355 roof questions

AFAIK, they weren't painted by the factory.

Congrats in advance. We have a very active FOC chapter in San Diego and up in LA/The OC.

 

painting it would be very difficult. If you search there is a thread on this page about a company that sells quality canvases for approximately 2k. Thats a great deal and will look much better than a redye or paint.

 

I have seen many for sale that list the roof as factory painted--Are you sure??

 

Can you really paint the canvas though, I think it would look terrible unless it was sprayed, but even then. soaking it in a dye would be much more sensible.

 

I thought the 355 GTS came with two tops? One black canvas and one body matched metal? Anyone else ever hear this. Not really sure on this as I have never owned a GTS but bid on one at the auction that had two tops- 1 red (body color) and the black canvas looking one. Anyone???

 

my 95 GTS came with a matching roof from the factory.... at least that is what i was told.

 

I think painted roof always looks better, however, that is just me.
As long as I know, Ferrari offered painted roof as an option. Some GTS have painted roof from factory and some do not depending on previous owners preference.
I am not 100% sure, however I think it was offered as an option since 1998.
Even though you paint your roof, I do not think it will do any harm.

 

No, I'm not sure. The ones I've seen (and there aren't that many) have been unpainted.

I know Ferrari would do pretty much anything if you paid for it. My 328 came with a metallic black-painted front spoiler, to match the body color. After the owner kept losing points at concours, because judges assumed it was a modification, he put it back to the usual plain black.

Given how Ferrari owners are about aftermarket/modified cars, I could see some motivation for sellers calling the painted top a factory job when in fact they have no clue or know otherwise.

What we need is for one owner to post a window sticker showing that the buyer paid to have the top painted at the time of purchase.

If the roof is black now, however, it almost certainly came black from the factory, and I would recommend leaving it that way. There are some practical reasons for it - i.e., you're going to be removing it, sliding under a cover, and moving it around, which makes an inadvertent chip more likely. However, the old 'it's your car so make yourself happy' adage applies here.

FWIW, if I bought a targa car with an aftermarket painted top I'd replace the top with OEM and knock the price off the value of the car. (My personal perspective, although I doubt I'm alone on this.)

 

As op360 stated, painted GTS tops were a factory option from 1998 forward...it started about when the shields, drilled rotors and painted caliper options became available.

 

Yep, factory option. You can also look for aftermarket carbon roofs. Don't know if anyone makes one, but a friend bought one for his 328 GTS and it was lighter while offering better head room. He had it painted to match.

don't sweat it though. Put the roof behind the seats!!!!!

 

That would do it for sure--Anyone??

 

I have a 1999 GTS, and it came from the factory with the optional body-color roof.

 

I also have a 1999 GTS and this came with a factory painted roof. The spare tyre was also a cost extra option.