| Author | Message | ||
| Paul Newman (Newman)
Member Username: Newman Post Number: 999 Registered: 12-2001 |
I guess Im in the .1% group because although I like old ferraris for the styling, I havent started drooling over them yet and realize unless I win a very large sum of money Ill never own one. So, now that Im not wasting time doing that, I can turn my attention to a REAL ferrari rather than a kit or a bastardized britsh/ferrari conversion. I think you are wasting your time only becasue I know old vettes like yours arent cheap so liquidating them would at the very least put you into a nice ferrari (probably a TR or 355). If you didnt have 2 dimes to rub together then I can see the temptation to mess with junk but I dont think thats the case. Ive been there before, having more than 1 car in pieces for years and I would rather have one running cool car than 6 projects that never get finished. | ||
| Joseph (Mojo)
Junior Member Username: Mojo Post Number: 221 Registered: 9-2002 |
Horsefly YES Mojo | ||
| Horsefly (Arlie)
Member Username: Arlie Post Number: 574 Registered: 5-2002 |
Paul, how can I spin my wheels when the engine isn't even in the car yet? But more seriously, every Ferrari buff drools over photos of classic old racers, but the fact is, 99.9 percent of Ferrari buffs will never, EVER, be able to afford one of those old classics. So if one can have some fun playing with a vintage car with considerable uniqueness, what's the harm? Isn't playing around with an old kit car preferable to sitting at home on your couch, reading some automotive picture book, drooling over million dollar Ferraris that are essentially unobtainable? | ||
| Paul Newman (Newman)
Member Username: Newman Post Number: 995 Registered: 12-2001 |
Arlie, why would you waste time with an old lumpy mga by trying to stuff a $20k ferrari engine in it when you have 10 corvettes in pieces that need to be assembled (or sold off in baskets)and you talk of owning a ferrari as well, preferably a project! I think you need to put more thought into your dirrection. You are spinning your wheels and not getting any younger. You wanted an opinion, you got mine. | ||
| Horsefly (Arlie)
Member Username: Arlie Post Number: 573 Registered: 5-2002 |
OK guys. After alot of searching, I finally found a site with a photo of my Fiberfab Caribee kit car which, in my opinion, is very Ferrari like. I think they put the Ferrari 250GTO and the Ford Cobra Coupe in a blender and got this design. http://www.geocities.com/fiberfabcars2/caribeepromo1.jpg I hope the link works; it seemed to be stubborn some times. If I could scrounge up a V12 and shoehorn (butcher) the engine into this kit car, what would you guys say? Trash, treasure, or "jury still out"? For what it's worth, the Caribee was available to fit MGA, Triumph, or Austin Healey chassis. Mine is an MGA which is good, because the MGA has the beefier frame and could probably handle the power, but getting a V12 into the engine compartment would definately require some hacking. | ||
| Sean Ruckel (Sruckel)
Junior Member Username: Sruckel Post Number: 125 Registered: 10-2001 |
Yes - the Jerrari.... http://www.wagoneers.com/FSJ/rigs/TheJerrari/thejerrari.jpg | ||
| Eric Hawley (Eric)
New member Username: Eric Post Number: 36 Registered: 8-2001 |
Sean: That would be the Jerrari, a 1978 Jeep Wagoneer with a Ferrari 365 GTC/4 V-12 transplanted. Originally built and owned by Bill Harrah. Now in the National Automotive Museum. The car at the Concorso (Torpedo Roadster) was the same one Steve Magnusson pointed to earlier in this thread. It's a beautiful work of art, and hardly a kit car. Total custom work to an incredible standard of fit and finish. The car was reviewed in most of the auto rags when first introduced. While neither of these is a Ferrari, they're awesome cars in thier own rights. I think it would be awesome to transplant a modern V-12 into a rod of some type. It wouldn't be a replacement for a complete Ferari, but would sure be a kick at the Saturday night cruises. So I say Thumbs up, Arlie! It wouldn't be a Ferrari, but it sure would be awesome to see and hear. Can you imagine what fun driving that Wagoneer in the desert around Reno would have been, while it ran?  And I'd love to spend a few hours in the Torpedo. Track days in a car with a modern Ferrari V-12, weighing half (or less) of what the Maranello does. Now we're talking real fun! | ||
