeah. Instead of re-engineering. On some of the early Ferraris, too, just 250s in general,

[16:29] catch drip trays. >> Right. >> Instead of making a better gasket or making it not leak, they're just are expecting it to leak. So, they just have the tray there. Well, you know,

[16:41] that's why you had uh downdraft carburetors. Yeah. Because the needle would never seat fully. Mhm. And if you had an updraft, then the gas would leak down into the cylinder, and

[16:55] when you started the car, it would be filled with, you know, the combustion would be filled with gas, and boom, you blow the head apart because you can't one of those things where you just makes you go, "I love cars." Yeah, yeah.

[17:08] [laughter] They're so silly and they're so obnoxious and it's a work in progress, too. You know, I did the major service, but this was the first big trip Francisco. So, there's going to be some fine-tuning

[17:22] >> Yeah. can make it really happy. Hopefully, you have a garage to keep it in. I do. You know, I actually couldn't to store it in. >> that right? Yeah. Yeah.

[17:35] I did some research cuz I was maybe looking at getting a Tesla as my daily at earlier this year. It's more expensive to insure a Tesla than it is to insure this. Really? Yeah. Well, I wouldn't have thought that.

[17:47] have any collision on this, right? No, I do. Oh, you do? >> Wow, wow. But, I think the Tesla repair shops are so expensive that that's kind of why they base Yeah. base that number on

[18:00] that. Boy, this really drives nicely. It's a No, no, it's very good. It's very smooth. No, it's certainly comfortable. I think for road trips, another reason why

[18:14] this TRs stood above a 355 or something like that to me is it's got a full leather interior from the headliner to the dash. they're they're made from that plastic sort of material that just gets sticky

[18:29] >> Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I I agree. And there's kind of there's no coming back from But, I don't know if you know this, I went back to school. Uh-huh. So, I I went back to school when I was 27. Right. I started later in life, and I've

[18:44] only been at this for, you know, 5 or so years now. Yeah. And so, how old are you now? I'm almost 32. Oh, okay. Coming up on it. them know that this is an option, that this is a career path that you can go

[18:59] down, or even on the enthusiast level, >> Yeah. that you can make this happen. This drives very nicely. It picks up nicely. It does. It does.

[19:11] It's funny, too, because it's an '87. It's got a pretty small wheel on it. It's only a 16-in wheel. Yeah. Yeah. It's a 16-in wheel? We've got 225s in the front and 255s in the rear.

[19:28] So really it's you would almost think it would have more tire for being as wide When I got my Countach, that was the first iteration of the wide tire cuz it was a really thin tire before. And then the '86 Countach about

[19:43] was the first to have a It was That was seen as a huge wheel back in the day. seen as a huge wheel back in the day. Now it's just sort of everyday but

[20:00] Testarossa. Um a lot in common actually. Very mechanical, uh gated shifter. Mhm. Yeah, very it feels quite similar to that.

[20:14] I'm curious if what the difference in handling is. handling is. Does it it feel similar? Countach a little bit tighter. I mean this is a cruiser. This is meant

[20:29] to get on the Autobahn and run run 130 140 all day long, you know, that kind of And it drives wonderful. Yeah, this has not been abused at all. It's I mean the syncros all feel good.

[20:42] Everything's very good. It's barely broken in. I'm glad you like it. Yeah, no smoke, no nothing. No.

[20:57] >> No, I didn't. Um just the cam covers. So the major service I replaced the cam seals, the belts obviously, and but I made sure to degrease the cams to make sure that everything was

[21:11] Yeah. running at the right time. And it's great. You didn't have to crack. >> No, I know. I was kind of worried about that. When I first turned it over when I was test driving it from the previous

[21:24] there was quite a bit of white smoke, but it ended up dissipating, so 20-something years, >> Yeah. And I mean, you know, you know, all the water just gets in the system or stays in the system. Was it parked all

[21:36] the time with antifreeze or with water in it? It was. Oh, man. I know. But it's okay. I replaced all the hoses. The radiator appears to be okay, but I

[21:48] know? The drive down, I kind of felt like a kid in a candy store. It's been really surreal. >> [laughter] >> and working on it is I I know I already

