Hi there, new to the 348 and I'm wondering if some years has to do with plane rosso corsa color vs rosso corsa and matte black lower section painted and I believe black gloss engine hood pannel towards the rear windshield? This car has suffered a change of color to black in the past and someone later painted back to red (everything). Just trying to figure out if it's a matter of a certain build year that came out from factory two tone or single full color or what? Thanks for any input
The early cars from 1989-1992(tb and ts) models had the two tone. 1993-1995 GTB, GTS, Spiders and Serie Speciale had all panels painted in the same colour I believe.
Be aware that plenty of '89~'92 cars have had their black lower panels and engine cover sections painted the body colour like the later cars due to personal preference, so colour-coded panels are no guarantee of the cars age. For some 348 owners, painting the black parts on early the cars is one of the biggest travesty's on the planet, for other's, it's simply a non-issue.
It would be interesting to know how you determined that it was red to begin with. Otherwise, "resale red" was a very common tactic during the 80s and early 90s.
Thanks for the replies. This is a 92' . I suspect it came from factory two tone the. What I can notice from internet photos is that the exterior black parts are matte not even satin (semi gloss like would be common wiper arms etc in cars). And the engine hood flat piece would be stright gloss black? Or there is any color code for these black parts? Thanks
From what I remember at launch, the black sills etc. were to slim the profile. Then later cars were color coded. I suspect owners then had this done as an "upgrade" like adding chrome horses, and horses to the front. I don't think it really matters unless you want a totally original look for your year of car. I like both anyway. My car has had the black parts painted, but it's black anyway so not so noticeable.
Maybe ask Nick? He did a full restoration of his '92 tb, including paint and the correct black trim. https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/ferrari-348-tb-restoration-in-pics.515992/ Here's his photo-documentation: https://www.flickr.com/photos/93727718@N06/sets/72157664918452270/ Breath-taking work. Image Unavailable, Please Login
The factory used glasurit 21 line matte black which is a single stage paint. You can not get 21 line any longer but it is available in 22 line . The code is 1250 in glasurit 22 line. The engine hood panel between the rear glass and engine hood grille is also matte black.
I have seen the two tone paint scheme into early 1994 348 models. In fact, I know of a 94 Spider, early 1993 production, with it. I do not think it was a model year feature but based on production dates. One day the factory painted the black trim, the next a memo went out deleting it. Would be typical Italian practice.