| Martin - Cavallino Motors (Miami348ts)
Advanced Member Username: Miami348ts Post Number: 3561 Registered: 5-2001 |
Arlie, I'd say you are definetely closer that way than putting a Chevy into a Ferrari. Actually body work is someting that was frequently changed on cars at the factory. Look at the 550 ALMS cars. The only stock pieces they have is the passenger cabin frame. All the rest is hand made. The engine is moded so much that you can barely say it is a Ferrari engine anymore. | ||
| Bill Sawyer (Wsawyer)
Member Username: Wsawyer Post Number: 590 Registered: 2-2002 |
Sean, I think you are speaking about the Jerrari, a Jeep with a Ferrari engine that was commissioned by William Harrah. | ||
| Sean Ruckel (Sruckel)
Junior Member Username: Sruckel Post Number: 124 Registered: 10-2001 |
There's a full-size Jeep (Wagonner, I think) with Ferrari power that I have seen. Pretty crazy stuff, I'll have to find the website... but, I wouldn't exactly call a large, heavy, 4x4 a Ferrari just because it had Ferrari power. | ||
| Dom Vitarella (Dom)
New member Username: Dom Post Number: 24 Registered: 11-2002 |
Interesting thread... I've always thought about this. Designing my own car, powered by lets say a 308 engine (or a v-12, or even a dino v-6). I'd design something light, that looks stylish (not garish) and runs like a bat. I've bought kit car magazines, but all they seem to want to do is convert fieros to Fieorrari's. It seems to me that if you are going to do all this work, why not make something unusual, exciting. Don't just copy someone else's design. I've also seen some homebuilt cars (usually from England) that look really exotic (though not always tasteful), that are powered usually by some american iron. I recall seeing one at the LA autoshow a couple of years ago- I think they were talking mid-30k in price. I'd like to do something to that effect one day, but make the design tasteful, and of course powered by one of our italian monsters. Maybe start with a tube frame and build up the body. Throw in your engine, tranny, etc. Of course I know nothing about how to do this, and I wouldn't even know where to start. Not to mention, I bet it could get pretty expensive pretty fast. Maybe one day though... In the meantime, I'd still take a Lanica Stratos, or a Fiat Dino spider. Those cars have soul. I actually thought about buying a fiat dino spider, but in the end went with the 308gt4 (Which I should be picking up on Sat- keep your fingers crossed). Dom | ||
| Joe Sevack (Joe_in_hk)
New member Username: Joe_in_hk Post Number: 5 Registered: 9-2002 |
Sure, a Ferrari engine in another car does not make it a Ferrari, but who cares--if its a cool car and makes its owner smile, isn't that what is important? My first car was a '70 Z28 into which we transplanted the 427 Tri-power motor from awrecked '67 Vette owned by a friend of my father. Not exactly a revolutionary move and it didn't turn the Camaro into a Vette (whatever that is worth!), but it did make for a very quick and cool Camaro. I love to see people change their cars or build new cars to suit their personal preferences/dreams/etc. If the next guy dosen't appreciate it like the owner, too bad, that's not what its all about! | ||
| Joseph (Mojo)
Junior Member Username: Mojo Post Number: 219 Registered: 9-2002 |
How about a 360 with a chev 350 engine, still a ferrari? | ||
| Matt Lemus (Mlemus)
Intermediate Member Username: Mlemus Post Number: 1300 Registered: 8-2002 |
There was some guy at Montery last year that had a kit roadster with the engine and trans of a 550. | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 918 Registered: 8-2002 |
