Couple 348SS S/Ns

I believe there is dis-information out there. I am in for 100 cars - 12 in 1992, 88 in 1993 - plus 15 additional 1994 SS II's (not quite the same as Series I cars). There are more than a few sources that quote 80 cars - 12 and 68 - but that isn't right, IMO. The factory says they did 100 so that's what I believe.

 

I'm not going to vouch for accuracy..(in fact I doubt it)..but here's what I have
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I have s/n's 92812 - 95991. #95991 is listed as #98 of 100.

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45669&highlight=348+speciale+owners+gather&page=2

Check out post 37 and 38. I believe there are 100 vin's listed.

There were also 15 SS's (all ts's) in '94.

 

Actually the one listed is 95959. #97 of 100.

 

Rick, if you're interested in a well sorted SS, mine is for sale:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/ferrariads/showproduct.php?product=495&cat=2

 

Vince is correct -- there is a lot of complete nonsense out there in various publications.

Of course there were 100 Serie Speciale cars! The door plates say "X of 100" !!!

Also, a complete list of the VIN numbers has been posted before on Fchat.

However, Ferrari had a few leftover cars for the 1994 model year, so they added an additional 15.

That means 115 Speciale cars. Period.

Hey Vince -- sorry to sound like a broken record because I know I've said it many times before, but...

... there were about 24 Speciale cars made for the 1992 production year. I cannot be absolutely sure, but it is around 24. The list of the VINs that has floated around confirms this. Mine is #20, produced April 1992; and it is a model year 1992 car.

The 1993 model year began with May 1992 production. I know this for a fact because there is a Speciale for sale right now on the market that has a door plate that says "May 1992," and it is a 1993 car. It is #42 by the way.

http://mccarty-motors.ebizautos.com/detail-1993-ferrari-348-tb-2199520.html

However, I think the whole Speciale production thing is still very murky. Indeed, our Italian friends do not appear to have used any sort of methodology on this one. Surprise suprise!

 

Is there a number plate on the 15 1994 cars? If so, what does it say, "x of 15", or something else?

 

Let's hope Darron (MDshore348) can answer this one for us.

 

If I remember right, FNA did 100 initially, and then because there were so many usold 348s laying around NJ, that they made a few more......

 

I'm not sure there were alot of cars laying around NJ. Ferrari only made 60 tb and ts for the NA market in '94 (45 challenge and 15 SS ts). The rest were spiders.

There may have been alot of previous year models still in the show room, but they were not retro-fit to an SS.

 

I hope you may be able to answer this about the Series Speciale. Recently I bought a 1994 348 SS, No. 13 of 15. It was stated that the 94 is a II. Please tell me what the differences are between the I and the II?
Thanks for any help you may give.

 

Yes there is a plate and it resides inside the passenger doorjamb. Mine says No. 13 of 15. Hope that helps.

 

LOL, now you got me. The only real difference I know of is that they are 1994's (all updates included), were all TS's, and did not have the option of the CF seats. I always assumed they had all the other usual SS stuff in them, but I've only seen one and not very close up at that.

As for the 1992 count, well that makes some sense I guess. I mean my car is a September 1992 build and is a 1993 model year. I am 78/100.

 

Model year 1994 is the best year for the 348 ts and tb.

All the service bulletins and production improvements to the 348 were incorporated into production by late 1993, which is when model year 1994 began.

The 1994 model year cars have improvements that none of the previous 348s has. Indeed, they were built on the 348 Spider platform, which is a much stronger platform.

While pre-1994 cars had the 2.7 Motronic Injection ECU, the 1994 car has a revised 2.7, raising the redline from 7400 to 7700 RPMs, and making a maximum of 310 horsepower at 7200 RPMs instead of 300 at 7000 RPMs.

Indeed, the engine on 1994 car is a little peppier than the engine on pre-1994 cars. There is a noticeable difference.

