Man buys vintage Ferrari barn find left untouched for years and its mega rebuild cost

This man bought a vintage Ferrari 512BBi from a barn find but soon discovered it’d cost a lot to get it back on fighting form.

YouTuber Ratarossa, an admitted ‘automotive addict’, picked up the car that had been left abandoned for over 12 years.

Admittedly, he only got his hands on it after spending six months convincing the owner to sell it.

But once he had it in his possession, it was time to get started on fixing up the car.

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The process of repairing a Ferrari 512BBi

Ratarossa opted to do a total nuts-and-bolts restoration on the car, taking into account the engine showing signs of neglect.

As one of only 42 right-hand models built and the only one in white, it’s an exceptionally rare Ferrari.

Plus showing only 6,420 miles on the clock, it’s clear that it didn’t get much time out on the road.

Upon closer inspection, the host discovered that the fuel tanks were clogged up.

Cylinder number 12 was a particular cause for concern, but the camera didn’t show what the problem was.

Therefore, the engine had to come apart.

The engine was ice-blasted and buffed, leading to a remarkable change in its appearance.

But the engine work didn’t stop there – he needed to splash out a ton of money on a gasket set to finish off the rebuild.

So much money that he couldn’t even bring himself to say it on screen – although he later admits it was $3,261.

It turns out that achieving a factory finish is neither easy nor cheap.

Evidently, 12 years had taken its toll – though it’s admittedly a fraction compared to the 28 years that this Ferrari 512 BB spent in isolation.

How was the rest of the car holding up?

The car’s exterior was dusty, meaning that Ratarossa had to take extra care whilst cleaning up so as not to damage the paint.

He put a ceramic coating over the car to protect it against future environmental threats.

By the video’s end, the restoration is still a work in process.

It’ll be exciting to see how he gets on in future videos.

Barn-find restorations are always fun to watch, especially when it’s a drastic transformation, as was the case with this abandoned Mercedes.

Plus, this Dodge Challenger 340 got its first satisfying wash in 40 years but the detailer almost cried when he saw what was under the hood.

To check out the Ferrari 215BBi for yourself, head over to Ratarossa’s YouTube channel.