those are awesome, if you dont mind, what did that set you back as I am about to pull the trigger on them? thanks Chris
Got my headers and exhaust parts back from coating today and they look awesome. Brought them over to the garage today and they should be going back in this week. I will keep my original exhaust for now to save costs and will upgrade to an aftermarket later on....maybe next year Here are some pictures of the coating. I took some of your advice and coated the other pipes also. I was told this was the best coating available and it cost me 400$ Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
It turns out I also need a heat shield on one side for the axle/boot cover. I looked everywhere online and got the best deal on T.rutlands for 130$ Here are some pictures of the "burned-out" one. I will also post a detailed budget of what was spent so far. ouch!!!! it hurts!!!! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
They had 2 different thermal barriers (one for 1600 degrees and the other was 2100 degrees) price difference was about 100$ so I took the better option. If it was just cosmetic, I would have kept them in chrome...
Forest green f355, man I should've bought it when I saw it. No way I'd change the color. Sorry to write back, I keep thinking about that car, even in my sleep. You're doin a great job on it BTW.
Yes, I do believe that this car may some day be worth more due to the rare color - maybe he could repaint it in green and then do a rosso corsa vinyl wrap...
I knew I'd get some flack about changing the color but, like I said, I would have not been able to afford it with all the repairs and maintenance because the red ones were all 20k more at least. So far, even with all the repairs and parts that it turns out I needed, I got a really great deal for a car with only 13k miles on it.
Plus the ancillary benefits are you'll know the work that went into it (more appreciation for the car) as well as "know" that you "won't" have to worry about anything tanking on you for a while. Kudos! I'll never in my life understand how someone can just let a car like this rot outside. It honestly makes me a little sick inside to see how some of these "owners" treat their Fcars. Very glad to see it in the hands of an enthusiast and not someone looking for a status symbol.
Age and neglect did more harm to this car than the actual usage. All the parts are almost here and the engine should go back in soon. Once that's done, I'll get to take her for a ride and straight to the body shop. Not looking forward to seeing the bill from my mechanic!!! Will post pictures shortly.....
So the last of my parts came in today (second fuel pressure regulator, head cover gaskets, cv boot heat shield, new set of wires from Kingsborne & alternator belt bearing) as well as my powder coated head covers (see before and after pics) I tought this was it and my mechanic could finally finish the work. As I brought the parts over there, I found out I also need a clutch bearing and another CV boot kit (silly me, I tought the 2 that were in the kit were for both sides but there are actually 2 boots per side) Pardon my ignorance but by the end of this process I will be a 355 specialist. As of now, I'm still pretty green!!! I also found out that the clutch had to be redone and that it would cost me an additional 500$. Is that expensive? My mechanic seemed proud of the fact that he could have it fixed for so cheap and that a new clutch from Ferrari would have cost me 4000$. Is he right? If anyone could shed some light on this "clutch" thing I would really appreciate it. Am I saving tons of money by paying only 500$ or is that expensive? As for the clutch bearing, I am looking over the diagram, there are several bearings for the clutch and at very different prices...I sure hope it's not the one that costs thousands of dollars. I will have to double check with him tomorrow. If it is, this one is gonna really really hurt my budget. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
your mini-resto, is going along great! did he mean re-line the clutch (like re-treading a tire) the brotherhood have a thread (or couple) on this subject, you might want to search those for info.....or PM FatBillyBob, he's the guru on this subject.....or contact Daniel at Ricambi, he'll have the parts too
Hi there Treedee. Good luck with the project. Will be watching with interest. Always enjoy seeing these cars brought back from the brink, as it were. Top tip is just to keep an eye on the budget. Little things can add up pretty quickly and there's always the question "where do I stop?". Great to see, though. BTW must be an age thing. Was 37 when I bought my first a couple of months ago.
