The Ferrari Daytonas of Miami Vice

[CameraDaytona]

Jagvic so the manfactures say but for the most part the engine in the C3 corvettes were essentally the same as they were before the energy crisis and the emissions BS ala 1967 when the 350 was first introducedso while they were detuned to run on it' date=' it might preserve and further improve perfomance if he did add a lead additive.Also Dont forget that they want you to buy next years model too so if that was the case gm wouldnt have told you.Camera and jurrasic I remember reading that the stunt testarossa had a foam filled float of some sort that insulated the carburetor so that the gas wouldnt slosh around during a stunt, do you guys know if the daytona had that as well?[/quote']In answer to your question (above) my car has no float around the carburetor as you can see from the pictures above. However, as you know the car went through a couple hands before I got it, so I can't be sure that it is as used in the show.

[CameraDaytona]

On page 55 there were some posts on the convertible top cover. Here are three shots of the cover for my car. It is made of leather as was discussed earlier. And it is tan to match the rest of the interior. The back is heavily padded with about a one inch pad - as you can see.

[Kavinsky]

camera what are those silver things that are sitting ontop of the engines heads?those doesnt appear to be stock:

[Jagvic]

THANKS Camera! That helps a lot but I don't think I can spot the block color anywhere in the pics.. What color is it, if it's still visible?The headers appear to be standard "Hooker" type which must run back to flanges under the floorboards? Can't tell what color there were originally.... After the flanges how do the pipes run and where are the mufflers? I can see from the differential back in some pictures but am at a loss in the middle of the car!You can see the pictures in a larger size by viewing them in the Photo Gallery. I don't know how to make them bigger in this post.

Here are a couple pictures of the Camera Car engine compartment - with the air cleaner removed for Jagvic: (Please ignore the dirt - the engine compartment needs a good cleaning.) The top photo is taken from the driver's side and the second photo is from the passenger's side.

[Jagvic]

I'll see if i can find the site again - I do recall it had nothing to do with the Daytonas at all and concerned federalized Lamborghinis I think...

Jagvic - Where did you find the Mardikian logo/emblem that was shown in this post?

[Jagvic]

Those are valve cover breathers, items usually used only on real performance engines that are worked hard, IE race cars... or pehaps cars used in TV shows??? Though it wasn't the stunt car it may have been ready to fill the role if needed. Based on the fact that the fins had to be machined off the valve covers, holes made in teh cover and then as I said it is a VERY unusual modification for a street car, my guess is that these valve covers WERE on this engine during filming.

camera what are those silver things that are sitting ontop of the engines heads?those doesnt appear to be stock:

[Kavinsky]

Ah so that's what those are and Jag I think car 4 was originally going to be the stunt car for the daytona that somehow got damaged in this one scene and Jurrasic already confirmed that car 4 was the only replica used for the pilot.plus car 4 wasnt just used for camera scenes it seems like they switched between the two regardless of what the scene it was. Car 4 was the car they used for the end chase of florence italy as Jurrasic pointed out by the sunvisor mounts after all. So its not that surprising although I've never seen that on any car before, stunt or otherwise.

[Kavinsky]

So the engine on car 4 is a crate 350 (presumably with more that 200hp) with an automatic (is it a three speed or a 4? I'm asking because of that 1, 2, 3, N, R, P set up on it)with an aluminium intake, holly dual double pumper carb (4 barrel, 2 chokes right?) and valve cover breathers on either side.also Camera do you have any idea what the true HP rating is on your car along with the rear end gear ratio and if not do you know if Carl Roberts would?and also I think you've got the ducks guts under that hood camera!

[Jagvic]

Jagvic - Where did you find the Mardikian logo/emblem that was shown in this post?

Here's the link: http://www.autodrome.fr/mardikian_engineering.htm

[Kavinsky]

That berlina looks awesome without a top, pitty that would ruin the structural rigidity though.

