standard. I like the look of the 355 but it needs the lip of the rear to make it look right. The 348 rear is also nice if you put spacers on the car you get a great look. Martin.
Part of the appeal of the 355 is the styling of the lower rear valance, plus the little Venturis under the exhausts. Somehow the conversion has something missing- I'd be inclined to go with standard, as I think the 348 looks great as it is.
One of the few things I dislike about the 348 is the rear-end treatment...The particularly hate the original stupid-looking grills over the tail lights....It looks like an afterthought....No wonder so other F-car has had those bad-design grills back there since.....The Speciale option is much cleaner, an improvement, but still not right for an F-car... I much rather have the F355 Challenge grill installed back there....Below is the improved 348 Speciale/Challenge tail light treatment..
I think the 348 standard grill looks good, its like a baby 512TR and the rear grills look good on the TR.....
I owned a 348ts and thought about the same conversion. I loved the car from all angles; except from the rear. I'm a purist, so I wouldn't change a thing. If you really don't like the 348 styling, buy a 355.
When the TR was introduced in 1984 I hated it.. "What the hell are those people at Ferrari thinking about.." They got rid of the traditional round tail ligths that scream Ferrari.. I hated the TR. A few weeks after that the TR became my absolute favorite of the bunch. (still is) Rear grill and all.. Then came the 348. I was OK with that too. Then came the 512M. "Round lights on a TR, What the hell are they thinking at Ferrari.." I again grew to love it.. They brought back my round lights.. I still have mixed feelings about round lights on a 348. They look good, but I would rather leave it as is.
Standard or Challenge/Serie Speciale - not "upgrade look to 355." Very nice Lotus Esprit in Post #3, too!
keep it standard, otherwise it looks like a kit car and/or that you were so embarassed to own a 348 when what you really want is a 355. this may be true and it is no crime, but you don't need to telegraph that.
I also wanted to change my rear light panel to a 355 style at first, went all over looking for proper fit, finaly I just got use to the original 348 rear end. JMHO.
I like the original 348 rear better. You need the whole 355 rear end to really make it look right and then it would look too much like a kit car.
The 348 is a great looking car. Don't change it! In time, the car is NOT going to be worth more for the change either, and if anything, it'll be worth less. Would you change an F40 to look like an F50? No, bc they're both great cars that have their own look. OK, there are my two cents...