Hi guys, Time for another update, here is where we are in terms of expenses so far: Budget: 22,000$ Paid so far: air vent cover for interior: 150$ (Prosport UK) major service kit: 870$ (Ferrari of Central NJ) fuel regulators: 180$ (bought the last one at Rockauto) + 440$ (T.Rutlands) = 620$ cv boot kits: 160$ for both sides (Aw italian) thermostat: 145$ (Aw italian) CV Boot heat shields: 340$ (FMS Car parts) oil filter: 25$ (T.Rutlands) tnesioner bearing: 58$ (Aw italian) Fabspeed headers, bypass cats and sec. bypass + ceramic coating: 5400$ powder coating covers: 0$ (Friend of mine, no charge) New wire Set: 425$ (kingsborne) head cover gaskets: 15$ (T.Rutlands) TOTAL spent: 8208$ Upcoming expenses: -air box rubber sleeves: ? -labor for major engine servicing including some parts + reconditioned clutch: ? -new windhsield: approx. 675$ -full paint color change: approx 8500$ -carbon fibe door sills: 375$ eBay (NVD Autosport) + brushed finish logo 125$ (Carztuff) -skid covers: eBay 99$ -internal antenna: ? -refinish upper dash with new leather: ? -HVAC plate with celsius: 80$ (Ricambi) -Mirror switch face plate: 28$ (Ricambi) -paint/refinish interior sticky parts: ? -3M protective film Clear Bra (for stone chips): 180$ eBay -aluminium passenger footrest: 97$ (Ricambi) -repair/refinish mags: approx. 750$ -Wing badges: 35$ eBay TOTAL still to be spent (estimated): 16300$ Budget: 22k Estimated budget: 24k+ WISH LIST for the future (definetly do not have the money to do this now, 2-5 years from now. I have to draw the line somewhere!): 1-Exhaust (tubi, capristo or whatever upgrade is available) 2-SRI Hose kit replacement 3-SRI Gold connector replacement kit 4-Re-upholster seats (driver side is a little rough)
Took some pictures today of the progress on the engine and the new refinished mags. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I've come to the sad realization that I will definetly need to get rid of my "other" 1995 Pininfarina car which I absolutely love. My 95 Fiat Coupè 16V turbo I need the space to park my 355 and I need the money so I will have to say bye-bye to this car which truly breaks my heart. This car puts out 190HP and is very fast...I believe it was the fastest 4 cylinder production car in the world when it first came out. It was also sold pretty cheap Here are some pictures...sniff! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Its a bit unnerving to see such a beautiful car uncared for. I'm happy to see that you've been able to bring her "back to life".
Congratulations to you for taking on such a project, and to your loyal supporters here who are excited to see your progress and cheer you on. If this were the 360 side, they would all be saying "there are a million cars out there for sale, you should have just bought one of those," or "if you cannot afford factory parts or to buy from the dealer, you are too poor to afford a Ferrari." I think you are doing very well so far, especially in sourcing your parts for a discount. I am enjoying your thread and your progress! Keep the pics coming!
You're right, it's so weird how some people are mentally programmed!!!! Personally, I love Ferrari, all Ferraris and all things Ferrari....There are certain models that I like more than others but I would never compare one to the other or put down one model in order to make the other sound better....some of the stuff posted here on fchat is really so childish.... As for parts, why would any intelligent reasonable human being pay more for a part when you can get the exact exact same authentic part elsewhere??? Why not shop around and get the best deal? Also, why not have other Fchatters benefit from my research? Seems logical to me. As for being "too poor to afford a Ferrari" that fits my description exactly. I could not plunk down 70k for a car, pay more than 21% of taxes to register it here in Canada. That would have cost me more than 85k and I did not have that kind of money available. So my plan was simple: 1-Buy in the fall season (when they're listed for cheaper) 2-Get it when the Canadian dollar was stronger than the US dollar 3-Get a car that needed work (sticky interior, major service needed, etc...) 4-Get a different color than red (all the green ones were almost 20k cheaper) 5-Get a car with low mileage By doing this, I managed to spend a total of 43k (including taxes and fees) instead of 85k HALF THE PRICE!! for a Ferrari with 13,600 miles Also, because the winter here is 6 months, it gives me plenty of time to slowly get the car fixed properly, service the engine, fix the interior, get the car painted, etc... It also allows me to spend the 22k-24k scattered in 6 months as opposed to spending it all in one shot. In the end, if all goes right, I will have a pristine car ready to be enjoyed by april and it will only have cost approx. 65k instead of 85k I save 20k with this strategy of being too poor and am proud of it!!!
Couldn't agree more mate, you don't have to be rich to be a Ferrari enthusiast. Like you I am a big Ferrari fan. To be honest I like them all in their own way. We can't all afford the latest model and in my case I went into Ferrari ownership at the 348 level. I had the choice of an ok 355, bottom end of the market 360 or do what I did and get a 348 up to pretty good nick. Personally I'm glad I went the route I did. I love the 348 for what it is and don't regret my decision for a moment. I have noticed a very small amount of the model snobery that you're talking about, but to be honest, not all that much. When I have I've just laughed it off. I've been running a thread on the work being done on my 348 on this forum and on a UK forum and have had positive coments from pretty much all including some dealers and quite a few owners of models from the other end of the spectrum (F40, 246 Dino, and others). Most appreciate that what might be a drop in the ocean to them represents a dream car to someone else. If anything the guys with the really expensive 'toys' have been some of the most supportive. I think they recognise the passion some of us have for these cars and respect that. Overall I think that anyone who buys one of these great cars and puts in the effort to 'sort them out' is to be commended. I cheated. I didn't have the time, or more importantly the skill, to get my car to the standard I wanted so I found someone who had both. The more people out there who bring these cars back from the brink, as it were, the better. Crack on and good luck!
