Tee this up to 10 min mark....you don't even have to remove the fenders. Pretty cool, especially if you're already doing paintwork.
Problem is the tool and template is 360/F430 specific. Second problem is the tool doesn’t create an exact OE embossment. Maybe 85-90% close. Not good enough for me to ruin a perfectly fine fender. Perhaps good enough for Ratarossa. Third problem is the video didn’t prove the template would give you exact OE positioning. They could’ve proved it, but didn’t. Perhaps close… but is close good enough to ruin a fender? Fourth problem is even Ratarossa didn’t even hit the template mark exact. Fifth problem is the 360/F430 has the advantage of having 1 shield for both LH & RH, requiring only one die. A 355 would need two for different curvature. Sixth problem is 360 embossed fenders aren’t even rare. Why bother unless you’re really on a budget? … and should you be on such a budget in the middle of painting the whole car? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I have some good news. Not all is lost. There have been tools to emboss 355 fenders all along. In fact, it’s been done for 2 decades. No need to wait for AV Engineering. Will it be OE exact? No. Can it be close? Maybe. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ken, having watched the video several times, the quality of the tool and the 85-905% product is way, way better than no emboss. Is it 355 centric, no. Would it work….? Maybe. Could they make on for 355? Probably. If I was building a bad ass car, your Other option would be first choice - custom fenders. Lighter weight and then add more HP. It would be ideal. But if I wanted the look at a great price, I would emboss and not look back. 99% of people would not know I did it
Assuming they made a die for the 355, I'm not seeing how the results aren't 99% accurate. I've worked a press before....embossing is embossing. The factory fenders were embossed too, there's no magic here.
Once again… They made a die for the 360. Does it look 99% accurate? Be honest. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ferrari has a specialized die and a jig to ensure the embossment is the same look and same position every time. Unless you have those two, it’s not happening.
How’d these turn out? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Not really a good comparison -- you'd need better lighting, pics, etc. Really can't tell from those blurry screencaps. But I watched the video which had some good clear images of the embossing and it looks good to me. Entirely possible I have low standards!
Lighting? The embossment is sitting an inch away from each other. You’re more than welcome to grab a screenshot.
One thing to keep in mind is that in the side by side you posted, the factory embossing was done on bare metal and the other was done on painted metal. There are more shots in the vid of that comparison and I can't really tell the difference. This is the embossing on bare steel. Looks great to me. Image Unavailable, Please Login
1. 360 fenders are aluminum. 355 fenders are steel. 2. I see some sort of crack line along the upper edge of the embossment. That’s non existent in unpainted OE fenders, so that should already tell you the methodology isn’t exactly the same. 3. I see uneveness in the depth. I see high spots and low spots. This needs to be primered up and put side by side to authentic before declaring 99% accuracy. 4. This still speaks nothing of accurate positioning. The template could be off AND he didn’t follow the template exact. Once again. There are two challenges at play. Getting the look of the embossment accurate, then positioning. The latter being the most difficult of the two. I can tell you right now, even Ferrari 355 embossed fenders are not exactly equal left to right, BUT they are consistently not equal. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I just stuck enamel shields on my wings, there is no indentation because back in 1994 the guy who originally bought my car new didn’t know I wanted them, To make amends I did confess this sin to my priest. He said I was good with a couple of Hail Mary’s and a donation to the church maintenance fund.
OE F430 fender Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Look at the high spots and low spots. Thank you for playing. “Looks great” isn’t the same as exact. Does it look great enough for you to have the balls to do on a La Ferrari?? If you’re 355 is worth $60k, my advice … after-market emboss. If you’re 355 is worth $200k+ , my advice … do it right. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thread is a bit moot in this section, since the tool is 360/F430 specific… but while we’re at it… Do you want your OE shields, which you paid $1500 for to pop out evenly from the cavity? Image Unavailable, Please Login
Embossing is so passé. Shields on a Purosangue and SP3. Painted on. $15k. Image Unavailable, Please Login
???? Exactly. Any repair would have to be through a Ferrari authorize shop. www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1250932915258686