[Jagvic]

The tranny is most likely a GM Turbo 350 3 speed transmission as that is what came in every 1981 Corvette originally, although it could have been changed to a GM Turbo 400 (more heavy duty) somewhere along the way. There is no way to know the engine horsepower since Camera has said the crate engine has no numbers stamped on the ID pad, so there is nothing to look up. As far as the intake manifold goes I don't see an Edelbrock, Weiand, etc. logo on the surface, but then again I don't see a GM one either...

[Kavinsky]

come to think of it didn't the ferrari 400 use that same 400 gm automatic transmission?the aluminum intake has some numbers on it, it says 3 on the left and 6 and 4 on the right.and the car could have been put on the dyno at some point to see what kind of power it was putting out and maybe Roberts was the one who put that motor in it in the first place, it may also just be the stock motor modified for use on the show to get some more horsepower out of it.although I find that very strange that theres no serial numbers or anything on that motor, atleast in the known areas. theres gotta be something on there to tell what kind of 350 it is.

[Jagvic]

come to think of it didn't the ferrari 400 use that same 400 gm automatic transmission?the aluminum intake has some numbers on it' date=' it says 3 on the left and 6 and 4 on the right.and the car could have been put on the dyno at some point to see what kind of power it was putting out and maybe Roberts was the one who put that motor in it in the first place, it may also just be the stock motor modified for use on the show to get some more horsepower out of it.although I find that very strange that theres no serial numbers or anything on that motor, atleast in the known areas. theres gotta be something on there to tell what kind of 350 it is.[/quote'] Yes Ferrari did use the Turbo 400, as did Jaguar and Rolls Royce too!The numbers you see are just identifying which cylinder is which..I very much doubt the car was ever dyno'd. The car had a single turbocharger setup when Mardikian first had it, and at some point that was removed - before, during or after filming. A replacement engine was installed (since it has no ID numbers it is NOT the original engine and is a crate engine and it may have even just been a long block) leaving whomever to install the intake manifold, carb, and headers etc to complete th esetup. All in all this is NOT an extreme high performance setup - and that is good I am sure. Cars that don't idle well and have very touchy throttle response (i.e. over-carburated, over-cammed race-only motors) are not at all fun to drive on the street, and surely would seem very un-Ferrariesque! Figure it is somewhere on the order of 225 net HP- slightly above the original's 190...

[jurassic narc]

Yes Ferrari did use the Turbo 400' date=' as did Jaguar and Rolls Royce too!The numbers you see are just identifying which cylinder is which..I very much doubt the car was ever dyno'd. The car had a single turbocharger setup when Mardikian first had it, and at some point that was removed - before, during or after filming. A replacement engine was installed (since it has no ID numbers it is NOT the original engine and is a crate engine and it may have even just been a long block) leaving whomever to install the intake manifold, carb, and headers etc to complete th esetup. All in all this is NOT an extreme high performance setup - and that is good I am sure. Cars that don't idle well and have very touchy throttle response (i.e. over-carburated, over-cammed race-only motors) are not at all fun to drive on the street, and surely would seem very un-Ferrariesque! Figure it is somewhere on the order of 225 net HP- slightly above the original's 190...[/quote'] I can assure you that the lower end is where this car is fun to drive. Above 100mph with the wind whipping you, there is just too much going on for the car to be as much fun as sliding around a city street corner, and then punching it up to 60 or 70 to catch up with the traffic ahead of you. That's when you really get your fun meter pegged!! Driving fast in a straight line is no big deal, I have had a Crown Vic up bumping 140 mph with the lights and sirens going and you spend every second hoping no moron changes lanes, no dogs decide to cross the road, and your tires are REALLY speed rated since the State only buys from the lowest bidder! JN

