I have the canvas roof for my 355. It has always been very tight to fit on the car It does go on but you really have to force the side bar to get it to lock into place...once on it does a great job. Yesterday one of the side bar tubes snapped off from its locating lug. Only thin aluminium I think....going to remove the tube and see if I can get it welded back to perfect again. Does anyone here use this rare accessory for their 355 or 348 and what is their technique for putting it on the car?
I always thought your rare top was perfect for taller owners. Can you post some photos? Sorry that it is needing repair. Robb
I have a folding soft-top for My 348 TS and it is very tight to clamp down against the front windscreen rail, to the point where it takes a lot of force to get the roof clamped down! (Mine is the version that sits flush with the rail and is not speed restricted). I'm planning on making some small, thin shims to fit between the soft-tops clamping mechanism and its frame, to reduce the clamping pressure slightly. I've also found that the top needs more careful aligning with the locating plates mounted to the windscreen frame than the factory hard-top does. Other than that, the roof has been an absolute God-send as it means I don't have to take the hard-top everywhere with Me (I'm too tall to drive the car with the hard-top behind the seats!). It's definitely one of the best purchases I've ever made! Here are some pictures showing the roof in detail (The last two pictures show the sliding locking sleeve for the hinge sections - You have to pull them down to get the hinges to fold) : 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 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 Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I've got one and it can be awkward to put on sometimes. I tend to not try to unfold both sides loosely into position first before fully expanding either of the sides to lock them in place. Hope this helps! Image Unavailable, Please Login
As I understand it, they're 348 folding soft-tops fitted with 355 latches. It will look pretty much the same as the 348 above your post but the car will be a 355 instead.
There are 2 types - the one pictured by Phill is one of the ones made by Ferrari North America, the one Jeff has was made by Ferrari in Italy. The FNA design has clamps at the front (later 348 or 355 - both used the same) whereas the one jeff has is held in place by virtu of being locked open (it has no clamps, just 'tabs' that fit into the place a clamp would go). Both have their plusses - the FNA one is more robust, the one from Italy folds down smaller and fits neatly on the parcel shelf, it's lighter weight but is good for 100mph. Both were originally made for the 348 but both will fit a 355. Long story but here's a boxed Italian one: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
That is a cool piece of information! I never knew is was an OEM part. What are the part numbers and what have they sold for in the past? Thanks. Robb
Oddly no part number but the one I got was from a well known Ferrari restorer and collector in Holland - he said he picked it up at the factory along with some F1 tool carts a few years ago, a couple were still boxed at the back of a store room. That's why I swapped something with Jeff for my old one. Wierd story but got no reason to doubt him. Must confess I was a tad dubious - legit foldable roofs showing up at the back of a store room 15 or 20 years later, so I asked him to send detailed photos. The roofs he had were identical in every way to the older one I already owned and I mean stitch perfect. The one I had had been in the UK for years so whoever made that one definitely made the 'new' ones. On the roofs and the docs inside the fonts etc are the same as in the European 348 manual from back in '89-93. They might not be legit but someone went to a lot of bother to make them appear that way.
The reason for the 100mph limit on the "Ferrari" top is not only because it relies on being locked open to hold it on the car with no other clamps, but also because it actually sits slightly above the windscreen top rail and so there was a concern that the wind could possibly get underneath it at high speeds. The FNA version that I have sits flush with the windscreen rail, exactly as the factory hard-top does and uses the exact same latch mechanism as the hard-top so there is no speed limit for it (When on the car the top is very taut indeed and there is no flapping or vibrating at all). So long as you don't have the centre mounted US spec seat belts then the folding-top I have fits perfectly on the rear parcel shelf. I have read of some owners having custom bags made to store their tops in to put on the parcel shelf. Whilst that's a great idea, I couldn't see it was worth the cost so what I did was find a reasonable quality/cost bag for transporting an electronic keyboard to gigs in that was roughly the right size (similar to this: http://www.swamp.net.au/images/productimages/Large/Kbag49/Kbag49-a.jpg ), and I bought a cheap duvet to act as additional padding and I put the top in that. This combination sits perfectly on the parcel shelf without obstructing the view out of the rear window at all, and with the seats all the way back and the seat belts coming over the ends of the bag, it doesn't move around at all. Normally I only fit the top when I'm parked up for any length of time to help secure the car and help protect the interior from the sun, dirt and possible bird s:censored:t, but I have been caught out once in a heavy downpour that the weather people made no mention of and had to hurriedly get the roof out and on the car (much to the delight of other passing traffic I suspect!). The top did a very good job of keeping the rain out, especially when on the move (the type I have has a roll of covered foam that goes "against" the window to help seal it [ I say "against" because it's not perfect and there are some small gaps still, but they seemed to only leak very slightly when the car was stationary ] ). The top did exactly what I wanted and needed it to do and I was incredibly grateful to have it in the car! I also noted that it made no noise at all whilst on the car, unlike the hard-top!
