how important is original color

If you give your car to the Classiche department for restoration and ask them to retrim it in leather you will get it back with Poltrona Frau leather as this is all the factory will use.

 

I for one am also not doing it to increase the cars value or indeed its points score so I agree with you on that one. I am doing it because I owe it to the car.

I have said before that it is the individual's choice to repaint the car in any colour they want and most respect that view IMO. I bought the car not the colour of the car.

Agree about the Ferrari Classiche too.

However I believe the market will change and potential buyers parting with over a quarter million £ want value for money and in that sense they want it right. At the moment the market is young and any dino on the market will sell, given time I think the value will increase significantly and with that buyers will become more fussy about detail.

Just my 2 pence worth

 

and why wil the factory use poltrona frau?
because luca m. owns poltrona frau.

 

If materials are no longer available during a restore in today's age, that's different, whether it be paint or leather.One can't buy or make what is no longer available ...you can get close, that part is reality.

BUT .....

On the restore front , what I CANNOT understand ...... Is spending tens of thousands of dollars making certain the stickers are accurate and correct, and in the right location, the stitching of the seating, the bolts and wheels resprayed / restored to correct color, and then you paint the entire car to factory non original color of you VIN....can someone explain this thinking to me , because I just don't get it...and I can't wrap my head around it.

 

Would this be a good time to bring up a dealer or customer installed period radio/antenna if your car "didn't leave the factory" that way? What degree of originality is "acceptable"?

Freeman

 

OK this is my first post so be gentle, the internet can be a rough place!

I have a Dino painted Rosso Corsa, it was painted in the 90's and colour changed from its original Bianco. I intend to take it back to Bianco as co incidentally I have always wanted a white car. Im lucky enough to be buying a new Ferrari next year which will be Rosso Scuderia as I would always want to have a red Ferrari.

Im on the side of the original colour, I cant see how it can possibly be right to have it any other way. The point about Classiche is untrue, they wont certify it unless its in original colour. I was at Maranello last month and was given a tour of the Classiche department and also saw the new archive and was able to look up my own car. They will turn a blind eye to the Ferrari badge on the back of UK cars as it was dealer fitted but I intend to have mine removed when it goes back to Bianco.

 

pretend it did,


seriously though "leaving the factory" is a metaphor really. As rob has said nothing can get you back to "totally original" but you can try.

I tend to agree with bigred, I just don't get those that go to so much trouble in restoring a car down to miniscule detail and blow it on the colour!!

eg My car has Ferrari badges, I will leave them on as they were put on the car by the UK dealer. It was also the main demonstrator for Maranello UK in 73 and has numerous options inc C&F, headlight covers, nudge bar etc. these will be left on as original. The 1980's aerial has gone in the bin.

 

So what you're really saying is not `as it left the factory', but `as it left the dealer'. Otherwise, to be correct you'd need to remove all those dealer added items.

 

The only dealer items were the badges so I am led to believe by others more knowledgeable.

 

+1

I just can't wrap my head around it either.

 

did i understand it right that badges should be placed on Dino by dealer in that period?

Thanks

 

If you convert a car to chairs and flares and add air conditioning because other cars left with these options is your car now correct? Is it eligible for classiche certification?
At what point do we cross the line and create a restomod?

Just asking.

 

The original question was which is given precedence for determining "original color" - that which matches the paint on the metal, or that which matches the paperwork? Current market behavior suggest precedence is given to paperwork. Given the somewhat poor documentation trail for the early years of these cars this is perhaps a bit misguided but expected given the money at stake.

While original has many things going for it - in terms of paint color preserving the diversity of Dino options is quite noble - it should be realized most every car is leaving the restoration shop in better condition than it left the factory and is no longer "original".

 

If you're going to define originality as "how it left the factory" ANYTHING you do including a dealer or customer installed radio, antenna, headlamp covers, etc even if they were available as factory options but were installed afterwards should be considered in the same light as a color change in a correct period color.

All my cars have period accessories and options, not all installed at the factory. For me it is the fun of ownership. My Dino has an original color I absolutely love, Blu Scuro and for the most part will continue to be "as it left the factory". It has a radio and antenna that look to be the original from the original dealer. It also has a correct exterior mirror. Technically these accessories are not "as it left the factory". Where do we draw the line? If I didn't like the original color of my Dino, I wouldn't have any issue in painting it a Ferrari period correct color that I loved. No show in the world would turn it away for this and no show would deduct points. If my car was an original paint survivor in a color I wasn't in love with I would probably sell it because it should belong where it would be loved and cherished. As we have seen, there are many different types of Dino owners. I love and embrace that we're all different and have different opinions. I love that Matthias is guided by the perfection and accuracy of what it was and communicating through his blogs, book and personal emails to keep us on the right path. I love that Jon is restoring these beautiful Dinos to make their owners proud and happy and he has fun doing it. I love that Rob and Paul is sharing their extreme passion and attention to detail but also their open mind. I love that Tony is willing to put his ideals on the line but also has Ferrari script and headlamp covers on his Dino! It's all good and I enjoy every second of it!

It would be truly boring if we thought all the same! The Dinos we own are the better for it and we're the better for it!

Freeman

 

I'll make wrapping your head around it real simple:

I place my priorities in a different place than yours. Nothing more or less nor is it any more right or wrong than your way of doing things.

