Hello everyone! Remember me? http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=341383&highlight=37313 Well, after a lot of stress (and a lot of money) I finally managed to get chassis 37313 out of customs! I ended up spending more than I had initially planned (A LOT!) and that will definitely delay my initial work schedule. But hey! At least I've got my project safe and sound at my home workshop! Well, let me tell you a bit of history; I was 7 years old when Magnum P.I. first aired at my country (1987) and from that moment, my whole life changed. I was already a car-focused kid, but man... that car... was immediately hardwired to my neural system!! Anyways, time went by, I grew up... my first car was a 1966 Mustang Fastback that I fully restored from ages 16 to 18. I still have it, by the way; and it's actually a rare car to find here were I live. That would be Paraguay, South America, by the way. Most cars around here are made in Brazil, Argentina and Japan. Most expensive cars around are Mercedes and BMWs. American cars were never a very popular choice here (gas prices are very high). Ferraris are very scarce (there might be a total of 20 in the whole country 3 of which are 308s), so owning one was practically impossible. Lots of cars came in and out of my life for the last 10 years... I ran an auto-shop for 5 years and then moved on to other more profitable career; I'm currently an engineer at a plastic PET manufacturing industry. I also import car parts as a side job. At one point, I even planned to do a one-off 288 GTO replica, making CAD plans from a used Pininfarina plan I bought from eBay! (You know, if I was going to spend 17 years building something, I was gonna do it big time! And since the 288 has the same styling as the 308, it made sense!). By the way, I gave copies of the CAD plans to Bert Kanters, hopefully they'll be useful for his project! http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/images/icons/icon12.gif Anyways, fate came along and I managed to find this project for sale on eBay (I suppose that searching for "Ferrari 308" almost every week had something to do with it, lol) and I was hooked! I was actually looking for parts for a 308 that was crashed here in Paraguay... and I just couldn't believed my eyes. At first, my plan was to get the parts out of this one... but then it hit me; I wouldn't... I couldn't sacrifice that car! So, even though I realize that a proper "restoration" doesn't have any financial sense at all, I'll give it a shot! I wont make a "councours correct" car... this is pure, old school, enjoyment. A weekend project destined to be a fun, beautiful, track car. And the fulfillment of a child's dream... There will be a lot of construction going on... many bits will procede from different cars... and I bet many of you might end up objecting some part of the project (don't get me wrong, I wont be putting any weird "custom" bodykit on it... it's just that some people are more "sensitive" than other; the objective is to get the car looking as "stock" as possible on the outside http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/images/icons/icon12.gif) But let's be real... this was headed for the crusher... it's a miracle it ended up in the hands of someone as crazy as me! LOL! So well, that's my introduction to ya'll... will be posting images as the project moves forward.
Well you certainly have a lot of "guts". I wish you the very best of luck. I think you will most likely need a lot more tenacity then luck however. Keep us posted with lots of pictures please. As of now you are an official Ferrari owner so congratulations!
It will be fantastic to see what you are able to do with it. I look forward to the pictures and the story. If you have looked through many links here you know that there are many parts on our cars that are shared with BMW Fiat, Alfa Romeo and others. Some threads give part numbers that are the original manufacturers number. Also in the US we have several shops that sell the parts from wrecked cars. And it sounds like you know the importation rules. Best of luck and again, I look forward to watching this.
Sounds like it could be very fun!!! I wish you well and sincerely HOPE that you will keep us updated with your progress regardless of whatever negative reactions you may get from other forum members. PDG
Glad to see that you're taking that car on. No matter how long it takes, it will be a rewarding and educational project. I'm looking forward to watching your work.
Crazy project! Will definately follow this thread. What fun! Between myself and another F-chatter I'm sure we have full front sheetmetal and suspension for that car. PM me if you want parts!
This were the ones taken for the eBay auction by the previous owner. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
These were taken while it was being uploaded by the freight company that took it from Lexington to Miami... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
And these were taken before it entered a container to be transported all the way to Paraguay... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
In one picture it has all the glass but none of the others show this. I was curious if you had all the glass? Also it appears that it lost pieces along the way.
This is how it looked when unloaded from the container. Those tubes are from a Pontiac Trans-Am that a friend of mine was bringing in the same container ;-) Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Welcome home, 37313! Congratulations. I'm personally glad to see that the car is in the hands of someone who will care about it.
Well, after a lot of time and troubles... she is here!!! Notice the face of joy on my daughters' face!!! They're already excited about the new family project!!! :-D My wife still sees it as a pile of junk... but at least she sees that it brings me joy, and that makes her happy. She was actually very supporting and understanding when I first proposed to start this project... gotta love her!!! :-D Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Great photos and your kids are beautiful. It's good to see that after this car's rough years, the proud Cavallino has been restored. I wish you the very best of luck.
I had located a front clip on the East Coast USA, he was asking $6500 might negotiate...I'll see if I can find the info... I did not need the whole thing....or maybe you could go repro and get a resin one???
jim400i: No engine plans yet... I'll concentrate on getting it to stand by itself first. Although I might consider the "Norwood way" and go on with an american crate engine. I realize many will raise an eyebrow... but hey, this is not a "conventional" project car. BigTex: That's a tiny bit out of my budget, LOL... I've just spent around 8000 bucks just to get this thing home... my wife is great, but she would never understand me spending that kind of money on a body clip, lol! I'm seriously considering a resin front end... or buying a "jigsawed" LH front fender and then working hard to fit it in... I know an excellent metalworker here, and labor price is not so high in this country...
I just looked up where Paraguay is. Land-locked in S.America. I knew it was in S.America, but not how far inland...That car of yours is going to be one heck of a project! Are you the same gentleman that did an early 70's Dino?
All I can say is........................WOW!!!! Good luck mate, you're gunna need it. **Your girls are beautiful also**
Yep, we're pretty much land-locked... that was one of the major problems to get the car home, the Paraguay river water level was very low for the past few months due to a lack of rain in the area. Containers reaching Paraguay have to pay a "low water surcharge". Although there are many ports in Asunción (where I live) the container had to be unloaded early because the boat would not reach Asunción safely due to the river's condition. When I got it out of customs I had to transport it on a truck for 65 miles again... No, I never restored a Dino... I did restore some Muscle Cars in the past. The only italian car I restored in the past was a Fiat 600. Thank you for the good vibe! ;-)
