I'm looking for a good leather guy who knows Ferraris in preferably Orange County. I'll go to LA if he is worth it. I have some finish up work on the interior of my Boxer that needs to be completed. Thank you in advance.
Good luck. I've been looking for a good or preferably great upholsterer/trimmer years now with wide net covering the entire SoCal (from S.B. to S.D.) and interviewed or tried some of the most highly recommended, but have yet to come across one I myself would recommend. OTOH, we all have different expectations.
I have an indirect recommendation. I use Randy Tippets of RMT in Yorba Linda as my mechanic. A couple of years ago I wanted to replace my dash and the leather on my steering wheel (both were a very boring tan and it also was subject to awful glare). Randy contracted it out to an upholstery guy and he did an incredible job at a very reasonable price. So I would call Randy and talk to him. Here is a picture of the steering wheel and dash that he did. Hard to see but there is red top stitching in the black dash and he made the steering wheel two tone rather than just tan. The new tan portion of the steering wheel matched perfectly with the tan and red stitching of the rest of the car. I am very pleased with the job and two years later it is still perfect. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thanks Mirek. I love my 612. Just was not wild about the dash. Thought I would spice it up a bit. I really like my dash and steering wheel and nobody has one like it. Even better!
Nope Armen. Mine is a 2007. But unbelievably there are not many red 612s out there. Every other model yes, 612 no. I wanted a red one and it actually took me 2 years to find the one I wanted. Fun car to drive. Gets lots of attention because it is red. My black 65 Vette gets more though.
I dug up an old pictures of my dash. You can really see what the upholster did if you compare the two pictures. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Beautiful either way! I hear ya with you '65 Vette. I have a '62 Vette and I get more attention with that than my Daytona. Kinda pisses me off . People are either patriotic (which is nice) or don't have a clue what a Daytona is.
Armen, I had the Ferrari first and always got nods and smiles. It shocked me when I got the Vette how much more attention it got. What I think the deal is that everyone recognizes the old Vettes and it reminds them of their childhood and that is why they comment. Most dont know what Ferraris are and it doesnt evoke the same memories. By the way, I love the 62. Has essentially the C2 rear (which I like a lot) and that incredible chrome nose and headlights without the hassle of the hidden headlights. I was actually looking to get a 62 because they are so special but had to follow the herd and get a C2.
Too funny, I also have a black Corvette a 2000 FRC. 700HP Naturally Aspirated, 4:10’s.... Image Unavailable, Please Login
You are 100% correct on that. It's all American and people could relate (and affordable). Not many grew up with Ferraris.
Nice engine bay Jeff and I love your numbers! Here is mine. I put in a 383 with 440 HP and 485 FT LBS. So not nearly you numbers but it really moves my 65 down the road. I was trying to make it look old school so hence the fake labeling on the air cleaner. Image Unavailable, Please Login
That looks killer, I dig it. 383 power, is it stroked ? I built the engine “over-square” (4.155/4.0 stroke) and it put down 700HP when they broke the engine in at Westech and we finally got it in the car and tuned it put down 622 at the wheels. Lots of other “bits” are required (cooling, trans, suspension) when you start playing in that HP range.
Jeff, understood on your car. Way too big of a project for me! Even at my modest HP and torque I had to build a new tranny and rear end and beef up the suspension. Yours must be a killer! If they ever reopen at HB and Supercars at the Beach they were going to have a Corvette day. You should bring your car to that.
By the way, yes the 383 is stroked. But I am using it as a mule for my real project. I am turning the original 327 into a 396. Using all of the hot race parts available (there are a ton) and even having Callies forge a custom crank for me (mega expensive and time consuming). So when done I will have a numbers matching (huge in the C2 world) 65 396 small block (the only C2s that had a 396 were in 65 for about 6 months and they are all big blocks and considered iconic). On the exterior the car will look totally like the original 396 big block. Nobody else will be able to say they have what I have and I will be pushing more torque and hp than the original big blocks out of a much lighter engine! Mega bragging rights (at least in my own mind)!
396 Big Block would be amazing. I would love to know the bore and stroke on such a build. Big Blocks are built SUPER Over-Square and I bet the stroke is under 4”. Cool build man. BTW American Heritage Performance did my build down there by Signal Hill. They are Top Shelf LS guys.
Jeff, it’s actually going to be a 396 Small Block. The bore is 30 over the small block’s original 4.00 bore but the stroke is 6” to achieve the big CI in a small block. The custom Callies crank is the backbone of this build, you really have to play around and have super small rod journals to achieve such a big stroke in a small block and then you really need a high quality crank to make that work. Thanks for the heads up on American Heritage. I will check them out.
I am going for low end, not top end. So I am targeting the torque to top out at around 5500 and the HP probably around 6000. That is about where my 383 is right now. The goal is a street cruiser with a lot of low end. For an old Vette that is where the action is IMHO. (It will be a ground shaker at a light). Of course it has an overdrive tranny and it can also cruise all day long at 90 as well.
I can refer you to the best artisan in SoCal. He’s in south San Diego. Does concours level work. Not cheap and tough to get on his schedule. PM if you are seriously interested.
Got someone helping out. All that is really left now is the sun visors and luggage straps. I hear the sun visors are not easy, but I dont think I need a concours guy to complete them. Thank you though
I have the guy you are looking for, he is in Escondido and he is a master craftsman, an artist and does concourse work. Oscar Reyes at Escondido Custom Upholstery. He is currently doing my 1989 Modial t coupe and has done a Porsche for me as well as a 308 You can drop by and see the work he is doing on my car. www.escondidocustomupholstery.com/ You can see my post about my Mondial here Restoring my 1989 Mondial t https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/index.php?threads/Restoring-my-1989-Mondial-t.621713/ Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat