Can Jim Shadow rescue the world's only 348 Challenge Grill?

Update: P.I. recovered the part. It is now at the Fed Ex station and on its way back to Texas.

Done.
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If anyone ever needs a good P.I. in Fort Wayne, I've got a good one for you. But he ain't cheap!

I talked to this guy about noon today, and explained my situation. His first reply was "I'm leaving on vacation Sunday, and I don't know that I'm interested in taking this on."

I said "I will make it well worth your time...you get that panel in your hands TODAY, and I'm paypal'ing you $500. He said "You're on". A few hours later, I had a Fed Ex tracking number.

Now realize that, for every panel sold, I will have to tack on a $2 panel recovery fee.

 

Actually it all went quite smoothly. The guy that has been making my part is a genuinely nice guy. He feels terrible. The fact is, he has been really struggling financially and is just kind of living hand to mouth. I don't know that any of us quite can identify with his situation, and I do not want to embarrass him and go into specific details. I can tell you this, not all of it is his fault. There is no excuse for his untruthfulness but I have been there myself so I will not cast stones at the guy.

He is extremely apologetic, and wants to continue to work with me on producing the panels. The guy does absolutely fantastic work -he is a craftsman. I am going to give him another chance, because I feel everyone deserves a second chance. He has come clean with me about his situation and I respect him for that.

So here is the plan: Once I have the panel back (mid next week), I will mount it (complete with horsey). He is to make 3 panels next week, send them to me, and then make 3 next week, and send them to me. Then 1 panel per week thereafter, until they are stacked to the ceiling in my garage and can't keep anymore. I will be inspecting all panels before I ship to anyone, so that I can check the quality myself. I plan on keeping enough panels in my garage that one can be shipped immediately upon order. There's nothing worse than waiting a month to get something you've already paid for.

Thoughts?

 

2 things:

First, Steve, it ain't going to be spring. These will be produced starting on Monday, or I'm in high gear to find another manufacturer locally that can get these made.

They will come finished in satin black.

The perforated metal can indeed be detached, but it is tacked on with very hard adhesive and it would likely screw it up sufficiently to make it unusable again. That's not that big of a deal, however: I can just send you an extra bit of perforated metal and you can then paint it and attach it to the inside of the panel once you have refinished it.

Actually I like the idea of a body colored panel with black perforated metal. I hadn't thought of that but it might look really radical.

The price, including 4 brand new factory taillights, is going to be $1,990 delivered via FedEx Ground.

If you already have the taillights, you can take $665 off of this. My goal was to keep the entire purchase, including the panel, lights, and delivery, to under $2K.

 

I will have shots of all angles by Thursday or Friday. When we constructed the prototypes, we had input from a number of 348 owners - several of you here were part of that group. That's not saying the design will appeal to everyone - most certainly it will not. But every element - the width, height, depth, type and pattern of perforated metal - was thought through to compliment and enhance the lines of the car.

 

Here is the only side angle shot I have, taken in the "lab". Keep in mind that, in this photo, the panel is not bolted onto the car - it is just resting on the bumper while we were making some adjustments. Hence it is actually situated away from the car about 1/4 to 3/8 inch. But it will give you an idea of the side profile. You will also note that the taillamps are not quite 45 degrees. We experimented a bunch with this and found this particular angle better agrees with the other angles of the rear of the car. They are not pointing straight to the sky like another conversion out there, but they aren't 45 degrees either. In any event, one can adjust the taillamp angles to his/her liking.

On the 355, the lights are 45 degrees. But the rear of the the 355 was designed for this angle. If you put the lights at a 45degree angle on the 348, it doesn't set well with my eye. It disagrees with the other angles on the rear of the car and takes away from the "aggressiveness" of car's rear.

Finally, the LeMans Grill is NOT intended to convert a 348 to a 355 look-alike. It is intended to bring a more traditional Ferrari look to the rear of the 348.
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I am at a loss as to why these crack. Fortunately mine has not, but I have heard this some and don't see how the metal is stressed so as to cause a crack.