To illustrate from this very thread TonyL feels he owes it to his car to paint it the original colour yet is ok with re-installing Ferrari emblems that were fitted by the dealer and not the factory. Despite being a move that would cost points at a concours and would likely diminish resale value Tony does not care as it is his car and that is the path he chose to take. I'm cool with that.

 

I do not believe that this would be the case. The Ferrari market does not seem to be bothered much with colour on the much more expensive cars so as the Dino's start creeping into that realm I can't see why anything would change with increased values.

 

Classiche WILL certify the car and will make a note of the original colour. Trust me that if they did not do this their revenue would tumble as a lot of Ferrari's do not carry their original colour.

 

I wasn't speaking about you, but since you brought it up.

Let me see if I understand this, your priority to get the easy less expensive stuff correct , like the correct patch on the seats belts, the head lamps, the correct tires, the rug, the radio, but one of the biggest and most expensive pieces "the paint" is not ?

I am not suggesting its right or wrong, just doesn't make common sense when sooooo much effort is involved in getting everything else correct to perfection on a restore, and yet, the wrong color is on the car from the day it left the factory.

It is your money, and your decision no doubt as well as others who do it.....but I'm still not getting it......why even invest all the effort to get everything else the exact same ?

I guess life would be boring if we were all of the same mindset.

Good luck to you and others that do it, i hope its everything you dream it to be when it's done!

 

Being involved with another marque that does consider original color to be sacred along with every other original option must be as it left the factory in order to get the car judged and down to the proper grain on the engine stamp pads ,... It leads into a whole market of dishonesty .. that being there is an industry that will change the trim plate and engine pad....
all to make the car a more desirable color.../orig looking engine....
I am much happier with the fact that Ferraris do not seem to get beat up for being the wrong color ... I mean its much better to have a color you like then an original color that you really dislike just to be original (heck its not original anyway)... Now if the original color is something you like then I would definitely rather have original..
just my 2 cents....

 

If this way of doing things is not for you I'm cool with that and not out to convince you out of it. Common sense and deductive reasoning really have no place in this discussion as the very ownership of a $200K+ car that you only use some of the time is WELL beyond the common sense realm of most of the population and they are probably the most sane of all of us.

Fretting about colour is merely one of many steps on the staircase of insanity that is a full blown restoration.

 

I wasn't expecting to convince you, I was merely trying to under the sickness level if its greater or less than mine. I just realized its not greater or less, just DIFFERENT

And common sense applies when everyone in the crazy house follows the same sickness, as we all do here.

 

There are certain classic cars that get a legitimate "hall pass" when it comes to color change and matching numbers. As was mentioned by Larry, the Corvette owners represent an extremely stringent culture when it comes to all the details being correct right down to the overspray. They even deduct if it has had new fiberglass parts grafted in. It seems the more coachbuilt, handbuilt, rare and special the car is, the more lenient. The Dino thankfully falls in this camp! The more high production and commercialized, the less lenient. The Corvette falls in this camp. Both are standards, just different standards. Ferrari understands this with the Classische Certification and if your Ferrari is missing it's original motor, will create a legitimate new motor, gearbox etc. They will also certify it with notation if it has the incorrect number but has the correct type for your car. From what I understand, they will also paint your car in a correct period Ferrari color other than what was originally delivered. I'm sure this is on a case by case basis, but first they must accept your car for restoration by having met other criteria.

It only comes to show how important and emotional color on a Dino is!

Freeman

 

Hugh, I had this dilemma when we couldn't find the original colour on the car despite stripping the paintwork.

This caused some concern but eventually found a minute trace of it behind the rear quarter glass......phew!!

Yes we do tend to place a lot of emphasis on the paperwork as this ultimately is the only thing we can "prove a point"

I tend to take the view that the cars history actually started in a showroom before it was built. Somebody must have ordered my car (albeit Maranello) and decided to order all the options with it and its colour [for demonstration purposes in this instance with the view of selling it once it has achieved its purpose]. They added the scripts to authenticate the Ferrari brand in the UK. [ not many would purchase a Dino for the price of a house, a Ferrari dino yes]

So now the car is pushed out of the workshop after its PDI and life begins. That's the restoration point IMHO we should consider and to use the metaphor "as it left the factory"

Interesting to read other views too and love the passion, glad its not just me.

 

For me no doubt if you do a restoration back to original specifications, colour needs to be matching too. I bought #01406 only for the reason, that the original colour is Verde Germoglio.
For me the cars need to be "as it left the factory".
Having said said I do respect other opions and at the end of the day it`s up everybody individually what he prefers to do with his Dino....
If your key intention is to drive the Dino, some minor changes are more than accepted... ;-)
Regards Matthias

 

I bought #03932 for the same reason, that the original color was Blu Scuro and it was Euro spec. Having said that, there were/are very few Euro GT coupes for sale at any one time in the U.S.. If That car wouldn't have been available and another came up that I really liked that met my basic criteria for the right price but with an original color that I didn't like, I would have been tempted. My last Dino I had, I just didn't like the original color. If I would have kept it I would have chosen an original period Dino color I loved. In Europe it may be easier to find a Dino GT with an original color that you love. In the U.S. it's hard enough to find a GT! This is why I relate to both sides. Yes, It's wonderful and fortunate if you have a Dino with an original color you love. No issues there. If you've been dreaming of a Dino all your life in a specific color and the right one becomes available except it's original color is the only thing you just can't live with, changing it to an original Dino shade you love is a no brainer.

The Dino appeals to a broader audience much like the Lusso and SWB.

Freeman