USA FERRARI F40

Guys, you have spoken.... THANKS. I have always thought that this thread was worthwhile even if it was only for the fact that there isnt another body of work soley dedicated to the USA F40 anywhere in existence. Even if only I thought it was worthwhile Id still continue in the hopes that along the way it would serve a useful purpose.

I want to make one declaration and then Ill move on: at no time have I ever represented myself as not being in the business of sourcing great classic cars, F40s included. As an F-Chat sponsor, Id like to add value, above and beyond my core business. This thread and others are my small contribution.

F40 owners who havent already should check out www.carobu.com and see what they offer in performance upgrades for the F40 if its standard setup isnt quite enough for you. Ive been in a car with the drop gears fitted and can tell you acceleration is quite fierce. Id love to hear what some owners think....

Joe
www.joesackey.com
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

For the man who has everything....

Joe
www.joesackey.com
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Im delighted that 410 SA concedes that a "wealth of info has been uncovered", but I think there is still an amazing amount to come for several reasons:
The USA F40s are for the most part fairly young cars with low-mileages. A whole wealth of information is going to be generated by the people who actually drive their cars in terms of maintenance and running issues.
Further, some F40s are now changing hands from their older first owners and going into the hands of younger more enthusiastic guys who like to drive so the focus is shifting towards the car's performance attributes etc.
Lastly, as the cars go over 20 years, we will see some entered in historic racing (where they will rule their classes I beleive) and at that point there will be a whole new aspect of these cars to follow.

So I cant concurr in the least that the useful info to be put forth by a thread like this has been maximised. They have to run their natural life, just as Jim's long-running P4/5 proves, and naturally youll have some periods where there is more new & useful information being put forth than others.

In looking at the chassis numbers list its clarified that the first 3 production USA F40s are NOT the prototype cars, two of which were in fact crashed and the third returned to Italy according to Jim McGhee who was part of the team that did the R&D towards Homologation and Type Approval for the USA F40. Here are the first three in order of production:

#1 - 84729
#2 - 84838
#3 - 84944

BTW I will share some interesting 'secrets' about the USA F40s frontal chassis and bodywork to our collective benefit and knowlege as soon as I can take some images of my car to demostrate, all courtesy of Jim himself.

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

Amir Rosenbaum getting ready to drive his F40 up the hill to a record at the 1997 Virginia City Hillclimb.

Joe
www.joesackey.com
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Track-prepped to fly at California Speedway...

Joe
www.joesackey.com
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

The heavily-modified Bonneville Salt Flats car is covered here in imaged detail, so if its a USA F40, anything goes


Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

Isaac,

You are 100% correct that this thread comprises 3% of pure BS. In fact I have checked to verify same

However, may I politely suggest a slight re-organisation and combination of the other allocated numbers thus:

97% good information AND images to the benefit of current F40 owners and prospective owners (I rate total pics at just 40% and good information at 57% in fact, if you wish to get technical with a more detailed breakdown....).

So you see, we are in fact saying the same thing are we not?

As for moving the thread - I have a feeling its not going anywhere anytime soon as it is as legitimate a thread as any other on F-Chat.

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

There is a triangular-shaped indentation under the highest point of the wheel arch inside the wheel well (I promise an image of this) and Ive always wondered why its there. According to Jim Mc Ghee this 'notch' was put there as a result of the crash-testing to induce the front hood to 'buckle' at that point rather than ride up into the windscreen upon frontal impact. Now we know why its there....


Joe
www.joesackey.com
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I saw another thread talking about a front splitter option for the F40 and wanted to expand on what Dave Helms alluded to: the front spoiler was tested to be an aerodynamic downforce aid. However its mounting application also allows it to be flexible upon slight impact on kerbs and sloping driveways absorbing the energy of those contacts, thus saving the hood itself. I have seen some cars that have had the topside of this unit silicone-glued to the leading edge of the front hood (dont ask me why) and this is a rather futile touch as the silicone will break up as soon as there is any contact again, often leaving marks on the front lower face of the hood. The moral of all this: leave the car alone, the way it was manufactured (IMHO). Its all designed and applied with specific purpose. Its a lot cheaper to have a new spolier mounted by the dealer than it is to repair a cracked front hood!

Joe
www.joesackey.com.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Found a source at last! Ive seen seats re-upholstered in the wrong material, in leather, and simply left with stains & tears because the original red nomex is almost impossible to find. Even if you have pristine seats, you live in fear of getting them stained/ripped.
2 metres will re-upholster 2 seats and it is best stored in a tube in a dry envoironment. If youre like me and dont need the seats re-upholstered right now, you might plan to store it as spare OEM for a rainy day.

Anyone who is in need can contact me on [email protected] and I will see if my supplier can source more.

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

Mike,

I am very familiar with the red nomex Re-originals supplies. We have matched it and it is quite DIFFERENT in texture from the OEM material. Now perhaps some will not mind if there is a difference, in which case they can contact Re-originals as you so kindly suggest. I saw one F40 at the 20th Anniversary Celebrations that was covered in an almost woolly-textured nomex which was very obvious. At any rate I have some of the right stuff and if anyone needs a supply Im sure they wont mind contacting me - I will put them direct with my source once he has established he can get more. Trust me its complicated, but I always try and hunt for the right stuff rather than compromise....BTW its no secret amongst F40 owners who have tried that the OEM material is in fact unobtainum and even Ferrari officially says they can no longer supply it.

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

This one is the result of a VERY high speed crash-and-burn and we know therefore that there is one less USA car. Can you tell its a USA F40? There are some clues...

Joe
www.joesackey.com
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

And by contrast this one is perfectly preserved...

Joe
www.joesackey.com
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Paul H's car is a regular on the road in Las Vegas and as a real enthusiast he travelled with it all the way to Northern California to be part of the 20th Anniversary. Way to go Paul

Joe
www.joesackey.com
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

The F40s engine and chassis are engineering works of art. The USA cars have a laddered chassis extension to strengthen the front hood mounting. The internals of the USA cars share the same components to almost identical specs in a slightly different state of tune with different gear ratios (covered in exact detail earlier in this thread).

Joe
www.joesackey.com
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login