Funny. When I was trying to certify the last BBLM made, it was rejected (with prejudice BTW) for an upgraded radiator. Technically I get it, but at the same time one of the auctions had a (IIRC) burgundy 250 with the wrong wheels and a shiny Al radiator showing clearly visible AN pipes/fittings as her awarded-book-official front 3/4 picture. That's when I realized they came up with a great new idea for cash and how many knobs you're willing to polish for the next best thing for the sheeple.
Happy New Year all..... Can an independent Ferrari repair shop handle the entire Ferrari Classiche process for my car, or must it be done at a authorized Ferrari dealer??? Thxs.
When I brought my Mondial to Algar for my last major, they were the ones who suggested I do a Classiche Certification as they recognized, not me, that my car was all original, and they were already in there, so I obliged. I'm really glad I did. I learned a great deal about my Ferrari from the experience. There are practically no Mondial's that have gone through the process. But I love my car and it's just one more part of its pedigree, even if there's little value added, esp in the Mondi family. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I live with the constant fear that my 328 is really a rebodied Fiero. Maybe I should get mine certified
Pontiac Historical Services...best $75 you'll ever spend! They can tell you everything about your Fiero, if it really is one... 😄
I'm almost certain I had the first 308/328 Classiche certified. I was one of the first cars worldwide and local dealer wanted to use me as practice. It was easy process, they had to take some different photos and go back with Italy a couple times, but that was the practice they were looking for. Not sure how the book has changed, but what you get back from Classiche is really nice.
I'm a bit perplexed by the "should" side of this equation. I can see both sides of the argument pro and con Classiche Certification, but having had my car judged five times in the three + years I've owned her . . . I've hardly experienced any semblance of consistency in that process and would argue that . . . in my case . . . the Classiche remains an impartial guidepost. I understand the judging process is subjective . . . but once you've found yourself on the wrong end of that subjectivity . . . that little red book sure is a nice sight when you return home.
Concours judging and Classiche certification are apples and oranges and Ferrari themselves are generally quick to make that understood during the Classiche process, at least they always have been with me. I have no idea where and by who your car was judged. It is often done poorly and with little regard or no knowledge of originality.
After hearing Barry's story, I am wondering if anyone walking around at Ferrari really knows anymore than any of us with most of these cars post 1976 When you stop and think about it for a moment, how many current employees in Maranello were around when a 308 was being built anyway and remembers things like the correct headliner on a 2Vi? Same with a dealer. No way a guy in the back that is 29 years old knows the unique details like many of us. How could he? Honestly, I think between you and probably a couple dozen of us here are far better evaluators of a "correct" 3X8 than any other entity anywhere. Again, I used to not think this, until Barry - I mean, having to argue over pictures in a brochure with the factory...?
Yep, the idea that the current folks at Ferrari...or Ford... would have any idea about a 30 year old car is...uh...shall we say, a BIT optimistic. I don't see any value at all in the program to me but, like anything, it's all about what's important to the particular owner. The book looks pretty, though!
I believe this for middle range cars 1970 well into the 1990's, but I think Classiche Ferrari has regained that experience and expertise with the vintage models it may have lost for a couple decades. I don't know for sure, but now that Classiche has been restoring cars for several years, are there any comments on the quality vs. the independent restorers like Bob Smith? As far as I know Classiche has a great reputation for restorations.
With who? I have not heard that position expressed by a single knowledgeable individual in the vintage Ferrari world.
And if you visit the Vintage section, you can see where some very knowledgeable people are currently giving their opinions that confirm this.
Barry's problems were at the dealers with the kids doing the inspections. Their real job is to be the eyes and ears of the guys in Maranello who go over the photos and data and make the determinations of what is right and wrong and give the car a passing grade or not. The quality of the inspector is very important here. I know of 2 in the entire US that I care to use for just these reasons. Part of the problem here is so many are talking about it and so few have been through it to understand it. That's one of the reasons for the comments about concours judging vs Classiche certification. There is some overlap and a great many differences too. Also people are expecting perfection here, when has Ferrari ever achieved that goal?
Exactly. We have seen some restorations come out of there that provided a good bit of humor. In some cases they do not even try to reproduce an item in original form. They just do it the way they feel like and say it is OK because they did it. There is not a single big name restorer in the US that is not turning out a better product. But lets not get confused. Classiche certifications and Classiche restorations are two different products.
that's why I was asking, I haven't heard much good or bad. Is there a single thread on FerrariChat that critiques Classiche restorations? so you are saying Classiche has a negative reputation with its restorations?
Isn't this enough? Restaurata la 500 Mondial di Porfirio Rubirosa 14 mesi di lavoro, super restauro Ferrari - Repubblica.it No Gold Like the Old: Ferrari Classiche Ferrari Classiche 24 Ferrari in restauro al reparto 'Classiche' di Maranello - Autoappassionati Here around (Modena area) we have the best Ferrari experts in the world: if the Classiche men don't know something, they will ask them or use them to restore somethings. They use a lot of consultants and many restore shops too, of course. Guarantee that a restore done by them is perfect: sure that it's not the cheapest way to do it, but you can be sure that you will have a perfect car back. As everyone here, they can do some errors, of course: we all are humans ciao
Then how come the finished product is, well, what it is? And yes we all know Italian heritage automatically conveys supreme knowledge and ability in all things Ferrari.
No, absolutely: there are a lot of "garbage" also here. But many pieces were produced here around and there is still alive who produced/assembled it in person or, at least, there is his son or someone else that carries on the old activity with the knowledge left by his teacher. We in Italy aren't better than Americans in restoring cars: we just have much more density of knowledge about those Italian cars. I don't say we know "more", I just say there are much more persons here that knows old Italian cars than in the US. I think it's obvious: if I had to restore an old Cadillac, i think that the best knowledge about those cars should be in the USA rather than in Italy. That, of course, doesn't mean that here in Italy there isn't anyone that knows a lot about old Cadillacs and can do a perfect restore too. But you cannot say that the Classiche Ferrari department cannot do a good restore. And then, come on: when you can say "my priceless Ferrari has been restored directlyin Italy by the Ferrari itself", aren't you happy? My friend Gianluca, also known here as "Jack Cadillac", multi vintage Cadillac owner, would be very happy to have a Cadillac restored in the USA instead of here in Italy. Note: he restores Cadillacs... There is nothing personal: Ferrari cars are Italian made. Not always well made, I agree, but that is an Italian car: If we made them once, why shouldn't we restore them in the correct way? This said, I have also to say that the USA specialist often uses much more science and technology rather than the Italian specialist, but that's the way the cars were produced once too (and that the reason why they sometimes have so many problems). ciao
Without identifying who-what-where-when, I've seen my car come up short in one rather extreme situation of unknown bias, as well a lessor scenario where the judges were simply mistaken. It's important to see the glass half-full, and focus on those moments where the car was fairly evaluated by judges keenly educated on the model and focused on preservation. There's no doubt in my mind that many of the criticisms Classiche certification are fair . . . I just don't see it quite so black and white and even if at the end of the day that Red Book serves no purpose but indicate a time stamp of the car's status at that time, I doubt that I'll ever regret doing it.
