| Author | Message | ||
| Michael Wogronic (Michael_fvm)
Junior Member Username: Michael_fvm Post Number: 74 Registered: 4-2002 |
If anyone is interested, I just took some pictures of the car this morning. Also, I took some pictures of the pictures I have from the repaint. Please feel free to contact me and I can e-mail them out. Michael Wogronic 630.231.0700 [email protected] | ||
| JRV (Jrvall)
Intermediate Member Username: Jrvall Post Number: 2142 Registered: 11-2002 |
I've been following this with interest. It seems the car is lost and can't find a home. Apparently, according to price, the car is viewed as a redheaded step child, either that or the amount of sucker speculator bag holders is dwindling? I bet all that car needs is a good pitch man that can baffle with BS and Dazzle with paid for Magazine Articles alluding to it's hidden future collectability windfall. But if that doesn't work out I might have a buyer for the 288 GTO seats... {  } | ||
| Chris Parr (Cmparrf40)
Member Username: Cmparrf40 Post Number: 683 Registered: 3-2002 |
William, I am with you, I belive this car was always yellow. I wonder if Tony or someone from FOH could fill in the blanks.... | ||
| william speer (Wspeer)
Member Username: Wspeer Post Number: 284 Registered: 8-2002 |
i am not aware that the car was ever a color other than yellow. i am not certain about the interior but the car is "as delivered" to joe jamial, an aluminum bodied 328. i have never heard that the car was sent here from italy to be sent back and rebodied in aluminum. i am in the houston area and know quite a bit about the car. if the car left the factory with a standard body, i would be amazed. the engine was tweaked after it left the factory and that has caused some great concerns. as i know that getting it to run right requires patience. once set up properlly, it is fine until it needs to be fine-tuned again. at $58k, the car is a steal. how the owner traded it in and took that as trade value is beyond me. i would be interested in seeing some interior phots, as a yellow/red combo sounds bad. if the interior photos look nice, hell, i amy even be a buyer. | ||
| Chris Parr (Cmparrf40)
Member Username: Cmparrf40 Post Number: 681 Registered: 3-2002 |
Michael, sounds like you are not a buyer! Terry was involved to get the specs on the valve shims, that information is now available with the car, and was required because of the special cams. | ||
| Michael C. James (Mjames)
Junior Member Username: Mjames Post Number: 78 Registered: 6-2003 |
This car will never sell....any engine mods that require a conference call with someone in England to keep the damned thing running is a waste of time. Maybe Terry Hoyle will buy it. | ||
| Chris Parr (Cmparrf40)
Member Username: Cmparrf40 Post Number: 680 Registered: 3-2002 |
Michael, again I am not sure regarding if it was ever red, I just do not remember seeing any evidence of that. I was surprised it was repainted, I thought the car looked great when it came in, but the then owner wanted "perfection" something Eveland is well known for. | ||
| Michael Wogronic (Michael_fvm)
Junior Member Username: Michael_fvm Post Number: 73 Registered: 4-2002 |
Henry, the front and rear bumber covers are not aluminum; everything else is. | ||
| Michael Wogronic (Michael_fvm)
Junior Member Username: Michael_fvm Post Number: 72 Registered: 4-2002 |
Chris, thanks once again for the info. I know what you are talking about regarding the red resin, but I really believe the car was red after the rebody because in one of the pictures with the interior removed, there is red overspray on the front bulkhead under the dashboard. Eveland did a very nice job painting the car. My only guess as to why it was brought to them was to give it a better paint job. As I said, it looks like someone just painted right over the red paint and did not bring it down to bare metal as Eveland later did. | ||
| Henryk (Henryk)
Intermediate Member Username: Henryk Post Number: 1045 Registered: 8-2001 |
If the car is supposedly all aluminum, where are the fiberglass pieces? Or, is only part of the car aluminum? | ||
| Chris Parr (Cmparrf40)
Member Username: Cmparrf40 Post Number: 679 Registered: 3-2002 |
Michael, There was NO damage to the car, as I saw the car in bare metal. Perhaps you may be looking at some of the fiberglass pieces, Ferrari uses a "red" resin on fiberglass pieces, it is not unusual for individuals to assume that the car was "red" at some point in its life. My Fly yellow 308 had this "red" resin and I thought it might have been red at some point until I was "educated" on this issue. | ||
| Michael Wogronic (Michael_fvm)
Junior Member Username: Michael_fvm Post Number: 71 Registered: 4-2002 |
Chris, thanks for the info. After looking at the pictures I have of the car when it was being stripped at Eveland, you are correct, it was yellow at that time, but it appears to had been red underneath, and it does not look like primer red. The car is indeed fast for a 328. Also, in the pictures at the body shop, there appears to be NO damage to the car while being stripped; was it sent to Eveland just for a nicer paint job? | ||