[22:03] of satisfaction that I didn't know could exist. >> that's the whole part of owning a car. Not how much it costs and what the investment potential is, but how much you enjoy it and

[22:15] >> does for your self-esteem and all that kind of stuff. And I think it's hard with new cars. You know, the industry likes to tell us and what we shouldn't like. >> Right, right. But if you love something,

[22:30] >> exactly. Well, the mechanical fuel injection I've got it in my uh Maserati 3500 there. Oh, yeah? And we sent it out and got it put it on, haven't touched it. I mean,

[22:45] put it on, haven't touched it. I mean, it's been a few years now and perfect. Yeah, I know. I've I've heard a lot of people on forums and whatnot saying that the systems can be quite finicky, but I think if if it's just properly

[22:58] maintained, you know, if you're using it, it'll be okay. or at least for today. >> I like Ferrari. I have nothing against the vehicle. I thought I just It was

[23:10] I was younger and I'd go to look at one and I'd always be brushed off. All So, I just bought cars where they treated me like a customer. I'm sure it's it's much different now. Now you get a 7-year warranty on a Ferrari,

[23:24] good. I don't blame you. get that, too. Oh, yeah, you work on a car? same Yeah, but there's space for everybody.

[23:37] brush them off. But I get that. I think newer Ferraris are cool, but outside my pay grade. I'm not confident in how they function, and not confident in how they function, and definitely wouldn't fix one. The newest

[23:51] Ferrari I've ever driven is a 360. That's from the '90s, isn't it? >> Yeah, I think the first year for those was a '99. Yeah, that's right. Yeah.

[24:05] Is it the original shocks still on it? They are. Don't feel bad. Right? They're I don't think any of them are locked up. They'll be changed at some point, um, but, you know, also, like I said earlier,

[24:19] once. >> Yeah. Is there an after market shock you only Ferrari? >> I would have these these Konis rebuilt >> a Konis from the factory? >> They are. They're not cheap,

[24:34] but and there's six of them. There's two on each corner in the rear. But again, the labor's free, so. Yeah.

[24:46] >> Oh, wow, they did do that many, huh? Yeah. Um, but this one's kind of special because it has something called Monodado wheels on them, which means it has

[24:58] >> Yeah. And you're only the what? Third owner? >> great. So, it still has the original

[25:10] wheel nut spanner in the toolkit. I really lucked out. Yeah, that's great. You have the hammer, too, that goes with it? >> I do, yes.

[25:31] want to drive a car like this on. I agree.

[25:44] these sounds. And you're not hearing them as vibrantly in traffic. Yeah, exactly. Is there an active set of testarossa community, you know? I think they kind of stick to more of the Ferrari Club of

[25:59] America. Yeah. It's something you would see in front of some fancy restaurant, When I go out to eat, we take our Fiat 500.

[26:13] you want to handle with ease something that you're either not going to care if it gets locked up, or you're going to trust the valet with. My goal is to show people that they can

[26:25] use and drive their cars, that they don't need to be afraid of them. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, this is my first project car, you could say. My first fun car I've ever had. Well, it certainly is fun, and

[26:38] >> I appreciate that. >> How bad did the plugs look when you took them out? They actually weren't that bad. They looked a little lean. Yeah. Um but everyone kind of the talk at school when you're learning how to work on cars

[26:53] you working on? What are you working on? And I never had one cuz I always wanted wanted to know what I was doing. So that way I could fix it. And I imagine these didn't run like cuz they to me the emissions they had to run really lean.

[27:06] Oh, yeah. So much so that the Euro spec of this car has 10 more horsepower. Yeah. Yeah. But it's funny cuz Ferrari just took the Chevrolet smog equipment. They

[27:19] We'll take it. We'll adapt it to our >> Yeah. Well, Victoria, congratulations on your car. Very nice. You've done a much. >> be watching it. It'll be on you It'll be

[27:31] on YouTube. On Pete on Yeah. Motori Bruno. Victoria. Victoria, thank you, my Bruno. Victoria. Victoria, thank you, my friend. Very good. Cool. See? You want a Ferrari? Just fix it yourself. That's it. Hey, see you guys next week.