The Technical Manual for the 1994 states a 0-60 time of 5.3 seconds as opposed to 5.6 second for previous 348s. (However, since the Speciale has the same revised gearbox as the 1994 cars, the Speciale will probably have a similar 0-60 time -- although, we must remember that the 1992-1993 Speciale cars have 300 horsepower and a 7400 RPM redline).

All the criticisms of the 348 were dealt with in a major way for the creation of the Spider for1994 model year. This has been discussed many times before, so I will take the time to provide one small example.

There were complaints about the excessive amount of torque required to open the door on the 348. Wives and girlfriends couldn't open the doors because they couldn't apply the requisite amount of pressure with their thumbs in a reasonably easy way. Anyone who has tried a 1994 Speciale or Challenge car will see that it is much easier to open the door of a 1994 car than a pre-1994 car, as Ferrari corrected this problem.

In short, the 1994 Speciale car is truly the best car, so kudos to those of you who have one.

 

My 1993 Speciale has a red line of 7500 rpms and a cut off at 7750 rpms. My car is rated at 310 HP as are all the 1994's and Spiders. This is due to the redesigned, single can exhaust.

 

Vince,

I would like to know where you are obtaining your information.

If you read the Technical Manual, there is no such thing as 7500 RPMs as a "maximum engine speed." If you are obtaining your information by what you see on the tachometer, I would say that is not a precise way of obtaining the information. I have simply stated the figures only as Ferrari has officially represented them in the Technical Manuals.

Only 1994 cars and after are rated as having 310 horsepower in the Technical Manual. And only 1994 cars and after have the upgraded version of the 2.7 ECU.

The Speciale exhaust may add horsepower, but it does not change the parameters of the engine.

Tell me, what does your Owner's Manual say?

 

My owners manual is not for a SS car and it says what it says for a typical 1993 348TS. Everyone I talked to (including all my Ferrari mechanics) and everything I read says that SS cars from any year had the Speciale (Spider actually) exhaust (single can as in all 1994's) that raised output to 310 Hp. My redline looks like 7500 on the tach and I can only tell you my cutoff as measured by the dyno was 7750 rpms. I don't really care to get in a pissing contest about it. What does it matter who says what the rating is supposed to be? All I care about is what gains I am going to make with my mods.

 

Dave,

That's what my '94 tech manual comfirms. 310 @ 7200 and 7700 rpm redline.

You also have to realize that all 32 tb's in '94 were serie challenge's with solid suspension bushings and stiffer springs. With the solid roof they are temendous to drive fast.

 

Vince,

I mean no disrespect here.

I have read all the Speciale literature. I have the Speciale press brochure in its original condition. I even own, as you may know, the Ferrari Speciale press car that Ferrari used to introduce the Serie Speciale. My friend is the man who, at FNA, was in charge of changing the 348s into Speciales. He even designed the logo, "Speciale tb" or "Speciale ts."

The Speciale cars were regular 348s that received modifications in New Jersey. They pulled out the gearbox; painted the lower body panels and the engine decklid; pulled off the twin-can exhaust in favor of the single can; widened the track, etcetera, etcetera.

The parameters of the engine remained the same. Sure, the Speciale brochure says 312 horsepower (yes, 312). Great. But the engine is still the 300 horsepower @ 7000 RPMs version with a supposed redline of 7400 RPMs. The 1992-1993 cars do not have the second version of the 2.7 ECU.

And there is, by the way, no such thing as a "Speciale" Owner's Manual. It's just the 348 manual.

I am not tryng to engage in a pissing contest. I am, however, trying to make sure that the information "provided" on this board is correct so that future users are not misguided. There is a lot of information, correct and incorrect, out there about the Speciale series, which is why everyone is always asking: it's confusing. I am just trying to make things clear.

 

Interesting. I would love to drive a 1994. I bet it's just a whole lot better.

Have you driven a pre-1994? If so, can you confirm the differences in handling and engine feel?

I've driven a Spider, and the engine felt and sounded a little different.

 

There were a few cars that were retrofitted in order to move them out the door.