F355 Market

Thanks. No intention of pursuing this car. It just needs more work than it would be worth at their asking price.
-Mark

 

It's a Challenge clutch housing cover similar to mine...


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It’s most likely the standard clutch housing cover, which were not mounted on U.S cars.

 

That could be but I thought I saw the thermal-reflective shielding attached to the cover. Most of it was hidden by the rear bumper.

 

I don't think finding and changing a 30 year old car' both bumper covers is an easy thing. Plus it will be hard to match the color. Finding a good body shop is becoming harder everyday.

Euro cars can have service records just like US cars. Whether the seller has them or not is a different story.

Being CA compliant is definitely a plus for US cars. I agree with you on that.

Carfax is a useless tool to me. I wouldn't buy a car with bad Carfax because it's a nightmare to sell but a clean Carfax mean nothing to me either. The car still needs to be throughly inspected whether it's a US car or nor.

 

oh that explains it! thanks!

 

Finding factory bumpers is not difficult if you want it bad enough. As mentioned, the other option is to simply delete the side reflectors and repaint. People repaint bumpers all the time. Rarely do 25k+ mi cars have perfect bumpers not needing repaint. Plus, more often than not, euro bumpers have euro license plate holes that are not a match to U.S plates leaving exposed holes…. Which would need a repaint job to cover up.


Regarding service records, I didn’t mention euro cars didn’t have any. I mentioned they are most likely from service shops U.S buyers are unfamiliar with. Someone purchased a car from the UK, had it serviced before transporting here only to have it serviced immediately again because the work was shoddy. Buyer could not resolve issues with the shop in UK. Service records from misc shops hold lil value. Same goes for a U.S car with records from misc shops no one has ever heard of.


A clean Carfax/title holds value here. Many cars move on BaT and other online venues based on a clean Carfax/title, paint readings, and decent quality pics. I prefer to see a car and inspect in person as well, but unless you have the car on the lift and bumpers and wheels off, you won’t be seeing much. Not many sellers would be willing to do that for you.

Not everyone has the time to go inspect a car that is a distance away. For those buyers, a clean Carfax holds tremendous value. The confidence level is much higher than a car with no Carfax. The proof is in the pudding with the results of the last euro GTS. One would certainly need to inspect it in person… or simply take a chance at lower price levels.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1996-ferrari-f355-gts-12/

 

I can’t imagine buying a car on pics alone. I want to see the car in person then decide whether or not to send it for a PPI. So many little things that don’t make it into the pictures can add up to being not worth it. I just sold my Duetto online and tried my best to show all the defects I could. The person that eventually bought it thought I did a good job representing it but pointed out things he would have liked to have seen in the pictures posted.

 

For the Challenge clutch housing cover to be effective in cooling the clutch, the clutch housing has to be drilled in this fashion according to the Challenge Regulations Manual...


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My germany delivered Euro GTS came with a Clutch heat shield.

 

I’ve not seen that before.

 

Later editions of the F355 Challenge Regulations Manual directed a single hole be drilled in the center of the rear bearing cover for additional cooling of the bearing. My car doesn't have that hole.

The blue Spider you posted is a very handsome car. Whoever ordered it new had very good taste.

 

Yes the blue on blue on blue example on Hemmings is my favorite so far. There’s a black with beige interior’95 in Florida for sale that also is a pretty car

 

Knowing what I know, I would be particularly weary of a Euro spec 355 Spider federalized for the U.S market.


The U.S market is disproportionately inundated with 355 Spiders during 355 production. There’s no good reason to import a Spider from another region unless the spec was particularly unique, rare, and desirable. Blu on Spiders is not rare. Most of the Blu 355 allocation went to Spiders, hence far fewer GTB/S in Blu. I presume due to period marketing brochure or a simply push by Ferrari to have more Blu 355 spiders.


I would guess a Spider is worth more in Europe than here due to limited quantities over there. Why would anyone even bother with going through the process of federalizing a euro spider? Don’t tell me because a euro 355 looks better because “ugly” side reflectors were integrated to meet federalization standards.

Could be an attempt to wash potential damage history by unloading the car in a different market. There’s no Carfax .

 

It Might have been brought over by someone living or stationed there. The listing also mentioned that it’s been in storage for awhile. It’s not a good candidate for revival at the price they’re asking. If you go on the dealers website there are more photos showing paint damage and undercarriage damage on top of the overdue maintenance.

 

If that is the case, I would try to verify it if possible.


Still an unwise decision to my eyes. Would’ve much easier to sell the car in Europe and buy a car here vs going thru the hassle of federalizing a car, butchering the car in the process only to end up ultimately selling the car.


I also believe converting speedometer to mileage reading is required for federalization. Possible TMU.

 

Is it black? I think those are acoustic shields?

 

Nope


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^

Very similar to mine.

 

The main difference is the challenge version is much smaller to keep the drilled ventilation on the clutch housing exposed. The one above would cover those drilled holes.

 

The 1995 Parts Manual showed a smaller "Insulating Shield (63)..."


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It looks like Ferrari made it more like the Challenge part later on.

 

Yes. #63 is the super early clutch cooler. I often refer to it at the “ugly” clutch cooler. Only available on July 94 build cars or earlier. Only time U.S 355’s came with a clutch cooler outside of challenge cars.


Why 99% of U.S 355’s didn’t come with a clutch cooler is a big mystery .

 

Because 99% of U.S. F355s aren't driven like this...

 

^

Ken, that's a stock steering rack in that 1995 F355 Challenge as I have in mine. Note the driver's hand positions on the steering wheel stay the same at all times. He doesn't shuffle his hands in turns as we're trained not to do.

A quicker steering rack isn't really necessary. F355 Challenge cars raced this way throughout most of The Series.