No picture today, but there is a reason. Read on…
I went out for a few errands this afternoon and about 2 miles from my home I see a Ferrari 308 Quattrovalvole with the “hood” up – a dead cavallino rampante on the side of the road… Sad, sad sight indeed and I just could not pass this up. This was going to be interesting…
I turned bowtie6 around and stopped a few feet away from the stricken cavallino rampante. As I approach, the owner greeted me and told me the throttle cable had snapped. On closer inspection sho-nuff, la bella macchina d’Maranello was not going anywhere…
He told me he was trying to secure the cable somehow, so he could limp the car back home. Furthermore, he told me that loosing the cable in the sheath would mean really BIG $$$ and he wanted something to secure the severely frayed cable. I offered a small ViseGrip I have in my handy tool bag and he eagerly accepted.
So after a few minutes he securely fastened the ViseGrip and adjusted the throttle body so that he could limp cavallino rampante back home – he said his home was just a few blocks away. I came very close to take a picture or two, but I felt bad for the fellow. To take a picture of the dead cavallino rampante on the side of the road would have been just adding insult to injury. I felt bad for him; after all a Ferrari is just not something that is supposed to DIE on the side of the road… 😈
Things I learned today…
- If you see a cavallino rampante, dead on the side of the road, by all means stop.
- Always keep a ViseGrip in your satchel stowed in the trunk. You never know when you might need it. Kinda like having a roll of DuctTape.
- There is a big advantage in having an electronic “fly by wire” throttle body (as fitted to bowtie6).
- Be nice. Being able to help a tifosi with a dead Ferrari on the side of the road – PRICELESS!
Good samaritan Joe!!! ANd I would argue it wasn’t dead — but soldiered on despite being badly wounded!!! The only time in 12 years the Volvo has had a problem out of the road was a broken throttle cable. I loosened the lock nut, turned the throttle stop til it was idling at about 1700 rpm – and used that 5.0L torque to drive home almost as if nothing had happened. Junkyard run the next day, buy one Mustang 5.0L throttle cable, replace – voila – done.
Well – turns out the owner of the Ferrari did exactly that: he turned up the adjustment on the throttle body so that it would be partially open. Then he fired her off and limped the steed back home. I’m sure he will keep a ViseGrip in his toolbag.