Yep, they're both really good bits of kit. I've used mine in the rain and it's great as a temporary solution, jeff has added tubes to the side of his similar to the FNA and uses it a lot more than I use mine. Speed wise, I'm an air traffic controller and ran my own airfield not long ago. I had the car up to over 120 mph with the roof on with no issues at all so I guess the 100mph tested label is safe. Here in europe these restrictions on fabric roofs are pretty standard on many cars, just something they have to do when they make a detacheable fabric roof I think. I do think the FNA ones are more robust though. I wouldn't want to use mine instead of a hard targa on a daily basis but would be happier to do so with one of the clamping roofs. Btw, got a custom 'bag' - single piece of leather folded over and sewn down the long side and one end with velcro at the other end. very simple but keeps it neat when stored on the shelf.
The picture of the card in this is exactly the same card as with my roof. As I said, wierd that it showed up boxed at the back of a store room in Maranello but it all seemed to add up. Ferrari Parts : 63380800 : 63380800 FOLDING TOP - FMS Car Parts Image Unavailable, Please Login
You spoken to them about it, Jeff? When mine was 'found' there were 5. I bought 1 and found buyers for 2 others. The guy who found them said he had a buyer for one other but felt he could shift the last no probs. Do you think they're doing them on back order?
No, its new old stock. They had 3 IIRC back in the summer, 1 of which was sent to Stratstones for a friend with a 355 who ended up not buying it as it was too tight a fit althouh mine did fit their car????!!! So unless 3 people have bought them in the past few months they'll still have them
Cool. You going to post up on CS? Several new owners on there, someone might be interested..... Edit: If the guy who tried yours worked for L'Oreal he was one of the guys who I had found - similar last name to mine? If so those 3 are probably the 3 that were left so it all tallies if the dutch guy sold to MCP.
I carefully measured the dimensions of the folded top, added a little bit to each dimension and then, having had My keyboard bag brainwave, found one as close as possible to those dimensions. The bag cost £14 (@$22) and the duvet for padding was £8 (@$12.50). Considering the price I was paying for the bag I didn't get My hopes up too high about the quality but when it turned up I was pleasantly surprised as to how good it was! It actually worked out better than i thought it would!
All things considered - That's a pretty good price for them! (I didn't even think to try Maranello parts when I was looking for a folding top! - Doh!) I got Mine from a seller in the USA on ebay for a good price (at least it was a good price until the UK Government added import duty and tax to it! ) The funny thing is, looking at how the two tops are constructed and how they sit on the car, the FNA version (with the latches), actually looks more like a factory produced product than the "official" top Ferrari produced! The FNA top sits flush and clamps on exactly as the factory hard-top does, whereas the Ferrari top doesn't have latches to clamp it on and the top sits slightly on top of the car. Looking at the pair of them on a car, you'd think it would be the other way round! At the end of the day though, either of these tops is a great addition for an owner to have, especially for tall owners who simply cant fit in the car with the roof behind the seats. Get one while you can is My advice!
It's good advice. Mine transformed my ownership experience - can't fit a roof behind the seats and drive comfortably, Normally want to drive with the roof off but with the weather here don't want to leave home without a roof. A foldable soft top is the perfect solution. Re the fit and build, I agree, the FNA one looks more OEM and my understanding is it came first. Guys in America wanted a foldable roof, Ferrari wouldn't supply so FNA knocked up some using clamps etc from their parts supply to accomodate owners. Ferrari saw that there was a need so came up with their own solution. At least that's the story I was told by a UK dealer. Either way, either is a great piece of kit to have.