[Kavinsky]

yeah the only place the high end would really come into play is if you wanted to race it at a local track against modern porsches and corvettes. but even then I'm sure a mcburnie would have no trouble holding its own against them because of the weight advantage plus 200 hp is nothing to sneeze atfunny though that you should mention the wind wipping you at a 100, I know of one instance where some heir to some sort of jewelry shop in england had a daytona spyder back in the day and she was complaining to the factory that the top kept shreading at a 140!personally though what Im planning on doing is buying a 1981 automatic convertibile vette first before the mcburnie to try out all of the mods on that, that I'm going to put on the mcburnie.like a tremec 5 speed, mcleod clutch with a hurst shifter (I''ve always been a fan of that old pistol grip shifter hurst uses since I first saw it in the original vanishing point)

or the 400 automatic if I dont care for shifting and go from there

[jurassic narc]

or the 400 automatic if I dont care for shifting and go from there

I have the 350 automatic transmission, but it has been completely rebuilt and beefed up. Kind of the best of both worlds, you can down-shift into corners and rev up in the straights before you shift up. But if you just want to cruise, then you just cruise.I had a BMW Z3, and the clutch can be fun at times. Other times it can be a pain in the rear. All in all, I like the 350/350 combo. Just right for us Senior Citizen Narcs.

[Kavinsky]

indeed also what kind of rear end gear ratio is your car running, 3:15's?

[Jagvic]

I have the 350 automatic transmission' date=' but it has been completely rebuilt and beefed up. Kind of the best of both worlds, you can down-shift into corners and rev up in the straights before you shift up. But if you just want to cruise, then you just cruise.I had a BMW Z3, and the clutch can be fun at times. Other times it can be a pain in the rear. All in all, I like the 350/350 combo. Just right for us Senior Citizen Narcs.[/quote'] The 350/350 is a classic combinatin that has been working in sooo many different vehicles since it was first introduced in '69. Parts are available to make the combo as mild or wild as needed with legendary reliability and incredible parts availability. Seriously, how can you really go wrong?

[Jagvic]

indeed also what kind of rear end gear ratio is your car running' date=' 3:15's?[/quote'] Again unless it was changed which I doubt the standard ratios in 1981 were:Automatic Transmission--2.87:1(2.72:1 in California)

[jurassic narc]

Again unless it was changed which I doubt the standard ratios in 1981 were:Automatic Transmission--2.87:1(2.72:1 in California)

I am not sure, but my Judo instructor, who is also my car guru, says that it is 2.87:1.

[Kavinsky]

hmm I dont know that seems kinda low, I wonder if thats because of the 3 speed transmission on it vs a 4 speed which seem to have a standard of 3:15.also at the time gm was probably trying to squeze as much gas mileage out of that motor as possbile, and they still do. the corvette is one of the few sports cars nowadays in both its standard and Z06 trims to avoid the gas gussler tax.I asked because apparently that rear end gear ratio makes a huge difference in the acceleration department which Leno said makes as much felt difference as supercharging the car, but also raising it makes the engine suck up noticeably more gas

[CameraDaytona]

Thanks to Jagvic for the Mardikian link - it's very interesting that they did not mention his building the Miami Vice Daytonas.In answer to a couple questions, my engine block is painted black. The transmission is a little hard to see right now so I don't know if it is a 350 or 400. The intake manifold is an aluminum Holley and the headers are Hooker as someone surmised earlier.Kavinsky - how did you get the picture of my engine compartment blown up large in the post right after my post? I don't know how to do that.

[Kavinsky]

I downloaded the photos from the photo gallery and uploaded the modded ones via the manage attachments part of the post.

[Kavinsky]

Jagvic what were you saying could also be used on the nose of the car instead of plexyglass that would be abit more sturdy than plexy?I'm asking because I forgot what exactly it was and I've seen that even on the 68' ferrari daytona's that the plexglass can warp.

[COOPER&BURNETT]

Here's an early example of the tail pipes on the Daytona.This photo was claimed to be during the first Grand Prix of Miami. Don Johnson is on the back of the car waving to the audience to promote MIAMI VICE.