| Chris Parr (Cmparrf40)
Member Username: Cmparrf40 Post Number: 678 Registered: 3-2002 |
Mike, The car was Fly yellow when it came to Kansas, Eveland did NOT change colors. If the car was red, it was done prior to being painted by Eveland Brothers. I was at the shop when it was being stripped for paint, while it has been a few years, I do not recall any signs that this car was ever red, but it has been a while and I was not actually doing the work. It does has some special cams in it, while it may idle a bit rough, it goes damn fast (for a 328). | ||
| Paul Wehmer (Pwehmer)
Junior Member Username: Pwehmer Post Number: 185 Registered: 10-2002 |
I think if the story was gotten straight the car would sell. Documentation is 100% of having something one off. Anyone have an idea on how much weight is saved on this car vs. a steel car? | ||
| Michael Wogronic (Michael_fvm)
Junior Member Username: Michael_fvm Post Number: 70 Registered: 4-2002 |
OK, I will chime in now since we currently have the car for sale. Chris Parr is correct in that the car was not sent to Italy for the REPAINT. It was, however, sent to Italy to be rebodied for the original owner from Texas. We have no indication that it was rebodied at the factory or not. Any proof one way or another would be very helpful. I have all the books and records, and it did have some engine mods (including cams) from England. That is why the car idles a litlle rough. It will likely not pass the Illinois emission test because of the cams. It was serviced at the local authorized dealer. The car also had 288 GTO style seats installed. According to the pictures of we have of the car, it was rebodied and painted red. Eveland in Kansas then repainted the car yellow. We have the car for sale for $58K. We took it in on trade for a 97 993 Turbo at a much higher price than what we are asking. We too thought it would sell for $70-75 considering the rarity. If anyone has any questions, or knows more details, please feel free to contact me. Thanks. Mike Wogronic 630.231.0700 or 630.231.3400 | ||
| william speer (Wspeer)
Member Username: Wspeer Post Number: 283 Registered: 8-2002 |
joe jamail is a plantiff's attorney here in houston. in the late eighties, he was involved in the texaco lawsuit and earned $3-4 billion from his work. joe has also had many ferraris over the years and been a great customer of ferrari. it is no surprise that ferrari would have made hime something special. | ||
| Sean F (Agracer)
Member Username: Agracer Post Number: 319 Registered: 2-2003 |
If she doesn't want it I'll drive it around for you, you know, just as a favor to keep all the gaskets and seals up to snuff... ;) By the way, Kevin is pretty excited about Saturday morning. | ||
| Chris Parr (Cmparrf40)
Member Username: Cmparrf40 Post Number: 676 Registered: 3-2002 |
Ken, all belts hoses etc were fresh about 4 years ago... This car just needs to be driven and enjoyed... ... mmmm I wonder if Dana would like a yellow 328GTS? | ||
| Ken (Allyn)
Intermediate Member Username: Allyn Post Number: 1106 Registered: 10-2001 |
I saw the car at Fox Valley and it is indeed sweet looking, but seeing as it's been for sale for so long, I bet it needs a whole lot of breaking in (read: new hoses, seals, gaskets) to be a driver. | ||
| Chris Parr (Cmparrf40)
Member Username: Cmparrf40 Post Number: 675 Registered: 3-2002 |
This 328 was in Kansas City for over a year, about 5 years ago. Jeff McCormick worked on the car, and yes the engine did require Terry Hoyle's in Englands assistant to service. Fox Valley will incorrectly tell you it was sent to Italy to be repainted, not true. The car was stripped to the bare aluminum and repainted in Kansas City by Eveland Brothers. The interior is original, The quality of the work on this car is first rate. Why it has not sold is beyond me. 5 years ago this car was valued at over $100,000. I believe Jo Jamail was the attorney on the winning side of the Texaco lawsuit back in the late '80's. I am sure William will correct me on that... If I was in the market for a 328, I would buy this car. | ||
| william speer (Wspeer)
Member Username: Wspeer Post Number: 282 Registered: 8-2002 |
ferrari of houston commissioned the car on behalf of joe jamail. it is a factory original aluminum bodied car. it was ungodly expensive but was produced by ferrari. the engine has some modifications that were carried out in england that created more horsepower. supposedly, the engine requires constant tweaking to keep it in order. as for the interior, i believe that it is factory original as well, but i am not certain of that. as for the 512tr that was for sale, i don't think that the term "test mule" is correct. it was more of an interim car during the conversion to the 512tr. it has been around for many years without dispute. other than the engine mods, the aluminum 328 is a steal at $58k, which isn't far off of the price of a very nice 328. if you can live with the colors, you could have an "only one in the world" ferrari 328. | ||
| Dave Goldman (Dave328)
Junior Member Username: Dave328 Post Number: 250 Registered: 11-2002 |
