The Ferrai Mondial shared its namesake with a significant competition car from the company’s early days of racing – the 500 Mondial. A gorgeous, open-top race car that bowed at the 12 Hours of Casablanca, it is perhaps the exact opposite of what we see here – a 1982 Ferrari Mondial coupe listed on craigslist for new economy car money. Of course, in the case of a Mondial, the Corolla may actually be the wiser choice. Find the $18K Ferrari here on craigslist or go here if the ad disappears.
The listing for this Mondial is laughably short on details, simply referring to it as a barn find with 23,000 original miles. Seeing it in what looks like a Firestone Tire Center and not a Ferrari dealer, or even an Italian car specialist’s shop, is alarming. There’s also rust visible on the bottom of the muffler, which makes me wonder if it’s lurking elsewhere underneath. Columbus, Ohio isn’t exactly a haven of salt-free roads. You can see paint flaking off the bottoms of both doors throughout the craigslist ad.
The other red flag is zero mention of maintenance history. This is a big deal on any Ferrari, no matter how cheap they are to buy. A few moments spent on a Ferrari message board reveals that even the lowly Mondial has serious maintenance requirements. Some owners say expect to pay at least $7,500 for a “major” service, and $3K-$5K for incidentals that break or fail and make perfect sense to fix (while they’re in there). $10K for routine maintenance is not uncommon.
Books and manuals are included with the car, which thankfully doesn’t appear to have been modified. Still, to buy one of these is to see your annual maintenance budget jump dramatically, and that’s for a car that’s seen the inside of a Ferrari specialist shop once in the past decade. These are fun to fantasize about, but if you’re really in need of a commuter, best to put that $18K towards something boring and reliable.
Pictured in a garage with a lift which leads me to wonder why there are no underside pics. I think I know the answer.
Um let me take a shot at it – the lift doesn’t work either ?
A closer look at the bottom edge of the passenger door may be a big clue as to the potential cancer you mention.
$3,495
Got to drive an ’80 home from auction back in about ’84,’85. Decent performer, odd seating position, & I have to say gated shifters take getting used to. Every time I honked the horn, the right headlight went out. At the time I felt it was the 308/328’s homely sister. But hey! How many 22 year old kids get to spend a weekend with a FERRARI? Job didn’t pay very well, but my boss had expensive tastes, & I got to drive some neat stuff.
This of course, is a terrible car to buy, unless you have a lot of experience with exotic cars and a lot of disposable income lying around. I actually looked at a 400 model at a consignment lot that was a running and driving example. It was complete with the cheapest low quality repaint I’d ever seen. There was overspray on the prancing horse! That was about ten years ago and the asking price was ten grand. Even if you got it running it probably wouldn’t pass smog in California. Here’s a crazy idea, how about transplanting a newer front wheel drive power train in there while you rebuild the original V8. Or, how about transplanting a Fiero powertrain in there, wouldn’t that be a hoot?
Re Jeff’s salt comment- we now use brine solution here in Columbus & seems like it’s destroying the roads. A crater opened up the other day & engulfed multiple cars. But Ferrari talk…after a friend bought a clean Mondial I went asking next door at Imports & was told if they sit the belt(s) like to walk off. Having worked with CIS a big concern is who can tackle, if need be, the F/I ? & aren’t those TRX tires ? Oh boy.
Don’t try and start this car until you take the t-belt covers off, check the belt condition, timing and turn it over by hand a few times. Then run to operating temperature, cool down and change the belt.
No underside pics and no balls. Q.v. would be cool but the 8 was a fuelie with 2vpc instead. Gutless car. Sounds horrible too
OMG,my cousin actually bought a red convertible years ago and we took my 72 911S and his”Ferrari” out for a duel, that Mondial is easily the slowest Ferrari ever,couldn’t get out of it’s own way. My S destroyed it LOL. LET IT ROT!
Hey Will , your cousin must’ve had a bad one coz the 3ltr 8cyl with 270bhp will run the 2.3ltr 190bhp 911 ragged .
These engines aren’t as bad as non owners make out just make sure you change the cambelts and have those 4 twin choke Webber’s set up correctly .
Now the electrics ….. that’s another story ! Lol
Listen I’ve driven lots of Ferraris and this without question was the worst,I cleaned it’s clock in the mountains and our 246GT please.. Ohh I should mention that my S was turboed LOL
These have gone up in value and with some tuning of the suspension, I understand they handle very well. Now having sat for several decades, this already fragile car will be even more fragile (“Fragile! It must be Italian!”…A Christmas Story.)
Unless you love this model, know it well and have wrenched on a Ferrari, this could be an expensive project.
getting buried in one is no fun,now this is a Ferrari,the ex 44 kimberly de mexico we bought and my 246gt. Not a MONDIAL but hey I’m old LOL
kimberly ex
Will………….. Are they really your Ferrari’s…?? I must congratulate your on your exquisite taste if they are, and understand you desire if they are not…!!
“Corolla money” until the first repair.
Hey Will , you are suddenly changing the playing field by telling us your 1972 911s supposedly had an aftermarket turbocharger fitted .
Oh and did you remove the true badges off the 246gt and add the prancing horse and the Ferrari badges or was that down to a previous owner ? .
The Mondial is such an underrated car. If one can find a Mondial with a blown engine, no better car for an LS swap. Add 180 degree headers for the sound.
The most expensive Ferrari is a low priced Ferrari.
These early Mondials had big front tires and were very hard to drive. Later models actually had narrower front tires, and the final Mondial t had power steering. I had both the 3.2 and t Cabriolets, the latter being kind of fun.
Let it R.I.P.
(Rust in peace)
Regarding the photo of the Vignale-bodied red Ferrari roadster; that was a one-off,and belonged, at the time(early ’60’s)to a friend of mine,Pres Gray,in Scituate,Mass.He had raced it in SCCA meets, and was selling it for $2500!!Needless to say I couldn’t afford it!It was painted bright yellow, and wore a three-digit Massachusetts license plate; he drove it daily.The last I saw of it, in 1967,while house hunting, was sitting in a pine grove, hood up, exposed to the elements, with a Pontiac V8 engine, in Halifax,Mass.Nice to see it properly restored, and doing what Ferraris do best!
Some background from the Hagerty Online Valuation Tool: “The Ferrari Mondial 8 became available in the U.S. in 1982, and while the press praised it for its ergonomics, build quality, and handling, its acceleration was not on par with the 308 GT4, which was carbureted and lighter. In order to address these criticisms Ferrari introduced the Mondial Quattrovalvole in 1983, replacing the two-valve motor with a four-valve-per-cylinder version of the now familiar 3 liter V-8.”
Hagerty doesn’t list values for the 1982, they start with the 1983. In #4 Fair Condition the value listed for the upgraded 1983 is $16,000. It would take more than $16,000 to get this into “Fair” condition!
I have a Hot Wheels one of these from the 80’s. That’s as close as I’ll ever get to having one.