what do you guys think about a removable hardtop that makes your car look like a Berlinetta?
Well I'm building one for my car right now. After the constant soft top problems and IMO the superior looks of the B, I decided to pursue this with a very skilled car artist friend. It has been in the works for a couple of months and it is developing nicely. The trick to make the car look like a factory build as opposed to a cheap miata/corvette top. I'm trying to have it ready for the Cavalino meet in January. I'll post some progress pics if anyone would like to see them. I am very picky and I am not butchering the car, so you won't have too cover your eyes, and my original top will bolt back in. I'm thinking of doing some suttle hoops behind the seats (a la 360/430) for a slightly updated look.
And i want comission for using my idea. I was going to sell it to ferrari to use on the 348 355 360 430 spiders. etc
BTW, not built necessarily for sale unless someone would like the idea as much as I do. I find lots of interesting things about Ferrari and the 355 mechanically. But I have discovered on this journey some interesting body differences between the spider and the B which further endear me to the brand and may interest the brotherhood. Maybe most feel that this is sacrilage, I don't know, just because I'm not sending my car over to be customized or (bespoked) by the factory doesn't make this a less worthwhile pursuit. If you saw the 550 that was customized by pininfarina in forza I thought it was ugly (really), or to put it in more appropriate terms, not something I would do but I respect and admire the different tastes of the various ownership in the fraternity. Please spare me your condesendive tone as you are certainly not in a position or at a station to do so.
More details are required before an educated opinion can be made. It seems a good idea, I could be interested depending on costs, look, ease of installation, etc. Keep us posted Eugenio
Won't you still have the same soft top problems when you have to raise and lower the roof when your hardtop is in the garage? And how did you come to buy an inferior looking spider, and not the superior looking "B" in the first place? Questions aside, i think theres the possibility that this hardtop idea can look great. Reading your description of your ideas, i hope it works out I dont have any faith in the Ferrari factory hard top designers, i mean have you seen the 550 Barchettas hard top So chances are your own design will be alot better
I like the spiders. With the top down and performance offered there is nothing like it as we all know. So my first car I picked was the spider blk/tan (which I still have). As I was looking to add a Berlinetta last year I came upon this Blk/Blk spider for a smokin deal, I could not refuse it. Anyway, back to the top. If you look at the pictures you can see that there is still lots of fit work to do. This is an original top that came from a California Car. There has been an incredible amount of thought as the perameters are that it must be easy to remove and install and look as good or better than the original. Also I do not want to alter the car itself in any way. You would think that it would fit as a drop on but not so. Those back "fins" on the spider for one are slightly wider. And the challenges of making original glass work are steep. The top has been vinyl washed while we work on the structure. This car should be rigid enough to track once completed as certain hidden reinforcement provisions have been made. I intend to use interior finishes on this top like the mouse hair dash of the Scuderia but I haven't decided. Finished weight should be 40lbs so that my wife and I could remove/install it or I can do it myself in a pinch. I will continue to update my progress and here are some early pictures to enjoy. I am having a ton of fun and learning a ton on this project as I am certainly not the brains behind it. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Im out i was thinking a hard top to follow the lines of the spider top. Not a hard top that looks like Berlinetta. The spider looks very sexy with the roof down and looks even more beautiful with the roof up. Follow the lines of the canvas top when u make the hard top. pic of my car from a few months back Image Unavailable, Please Login
Bravo! My hats off to you for having the guts and talent for taking on such a project. Looks good from those pictures. Please keep us updated with your progress.
Wow, that looks great!! Do you have a mold to make more of these? Does fitment of this require the removal of the soft top mechanism or can it be fitted while the soft top is fitted but in its lowered position?
Yes i can see it, i like the lines so far. really looking forward to seeing it. Am i right in thinking the buttresses are a tad longer than the standard Berlinetta? If the picture is anything like i think it can potentially be, then it will be great.
This particular build is going to utilize the existing lock down mechanisms as my soft top. There will be no modifications to my car. I have removed my soft top because I am going for a more agressive look for when the top is removed. I will be incorporating stylish "hoops" similar to the 360/430 and the hide away cap to give it a more modern feel and look. This top will be exact in look and dimensions as the original. Initially, we were going to fit the top over the retracted soft top but we would have had to make the top slightly longer and slightly wider as well make a new engine lid. The options are endless and if I don't assert my insistence on original look my friend would have this thing looking pretty mean ie. with gurney bubbles, roof vents etc... etc...
