430 First Ferrari and my experience with EAG

Hi Everyone,

My first Ferrari is finally here and I am absolutely smitten. I find myself going to the garage multiple times a day just to admire it. The car is everything I imagine a Ferrari to be and I finally get why people are so passionate about these cars. It feels analog, mechanical and alive while not beating you up on the road. The manual transmission is an absolute delight making all the right noises. I was never really picky about how my cars sound but this also being my first V8, it just sounds incredible. When I was a teenager the 360 was the Ferrari I grew up seeing and the Ferrari Enzo was what was on my wallpaper so the F430 I felt was the perfect generation of Ferrari for me.

Originally I was going to get myself an F1 car and convert it to manual down the line, but this car popped up and was already converted to 6 speed manual by EAG. In discussions with the seller he had mentioned that he always felt the shifter was a bit notchy and he had contacted Art at EAG who offered to update the components free of charge as my car was apparently one of the early conversions and would honor that for me as well. I never drove the car prior to purchase but had a friend who owns a Gallardo gated 6 speed test drive it for me and he thought the shifter felt as expected and did not have any complaints.

With everything I have heard about the drama surrounding EAG I was extremely hesitant to send my new to me Ferrari to Art. I watched all the YouTube videos, I read all the threads on Ferrari chat, I even found a friend of a friend who had their f430 manual converted during peak COVID and spoke with him to see what he thought. The feedback was not good and would make anyone cautious. Eventually I decided to call Art directly and speak to him man to man and convey my concerns. Ultimately I found him to be a down to earth guy with a passion for what he does. He knew my car extremely well and that put me at ease. Art had no reason to update the components, it was already technically out of warranty and I was not the original owner who had it converted so to me this speaks volumes that he not only supports his converted cars but he cares about the satisfaction of his customers. I did draft up a service contract to protect myself and had my car shipped to him.

On arrival EAG did a Post Purchase Inspection on the vehicle, one of the most thorough I’ve ever seen with pictures documenting every step and finding. It’s what every single PPI should be imo but my past experience with PPIs even when performed at reputable and highly recommended shops they were not this thorough or transparent. A couple surprises unfortunately, there was some oil migration on the Cam Variator Solenoid Plugs and broken exhaust brackets. I decided to ask them to take care of everything including routine maintenance as well as a couple other minor repairs that the PPI revealed in addition to updating the 6 speed conversion. Art told me he rebuilt the rear external box, new bearings, brand new internal shift box, added the covers for the f1 cover and readjusted the factory Ferrari cables. Overall it took approximately two months for all the parts to arrive and for everything to be completed which was tough to wait but I thought reasonable. During the entire time, Art was easy to reach and he provided me with updates. He even had the vehicle detailed and shipped at his cost. Now I feel like I can enjoy my Ferrari ownership with confidence knowing everything has been looked over and well sorted out.

 

Thanks for the warm welcome! Now that my eyes have been opened up to the world of Ferrari I don't think it'll be my last!

I can’t speak to their past business practices and can only share my own personal experience so I'm happy it all worked out. I'm sure you all have your reasons for feeling the way you do.

 

Those manual converted 599 have got to be even more incredible and I think need a V12 at some point in my life, I've driven 4 cylinder turbos pretty much my whole life and recently moved onto flat 6s. These manual conversions have really broaden my horizons so I'm thankful they exist and there are people doing them out there.

I figured noone has more experience than Art and I can tell he's very meticulous. I have not seen much if any negativity towards the quality of work Art does on these cars and I know he spend a significant amount of time adjusting my 6 speed just to get everything right.

2005

It's a beautiful yellow, I admit I've thought about having it wrapped since I already have a yellow car but after getting it I think I'll keep it the way it is.

I've only done limited miles with the car so far and did not notice any overheating issues but when I did finish I felt like the car was giving off a ton of heat so I opened up the engine bay to let it cool off. I'm not quite sure how this compares with the stock headers, maybe others with more experience can chime in? It may be a good idea to have the headers wrapped or coated.

 

That is beautiful, I love the spec and the wheels. Thanks for sharing!

 

Car and paint is extremely clean but unfortunately has factory ppf around the wheel wells and exhaust that have yellowed and cracked. I've approached several reputable shops and there is definitely a risk that it could pull paint if I attempt to remove it. So for now I think I'll just enjoy the car as is. At some point I will get all the old PPF off and do any potential paint work then.

According to the service history the fabspeed headers were installed 2 owners ago when they did the manual conversion maybe around 3000-4000 miles with the headers.

Thanks for the tip! I'm going to add the header blankets on my list of things to do.

Good call on the fuel pumps, judging by the pictures they look to be the old style.

 

I guess it's always a risk at this point how did the ppf look prior to removal? The areas behind the fenders and around the exhaust is yellowed and cracked. The detailer told me that it shouldn't get any worse at this point so I should just enjoy the car for now.

 

Hard to tell from that picture alone. I'm sure there's a lot of variables involved including how long it was exposed to the sun. How many miles on your car when you had the PPF replaced?

 

My buddy likes his F1 360 and tells me it's quite engaging compared to modern DCT/PDK units. I'll have to experience one someday. I owned a f82 M4 DCT for many years and despite driving that in manual for 99% of the time it got boring quick even on the track. As good as Porsche PDK transmissions are they just aren't fun for me.

Thank you! I'm enjoying the yellow more and more as I look at it.

 

Thanks this is certainly helpful and gives me some reassurance that if I do get it done maybe I will get lucky and not lift paint.