MAcarbon trip to Abu Dhabi to do two 458s

Our 458 carbon program started in June 2011 with a request from our dealer in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, ALSA Engineering in June of 2011. (www.alsa.cc) Due to the challenges of getting parts from Ferrari and squeezing in Graham Rahal's car in December, we finally did the install in February 2012!

Here is a link to our 458 interior products: http://www.macarbon.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=197&Itemid=57

I left San Francisco on a Thursday afternoon for the 'weekend' trip to Abu Dhabi. The customer had purchased a full CF interior. Pretty much every piece we do. But not content with one install, I had also squeezed in a second 458 for a Dubai customer who emailed us when he heard about my trip.

I was a little worried that I would not have Graham Rahal, my trusty assistant, from the last install present but figured three days should be enough. We had ALSA's staff (who I was supposed to train) and it was the second time after all! So My trip stay was only for 3 and a half days. Too much pressing work at MAcarbon corporate to hang out for extra days in the UAE. (Advice: always add an extra day, if just to sight-see, no matter what your wife, I mean boss, says. )

After a direct but very long 16 hour flight from San Francisco, I arrived in Dubai Friday night. ALSA's driver picked my up and whisked me over to Abu Dhabi - about an hour and a half away. My host, Mohammed Al Sayegh, President of ALSA Automotive Engineering, took me out to an excellent dinner with his cousins and friends for a warm welcome to the city. After a fun evening of talking cars, Emerati culture and Ivy League schools, I headed back to my hotel (at 2 am!) for a “solid” night’s sleep before the work really started… my wake up call was for 8AM.


Pic 1. Partial parts line-up the night before departure.
Pic 2. View from the hotel. Abu Dhabi is not nearly as glitzy as Dubai.
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On Saturday, I headed over to ALSA Automotive Engineering to begin work on the first car, the red Ferrari. We got a very late start as we had to pick up the car at the customer's house. Where they were nice enough to wash it first so we could take nice pictures during the install! So despite my worry about the 4PM start (my plane leaves in 2 days!!), we made great progress, finishing work on the interior and exterior door handles, mirror triangles, passenger grab handle and also removed the OEM center console. The doors were done first. This was the first time we were installing the exterior mirror triangles. I always think its best to tackle the unknown early in an install. This way when time is short, you are doing activities you've already done before. Saturday night Mohammed took me to dinner at the Yas Marina Hotel. We could see a little of the F1 circuit but since it was after 10PM it was pretty dark. None of my photos of the circuit or hotel are worth posting!

Pic 1. Washing the 458. Hurry! time is a wastn'!
Pic 2. Stock interior before we begin.
Pic 3. Side view of the 458.
Pic 4. Front view of the car.
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The exterior door handle install is an easy 20 minute job. The mirror triangles do require removing the interior door panel. About an hour a side but not too dificult. We will have install guides for both products this week.

We had done the interior door handles already on Graham's car. So those went in easily and we already have install guides on the site.

Pic 1. Exterior Door Handles
Pic 2. Exterior Mirror Triangles
Pic 3. Interior Door Handles with Passenger Grab Handle
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Sunday morning it was back to work on the red 458…until the black one rolled in at 10AM! This car was getting carbon fiber for the center console and doors. We currently have only one set of dash trim otherwise the customer would have done that as well. I wanted to be sure we got it done the same day - so the customer could drive it back to Dubai that night. We finished by 2 and the customer was thrilled. He insisted I get some seat time - although he car was not turned on. I have to say it was pretty comfortable!

Quick note on the black car. The Scud stripe was ordered from the factory. It looks amazing!

Pic1-4. The red and black car together
Pic 5. Which goes in which car?
Pic 6. Front end of the consoles.
Pic 7. John's seat time.



Yes... all of the pics are not very good. Its hard to take pictures while you worry about getting things done!
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Since we finished the black car at 2, there was good light for taking photos. So attached are some pictures of the center console. The cup holder is our newest 458 part. Its a full carbon replacement piece.
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So with the black car done and gone, it was back on the red car. By 10PM Sunday I had the OEM dash completely removed from the car. At the risk of never selling another 458 dash again, I'm posting some pictures of the car at that stage. Not pretty!