I believe this car was from F of Houston originally. I remember hearing that the owner bought it new and sent it right back to Pinninfarina to have it rebodied in aluminum for whatever reason. Wade Nunez will probably chime in on here with more info. I think he was invovlved in a deal on this car awhile ago. | ||
| Thomas I (Wax)
New member Username: Wax Post Number: 33 Registered: 7-2003 |
Here's a(nother) site displaying the Fox car-sales ad: http://www2.thecarexperience.com/pls/carexp/car_exp.car_page?p_car_id=2658 Description: Aluminum body Completely restored Tubi exhaust Daytona seats Alpine stereo. Has their phone number on the site if you want to bug 'em. Redundant: 328 bodies formed mostly from steel, with aluminum hoods. | ||
| Michael C. James (Mjames)
Junior Member Username: Mjames Post Number: 74 Registered: 6-2003 |
The only reason why, I could see, would be to make the car lighter and change the power-to-weight ratio. I doubt that the performance boost would have justified the costs, however.... I've seen ads for this car in the FCA newsletter - asking price was $75K! | ||
| Henryk (Henryk)
Intermediate Member Username: Henryk Post Number: 1044 Registered: 8-2001 |
V.Z.; NOBODY would know it is an aluminum body by looking at it......apparently very questionable........so why would one pay such a premium for it? Why not just buy a regular 328 for much less......and you don't have to try and explain the questionable body to anyone. Michael: It appears that the car was re-bodied.....buy WHY, and by whom? Somebody spent a LOT of money for nothing!!!!!! I would just stay away from this car. | ||
| Michael C. James (Mjames)
Junior Member Username: Mjames Post Number: 73 Registered: 6-2003 |
Fox Valley now has it.....hmmm. They have no explanation as to this car's provenance? Luigi got up one morning, went down to his job at the Maranello factory, and said to himself "I hafta make one outa Aluminum for the fun of it"! With Daytona seats no less, which wasn't a Factory option for any of the 308/328 model ranges..... | ||
| V.Z. (Ama328)
Junior Member Username: Ama328 Post Number: 228 Registered: 11-2002 |
ok, folks, next question: wouldn't there be some way to get confirmation/denial from either the factory or Ferrari NA ? And, if'n the 328 is solid, well put together, what's so bad about owning an aluminum 328? Maybe do a repaint, etc., but might be kinda nice, certainly different. | ||
| Henryk (Henryk)
Intermediate Member Username: Henryk Post Number: 1042 Registered: 8-2001 |
V.Z.: It looked just like a 328, with no mods.....very nice.......but of course, I question the mileage!!!!!......as with ANY 3X8!!!!!!! | ||
| L. (Testaroja)
Junior Member Username: Testaroja Post Number: 93 Registered: 5-2003 |
Ferrari of orlando had a dark gray Testarossa with a 512tr body and engine, they said it was a factory test bed for the 512tr but that they didnt have anything to prove this. All they asked for the car was $81,000 and the car was low miles, this was back in '99. I walked away, there are too many stories like this around. | ||
| V.Z. (Ama328)
Junior Member Username: Ama328 Post Number: 227 Registered: 11-2002 |
how good of a job did the aluminum body appear to be? And, did the rest of the car appear to be authentic/unaltered ? | ||
| Henryk (Henryk)
Intermediate Member Username: Henryk Post Number: 1041 Registered: 8-2001 |
Michael: It is Fox Valley Motorsports (Chicago suburb)......a Lambo, Lotus, and Panoz dealer, who also sells used Ferraris. | ||
| Michael C. James (Mjames)
Junior Member Username: Mjames Post Number: 71 Registered: 6-2003 |
I've never come across any published information about Ferrari putting out an aluminum 'one-off' like this, so I seriously doubt the claim of this car being Factory-rebodied. This 'dealer' wouldn't be Contenental Auto Sports, would it? I'd be skeptical - this car has changed hands so much, whoever has it now is trying to unload it fast. | ||
| Henryk (Henryk)
Intermediate Member Username: Henryk Post Number: 1039 Registered: 8-2001 |
Michael: YES it did!!!!!! The dealer told me this is ORIGINAL from the factory. It looks JUST like a 328, with NO mods. | ||
| Michael C. James (Mjames)
Junior Member Username: Mjames Post Number: 69 Registered: 6-2003 |
In my search for a 328, I've come across this car several times. The asking price was alot more than $58K when I last saw it, although it was being marketed as being "factory rebodied"....yea, right. Didn't this car have Daytona seats, Fly-Yellow paint? | ||
| David S (Djs308)
Junior Member Username: Djs308 Post Number: 167 Registered: 9-2002 |
I really don't know for sure, but I think it's extremely unlikely to be from the factory. I've never seen ANY info ever regarding an aluminum 328 made by Ferrari itself. However, it would be very interesting had Ferrari really built it, considering that would have been right before the aluminum NSX came into the world. | ||
| Henryk (Henryk)
Intermediate Member Username: Henryk Post Number: 1038 Registered: 8-2001 |
I have seen this at a dealer.....15,000 miles.....asking $58,000........had it for sale for over a year. Is there such a thing that was produced by the factory? I find this very unusual.....what gives? |