Hey Guys, I saw the posting by autoholic for a salvage 355 so I though I might hit you guys up for some help. I posted earlier looking for a frame shop for my 355 (thanks for the replies guys) but I got to thinking that if one of you might know where I could get a complete tub/chassis for a 355 it would make things go a lot faster. You guys are amazing at finding things and I know not everything for sale is on the net. Someone has a secret barn stash? Maybe something with an engine fire? I already check ebay and the online salvage yards I know on a regular basis. I did see that 355 GTS on ebay last week but I couldnt bid without seeing the car first. Pictures just dont tell you enough. Thanks!
With a little elbow grease, that should buff right out. I applaud you for resurrecting such a nice car. Good luck!
Hi Andrew How much is the frame out? Someone here may be able to post the chassis point reference numbers from the workshop manual. Any more pics of front,both sides,and rear? Were doors on the car? If so were they sprung, and did it push the hinge pillar at the chassis? Did the front windshield frame tweek enough to pop the windshield? Normally when they are hit in the corner it pushes the chassis out of square(this is the least amount of damage-on a single plane)........did the rear suspension collapse causing the drive shaft to bugger up the differential housing? Did motor and gearbox mounts break?
Wow, a lot of replies.... Here we go! It is already in there. I PMed you about it a couple of weeks ago when i posted looking for a frame shop. Thanks! I saw them but I need a driver's side front fender with a shield. I already have a targa panel. When can you come over and how long do you think it will take you? I don't know how much the frame is out yet. The car was hit high in the rear with the rear suspension, engine cradle and roof section taking most of the damage. The upper cradle mounts need to be replaced but I should be able to pull the lower mounts strait. The frame rails and floor appear to be strait but I will not know for sure till I get it on a frame rack. On most 348/355s that are hit hard the frame rails tent to look like accordions and mine doesnt. If anyone does have the frame specs I would love to get them. The upper door hinge mount is a little off but I am not sure what caused it because the car was also sideswiped on the drivers side with the top of the door taking a lot of damage. The top part of the firewall is bent and I am not sure what I am going to do about that. Last I checked with Ferrari the part is not available. I picked up a 348ts chassis that was hit on the passengers side (you can see the corner of it in the pic) from Michael Rozenstraten at Ferrari Service of Costa Mesa (great guy by the way) that I was hoping to use most of the rear section of but it turned out that chassis firewall was bent on the passengers side. At least the roof section is good. Maybe a little creative firewall cut-and-pasting? The outer CV joint broke and there does not appear to be any damage at the differential housing. No fluid is leaking. The motor and gearbox mounts are not bent or broken. I will post more pictures of the car and soon. The whole front end is in good shape except for a dent on in the drivers side front fender and the drivers side A-piller. I also have 3 good wheels Anyone ever seen Corvette Summer with Mark Hamill? This is cooler then that Vette (not to diss Vettes because the new ones are just monsters) for a project. Most of my experience with cars has been mainly focused on the engine/trans/suspension and I wanted to learn how to do body work, so why not learn on a Ferrari? It is actually worth fixing and it is a 99 355, the last of the passion inspired steel Ferraris before computers took over. It also didnt hurt that I got it at a reasonable price and I knew I could sell it for the sum of its parts and not take a loss. Even if it is just a track car it still would be a lot of fun. If it pulls to the left I will just have to enter it in NASCAR Like the post says, if you guys know of an available chassis in the USA, please let me know.
I don't know dude I have mixed emotions here. On one hand you have the right attitude and I commend you! You would have to be an expert with an english wheel and a TIG and even then things would not be correct. On the other hand if you parted out both cars you could pick up a good specimn that will reward you with proper handling and driving pleasure. I know people that can do this kind of body work $$$$$ but the stress and fatiuge in the chasis will never be fixed and the car will not be what you expect. The piece parts that you will need will total to more than half the value of the car. Learn body work on something less critical.
This is going to sound over simplified, but I would just buy one that hasn't been crashed. Even if the car was free I don't think you can re-build this car for less than you could buy one that is in working condition. If you are getting a great deal on what is left of this car you should sell the parts and put it towards purchasing a F-car that will pass a PPI. I'm not trying to sound negative, but these cars are hard enough to maintain just with regular maintenance.
That's the part that is confusing to me. The 348's and 355's have a chassis in the front and driver section, but the rear of the cars are a removable sub-frame. In fact, most people put a board or cross bar into the engine compartment as we remove the engine for service because without additional support, the rear fenders start to flex on their own (cue: eery metal bending/screeching sounds). So I'm confused because if you get a good chassis, then you are essentially replacing the entire front and center of the car. That would leave you with the clearly damaged engine section in the rear. The engine cradle is integral to the rear, removable sub-frame, however. Those are for sale new, used, and NOS. But if you have to have the front/center chassis as well as the rear sub-frame, I've got to ask again: what components are you saving? The roof is gone. The glass is gone. The rear a-pillars are gone. The rear sub-frame is gone. That's a heck of a project (especially if you are going to use a new chassis for the front/center)! If you can save it then you have some amazing talent, willpower, and financial means. You aren't taking the easy path in your fork in the road, that's for certain! On the other hand, if you haven't sunk any money into new parts for the car, you should easily recover a great deal, perhaps even most or more than your costs in the car by parting her out. So you aren't on the hook for your investment.
This is definitely going to be an interesting thread if he proceeds with the repairs. I have a good chassis and am very close to cutting everything from the firewall back and from the steering rack forward, and making my own front and rear tube sections which will allow the motor to be pulled out from the rear when car is on air jacks......just trying to get up the nerve to fire the ole sawzall up..lol
um, someone is making a Mondial Z project AND seems he could put that engine and trany to good use.....don't know. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33819
What an undertaking........... I can't tell how bad things are just by one picture, but it doesn't look good. I'd pull the engine and subframe and start there. If you have a good engine, that's a good start. I see it's an F1 too.... I don't see how you are going to be able to keep w/in a realistic budget, but keep us posted. I'll certainly help where I can. I have a '99 F1 and can understand wanting to bring yours back to life.
Post some pictures! I would love to see what you are doing! I know how I felt when I took the cutting wheel to the car the first time....wow....
Congrats, man! I am thrilled that you are taking on this project and keeping another one of these beauties on the road. I have bought cars that have accident damage and fixed them because of the experience in restoring a car that has had a bad bit of luck, and the fulfillment it provides. Some people may not understand....but who cares? Do what you want to, and be happy about it.