i think Ferrari is more than just an engine... Taking the engine and putting it in another car doesn't make it any bit a Ferrari- in my opinion, it just makes it some car with a Ferrari engine... On the same token, taking any engine and putting it under a Ferrari body doesn't qualify as being a Ferrari, either... If i took the Enzo's engine and put it into a Supra, would you want that Supra as much as you want an Enzo...? No. If i took a Supra engine and put it into an Enzo, would you want that Enzo as much...? No. | ||
| TomD (Tifosi)
Intermediate Member Username: Tifosi Post Number: 2270 Registered: 9-2001 |
coachwork that comes on a ferrari is not half bad either - its the complete package | ||
| Ken (Allyn)
Member Username: Allyn Post Number: 609 Registered: 10-2001 |
I want a Fiero with a Ferrari engine. | ||
| J. Grande (Jay)
Member Username: Jay Post Number: 941 Registered: 10-2001 |
Yes Norman you are right, the Stratos had the 6 cylinder dino engine. Bertone was working on the Stratos for Lancia but didn't have an engine and gearbox. Because he was also working on the Fiat Dino at the time, he had alot of spare engines in the shop. From what I've read he put the engine in just to see if it would fit and sure enough it did. The Stratos became one of the most successful ralley cars of all time and is considered a classic. So we have the Lancia Stratos, the Lancia Beta Thema 3.2 and the Fiat Dino coupe and spider as "production" cars with Ferrari engines. | ||
| Norman Yung (Storminnormin)
New member Username: Storminnormin Post Number: 26 Registered: 7-2002 |
The Lancia Stratos was powered by a Ferrari engine I believe. It was an awesome rally car in the mid-70's. Looks like a spaceship on wheels. I think dropping a Ferrari V12 into a homebuilt body would be interesting, but the body would have to be Ferrari-sexy. The Cobra was and still is a sexy car because of the potent engine in a SEXY body. Potent engines in ugly bodies have minimal appeal, in my opinion. | ||
| J. Grande (Jay)
Member Username: Jay Post Number: 938 Registered: 10-2001 |
I remember seeing on the cover of Kit Car magazine once a P4 replica with a 348 engine. The owner was a Japanese guy who wrecked his 348, then transplanted the engine and gearbox into the P4 kit. Looked pretty cool! | ||
| Paul Newman (Newman)
Member Username: Newman Post Number: 991 Registered: 12-2001 |
I saw a cobra kitcar with a ferrari v12 once. It was in a picture and really looked like it was stuffed in there. | ||
| Steve Magnusson (91tr)
Intermediate Member Username: 91tr Post Number: 1298 Registered: 1-2001 |
(Can't say I ever see myself being able to really use a roadster, but) I'd give this 550 Maranello-powered street rod high marks: Torpedo Roadster | ||
| Chris Richardson (Boozy)
Junior Member Username: Boozy Post Number: 248 Registered: 11-2001 |
It's like stuffing lobster with tacos. They are both food, and you could eat it, but you wouldn't want to. | ||
| David S (Djs308)
New member Username: Djs308 Post Number: 42 Registered: 9-2002 |
Well, it's not a home-built but Ferrari DID allow Lancia to drop Ferrari engines into the Thema cars (sedans). I believe it was back in the '80s and I think they were either 308 or 328 engines. Don't know much about the Thema car (only sold in Europe if I recall correctly) but I know they were plenty fast with the Ferrari engine installed. Also, there was a photo very recently on the ''Chat with a V-12 sitting in the bay of a 308! You have to see it to believe it! | ||
| Pistons of fury (Massimo)
New member Username: Massimo Post Number: 12 Registered: 11-2002 |
I always thought that ferrari built thier cars according to the drivers personality. | ||
| Horsefly (Arlie)
Member Username: Arlie Post Number: 568 Registered: 5-2002 |
Everybody seems to think that the Ferrari engine itself is what makes the Ferrari automobile so special. Didn't Enzo say something to that effect? High revving V12s and V8s are the heart of the car. If that's the case, what about a Ferrari engine in a custom built car? Why not take a Ferrari V12 or V8 and stuff it into some unique homebuilt creation for some fun? The Ford Cobra started with a 289 stuffed into a British AC. So if I pick up a Ferrari V12 and drop it into a home-brewed road demon, what will the critics say? Thumbs up or thumbs down? |