One interesting thing about the 458 dash is that unlike most other cars where the trim goes 'onto' the dash, the 458's trim 'IS' the dash. The various parts join together with a sub frame to extend out from the firewall to form the dash. The problem (at least from the customizer's perspective) is that its layered together - so to pull the certain dash parts you have to remove everything else. If you remember Graham Rahal's car, we put his logo on the strip above the glovebox. That logo will forever be on that car. To take that one piece out, you ahve to pull the glovebox, the dash cap, the venter vent.....

It feels like there are a thousand screws and clips in the dash. So as I take them out, I'm careful label each set and place them in a small bag. Be sure to note which part they are from and if there are any differences. Almost all are 3MM Allen heads but the lengths vary quite a bit! Be sure you can read your handwrtting later. (Big problem for me)

Although it feels like billions of screws (next paragraph it will be trillions!), there are not many wires. I remember pulling the dash of my Mercedes Cosworth 190 to change a heater core. In that car, there were so many wires I could not keep track. In the 458, there are maybe 15 wires in the entire dash. And since they all have clips, you know exactly where each one goes. Only the wire for the two center vent controls need to labeled since there is the possibility of getting them confused.

On another note, we DO have an install guide for the 458 dash. However, we are not publishing it as we do with all of our other parts. Its valuable trade information that has been hard won. My spine has personally invested heavily in it and is demanding residuals. (Hint: you spend a lot of time looking up into the dash...) However, it will be provided to customers who purchase our 458 dash.


Pic 1. View from the passenger side after all has been removed. Look away!
Pic 2. View from the left.
Pic 3. The vents removed from the car
Pic 4. The dash trim waiting patiently to go back in.
Pic 5. The screw pile. The photo does not capture how tall it really is. Be sure you can read your handwritting later!
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Thanks all for the compliments.

On the door handles, I spoke to a dealer last week who appealed to the factory for an 'important' customer. Ferrari said they were not interested in doing anything. If you have the full CF package, it makes sense to get rid of the rest of the gray metal.

The rest of the story to follow tomorrow. not to keep anyone hanging... I did finish in time!

 

I received a PM saying to be careful when traveling. This thread is all about the trip I took from Feb 16th through the 21st. So I've been back safe and sound in California for a few weeks.

 

We can do a matte finish. We've done a number of projects with it. The most interesting was a Porsche 997 GT2RS where we did a matte interior to match the exterior. We even took out all of the stock parts and matted them as well. Since we'd done seven other cars for the customer (including an F50) it was a nice change of pace for everyone involved.

I have to say though that the matte finish 'hides' the carbon weave - its just not as clear. With a low-end product where the clear is not that 'clear' and the CF isn't tight or is distorted, I say "hide away" but I think we have the best looking parts - so I want to show it off!

But we can and will do it if that's what you want. We aim to please.
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To bDelp's question, we always intended our 'Interior Package' for cars that had been delivered with the metal interior. We did not intend it to be used instead of ordering the factory interior package. I think the factory package (at order time) runs about $12K. We're way below that but by the time you get done with installation, you may be within spitting distance. And you get the steering wheel in that $12K I believe. But you guys are the experts on the options and their costs!

The value is there when you have to order the factory stuff after the fact - from the parts department. Then its like $25K. We're way below that!

Here is the link to our 'Interior Package' for current pricing:
http://www.macarbon.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage-ask.tpl&product_id=730&category_id=199&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=58

 

After finally getting a good sleep on Sunday night, Monday morning rolled around. All that was left to do was transfer the 'guts' of the airvents, rebuild the dash, and install the side sills..... not that much!

Each of the airvents took about 45 minutes to assemble. There are about six to eight components in each vent. With lots of screws. Yes, more screws!

Pic 1. The view of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque on the way to ALSA's office. I was told its like the second largest mosque in the world. (If I'm wrong, sorry!). It was even prettier at night when its bathed in green light. Didn;t get a chance to visit though.
Pic 2. Passenger vent built
Pic 3. Driver Vent built
Pic 4. Center vent built
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