I just don't know. The roof was structural so where will that torsional stiffness go? You would need extra strengthening in the sills, screen and floor, and doors, or whatever, or it would still wobble like a jelly. And the rear screen and pillars. Doubt that could be done well without huge cost. It would look cool, but handle like a grandmother on weed and shake itself to an early grave
of course the missing structural stability would have to made up somewhere, but that has already been solved simply by imitating the barchetta geometry. it has been done many times already, and you can find quite a few even on this site.
Yeah..I'd rather just drive my gated 430 Spider than spend loads of money and time I'd never get back and hassle fiddling with a written off 550 to make a home-made convertible that will never be as good!
your choice of course. but it would not be 'home made' since there are reputable companies that do it for you, and you would have something that would be somewhat unique, and you would likely not lose money on it since you would have bought the car back from the insurance company for very little. i can just about guarantee you that even if you dont do this, it is likely whoever buys the car from the insurance company will do it.
Ha, well, as it's not my car anymore, the chassis number is public knowledge, it belongs to the insurance company Aegeas, all those advocating the creation of a open-topped 550 are free to contact them and do it themselves..I wonder how many bidders they will get. Look forward to reading about it here if so!
I think, nobody will buy the 550 for converting to a Spider. I bet, a company like eurosp.... will buy the car for braking it. Go to their internet site, they broke many cars in the past which could be easily repaired by any professional. In this time, it's just a Maranello, not a 275 GTB or something similar, which could be restored or converted to a NART Spider. In 20 years, we perhaps talk different. Don't understand me wrong, I love my 550, it's one of the most beautiful Ferraris ever built. But what I wrote is the reality. Daniel
Except for the Motronic ECUs, she has all the parts to change an F1 575M to a three pedal. I believe Trev can now reflash 575M Motronic ECUs to make them compatible with both F1 and 3 pedals.
I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. At least no one was hurt and as you said insurance seems to have done the right thing. I've been lusting after 250GTE 2+2's but they are really in the unobtainable category for me. Even if I trade my manual 575 and E-Type :-( Speaking of E-Types, that could be a cool addition...
Wow that's a lot worse than I imagined. No wonder it's a write off... Trev is fast approaching legend status to my eyes. His 360 is one of my all time favourite ferraris (factory or no).
That's her. Very sad set of pictures. To think of the time I spent feeding those leather seats..And you can still clearly see what a pristine car it was pre-tree. But at least nobody was hurt. My daughter used to sit in that front seat..
In terms of a replacement, I was tempted by this after a couple of glasses of Cabernet last night https://www.classicdriver.com/en/car/aston-martin/db7-vantage/2002/668342 Also V12 manual, same era, convertible and a 2+2, for less than half the cost of my 550. I reviewed this car when new and enjoyed its brutish charm. It's fast, too. But then I read the horror stories about build quality of the DB7 and maintenance costs that seem to make Ferraris look like Hyundais. So this morning I am less tempted.
https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1999-ferrari-550-maranello/ What about another 550 Maranello? This one is pretty nice I think
How about a Manual DBS? https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201905168032680?onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&sort=sponsored&advertising-location=at_cars&make=ASTON%20MARTIN&radius=1500&transmission=Manual&model=DBS&postcode=gl24rd&page=1 There are some volante's around with a manual box also. This popped up for sale yesterday and I think it's lovely. https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/ferrari/550/1997-ferrari-550-maranello/9700873 But it'll be over budget for me with such low miles and it's not a premium I want to pay on a car I intend to put miles on. Grigio Titanio with crema/sabbia and navy carpets looks really nice. So I'd consider a GT coloured car and get an interior re trim.
I never really bonded with the DBS. I'm not sure why. Good car. But I felt like it was neither a supercar nor a GT nor a sports car. Passengers loved it, though.
That does look like a nice one. However I now have a gated 575 with Fiorano Handling Pack, and am not looking to acquire another Maranello.
Darius Take some of the money an get a 6-1 exhaust system for your gated 575 and you need nothing else. Than you have the perfect car. Believe me. Daniel
I have heard great things about these, from people who have bought from Fabio The Unjustly Banned. But what difference exactly do they make? I have Tubi back boxes already on the 575 and so the sound is just perfect.
Darius- About 50 hp or so, as if a 575 needed more hp. Plus the sound is completely different from a Tubi or my HGTC exhaust. Much higher pitched, like a 599 GTO.
It would be very cool to buy a 575 with that already on. Or, if I were still driving every day as I used to, to add to my car. But for cost-per-use, it just doesn't make sense for me. And, as you say Taz, I've never felt the 575 lacks horses. Has anyone dynoed a stock 575 and a 550? I always felt the 575 felt like it was up more than the six or seven percent (30hp) claimed over the 550, though that may have been an aural illusion created by the Tubis.
Darius- There were some old threads showing 550 and 575M stock exhausts only with X-pipes and straight pipes dyno comparisons after replacing the center muffler. Can dig them up if you are interested.
Darius- Here you go. Top one is 550 with x pipes vs straight pipes, bottom 575M with resonator vs straight pipes. The 298.7 KW converts to 400.56 hp. Looks like about 40-50 hp difference, although these runs were made on different dynos so not exact comparisons. The 550 has BMC air filters, too, which further muddies (or oils) the results. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
